I have slighly elevated blood pressure, but i have angina whether my blood pressure is high or not. Atenolol has worked, but only at a dosage of 200mg a day. I want to get off the Atenolol because it lowers testosterone, and perhaps there is something that works better. Has anyone used a medication that has gotten rid of heart pain? What was it, was there any side effects? Any responses will be appreciated.

alpha

I have slighly elevated blood pressure, but i have angina whether my blood pressure is high or not. Atenolol has worked, but only at a dosage of 200mg a day. I want to get off the Atenolol because it lowers testosterone, and perhaps there is something that works better. Has anyone used a medication that has gotten rid of heart pain? What was it, was there any side effects? Any responses will be appreciated.

alpha

Alpha,

I am just starting week two of my medical program. I have been completely assymptomatic since beginning it.

Here is my medication regimen:

Week One - Metoprolol 50mg bid; Moduretic (amiloride/hydrochlorothiazide 5/50mg 1 tablet q am

Week Three - Increase Metoprolol to 75mg bid;

Week Five - Increase Moduretic to 2 tablets q am; Keep Metoprolol the same.

Week Seven - Fosinopril 10mg at bedtime; all other meds as before.

Week Nine - Increase Fosinopril to 15mg hs; all other meds stay the same.

Week Eleven - Increase Fosinopril to 20 mg hs; all other meds stay the same.

Week Twelve - Depending on my blood pressure readings, adding Isordil three times a day at an incremental rate of 1, 1 1/2, and 2 tablets every eight hours or 1/2, 1, and 1 1/2 tablets q8h; all other meds stay the same.

BTW, my primary care physician had me on atenolol for about three weeks before I started this program. It made me practically impotent. I am okay sexually on these meds.

For a better understanding of how I came to be on these meds, please read the "My Experience with Cardiologists" thread. Good luck. Let us know what you do.

Jeff
:jester:

alpha,

There's a whole class of meds in the nitrite family that will open coronary arteries to allow for better flow. They run the gamut from the well known amyl nitrite "poppers" to sublingual tablets and sprays to patches and longer acting formulations depending on how frequent your pain.
Maybe the combination of less-beta blockade PLUS something in the nitrite family is your answer or maybe the nitrites alone will do the trick for you.

What is the cause of your angina (pardon my memory?)

I've actually had very good results simply from adding niacin to my regular meds. The long acting nitrates don't work well for me because although it helps relieve chest pain it causes me to have left shoulder and arm pain and left leg pain in the form of spasm like episodes.

I've diddled with nitrites/nitrates in a couple forms very briefly. All of them gave me splitting vascular headaches! :nono:

Hi NineLives. I read your post and was interested in what you said about the drug Niacin. I had a heart attack in 2003 and am on atenolol along with several vitamins. I get these burning sensations behind my left shoulder blade and my left arm feels numb and actually hurts. How do I go about getting the Niacin and do you think it will help me?? Were your arm and shoulder symptoms a burning feeling or what?? I also get tight muscles between my shoulder blades, do you?? Could all this be related to the atenolol?? Thanks