Q: I am an otherwise robust and healthy 58 year old woman (6 ft tall, 160 lbs, excellent blood cholesterol) taking carvedilol, 6.25 mg 2x/day for high blood pressure. I know the hbp is directly linked to the stress of my job, but the side effects are making things worse, since they interfere with my clarity of focus and ability exercise. After taking the medicine each day, my feet swell slightly, my brain feels fuzzy, and my hands tingle. If I walk, run, dance, or do any other exercise, my fingertips turn red, my hands develop white splotches, and I feel mentally confused and weak. I’ve found that coffee (which I didn’t used to drink) is the only effective way of overcoming these effects so that I can feel balanced and sharp enough to do work or exercise. What’s going on here? Any recommendations?
A: You are experiencing some well-known side effects of the drug carvedilol. The brand name for this drug is Coreg. It is a type of drug known as a beta blocker. There are other types of medicine available to treat high blood pressure. With a different type of drug you may not have such debilitating side effects. You should talk to your doctor about switching to a different type of drug. You might also want to mention trying the Resperate. It lowers blood pressure with no side effects.
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Had exactly the same side effects from Labetalol 200 mg and Lisinopril 20mg. Side effects were so bad, could not complete any work. (Accounting,business management) Could not convince doctor that these were side effects not “getting adjusted to the Medicine”. Had to change doctors after nearly passing out. Ordered Resperate which worked immediately and was able to go back to 25mg of Atenolol and have no side effects. BP stays within the normal range.
Misleading headline. Neither changing drugs nor foregoing drugs in favor of the Resperate is a way of “overcoming side effects.” All this article offers is a way to avoid (not overcome) side effects via the patently obvious “don’t take that drug” solution.
A recent study found that regular exercise is more protective than drugs for most people with high blood pressure. And, unfortunately, beta blockers harm your ability to exercise and are not very protective. So, try with your doctor to take any kind of blood pressure drug you find safe and tolerable but NOT a beta blocker. Stop the carvedilol as soon as you can after that. Also, interfering with your ability to think and do your job is NOT an acceptable side effect.
The Resperate or Tai Chi have each been found to lower stress caused high blood pressure. You do need to spend about 15 to 20 minutes on the Resperate sessions 5 to 7 days a week and keep doing it. The good news is that it works and does NOT have any of these horrible side effects or prevent you from exercising.
10 minutes a day 6 or 7 days a week and twice on bad days of Tai Chi also works and you get exercise at the same time.
I was using beta Blockers for about 2 years, it was like being one of the walking dead! I gained 20 lbs, couldn’t exercise or think. It was extremely hard just getting out of my car in the morning. I use Diovan now and can once agian function.
I would defintiely have to agree with the fact exercise is more protective than drugs and that certain drugs impair one’s exercise tolerance. I went through 3 different medication changes before I found one that minimized side effects. Interestingly enough, I now using a Beta Blocker without any problems noted above. I’m also adhering to a strict diet and just started using Resperate. The diet and exercise alone have reduce my medication dosage down to almost nothing. It’s only been a week on Resperate 10 minutes per day, so I haven’t seen any changes yet. How long does it take to see noticeable results?
I had the same effects from coreg. I switched to a small dose of benicar with no side effects.
I can definitely relate to this woman’s experience. I had the same problem with Clonidine .1mg Not only did I have impaired mental clarity but also a sense of imbalance while walking. I also tried coffee but it raised my BP about 10-15 points, so that wasn’t exactly the goal either. Nothing beats coffee for mental focus. I’ve drank it for years which have been partly responsible for my HBP.
Take vitamin C, it will help you deal with the stress you feel and you may find you need less medication. In 2001 a study was published in which doctors found a 9 year old girl with unexplained hypertension and knees which hurt her so bad that she used a walker. Sounds like an older person, doesn’t it? She had scurvy, and after 6 months of vitamin C treatment her hypertension and her knee pain were gone. Search An orange a day keeps the doctor away on pubmed.
I went through three beta blocker therapy changes because of severe side effects. My doctor insisted I need beta blocker therapy. With the fourth (bisoprolol) I am finally OK, my bp is 110-120/70-80, heart rate 65, I feel good, I can exercise, sex drive is normal and side effects are very mild.
Does this Beta blocker increase blood sugar at all? I’ve heard some betas increase blood sugar.
Try to make a goal to get yourself off pharmaceutical drugs as the preferred method to treat HBP. There many other effective means to do so. I consulted with a Naturopathic doctor and they were miraculous in weaning me off meds and getting me in a new regimen of diet and lifestyle changes as well as some supplements. I also take a few key supplements to include Fish Oil, CoQ10 and Magnesium and my BP is now about 110/60 give or take a few points. Once your BP stabilizes, you’ll be able to gradually wean yourself off medication. Check out naturopathic.org to find a doctor in your area.
side effects are unavoidable with all ‘different’ HBP meds………and resperate did not work for me because I had already been doing yoga breathing for 25+ yrs………sometimes there is nothing you can do but bite the bullet
Are you basically saying that Yoga has no blood pressure lowering effect at all? I was thinking of trying it.
I tried Resperate but to no avail. It would drop my BP several points right after the session but it would go right back up again shortly after. I think it just gimmick. I sent mine back within 30 days.