Lopressor

[almost_hectic]

Not sure if this is the culprit, but having felt shortness of breath and about to faint, see stars, sounds like surgeon may take me off this depending on what my BP is tomorrow morning when I get up.

Side not, stopped taxing OxyContin and just maintaining pain on Tylenol today has helped me feels quite a bit more normal, no fever sweats or cloudy thinking, pains not too bad either. Had to cough earlier though and wanted to die it hurt so bad

 

[almost_hectic]

Won't let me edit post right now. Wanted to add I've been home from hospital 6 days.

 

[OldManEmu]

Lopresser is just the trade name for Metoprolol in the US. Just search Metoprolol there are many threads on the subject on the VR site. I personally credit it with remodelling my enlarged heart after my first surgery however it is not something with its side effects that I would want to be on permanently unless I had heart rhythm issues, 1 year was plenty for me. I was on it for three months after my second surgery while the heart healed, and I was pleased when the cardio advised that it was no longer required.

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi almost_hectic - from what I remember there seem to be three main culprits to having shortness of breath and feeling faint post AVR. There's the beta-blocker, the Lopressor you're on, if your blood pressure is going too low. There's the medication you might be on to reduce fluid retention following surgery - that was a culprit with me as my sodium levels got too low which made my blood pressure too low. And thirdly, most of us seem to have low haemoglobin levels post surgery which can make you feel breathless and faint too !

My GP was checking my blood pressure (so was I) and did blood tests for sodium levels and haemoglobin a few days after discharge from hospital, he was really on the ball.

 

[almost_hectic]

Well back on it today and BP has sunk back to sub 100 levels. Mostly averaging 95/54 for the better part of the day. Think that's what's adding to my general overall ruddy feeling.although I'm not feeling faint or seeing stars since I cut my oxy dose one half and offsetting the other half with Tylenol while waiting for a next dose. So far it's working okay and my appetite is better.

 

[MrsBray]

I think the sooner you can get off the narcotic the better off you'll be. And use that pillow for coughing! I was on beta-blocker for 6 months. On the one hand, I was frustrated that i couldn't get my heart rate up enough to make a difference at teh gym. On the other hand, I could drive a bus load of middle school students and not really care what they were doing. +/- for everything.

 

[Lawdog]

Hectic:

Lopressor made me feel terrible. They moved me to Atenanol (sic) one at night.

Those beta blockers are not for young guys like us

 

[almost_hectic]

Hectic:

Lopressor made me feel terrible. They moved me to Atenanol (sic) one at night.

Those beta blockers are not for young guys like us

Still on it for probably a week I think. BP has Not been below 100 as much since my activity level has increased. How ya feeling? I'm doing okay, still biggest complaint is sternum pain/discomfort. Makes it hard to sleep. I was sternly warned by the surgical team to lift NOTHING over 5 pounds for at least 6 weeks.

 

[RobThatsMe]

Here is some information I saved from Web MD years ago in one of their forums. For simplicity sake (though nothing seems to be that way in medicine today), doctors, using their overall clinical experience, try to prescribe a beta blocker that is felt to be the most appropriate one that will effectively control a particular condition or conditions (dosage must be individualized) and do so hopefully with minimal (tolerable) side effects.
Contraindications, pre-existing medical conditions and drug interactions have to be taken into consideration when prescribing this particular drug as well.
Beta blockers can be cardioselective; decrease in systemic side effects and only affects beta-1 receptors located primarily in the cardiac muscle or non- cardioselective; increase in systemic side effects; and affects beta-1 and the beta-2 receptors (which are located primarily in the bronchial musculature and blood vessels).
Toprol-XL® (metoprolol succinate, extended release) is a beta-1 cardioselective drug. Metoprolol tartrate immediate release is availble as Lopressor® and is reported to be the most widely prescribed and competitive beta-blocker in the world.
In the U.S., Toprol-XL® is primarily indicated for high blood pressure (hypertension) and angina, but like other beta blockers, it can be prescribed for other conditions as determined by a qualified doctor.
Since everyone is unique, and therefore the metabolism responds differently to beta blockers, if a particular beta blocker works well for one individual that does not necessarily mean that it will work well for the next.
A problem with this class of drug is that some beta blockers are known to enter or cross the blood-brain-brain (BBB, actually there are two of them and is described as a protective network of blood vessels and cells that filters blood flowing to the brain) easier than others.
The ones that do this seem to cause more central nervous system (CNS) side effects, such as nightmares, hallucinations, and depression than others that exhibt low penetration characteristics (LPC).
If a beta blocker seems to be ineffective, doctors will either increase the dose or switch to another class of drug that is deemed appropriate.
When a beta blocker dosage is increased, one has to watch out for dose delivered side effects (DDSE) which can be an increase in the severity of present (if any) side effects or the onset of entirely new ones which may or may not cause an iatrogenic condition or disease.
Also, while on this class of drug, blood pressure and pulse/HR should be checked regularly and a doctor should be contacted immediately if/when pulse/HR falls below 50 BPM.

 

[almost_hectic]

Still on this junk, now I'm getting kankles! Home nurse comes tomorrow morning, gonna see if she'll ask if surgeon will feel I van come off the Lopressor finally! Fingers crossed. Not sure why they put me on this to begin with but I feel sill to question the judgement of my surgical team.

 

[RobThatsMe]

This is what I will say about the Lopressor family of Beta Blockers. It is one of the oldest of the family of Beta Blocker drugs, and it is the go-to choice of many doctors as it has been used for so long effectively as far as they are concerned.

That being said, the Lopressor family of drugs, does cross the brain-blood barrier more than those of the newer types of Beta Blockers that have been developed.
The crossing of the blood-brain barrier does effect you. It can cause you to feel depressed, lethargic, less energetic. Read into the note I posted above about the side effects.

If your doctor insists that you must stay on a Beta Blocker, and you have bad side effects, then ask him to use a different one. One that is not of the Lopressor Family of drugs.
See if this helps.

 

[almost_hectic]

My BP is perfect if you ask me, consistently 114/58 or thereabouts. It's my impression that this is only a temporary precaution. I go for my follow up next week and can find out if and how much longer, than I can ask about an alternative. What you state makes perfect sense to me based on what I've experienced while taking this junk.

 

[W. Carter]

Not sure if this is the culprit, but having felt shortness of breath and about to faint, see stars, sounds like surgeon may take me off this depending on what my BP is tomorrow morning when I get up.

Side not, stopped taxing OxyContin and just maintaining pain on Tylenol today has helped me feels quite a bit more normal, no fever sweats or cloudy thinking, pains not too bad either. Had to cough earlier though and wanted to die it hurt so bad

A much better beta blocker is Coreg (Carvedilol) according to most heart doctors. It has been touted as a miracle drug for left sided heart failure. I have been on it for 3 yrs. for chf with no problems or side effects. Run it by your doc's and see what they have to say. Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[almost_hectic]

Thanks I'll look into that, I was one one years ago but can't remember the name of it. It wasn't great, is all I remember

 

[W. Carter]

The only downfall to it is you have to take it twice a day because it only works for 12 hours in your body. They have a new extended release pill but it is quite expensive and i'm a vet so I take what uncle sam approves for V.A. pharmacy. I don't see them upping the extra bucks for us on this anytime soon.

 

[RobThatsMe]

My BP is perfect if you ask me, consistently 114/58 or thereabouts. It's my impression that this is only a temporary precaution. I go for my follow up next week and can find out if and how much longer, than I can ask about an alternative. What you state makes perfect sense to me based on what I've experienced while taking this junk.

Beta Blockers do two things, they lower your blood pressure, and, They also slow down your heart rate/pulse.

 

[almost_hectic]

Thank you for your service W. Carter! It's a shame the VA is not setting the standard of care in treating patients, because it should be second to none in my opinion!

 

[ALLBETTERNOW!]

A much better beta blocker is Coreg (Carvedilol) according to most heart doctors. It has been touted as a miracle drug for left sided heart failure. I have been on it for 3 yrs. for chf with no problems or side effects. Run it by your doc's and see what they have to say. Hope this helps and good luck.

i am on a very low dose of coreg, it's not terrible though does make me tired. My BP, post surgery has been good, rarely if ever over 120/80. Nadolol didn't agree with me before surgery