Hands issues

[LeDellec1968]

I have been diagnosed with heart failure in June 2024 (cardiac myopathy). I am 55. Big hit to take. I am on a lot of meds:lansoprozol, bisoprolol, clopidogrel, furomeside, spinolactone, liptor, Empagliflozin and tamoxigfen. I am getting very painful leg cramps but no issue with electrolytes. I also have both hands freezing in vent position at night time and now in the evening, I get really bad pins and needles when trying to get them moving. Anybody knows why. What can I do to stop this happening? Thank you for considering.

[A246]

You need to speak with your GP my dear. Get checked out to get answers because your symptoms don't sound right to me. I too am heart failure patient with dilated cardiomyopathy. Please take care.

[sandandkev]

Apparently bisoprolol can cause cold hands and feet

[antifolate]

I was diagnosed with heart failure 8 years ago and have also suffered many of your symptoms. Over time I would say that the majority of these were due to interactions of the the medications. The big problem is that each person is different. Trying to get some cardiologists to take these issues seriously and not dismiss them as trivial side effects. I managed to identify some unexpected interactions and informed the consultant that I was going to stop one of the medications. One example was that for about 2 years I had to go to bed an hour after taking my morning pills as I knew I would otherwise feel very unwell. It was assumed that this was due to the beta blocker as I can only tolerate low doses of these. However, I found that if I delayed taking a diuretic for an hour things improved dramatically.

Because of the pressure on the NHS it is hard to get some cardiologists to look at the bigger picture. My medication has changed several times but only following a polite but robust discussion with the consultant. Two years I had a short phone consultation with a cardio surgeon prior to an op. He very quickly identified that my heart had considerably improved and this did not fit with the symptoms I was experiencing. He proposed that I should stop taking one of the meds for a week and see if things improved and if not try stopping one of the others etc. etc. Well I was lucky that within 24 hours of stopping the first one I had a dramatic improvement. In a call of about 10 minutes he had identified an issue and came up with a plan of action which resulted in a marked improvement in my quality of life.

I hope your consultant is more responsive than the one I have and that your issues are resolved quickly. The important thing I would emphasise most is that you should not just accept that your side effects are unavoidable. Any consultant should respond well to a patient who is highlighting issues that are greatly impacting their quality of life. Miracles are not possible but in my experience many side effects are not predictable. Non of the ones I have experienced were documented as a potential interaction. As the number of medications increase the possibility of interactions increases dramatically.

It may seem onerous at the beginning but should improve. Initially I thought I would never see my first grandchild but now I have 5. The pleasure they give me is immense and makes all the bad times worthwhile

Good luck for the future.

[fishonabike]

both clopidogrel and bisoprolol can make you feel the cold more as a side effect, so you might need to consider warmer socks, wearing gloves outdoors etc if your cardiologist is unwilling to adjust your dosage

Lipitor and other statins have been known to cause muscle aches, cramping etc, so yo might want to ask about trying a different one as some cause fewer side effects than others

lansoprazole is a medication given for reducing stomach acid for people with reflux or other stomach related conditions - also itcis given alongside aspirin and anti-inflammatories (e.g. ibuprofen) - if you don't need it for either of these you might want to ask why it has been prescribed

I hope you can sort this out soon

[Callie456]

I've had pins and needles in both hands at times ever since my HA almost 2 years ago. Often more at night when lying down or if my elbows are bent using my phone. Drs have never been able to explain it really. It was very frequent at first, then seemed to settle down to be less often, but has come back more frequently since having covid/long covid. I think in both these cases, they resulted in my body overreacting and becoming hypersensitive, an overactive response from the nervous system. My cardiologist said a HA was a big deal for the body and it could caused systems to be inflamed/oversensitive/irritated. At first it really worried and annoyed me. I had lots of tests to see if there was anything wrong, but MRI and nerve function tests came back normal, so I've got used to it. Sometimes still annoys me when the pins and needles are more intense though. I just try to avoid positions that I know bring it on.

Hope you find some answers for all your symptoms.

[Elsabounre]

Maybe some magnesium..could help with pins and needles...