Atenolol woes...anyone else?

[The_Cheese_Man]

I was really motivated and getting a lot done around here for several months until I noticed that my blood pressure was high again and so I went back on the Atenolol (25mg 1x daily) and now I am completely unmotivated, mildly depressed, bummed out and feel really "down" and pessamistic about everything. Everything I do I just feel like "oh, what's the use?" and I have to push myself to get anything done.

Normal?...and is there some other way I can control my BP without popping these stupid pills all the time?

Thank's much

[bogmallo]

You may like to try walking for 30 minutes and meditation and yoga. It is extremely helpful

Takes care

[zip2play]

Cheese Man,

A couple things you can try:
Weight Loss
Salt Restriction
Alcohol restriction.

If those methods aren't for you, there are BP drugs that are easier to live with than the beta blockers like atenolol. For a start ask your doctor for a diuretic (usually thiazide)...they cause the loss of sodium and water which lowers pressure.

[checkmate]

I was placed on Toprol XL 50 mg (another beta blocker) to control heart rate following first bout of heart problems. I have said it 100 times, but it makes me feel like bird poop on a fence post as well as the infamous LNS (limp noodle syndrome). Dr cut it back to 25mg which helped with the fatique, but then bp went up. Added HCTZ for blood pressure which has done an excellant job in lowering blood pressure. As zip said, you may want to ask your dr about a thiazide for bp.

[SafetyJ2006]

My cardiologist has taken me off atenolol and put me on metoprolol, which he says is a much better beta-blocker. There are many beta-blockers out there, tell your physician you want to try another.

By the way, you may be interested in knowing my physician says the 50mg of atenolol my primary care MD had me on was not enough. Check out my thread "My Experience with Cardiologists."