Heart drugs

Thank you. I feel so unwell and as I am on so many different drugs there is no way of knowing which might be the culprit/s ... I would love to bin them all. I am sure they must be doing some good, but at the moment the detrimental effects are so overwhelming.

Luckygirl3 If you're reading this, I wish you all the best.

Is it that medication, I happened to mention just before going out the door to my doctor how I was tired all the time he had me straight back asked me a couple of questions about how often I went to the loo (a lot but didn't do much when I went) and how much fluid did I drink then said he wanted blood tests, I had two in to end, and a water sample. Turned out I was low in sodium, he said I had to drink less fluid and put salt on my food just a sprinkle. Now I have blood test every so often to keep a check.

Today 19:02 RMcD123

Same for me. Meds for heart and high blood pressure for many years. Then, suddenly, became very tired for many months, and was often too weak to walk. Cardiologist doctor did not seem concerned. I bought a blood pressure apparatus for home use and my BP often dropped drastically, like 88/50. I had to argue with doctor to let me reduce BP meds. Bottom line, I was allowed to try eliminating some and was off BP meds COMPLETELY, within a week. Almost immediately got normal strength back again. It has been eight months and I still monitor BP daily, and it remains NORMAL (with no BP meds now). So, while meds might have been necessary initially, they later were not, and were making me very ill, because I no longer needed them, but my cardiology doctor of the past 10 years didn’t catch this. So, get your own BP device and when you feel horribly weak, check your BP, and keep a record!
Ask your pharmacist WHICH meds are for lowering BP, then, do consult your doctor FIRST, before gradually reducing or eliminating them. Again, take BP reading several times daily, when you feel very tired, and keep a record of the readings and how you felt at that time. I might again some day need meds for hypertension, but not at present—and they were making me so weak, I could hardly walk!
(NOTE: It is very important to check your BP at home, when you are relaxed, before going to doctor’s office. Merely rushing to a doctor’s appointment, then seeing the doctor—both can cause a temporary (false) reading of hypertension—forb which you might receive unnecessary medication.

I found I had five different meds for blood pressure.
All of my medical notes say "complains of tiredness".

Same for me. Meds for heart and high blood pressure. For many months, was too weak to walk. Cardiologist doctor did not seem concerned. I bought blood pressure apparatus and my BP often dropped drastically, like 88/50. I had to argue with doctor to met me refuce P meds

Another who uses this site, I found it via British Heart Foundation, the Atrial Fib hub is one of the hubs I have found useful.

The health unlocked forums are very good, and some have speciality nurse helplines, too.

ecci53

There is an online support group for AF

healthunlocked.com/afassociation

Health unlocked also run support groups for many other conditions. It's worth having a look.

I joined the AF support group 5 years ago. It's been great, so much wisdom and helpful advice from other people with the same condition.

Thanks for providing the link to that AF support group, ecci53. I had a look and there's lots of interesting posts. The search function seems to work quite well, unlike Gransnet, so I could find threads I might be interested in.

Luckygirl If you're not fit enough to do cardiac rehab, the team obviously thinks you have further issues. My guess would be that's why you've been prescribed the three additional meds. Ramipril is for high blood pressure and it's not uncommon to take it as well as a beta blocker. The other two are for angina. If I were in your position, I'd listen to my cardiac consultant rather than posters on GN. I think you're just going to have to accept that you've had a major intervention and it's going to be some time before you feel like your former self.

I have had 2 ablations for my AF and my heart goes into AF very rarely .

Luckygirl3 Yes there is a huge room for error. This happened to me this week for the first time. On a Friday morning I make up four pill boxes with great care for the following week. It takes me a while to make sure everything is correct. Or so I thought!

On the Sunday I started to feel very cold. Even the air on my skin in the house felt exceptionally cold. Having to put the heating on crossed my mind! I wakened during the night
(a thing I never do) I usually sleep very well even if I fall asleep during the day. I don't realise this until I waken! I wasn't feeling well it felt like a cold or flu was starting. Had disturbing dreams. Unusual for me.

Monday, nose running, bad dry cough, feeling cold and shivery. Took Boots Dual Defence nose spray, just in case. By the evening I felt my legs twitching when I was sitting. Feeling exceptionally tired.

Tuesday at lunchtime I suddenly noticed there was no morphine in the lunchtime pillbox at all! So for four days I hadn't been having the lunchtime morphine. I've to take two at lunchtime and two at bedtime. So it was withdrawal symptoms I was suffering from. Not a cold!

So I'm sure I will be more careful and check daily that I'm having the correct amount of medication.

Enjoy being home Luckygirl3 there is no better place. I can't fault NHS Scotland. They are very good.

We all need to try to think positive. I remember there are folks worse off than me.

Ask for a second opinion from another consultant!

That is what I did when I was fairly certain I was being wrongly treated for a thyroid problem. The original consultant was furious and fairly unpleasant, but she had been rude all along, so I did not let that faze me.

Just make sure which hospital you want to be referred to instead of the one you currently attend and that the consultant you have now, is not also on the staff of the other hospital.

Donford Yates wrote of solicitors that people just stay with the same firm even if it changes hands, but they look damned hard at their rice if the grocer sells his business - the same applies to doctors.

If you are not satisfied, go somewhere else! I did, and got the right treatment. Good luck!

It is interesting and reassuring to know that others are on this cocktail of drugs after having a stent, although I would not wish them on anyone else.

I can understand the need to take drugs that keep the artery, and other arteries, as open as possible - I am just puzzled to have several drugs all for the same purpose. The relevant ones I am taking are: Ramipril, Ranolazine and Chemydur. They are all supposed to be doing the same thing - I would have hoped one would be sufficient.

I get the anticoagulant and anti-platelet need - that makes sense; and also the betablocker (metoprolol) to keep the heart rate down and prevent too much AF, although it does of course wipe me out. And the statin makes sense. It is the other 3 that seem a bit of overkill to me, and I just feel that the more drugs you take, the more chance of side effects and adverse interactions.

Luckygirl has already written that she can't do cardiac rehab.

I had a stent fitted after a heart attack just a year ago. The meds made me feel very dizzy for quite a while. I was given a number to speak to the cardiology nurse and she was so helpful. I split my medication, taking some am and some pm. It was a bit trial and error but a year later I now feel fine. I do still get a bit light headed but nothing like before. My statin dose was lowered along the way. I am slim healthy and my cholesterol is 2.8. I am walking every day and doing two sessions of strength training at the gym and that has helped tremendously. I still take blood thinners, aspirin, bisoprolol etc
If you can, do cardiac rehab. It was so helpful to me and gave me my confidence back.

Thank goodness for all those posts. I thought that it was just me. Had a heart attack 2 years ago. Stent fitted and the ubiquitous Bisopralol prescribed, along with the rest of the cocktail. The side effects are horrendous. I can sleep for England, constantly breathless, can barely walk - basically cannot function.

I am no longer driving as I am afraid of having another episode when behind the wheel (AF). GP disinterested and no follow up from cardiology.

Am I to accept that this is the end of my life?

I am on heart meds after a heart attack, stents then a later one.
Bisoprolol, my beta blocker, made me dizzy, sometimes breathless and I had a low pulse in the 40s. Dropping to 30s overnight.
Also developed AF. Was given a pacemaker which keeps my heart rate in the low 60s mainly. No more dizziness and rarely breathless now.

Yes, my husband, v low BP and slow heart rate on his cocktail of drugs, following 2020 heart attack and one stent fitted.

He’s just had his check-up and meds review, and nothing can be changed.

merlotgran

Marydoll

🤣 Sorry. I was texting DH what train I was on. I blame those blooming biologics!

Oh, that really made me laugh 😂

Hope you make it home this afternoon, luckygirl and tweaking your beta blocker works.

What is even worse is that I was actually on the 16:45, not the 14.45!

My husband has a stent and takes massive doses of drugs including beta-blockers which are intended to slow his heart rate down so that more blood can collect in his heart before it is pumped out, making it work more efficiently. He is slower than he used to be and sometimes a little breathless, but we just take it easy when walking. Every now and again they juggle his drugs which worries me, but recently he was contacted by a specialist pharmacist for a check so we are reassured.
We're grateful that he hasn't had to have one of those implanted defibrillator devices.

Marydoll

🤣 Sorry. I was texting DH what train I was on. I blame those blooming biologics!

Oh, that really made me laugh 😂

Hope you make it home this afternoon, luckygirl and tweaking your beta blocker works.

Keep going Luckygirl, I take a cocktail.of pills for heart disease, diabetes and thyroid. Some years ago my Gp decided some of my drugs were old fashioned and he changed me to Nicorandil, I took one and was completely knocked out, we just went back to 'the old fashioned ones' and I am stable. If your drugs are not helping then try to keep pushing Gp to review them, I'm just back from a 3 mile walk that I do at least 3 times a week, thanks to old fashioned medicine 😅

I know how you feel, Lucky.
I can barely keep my eyes open already today, and could easily sleep the day away - it's not a life I want, and I'm afraid of falling, too., I'm so unsteady on my feet.

I hope your meds can be adjusted somehow.
Fingers crossed!

There is an online support group for AF

healthunlocked.com/afassociation

Health unlocked also run support groups for many other conditions. It's worth having a look.

I joined the AF support group 5 years ago. It's been great, so much wisdom and helpful advice from other people with the same condition.