Quitting smoking will definitely do it (from what I hear). Ditto stress - I had pulled off 80-90 pounds, in the early 2000s… then my mother died and all the expected family drama ensued.
So, the weight gain may be unrelated to the meds, but it’s absolutely worth checking into it, especially the synthroid. If your dose of that is too low, weight gain can be a side effect.
nvm. Misread
I was prescribed .50 Metoprolol from about 2000 to 2015. I ran out when I moved to Ireland and the doctor did the HBP test: 128/87 and though he said one shouldn’t be on Metoprolol (or probably beta-blockers in general) gave me a script.
(Beta-blockers slow the heart rate and are banned in the biathlon (at least) in the Olympics as you can quickly go from skiing to shooting and have a steady hand)
When I moved to the UK I got the same bit about taking Metoprolol for too long and got a script for Ramipril. AFAIK it does nothing I can sense.
The thing I miss about Metoprolol is when you’re lying in bed and can feel your heart thumping - .25mg of that stuff was like a sleeping pill.
My younger sister had this reaction as well. She actually found it out herself and told her doc.
My doc had warned me of the side effect, then when it started happening (almost immediately), she insisted it was GERD rather than the drug. Long rabbit hole journey ensued before I put my foot down and refused to take it any more.
Side effect went away.
A friend was recently hospitalized with angioedema caused by the stuff, after having been on it for years. A collague was ill off and on for months, including several hospitalizations, before someone made the connection to her being on an ACE inhibitor, and the symptoms.
The stuff is cheap, it’s effective, and it’s a MENACE. Especially the “take it for years, then develop life-threatening side effects” bit.
What’s the issue with taking metoprolol too long? Is it that one specifically or any beta blocker?
Does the Ramipril lower your blood pressure? (“does nothing”).
With Metoprolol (and I’ll assume beta-blockers) lost effectiveness over itme. The doctor in Ireland tested me to 187/84 - and i thought he’d just say that’s close enough to regular, said something about taking Metoprolol a long time yet wrote me the script.
I just tested ny BP and 147/100 with 100 HR. Only when I’m in good athletic (type) shape can I do the 120/80 with a 50-65 HR.
Just a couple quick asides: In Ireland when I said it was hard to sleep I go a script for Zolpidem (Ambien). When I quit drinking cold-turkey and had a seizure (not the first) I got Librium (a Diazepam-adjacent pilll). Neither too hard to get from a doctor.
Though one time, I needed 175 micrograms of Synthroid (also a carry-over script from the US) and they hit me up for 100’s, 50’S and 25’s each for 10 Euros each.
I could go more into Diazepam and alcohol, yet I guess here I won’t. Other than to say in the UK if you ask for any such “hard drugs” like Librium or Diazepam (aka Valium) you get a pamphlet. And good luck not getting a seizure. I did not have good luck.
I’ll take 2 0.5 mag’s of Enalapril right now yet do not expect 120/80. Will report back.
I know where to get the things the NHS doctors are unwilling to prescribe. In their defence I know they are being monitored,
3 hours later
137/84 with 107 HB.
So BP-wise it did something. I don’t think it’s supposed to affect heart rate.
0.25g of Metoprolol would reduce all three. If I were possible to see an NHS doctor before August I’d ask for some. I know ways (legal even) to get some.
Yeah, beta blockers definitely slow the heart rate a bit. My daughter was given one specifically for that purpose. And when I’ve missed a dose of mine (a very, very rare thing to happen), I remember my pulse going up. So if you just took the ACE today and not the beta blocker, that might explain what you saw.
I don’t know if my heart rate would have settled down - i.e. if the higher reading for me was just a rebound thing, or it had actually gone back to where it would have been unmedicated.
My two cents:
I’ve been taking BP meds since my late 20s, I’m 71 now. And I’m reliable when it comes to taking medication.
Mr VOW was put on BP meds about the age of 40. He kept track of his own meds, refilled them himself. I tried to be encouraging, bcause I knew damn well he was hit or miss taking his pills. He’d say, “Oh, I missed yesterday, I’ll take two. And I’m supposed to take Vitamin E, it’s good stuff, I’ll take three.” I even bought him pill caddies. They make dandy dust catchers.
I remember discussing his casual pill-taking with our family doctor. I was so frustrated, I cried. She said shealready knew he wasn’t taking his medication as he should. And there wasn’t anything she or I could say or do to change his ways.
In 2005, Mr VOW developed Seizure Disorder, and lost his driver’s license. You’d think his right hand was cut off! Seeing as how his medication was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for him to stabilize and regain his license, I put my foot down. I bought new pill caddies, I filled them myslf, and I kept track of the refills. And he takes all of his goddamned pills now.
Several years ago, we got a new family doctor. She listened to Mr VOW’s chest, and said he had a heart murmur. That was a new symptom for him. A referral to acardiologist and an EKG verified the murmur. No big deal, he might be short of breath occasionally.
What caused the murmur? No way to really tell, but his untreated blood pressure could have contributed to it.
In our 70s now, we’re at the age when our limitations constantly slap us in our faces, and we bemoan that we could have treated our bodies so much better when we were younger.
Take a look at your own family tree. How many grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc died in their 50s and 60s from heart attacks or strokes. And wonder how much longer they would have lived if their blood pressure were monitored and treated.
Yes, medication side effects can be a nuisance, or even worrying. There are so many drugs now, your doctor can look for something you could better tolerate. Because the side effect of NOT treating your blood pressure could mean death 15-20 years too soon.
~VOW
Preach it!! Whether it did nor not, it sure didn’t help (and I wonder if hypertension might have damaged something leading to the seizures, also?).
I’ve been pretty diligent re my BP meds - and I’ve been on them for over 25 years. I won’t say I’ve never missed a dose, but it’s pretty rare… because I DO use those pill organizers.
There are numerous classes of meds out there; I looked online recently and actually, beta blockers are not first-line any more; ACE / ARB, or calcium channel blockers, seem to be more common.
If a med makes you miserable, with with the doctor on tweaking the individual med, the dosage, the timing, or the class of medication. It should help you live a healthier life, not a zombified one.
This inspired me to check my BP, now that I’ve been on the lower dose of the ARB for a few days. I still tend to gray out very briefly when I first stand up; that’s a lifelong issue for me, and it tends to be VERY transient. I have not tried doing anything outrageous like grocery shopping. The lower BP, and tendency to drop after standing for a while, was becoming quite disabling. Hence my insistence on revisiting my dosages.
My measurement just now? 89/66 (right arm). Dead (left arm). Not sure what the monitor’s problems are; I’ve tried tweaking the placement a bunch of times, but it’s getting more and more wonky. Our older one had the same issue. Maybe my left arm really IS dead. The thing persists in throwing an E5 error which I think means it could not detect a pulse.
That is pretty low. Maybe you really are dead? Any craving for braaaaains?
Well, not any more. The Ozempic has my appetite greatly reduced.
Just as well. Most days, I’d starve 
.
But more seriously, I do need to remember to bring the monitor in, next time I go to the doctor’s office, to compare. Though with a reading of 88 / 66, even if it’s off by 20% or so, it’s still in the safe range.
Forgot to comment on that. I likely mentioned up-thread, and have mentioned on the boards numerous times in the past, that one med (an ACE inhibitor) caused me to develop a nasty cough that went from mild nuisance, to really intolerable - and a rabbit hole of misdiagnosis / unnecessary medication / unnecessary tests. Switching to an ARB solved the problem.
A friend was on the same ACE that I was, for years, until she developed angioedema (which goes far beyond annoying, into life-threatening) a few months back and spent some time in the hospital. Same friend who briefly died, as it happens; now I have to wonder whether they were adequately managing the BP all along - uncontrolled hypertension can lead to blockages.
Given that outcome, I’ll deal with an inabity to wait in the checkout line, any day! But there are so many choices nowadays, that it makes sense to try to find alternative meds / dosages.
You can pretty well give up fucking. If you are a man. Low hydraulic pressure is one of the features.
Ahhhh yes. I’ve heard of that problem with some BP meds. Definitely worth seeking out alternatives, for sure.
You better believe that that was the first thing I checked as far as side effects. This is not an issue with the one I am currently taking and I know this both from both research and empirical testing. Unfortunately it isn’t working when I see the Doc on Monday he will either increase the dose or change the meds.
After a few weeks we’ve settled on 160 mg of Valsartan and 25 mg of Hydrochlorothia. My blood pressure is the lowest it’s ever been and no side effects at all. I hate having to rely on meds but it’s worth it.
My breathing feels different in a way that’s difficult to describe. It’s like I am breathing deeper than before. Presumably that’s a good thing.
Probably hydrochlorothiazide.
I took it successfully for years~I learned to take it in the morning so by bedtime I wasn’t having to wake up and pee three times a night.
Yes. I take all of my meds and supplements in the morning. I’m not noticing having to pee more which I know should be a consequence.
Decades ago I had some things going on and was prescribed hydrochlorothiazide as a diuretic. The doctor was in Pittsburgh. I filled the prescription at a pharmacy near the doctors office, then drove home.
A few hours later I got a frantic phone call from the pharmacy. The person who filled the script misread it as hydrocodone. Sure enough, looking at the bottle that’s what I’d been sold.
The pharmacist told me this was illegal and I had to return to the pharmacy immediately. No way was I going to drive an hour to return some pills that cost me nothing. I hung up. The pharmacist kept calling, so I stopped answering.
I called the doctors office and they phoned in the prescription to my local pharmacy.
Isn’t lowering pressure supposed to suck?