Post Surgery Update!

[Scott]

Hi Jason. The amioderone is what they have me on now. It is so much better than the high doses of metroprlol. I still take 12.5 mg of metroprlol 2x a day but its not anything like the 75 mg 2x a day I was taking. My blood pressure doesn't drop like it did before.

 

[Bina]

Scott, it also took me about 3 days to realize that the psycho- heavy- duty pain killers were messing me up and I
demanded to switch to Tylenol for the next week or two.
Hopefully they won't keep you on Amiodarone too long because it can affect other organs in your body over time.
Many docs will switch over to Sotalol for rhythm problems when Metoprolol isn't tolerated or efficient enough.

 

[Scott]

Thanks Bina. I didn't know that about Amiodarone. I just want things to get back to normal. I will ask about Sotalol. My heart started racing last night for about 15 minutes. I was so afraid I was going back to the er. I had my first visit with my GP today. He did an ekg and said it was normal. I was so relieved. It will be 4 weeks on Tuesday. I really thought I would be ready to go back to work. That's not going to happen.

 

[Scott]

Thanks, I am ready for an uneventful time!

 

[Scott]

Scott, I had a similar story in that I was readmitted to the ER after A-flutter. I had three bouts of it, and then they put me on a month of amioderone. I came off after a month, and haven't had any heart rhythm issues since then. I still take metoprolol, but I think that this will end tomorrow at my six-seven month doctor visit. I hope that you have no more bouts of A-flutter!

Hi Jason. Does the meroprolol seem to act really quick? I thought it was time release. I take 12.5mg of metoprolal and the amioderone at 9:00 am. My heart rate would not go much above 60, even walking 2 hrs later. Then I sat down and it went to 85. I started walking again and it went back to 60. I sat back down and it went to 54. I wonder if I spaced out the dose away from each other if it would let my rate go up more evenly? How much do you take? Any issues with the metoprlol.

 

[Michellemar]

Scott, hope you are getting your meds down, there can be so many bumps in the road... But just keep on keeping on, Boy our bodies don't like being messed with!!!!
My bp fluctuates till it should be frustrating I guesss (?) I'm 6 mos out, AVR...sometimes I wonder if it wasn't the big change from a .8cm valve to a 2.3cm that my body is taking it's time to remodel itself. My first day at Cardio rehab a month ago I walked in and they did my bp-76/50. Who knew? Drink some water when it's low they tell me. Had singing (chorale) the other night... Left home with a bp of 87/51 ...came home after some pretty LOUD/strong singing, my bp is 151/95. Now that makes no sense!!! In Cardio rehab, walking on the treadmill @ 2.4mph/15 min my bp stays around 115/60. Very confusing. However it's the only glitch left.... I'm way behind my classmates, here, but it IT DOES get better over time. My heart's going to be a TIGER when it gets its more healing in!! Life is -so good now(ESP. When my bp just 110/60's it(!!))(!) Bet your heart becomes a tiger too! Michelle

 

[Scott]

Thanks Michelle. I go to rehab tomorrow. Not really sure what to expect. They lowered my dose of pacerone to 200mg a day from 400mg a day. I felt so much better the first day. I get my inr checked today. It should be a lot lower because of the pacerone change. I hope i'm still in range. My blood pressure seems to be ok now. I still haven't gotten a home tester. But my heart rate is confusing. I have been walking and it will be in the low 60's. Sit and it jumps to 80's. walk to the car and it's 60's again. Then on the ride home it's in the 40's. I think it's getting better with the lower dose of pacerone. I asked my cardiologist about the safety of that drug. She said it has it's risks but very low and it's only for 60 days. I wish I didn't have to take all these meds! I am glad you are starting to stabilize. I think we will have TIGER hearts when they are healed!

 

[Bina]

Scott, many of us have "crazy" heart rates immediately post op and it does get very unnerving.
The Metoprolol that I am taking is NOT time released and even years after my surgery, I find that I need to take
3 doses a day.
In the morning around 9 a.m. --- 25 mg
then at 5 p.m. --- 12.5
then at 10:30 p.m. --- 12.5
But don't do this kind of thing without your doctor, especially since you are on other HR meds.
Good Luck.

 

[Jason]

Hi Jason. Does the meroprolol seem to act really quick? I thought it was time release. I take 12.5mg of metoprolal and the amioderone at 9:00 am. My heart rate would not go much above 60, even walking 2 hrs later. Then I sat down and it went to 85. I started walking again and it went back to 60. I sat back down and it went to 54. I wonder if I spaced out the dose away from each other if it would let my rate go up more evenly? How much do you take? Any issues with the metoprlol.

Scott, sorry I missed this. For me the metoprolol does act relatively quickly, in that 15-30 minutes after taking it my heart rate will drop back down. It generally will increase throughout the day particularly around meals and exercise, and big meals throw my heart rate up quite a bit. I take 50mg twice daily. There is a version of the drug called Toprol XL (I think that is it) that is an extended release and you only take it once a day. When I was on amioderone and metoprolol my heart rate wouldn't top 100 bpm even with vigorous exercise, but coming off of the amioderone and dropping my dose of metoprolol has allowed me to get my heart rate back up. Now I top out at about 125-130 bpm, while before surgery I would hit the 140's to 150's. My doc still has me on the metoprolol after the six month appointment, and we will talk about it again after the 1 year check and echo. I personally don't have any issues with metoprolol anymore, although I did earlier on. When I had my A-flutter they raised my dose, and it caused a depression in heart rate into the low forties. They backed me off, and then I realized that I had been lethargic up until then as well.

Hope all is getting better for you.