medications and side effects

[Dewson]

Hello,

I am an 86 year old with heart disease, had AVR with CABGx3 and pacemaker fitted 9 years ago, been on bisoprolol and candesarten for a few years. Recently had an event as yet undefined and spent 3 nights in hospital and was further prescribed isosorbide mononitrate and clopidogrel.After a week at home feeling very tired and unwell I forgot to take my medications, that evening I felt well enough to go for a walk. Next day I realised I had not taken my meds and decided to try a few days without them. I have restarted the clopidogrel but not the others. Result I am generally more active and less tired than I was even before the event. My blood pressure is not elevated. I am to see my gp on friday. Any comments or advice would be welcome?

[BeKind28-]

Hello

I would strongly advise you to take the medications you were prescribed till you see your Doctor on Friday a few days of feeling tired etc is nothing but what could happen stopping them without speaking with your Doctor first no matter how well you feel now could be serious

I hope you take them till you see your Doctor and let us know how you get on x

[Jalia]

Please don't stop your meds without your doc's approval. Obviously you will relate all this to your GP and see what his take on this is.

[Pollypuss]

Please don’t stop your meds until you have seen your doctor. However I had an awful time on meds and if people ask me about the triple I had I always say the bypass wasn’t bad but medication was awful. I had diarrhea for nearly two months which started in hospital . They did numerous tests and said Statins was to blame. Having taken me off them the problem still persisted until I went for my post op consultation . I had no appetite and had to take anti sickness pills to eat. The consultant took me off all medication except aspirin. That was nearly 3 years ago. I started to live again and go out again. I am now 80 and blood tests come back satisfactory. However this is my story ., so please see your doctor

[Classof1988]

A very interesting post. At the end of the day, you should listen to what your body is telling you and weigh up the possible risks and benefits, after all it is your body and your life. If I was in your position I think I would continue to refrain from taking the medication while checking that energy levels and general health are not deteriorating and checking that blood pressure and anything else you can self test remains stable. When you see your GP, see what they say about your health before you mention anything. Your GP may be alarmed if you tell them first, but if you present to them as being in better health than before then they may reconsider if all the meds you have stopped are necessary or go through the potential risks and benefits of continuing versus stopping. Quality of life is important. Whatever you decide, I wish you well and hope you enjoy many more years of strength and healthy.

[Dewson in reply to Classof1988]

I agree with your comments and basically am doing just that. My GP agreed today with me and basically said not to take what meds I could not tolerate but remember they were prescribed to prevent my death. But at 86 it was my choice between risk to and quality of life.

Many thanks for your thoughtful comments.

[JaninS]

Hi. I think all meds come with side effects but we are prescribed them for a purpose. Both the meds you mention made me feel rotten to begin with but after about 4 or 5 weeks things got better and I feel much safer taking them than not.

[Hidden]

That's interesting. I have to admit I have thought of doing similar to what you have done but, I dare not as I have to believe the medication is helping my heart. I did ask my doctor but he basically said try to live with the side effects. So I am trying to do this. But many heart medication can cause issue with how the body reacts to electrolytes and vitamins. But I will never change without medical permission, but we all want a quality of life.

[Dewson in reply to Hidden]

Thank you all for your comments and advice, much appreciated.

I have stopped all my heart medications for a few days, with the intention of restarting them one at a time to try to establish the one causing the problems. Saw my GP today and she agreed with this as the meds are to try to keep me alive. However, if the side effects are not tolerable then it is a balance between risk of death and quality of life.

[Hidden in reply to Dewson]

Yes it is a decision that we have to make. It's quality of life. I will keep taking mine but we are the only ones who know how we feel. I do have a stress test coming up so i will see if there is an improvement from last year. But it is quite hard to work out what meds cause what side effects. Some people are lucky and don't have side effects others do. Good luck.

[MummaSoap in reply to Dewson]

My cardiologist advised me to wait 2-3 weeks before introducing a new medication (I was prescribed 2 at the same time) so that it would be easy to pinpoint any adverse side effects.

Wishing you all the best, hope you find a combination that’s agreeable for you 🤞🏼

Best wishes

Soap 🧼

[Dewson in reply to MummaSoap]

That your cardiologist recommended such a long delay is interesting.

Many thanks.