Bear with me, this will take a while to explain...

On June 17th, my doc put me on Atenolol for high blood pressure. I took it for 2 days then didn't take it for the next 2 days. I now know you're not supposed to go on and off it. Anyhow, after 2 days of being off of it, I took another one and went out for a Saturday night of partying. I drank a lot of beer and smoked a lot of cigarettes. The next morning, I got up and excercised hard for about an hour. About an hour after I stopped, I was feeling light-headed and I was very aware of my pulse. My pulse wasn't fast, I could just feel it. I took my Atenolol again that day (it's now Sunday the 22nd) and continued to feel odd. That night, I had my wife take me to the ER because it just seemed to be getting worse. They did about 6 blood test, EKG, chest x-ray, CT scan, the whole 9 yards. Everything came back fine. They said I was reacting to the Atenolol. Well, I decided to quit smoking that day after smoking a pack a day for 9 years.

I felt pretty much the same the next day. I followed up with my physician who agreed that I was reacting to the Atenolol and he gave me Norvasc instead (which I have yet to take). The next day, Tuesday, I was back in the ER with the same symptoms (plus some tingling in my arms). They did another EKG and it was fine. This time I told the doctors that I quit smoking the day I first came to the ER and they said that I was now experience a combination of nicotine withdrawal and a reaction to the Atenolol.

It has now been a week and two days since I've taken an Atenolol or had a cigarette, but I'm still aware of every beat of my heart and I still feel a little light-headed. Like I said, my pulse isn't elevated, I'm constantly between 65 and 70, I can just always feel it. Am I just having some severe nicotine withdrawal or is this constant awareness of my heartbeat the sign of a problem? Please help, this is getting old!

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Hi Tube...

First, blood pressure medication often takes a week or so to actually begin working so I doubt that what you're feeling is a reaction to the meds. When I discovered that I had heart problems, I immediately went off caffeine, cigarrettes, and alcohol. The withdrawals the first 3 days were worse than the symptoms of my arrhythmia! Keep a diary of your symptoms for your doc. It may take adjusting your meds over the course of a few months to actually get things right. In the mean time, it's very important that you don't skip doses, double doses or take your meds on an irregular schedule. I'd take them at the same time every day so that the titer stays level in your system. Stay off the cigs and caffeine even if you begin to feel better. They will definately affect your BP adversely and work against your meds. God bless and good luck to you.



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Best to you,

Tech

WPW syndrome misdiagnosed as PAT at age 2
MVP and TVP diagnosed at age 32
MVP induced Panic disorder age 33

i can also feel every beat of my heart but am on no medication and only 16. sometimes it races out of nowhere and i have no idea what it is. is this normal?