Heart drugs wiping me out

[Singingforever]

Following a heart attack and a stent (and I also have AF) I am now on ranolazine, metoprolol, rampril and a nitrate (as well as antiplatelet and anticoagulant). I am wiped pit by them and cannot lead a normal life .. my BP and heart rate are in my boots and I am out of breath, giddy and have headache.I am in.hospital just now and when my BP is low they make me stay lying down so I don't fall over, but when I am at home, where I am living alone, I just have to bash on!

Has anyone else had this problem?

[Hare123]

Hi. Have you spoken to your GP about this? My husband was the same and they had to reduce his doses of bisoporal and ramipril. Still gets tired and has dizzy spells but these are not as frequent or severe now . How long ago was your HA? It took a while for them to get the right doses, and the first few times he saw them about this (which was about 4 or 5 months after HA) they wanted to wait and see if it settled down. When he started passing out they decided they had to reduce them so he could live a normal life . Hope you manage to get sorted.

[Chembris24]

You need to keep speaking to your GP or cardiac rehab team. Each time they change your meds, allow 2 weeks for your body to adjust. I am 8 months down the line from my HA and stent, have reacted badly to most of the meds and am on the lowest doseages of everything now and life is just about levelling out for me. My BP went very low for a long time, but now has reverted to a better level for me. I felt I was at the doctors every week at one point, but they listened and acted, but it has taken a long time to get it right.

[Lesmis85]

Hello, I've had adverse reactions to Bisoprolol, Atenolol and Propranolol. I was on a low dose of the latter for several years and weaned myself off it just last month (without notifying anyone). My BP was erratic for a week and heart rate would increase too but has now settled down. (BP just taken - 143/75 with pulse of 74).

I feel better in myself than I have done for years - every day I would feel queasy, have a horrible heavy feeling in my chest/midriff area and occasional semi-fainting fits when my BP would go sky high - eg 236/95. These appear to have gone away, hopefully for good. I will never take any medication ending in "lol" again.

I am 82, I still get breathless, feel weary quickly and have palpitations and minor chest pain (I have a type of cardiomyopathy) but still feel better without the dreaded "lol". PS My late husband had a very bad reaction to Ramipril. It's frustrating that the meds to help our heart problems give us a whole new set of adverse symptoms. I wish you luck and a speedy recovery.

[Brack1]

Ranolazine was the culprit for me. It caused dizzyness, blured vision, chunks of missing vision (scotoma) and generally made me feel ill. I stopped it by arrangement with my GP as my cardiology department has "gone into hiding". 18 months after a NSTEMI and complex stents i am still waiting for my promised 6 week medication review.