Beta Blockers and Cardiovascular Fitness

Vune
Vune Posts: 674 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
To preface, I have a doctor's appointment next month. I'm looking for person experiences right now.

I've been taking propranolol for migraines for the past year. I wrote enjoy not having the migraines, but i couldn't even do a steep one mile hike the other day without feeling like my chest would explode. Unacceptable for someone my age and relative fitness level. Things have gotten increasingly difficult in the past year.

Assuming my bp and resting heartrate will be as healthy as they were when i started the medication, I'm going to ask if I can try yet another preventative migraine medicine. I'd like to know if anyone else has stopped propranolol (or something similar) for the same reasons, and how did you feel when it was out of your system?

In the meantime, I'm doing easy walks and some lifting, but I don't want to have to say goodbye to ocean swimming this summer. I'm never going to be the pinnacle of health, but it has to be better than this.

Replies

  • badbcatha05
    badbcatha05 Posts: 200 Member
    I did. I took it for two years for migraine prevention and a history of VT. No issues with my blood pressure though.

    I always described it like a governor on a car. I gained weight. I couldn't workout. I was tired and run down no matter what I did. I stopped taking it about a year ago. My heart rate has been ok, migraines haven't really gotten more frequent, not that they were really before. Sometimes my HR gets jacked up. But, I have felt so much better. I hated that stuff.

    ETA: make sure you don't just stop taking it. Wait and talk to the doc. It's not something that should be stopped cold turkey.
  • Vune
    Vune Posts: 674 Member
    Believe me, with all the needs i take for my major health problems, I know the drill!

    Thank you for your response! I knew I wasn't alone, but it's still nice to hear it sometimes. I was getting migraines every two weeks, so I'm scared of stopping anything that works. Gabapentin was just as bad. Going to ask about amitriptyline next.
  • Giddyduck
    Giddyduck Posts: 212 Member
    I was on it too many years ago however I did not last long as my resting HR is naturally in the 60s with a similarly low Blood Pressure. I did not tolerate the medication I have been on Topamax for years and it works well for me.

    I am not sure how long you have been on the medication, I do know it can take a bit for the medication to settle in the blood stream. Be sure to follow up with the doctor before making changes.
  • badbcatha05
    badbcatha05 Posts: 200 Member
    I have heard good things about Topamax, though I don't take it myself.
  • sisterlilbunny
    sisterlilbunny Posts: 686 Member
    I'm on it and since almost losing 30lbs, I really REALLY need to get back in to talk to my Doc about it. I'm okay with exercising but I can get really dizzy from downward motions which yoga is full of. When it comes to full on cardio, I really have to "hid my stride" with breathing. I will miss the help with migraines if I go off of it. :(
  • 16shelz
    16shelz Posts: 11 Member
    I've taken it for almost 20 years for migraines and high blood pressure. It slows your heart rate and keeps it steady, I'm not sure why you felt like your chest was going to explode. Maybe your dosage needs to be adjusted.
  • Vune
    Vune Posts: 674 Member
    I've taken it for almost 20 years for migraines and high blood pressure. It slows your heart rate and keeps it steady, I'm not sure why you felt like your chest was going to explode. Maybe your dosage needs to be adjusted.

    This is my other worry: the medication is fine and there is something wrong with my heart because of a separate problem. That'll be something for the doctor to find, though.
  • 16shelz
    16shelz Posts: 11 Member
    Propranolol is a very old drug that has many uses one of which is to control heart palpitations and other heart related problems. Are you taking anything that could be interacting with it. I could not take Maxalt during a migraine. I always felt like there was an elephant sitting on my chest. I don't think there was an interaction but I'm not sure they worked well together. I've taken anywhere from 40 mgs a day to 160 mgs depending on the number of migraines I was experiencing. My body definitely feels better at the lower dose but the higher dose is recommended to keep migraines at bay.
  • Vune
    Vune Posts: 674 Member
    I'm only on 40mg a day, and it was prescribed by my nephrologist. The only doctor who knows my medications as well as I do. Everything I take is more important than the propranolol. It's really just for comfort nowadays, since I have nothing that I'd miss right now if I got a migraine. Except life.

Categories