I want to make this one of those 'game' type forum threads where everyone just kinda follows the premise of the thread. Basically just say what beta blockers you've taken, and what you've noticed about them, or what you think about them. Everyone has an opinion of some sort about beta blockers, and probably a particular one... so I bet this could be kinda fun.
Ok, ok, not everyone has an opinion, but if you've been taking them for 5 or 10 years I bet you do. :biggrin2:
Bystolic - Way, way easier on my lungs and stomach. The 20mg dose did not "feel" as effective as a 100mg dose of tenormin, and the heart rate was not as well controlled as on tenormin. The half life is longer and it didn't feel necessary to take it exactly 24 hours after the last dose like tenormin or metoprolol. If my heart rate weren't such a problem, I'd probably still be on this one... largely because I didn't have nearly as many asthma/gerd problems on it. The only other issue is that it was around 27 bucks a month... definitely not a 4 dollar generic.
Tenormin - So far this has been the best BB to control my heart rate. It wears off too quick, in my opinion, so I take 50mg every 12 hours instead of 100mg every 24. It's cheap, and I have a two year stockpile in an airtight container with water absorbing canisters to protect the pills... since they're hydrophillic. I started taking this med about 7 years ago and I really think it's been crucial to keeping me alive. I feel very grateful for the doc who originally prescribed it, the company who designed it and the fact that I decided I would take the leap of faith to take the first pill. Not to be gross, but I think it makes the stools more loose and it's probably an unavoidable side effect of the way it's not super specific as to beta 1 or beta 2.
Metoprolol - The most memorable about this med is that it gave me bad dreams and upset my stomach. I think the stomach upset came from the controlled release formulation, where the medicine actually released some in my intestines instead of my stomach. This medicine also seemed to "wear out" too fast, and I felt the need to take it every 12 hours instead of 24 because my heart would start to pound around the 21st, 22nd hour. I'm not sure why it gave me bad dreams, but that alone was bad enough to not take it anymore. I'm just generally not a fan of this one, even though docs prescribe a ton of it.
Bisoprolol - tried it for two or three nights at 10 mg and my blood pressure became scary high so I abandoned the drug entirely. I also had some bad dreams on it. Bad dreams with a switch from one BB to another isn't uncommon for me though. I'm too scared of the high BP to try it again, but I was hoping it would be a good blend between tenormin's effectiveness on heart rate and bystolic's gentler disposition on my lungs and stomach. It's also a little scary that it's not a very commonly prescribed beta blocker... I kinda like to stick with the rest of the herd on some things.
Go!
Ok, ok, not everyone has an opinion, but if you've been taking them for 5 or 10 years I bet you do. :biggrin2:
Bystolic - Way, way easier on my lungs and stomach. The 20mg dose did not "feel" as effective as a 100mg dose of tenormin, and the heart rate was not as well controlled as on tenormin. The half life is longer and it didn't feel necessary to take it exactly 24 hours after the last dose like tenormin or metoprolol. If my heart rate weren't such a problem, I'd probably still be on this one... largely because I didn't have nearly as many asthma/gerd problems on it. The only other issue is that it was around 27 bucks a month... definitely not a 4 dollar generic.
Tenormin - So far this has been the best BB to control my heart rate. It wears off too quick, in my opinion, so I take 50mg every 12 hours instead of 100mg every 24. It's cheap, and I have a two year stockpile in an airtight container with water absorbing canisters to protect the pills... since they're hydrophillic. I started taking this med about 7 years ago and I really think it's been crucial to keeping me alive. I feel very grateful for the doc who originally prescribed it, the company who designed it and the fact that I decided I would take the leap of faith to take the first pill. Not to be gross, but I think it makes the stools more loose and it's probably an unavoidable side effect of the way it's not super specific as to beta 1 or beta 2.
Metoprolol - The most memorable about this med is that it gave me bad dreams and upset my stomach. I think the stomach upset came from the controlled release formulation, where the medicine actually released some in my intestines instead of my stomach. This medicine also seemed to "wear out" too fast, and I felt the need to take it every 12 hours instead of 24 because my heart would start to pound around the 21st, 22nd hour. I'm not sure why it gave me bad dreams, but that alone was bad enough to not take it anymore. I'm just generally not a fan of this one, even though docs prescribe a ton of it.
Bisoprolol - tried it for two or three nights at 10 mg and my blood pressure became scary high so I abandoned the drug entirely. I also had some bad dreams on it. Bad dreams with a switch from one BB to another isn't uncommon for me though. I'm too scared of the high BP to try it again, but I was hoping it would be a good blend between tenormin's effectiveness on heart rate and bystolic's gentler disposition on my lungs and stomach. It's also a little scary that it's not a very commonly prescribed beta blocker... I kinda like to stick with the rest of the herd on some things.
Go!
I noticed less with Bystolic than Tenormin by far. Metoprolol... i didn't really take it long enough to make a fair assessment of its effect on my memory.
