Already a member? Sign in
What - Inspire is a place where you can connect with people who share your health concerns and find information and advice in groups sponsored by organizations you know and trust.
Why - As a member you can use Inspire to let friends and family know how you're doing, contact others who share your health concerns, receive personalized updates and information about participating in surveys and clinical trials, and more.
How - Joining Inspire is completely free and usually takes less than a minute. Join now!
I have taken betablockers for years for hypertension, and have remained on them since my CABG in May. At rehab today, a chap told me that he had been advised to take his at night. Apparently, this minimises the tiredness you feel when you are on them. Has anyone else heard this and do any of you take them at night? Have you found this works?
I feel permanently exhausted and would love not to.
Gill
I take mine twice a day. I notice that I am extremely tired after my night-time pill.
I have a friend who was on a betablocker (since weaned off). Her doctor had her taking 1/3 of her daily dosage in the morning and 2/3 at night. Always best to consult with your doctor on specific questions about taking any drug before making a change.
Hello from USA Gill! (smile),
Beta blockers are extremely important in easing the burden of hypertension on your heart and allowing even non-hypertensive heart patients to recover from cardiac damage.....and survive long beyond it with this help. The fatigue is an unfortunate part of the package. Your doctor can work with you on dosage levels.
I can share what has worked for me the past 13 years beyond acute heart attack damage. I've never had high blood pressure, been hypertensive, so taking BBs on top of consistently present fatigue from heart damage has been enormously challenging. I gear BB dose time to my own circadian rhythms. I want to be working WITH my heart, figuring out when it needs help most. All medications with big side effects should be taken this way, not based on your employer's time clock or anyone else's schedule. I prefer 2 x day Coreg so I can take BBs at a time that puts the least amount of struggle into my waking hours. For me, that means 11am, 11pm. If I take a BB around 6-8am, the fatigue burden is too strong for me to rise above. The first few hours of BBs seem to be the hardest, so I take the daytime dose when my system is more revved up and stronger, can better handle the medication side effect of fatigue.
Good luck to you,
Jaynie
Hi Joy
That's interesting - splitting the dose. You are quite right however - I will check with the medics
Gill
Hello from the UK Jaynie :)
I found your post very interesting. It's seems that we all have to find out what works best for us with little help from the medics. They obviously have a drug protocol to adhere to which does not reference our own individualities - I guess they could not do that on a patient by patient basis, it would be too time consuming. It would be nice, however, if "someone" could mention that taking a drug at a particular time could have a profound effect on our quality of life and that the time might possibly be changed with no effect on the drug's therapeutic cover.
My physio at rehab this morning saw me yawning during warm up and made a joke about morning betablockers. I had no idea that taking them at another time might be better for me. Then, a little later, a fellow patient mentioned he took his at night and felt better.
I'm a bit cross I have to find this out almost by accident. Maybe if I'd been less tired over the last few years whilst on BB's, I may have been able to be more active generally and possibly avoided some of the problems I've had with my heart.
Of course, having 2 babies within 12 months when I was over 40 didn't help either LOL
Gill
Stick around here a while Gil and you'll pick up loads of helpful coping info.........geared to FEMALE bodies that are constantly in hormonal flux. I'm sure the chap at rehab meant to be helpful but chaps wake up feeling the same pretty much every day. The Ladies don't have that luxury. (smile) Docs mostly don't know or have the time to work these medication details out with female patients.
Let us know how it's going for you! My, you've been very very busy....2 babies in a year! That makes me both smile and feel exhausted for you.....LOL.
Beta blockers and more active are the giant paradox heart patients are stuck with.
take good care,
Jaynie
I am on Corgard and take it twice a day. I've been on it since 1981, so I don't really notice side effects. If I have them, I must be used to them :-) I am also on digitalis in the AM, Verapamil in the PM, and nitro patches and pills.
Thank you for the suggestions...I may be starting it in the next month. Dreading the side effects ...of course.
Whatever I can do to minimize it will help.
kardia
www.kardianotes.blogspot.com
Interesting -- my body seems to have things bass ackwards (lol) in that what makes some people lethargic does the opposite for me. If I take my BB any later than 5 or 6 pm it definitely affects my ability to sleep. Cholesterol reducing meds seems to do the same so my cardio says to take that in the AM. We need to listen to our bodies and react/act accordingly.
Absolutely - every body is different and we all react to drugs differently too.
Gill
Add to the discussion