Last February I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. This is after two readings in the doctors office of 160/90 and 200/100. I feel that I have "white coat" hypertension and my bp was never that high outside of the office, but I agreed with the doc and went on meds.

I am a 33 year old male, 310 lbs 5'11. Obviously I have some health risks. The doc put me on 50mg atenolol and 20 mg lisinopril. I had not, until recently, suffered any real side effects. I was drowsy at first, but got over that within a week. My bp has been controlled, sometimes seems low, but never high like in the office.

Over the past month I have started exercising daily, have maintained a strict diet. Since I went on the meds I have lost 25 lbs. Recently, my heart rate has fallen to between 55-65 bpm at rest and my bp has been hanging around 111/65 - 120/75. I have been dizzy and lethargic. My heart rate used to be around 75-100. Should I be concerned or is this just a result of the diet and exercise? My mother-in-law is a doc and suggested I cut the atenolol dosage in half, which I did today. Was that a mistake? I dont have insurance right now and can barely afford the meds so I dont have the money to go see my doc. Also I think I suffer from anxiety... when my bp was 200/100 my doc freaked out and told me I was going to have a stroke. I think about that everyday... it almost consumes me. Crazy, I know. So do you think it was ok to cut the atenolol as long as I monitor my bp and continue the diet and exercise? What about the lisinopril? Is my heart rate too low? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Tony

Hi Tony,
I have taken Atenolol for years (18 yrs to be exact). I also have anxiety about meds. How much atenolol do you take? I have cut my 50mg dose in half(with my dr.s permission) when my BP was too low or my pulse got down to the low 40's. In my opinion Atenolol is a good BP med ( others will disagree)
But that is a dicision you will have to make for yourself. Your pule is NOT too slow and I think you will adjust to the lower rate and feel fine. But if you want to half the dose just keep a check on you BP for a few weeks and see what happens.
You are a lucky guy to have a doc for a mom-in-law. Wish I had on in the family.
Best of luck!
Cass

Thanks Cass!

I have not had any side effects (and there are some terrible ones described on this board) with atenolol. Its just recently that my heart rate and bp really dropped and Kathy, my mother-in-law, suggested cutting the atenolol in half. I started that yesterday and figure it will take a week or so to see a difference. I am almost obsessive about checking my bp, but have been checking it ever couple hours and its been fine. Ultimately, losing all my excess weight and adopting a heathier lifestyle will make me less obsessed with my health. Better late than never, I guess.

On a side note, my mom had a stroke at 45. She is completely disabled now. She was a two pack a day smoker and may have been anorexic (definitely was not healthy) but that incident scared me greatly. She would not go to a doctor so we do not know if she had bp issues. She was very high strung, so I would suspect she did. I do not want that to be me.

Thanks again for your input. It is greatly appreciated!

Tony

You are quite welcome Tony,
I, like you am obsessed with my BP. My husband says if I would just leave it alone it would probably be OK. But I can't. I take it at least 2 times a day & if I'm feeling especially anxious sometimes every hour. I know it's silly but I can't seem to help myself.
I have found a lot of comfort in this board and also on the anxity board. A lot of people have good info to share and also offer a lot of comfort when I feel especially anxious.
You take care and I'm sure that ole BP will settle down.
Cass
PS: Losing that much weight can also lower BP, if you keep on losing you may need to see Dr to make med adjustment----BYE

Thanks for the kind word and reassurance. I'm not obsessive about anything else, really, but I have become quite obsessed with my health. I guess, in the long run, thats a good thing!

Take care!

Tony