Beta blockers

BlueMacaroniArt
BlueMacaroniArt Posts: 122 Member
edited April 2016 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm sure this has been discussed before but hopefully some of you are still here and taking them. I was just prescribed them today. Haven't actually taken them yet, I will tonight. But I'm a little nervous. I just started back on here. Within the last 35 days I have quit smoking and lost 14 lbs (of the 90+ I need to lose) and started the couch to 5k program. Only one week in and my heart starts skipping beats all day long constantly. They catch it on an EKG and gave me the beta blockers. Anyway my questions are with how this well effect the calories out portion of the equation? Still the same, I just can't use a heart rate monitor for my calories? Would my fit bit numbers be more accurate since all I'm doing now is walking and running? Any other beta blocker advice welcome. I don't know why but I'm nervous about starting them!

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Would suggest using simple mass moved over distance formula for walking and running instead of using a HRM - especially when your HR may be atypical.
    Net Running calories Spent = (Body weight in pounds) x (0.63) x (Distance in miles)
    Net Walking calories Spent = (Body weight in pounds) x (0.30) x (Distance in miles)

    If your Fitbit comes close to those numbers then it would be convenient way to estimate.

    I was on beta blockers for a while (migraine treatment) and didn't enjoy the experience when exercising hard - it was like having an artificial lower top limit on my HR. I was playing squash seriously at the time and it felt like my heart wouldn't pump fast enough for the demand I was putting on it. Day to day activity and low intensity exercise was fine though.
    But health is paramount - hope they work for you.
  • BlueMacaroniArt
    BlueMacaroniArt Posts: 122 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Would suggest using simple mass moved over distance formula for walking and running instead of using a HRM - especially when your HR may be atypical.
    Net Running calories Spent = (Body weight in pounds) x (0.63) x (Distance in miles)
    Net Walking calories Spent = (Body weight in pounds) x (0.30) x (Distance in miles)

    If your Fitbit comes close to those numbers then it would be convenient way to estimate.

    I was on beta blockers for a while (migraine treatment) and didn't enjoy the experience when exercising hard - it was like having an artificial lower top limit on my HR. I was playing squash seriously at the time and it felt like my heart wouldn't pump fast enough for the demand I was putting on it. Day to day activity and low intensity exercise was fine though.
    But health is paramount - hope they work for you.

    Thanks! I'll try that. The weird beats are literally driving me crazy. I'm hoping I can use them long enough to get myself back in shape and hopefully come back off of them. I'll try your method of calculating it. I know overall it probably doesn't matter no more than I do but I really like to see the data and I'm hoping to improve at some point.
  • IGbnat24
    IGbnat24 Posts: 520 Member
    I echo the feeling of not being able to push as hard in workouts. I was on beta blockers and calcium channel blockers for about 3 years for tachycardia that came on after having mono. I preferred the CCBs because the BBs lowered my already low blood pressure and heart rate which made me feel like a zombie. I hope you find that they help with your skipped beats and that you can get back to normal workouts!
  • BlueMacaroniArt
    BlueMacaroniArt Posts: 122 Member
    IGbnat24 wrote: »
    I echo the feeling of not being able to push as hard in workouts. I was on beta blockers and calcium channel blockers for about 3 years for tachycardia that came on after having mono. I preferred the CCBs because the BBs lowered my already low blood pressure and heart rate which made me feel like a zombie. I hope you find that they help with your skipped beats and that you can get back to normal workouts!

    Thanks! Hopefully it will be good for me. I'm already on a BP med too. So lowering wouldn't be a bad thing for me (as long as I watch it while on both of course). I had such a good start going with everything I hate to lose momentum. But I am so terribly out of shape that I might not even notice if it's holding me back at first I guess.
  • V_Keto_V
    V_Keto_V Posts: 342 Member
    Beta antagonists are going to shunt your Sympathetic Nervous System (Norepinephrine release), lower heart rate, & lower contractility (CO or Cardiac Output)...all contributing to lowered exercise tolerance. On the plus side, they lower Oxygen demand and ameliorate ischemia signs and symptoms, lower BP (& risk of stroke), increase lifespan (if you have heart failure), lower tremors (anxiety related), prophylaxis against migraines (the lipophilic beta antagonists), & lower portal venous pressure (nadolol, propranolol).

    PM me if you have any questions on dosing strategies (I'm a druggist/pharmacist who has been on Beta-antagonists & life-long athlete).

    The Non DiHydroPyridine CCBs (Ca2+ Channel Blockers) do not have the same effect on exercise tolerance; however, DHP CCBs (Verapamil & Diltiazem) have similar effects (on HR & Heart contractility) but without the shunting of the sympathetic nervous system. BBs (Class II) are not interchangeable with DHP CCBs (Class IV) in terms of EKG correction as they have different Vaugh-Williams Class characteristics (effect different portion of depolarization/polarization action potential graph).
  • pickle_walsh
    pickle_walsh Posts: 14 Member
    I Keto, I am currently on 480mg of Verapamil SR a day for HCM. Will these tablets affect my work outs? I have been struggling a tiny bit in getting my HR upto 140, it seems to hover around 130.
  • V_Keto_V
    V_Keto_V Posts: 342 Member
    edited April 2016
    pickle_walsh wrote: »
    I Keto, I am currently on 480mg of Verapamil SR a day for HCM. Will these tablets affect my work outs? I have been struggling a tiny bit in getting my HR upto 140, it seems to hover around 130.

    Yes, verapamil lowers heart rate. Normally, Vasodilators help improve exercise tolerance if they are peripherally acting (I.e amlodipine, isosorbide mononitrate, etc.); however both verapamil and diltiazem are more centrally acting in cardiac myoctyes (heart affinity > peripheral artery affinity). Lowers cardiac output but doesn't shunt the adrenaline response nor alter lipid panel or mask hypoglycemia (advantages over beta blockers)

    On the dose form side, CCBs that are Instant Release formulations and those with short half lives are more prone to causing reflex tachycardia (beta blockers are used to counter this effect). In practice, very few physician Rx IR CCBs. SR formulation would likely not have a huge effect other than going against achieving a higher heart rate; overall, CCBs are helpful in attenuating ischemia (exercise can be a trigger for many)

  • robinmarkz
    robinmarkz Posts: 93 Member
    edited August 2016
    Hi,

    I have been on Inderal since January for Atypical Sinus Tachycardia. My weight loss, which I worked long and hard to achieve for good health, has not only evaporated but has gone up!

    I am now about 5-10 pounds above starting weight way back in 2013. It's so dispiriting that I haven't changed the batteries on my Wahoo scale. The doctor's scale is awful enough. The weird thing is that I don't really look "fat" from the outside. My pants are too tight and new jeans are on the way. Terrible, because I don't even wear overly skinny jeans. There is belly fat, muffin tops, and upper arm flab. I can disguise all this very easily. Everyone says "don't worry so much about it; you look fine." Yeah, right. Easy for them to say with their normally functioning cardiovascular systems.

    As far as exercise, I feel the same, but my max heart rate has a much lower artificial ceiling. MUCH lower. I have reset my HR app to my current reality. That's not, therefore, such a big problem. The weight gain is the problem.

    I don't think exercise difficulty is causing the weight gain, though. I think it's that the beta receptors all over your body have increased insulin resistance. My type II diabetes has returned with a vengeance and is causing fatigue. Once I pull myself out of the mud, so to speak, and start going, it's okay and cardio lowers my blood sugar readings. But the fatigue between workouts is crushing because it ruins motivation. I want my jeans back and my energy back. And my blood sugar back to normal.

    Do you have any advice about what foods could help? Or perhaps a different beta blocker? Because this is getting to be a real drag.

    Thank you. And good luck to everyone! :/

    Best,
    Robin
  • Sloth2016
    Sloth2016 Posts: 838 Member
    I was given beta blockers immediately after heart surgery.

    I made dropping weight my number one priority and just tried to eat fewer calories and move as much as I could. (They put me in a cardio-rehab exercise program, so I didn't really have much choice in the amount of exercise). As the weight came off, my exercise tolerance improved - even turning into enjoyment...

    The Docs took me off beta blockers after a few weeks in cardio-rehab.

    I too had extra little beats (premature ventricular contractions - PVCs) after surgery. They bothered me somewhat during cardiac rehab - and always showed up on the EKG that the staff ran during my exercise periods. Fortuitously, they subsided as I exercised more and I generally don't notice them now. Occasionally, I still feel like my heart skipped a beat if I suddenly start hard exercise (jumping jacks or burpees from a standstill) during my workout.

    Best wishes for improving health!
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
    I was on Atenelol for 18 years. Hated the junk. Take a dose 2 hours late and it felt like I was going to die. Head was exploding(not Exploding Head Syndrome), heart rate was low about 55.
    Then, years later, I started feeling bad, like I was going to pass out or something. First time in ICU they found nothing and discharged me. A year later I was in the ER for the same crap and my heart rate was in the low 30's, just enough to keep you almost alive.

    Then an alpha blocker and later diltiazem for Tachacardia. Eventually dropping 55 pounds(while on diltiazem), walking 10 tough miles weekly and no more pills!

    I know if I could do it all over, I would have lost the weight and done anything possible to safely avoid the meds. Diet and exercise are life changers. Good luck.
  • robinmarkz
    robinmarkz Posts: 93 Member
    I sure wish I could get rid of the beta blocker, but even a few hours into the day, and heart rate starts pounding. My endocrinologist wants me to see a cardiologist. I had SVT and an ablation when I was much younger. I thought I was cured.

    The weight gain is a major drag: it stifles motivation. I hope they can change the drug at some point.

    One more thing for fitness: I reset my max HR. Low ceiling but it matches my RPE almost perfectly.

    I wish everyone the best!
    Robin

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