Atenolol and excessive facial sweating

[Sonia]

I was prescibed Atenolol--25 mg a day last December; since April of this year, I have been experience head sweats and have noticed excessive sweating when I work out at the gym.
I am glad to have read these comments and now believe that the sweating is caused by the mediciation, despite it not being listed as one of the side effects.

[dgilies]

Well, This explains it. My gosh, I can't believe it. I have the head sweating thing too. It has gotten down right embarrasing at work. I have to lean over the counter to help people and sweat has actually fell from my hair off my temples. It's absulutely miserable. I feel like I get overheated for no reason. Same thing at home, air conditioning or not, miserable, all of a sudden, or also when I do ANY form of excertion. Then sometimes no problem. Go figure. I am taking 50 atenolol and 10 lisinipril a day for hbp. Also VERY tired so much of the time. I am not overweight but now have to watch it. I wonder if I can get off this stuff and go to something natural. After all God did put everything we need on this planet. Man just figured out ways to synthesize it and call it medication. Oh yeah, and throw a few side effects in there so they might just need to give us more of something else. More meds, more $$ made. Who's getting rich? Sorry, I'm on a roll. It's probably just the depression talking!

[FDM]

I was put on Atenolol 3 years ago after experiencing A-Fib and have been on it since...I was never a sweater but I sweat profusely now! When I asked my brother who is an MD he told me that the whole reason that we sweat so much from the medication is because it is geared to rid the body of excess salt...which we have way too much of in our diets in America.
I sweat excessively from my head, hands and feet...I must say that when I really watch my diet and regulate how much salt I take in I seem to sweat less...but it is really uncomfortable and embarrassing.

[Sweaty Guy]

I am experiencing the same problems with Atenolol. Profuse, unpredictable and uncontrollable sweating of the face (forehead, ears, back of the neck) . It has hapened when I am just sitting there doing nothing even in a AC room. Also, mild exertion leads to profuse sweating. Looking around, some people are hot but none appear as if they have just took a shower like me:/ Unlike others though, I have seen sweating mentioned as a side effect on various websites. Atenolol must be the culprid but I am not sure of any substitute.

[Cathy Parker]

I thought I was starting my own "personal summers" early. It seems as though since I started Coreg CR 3 days ago, my sweating has diminished somewhat (despite the hellacious heat here in NC lately). I would have never guesed it was the atenolol.

JAMES wrote:

<quoted text>
Thanks for all the info. I thought I was alone. Arrhythmia resulted after a triple bypass 9 years ago. Since then I have taken atenolol to reduce heart rate.I have suffered severe sweating ever since. Does anyone know an alternative drug without extreme side effects.

[Eve]

I just got home from taking a walk in cool morning air and I was so sweaty that I sat down to Google atenolol and sweating. Aha! I'm not the only one. I take 75mg atenolol a day for migraine prevention and have noticed unusually heavy sweating ever since I started the med. It also gives me a headache with exercise or exertion.

[Judy B]

Wow,it is nice to find this answer to my problem. I have
another strange symptom: I live in Nor. Calif., no "snow
cold"weather, but I will be in
45 degree weather with my skin
feeling like ice, wearing just
a t-shirt and be perfectly
comfortable. Everyone else is
wearing jackets and feels the
cold. Anyone have this symptom or comments, thanks.

[Cathy Parker]

I still have some sweating w/correg still, but not as bad as with the atenolol. I have the sweating and it makes me anxious and I get panicy and sweat more... I can't take it!

[Lizette]

Hi I am so glad finally found out that I am not loosing my mind.I have been taking Atenolol for about 3-4 years after taking 50mg at first now am down to 25mg.I am have been experiencing sweating,swelling of my left ankle and both feet on and off,hair loss,seeing things that aren't there in the corner of my eye.Extreme leathargy,chronic muscle pain in my left shoulder neck and now hip.I am taking the Noten brand hat does not include a side effects list.Also I have had bouts of mild depresion,finally my memory difficulties.I realise now after researching this drug and by other peoples comments it is due to taking Atenolol I am not loosing my marbles.Thank God for these kind of web sites so I know I am not the only one going through this.

[Sweaty Guy]

I have now been off Atenolol and the sweating has essentially vanished! Mind you the weather has been codler but I am convinced of the link. I have found a substitute called Propanolol and am experiencing with. Any experiences with Propranolol and sweating?

[Oleg]

Boy, I’m glad I found this. I will ask you all in advance to excuse me for a wordy post, but I was going nuts with worry about these unexplained sweating attacks. So, naturally, I’m glad to find a possible reasonable explanation. I'm 38. I was taking Atenolol 50mg daily for about 3 years. At that time, I had a high blood pressure and elevated pulse (about 110 bpm)- so MD prescribed Atenolol and Diovan HTC. Somehow, my BP normalized and I stopped Diovan. The BP stays about 140 x 80 (but that is normal to me.). About a year ago I noticed that I had a sever head, face and neck sweating. These attacks would come from nowhere: sometimes after doing a minimal physical activity, like putting on a few pares of shirts, while in a fitting room in a store, sometimes with no apparent reason at all. These attacks would last sometimes a few minutes, but at times up to 20 minutes. For example, just a few days ago, I was taking photos of my son’s Halloween party at daycare. The temperature in the room was somewhat on a warmer side. After moving from one side of the room to another, sitting up a couple of time to take a photo from a different angle, I felt that sweat started to drop from my eyebrows, ears etc. I looked at others, and they did not have any visible perspiration. The only way I found I can rapidly relieve the sweating is by either moving to a cool room (or outside) or by sitting in a car and blasting the AC – this resolves the problem within a few minutes. I also noticed that these attacks are often triggered by sudden change in the surrounding temperature. For example, being outside in the heat and going to a cooler room (or the other way around). Additionally, I noticed that these attacks happen more often when there is an additional factor. For example, I’m getting over the bronchitis now. I’m now fever-free for about 2 weeks already, but the cough remains. I noticed that during this recovery period, the head and face sweating attacks are more frequent.
Again, sorry for the wordiness.

[Kim Harmon]

I've been on atenelol for 5 years now -- and in the past three months started having massive sweating - just face and scalp. I plan to ask my doctor about during next visit.

Mary Ann wrote:

Has anyone out there experienced excessive head and facial sweating while taking atenolol? I have been on atenolol for over 15 years. I am experiencing increased episodes of head and facial sweating. A friend of mine had the same problem which stopped when taken off of atenolol.
Nothing I read about side effects of atenolol mention this problem. I'm very interested in knowing if anyone else has had the problem and if so did it stop when taken off the drug?
I hope to convince my cardiologist to switch me to another drug.

[Peggy]

I am so happy to see I am not alone. I have been on atenolol for ten years and have been having sereve head sweats for almost that length of time, for some reason I feel it is much worse now. My DR. thought it may be menopause but all the many blood test show it is not that or any of the others like thyroid, diabetes.... Now I will talk to him about this new finding. This has really put a stop to my social life I hope we will find this to be the reason for my seweats.

[Diane Wythall]

I wrote before to say that i had been on Atenolol
for 10 years for HBP .I spoke to my GP after reading this page and she agreed to let me come off the medication.
Have stopped taking Atenolol so no more head sweats and my blood pressure is also back to NORMAL
Seems I had 10 years of embarassment all for nothing.

[Bill]

I am experiencing the SAME 'head sweating' situation that is referred in posts above on this. I was started on Nadolol (beta blocker) about two months ago, and this started really heavily becoming a bothersome issue to me within the past three weeks. I too am a diabetic, and this has caused me to have WAY lower than normal BGL readings "too soon" after I eat ... I Know what my levels should be, and I am usually in the 140 range within an hour or so after a high carb meal, when a year ago it would be in the 200-range! I now find myself needing to 'force myself' to EAT late at night, drink juices, etc. just to NOT wake up with LOW BGLs in the morning, and at times throughout the day. The 'slightest' movement/exertion particuarly from mid-morning through late evenning results in a SWEAT-FEST that is annoying and bothersome (causing sore throat as I get chilled, etc.). I have to wrap up in towels over my chest, head, and neck/throat area, and crawl under a heavy blanket and sit quietly (very still) in my chair for up to two hours to even be reasonable 'normal' for a few minutes. Very irritating. Bill

[Anita]

I have had severe sweating all my life...I'm 67 now. I started taking oxybutynin 5mg three times a day. That has helped me so much. It's one of the side effects of that med which is usually taken for incontinence. I've taken atenolol for about 20 years but had problems way before that. I've been stuck in Florida on the northern Gulf Coast all my life. Most of my problem is caused by high humidity which is very high here.

[Joyce]

Cathy Parker wrote:

I still have some sweating w/correg still, but not as bad as with the atenolol. I have the sweating and it makes me anxious and I get panicy and sweat more... I can't take it!

I am 54 year old female in menopause for a while and taking Atenolol/Tenormin for many, many years for palpitations. I cannot stand the heat whatsover and as soon as it gets warm in any situation, my head and neck get so hot and my BP goes up high. I feel so sick. I guess there's a link between hot flashes and menopause, but its so much worse now that I am older. Anyone else have these terrible hot flushes that seem worse. I used to be able to tolerate this medicine, but its been a horror. So many other BP meds give me terrible side effects, it seemed like this one was the best to stay on...I am wondering now. I need a beta blocker to keep my palpitations somewhat under control, but lately its so much worse.

[Bill]

I'm 38 years old and have been taking 25 mg per day of atenolol for the past year. I started taking it because I have high blood pressure. Lately I've been having massive sweat attacks while working out. I can sweat so much it looks like I stepped in the shower w/ my clothes on. Nobody else at the gym seems to be sweating as bad. Lately though, it seems the slightest exertion can cause head, face, and neck to become uncomfortably sweaty. This is embarassing and worries me that something is wrong. I feel most certain by everyone's post that it is most likely due to the atenolol. I'm stopping the drug today. I'll just deal w/ the high bp and see what else can be done. I'm going to do my own research instead of relying on an overpriced doctor's opinion.

[Arlene]

I started taking 25 mg of Atenolol about 3 months ago, and since then I sweat something awful. It DOES say on my prescription warnings that if you have "unusual" 9314sweating to contact your doctor immediately. I had no idea which of my meds it was until I read that. I'm going to ask my doctor to change my meds. I also take Lisinopril 25 mg. at night, have never had a problem, but it isn't a beta blocker.

[Jimmy Maggard]

Mary Ann wrote:

Has anyone out there experienced excessive head and facial sweating while taking atenolol? I have been on atenolol for over 15 years. I am experiencing increased episodes of head and facial sweating. A friend of mine had the same problem which stopped when taken off of atenolol.
Nothing I read about side effects of atenolol mention this problem. I'm very interested in knowing if anyone else has had the problem and if so did it stop when taken off the drug?
I hope to convince my cardiologist to switch me to another drug.

I have been taking atenolol for several years (10) and i sometime sweat profusely about the forehead and face. I am 59 and always attributed the sweating to hot flashes. thanx for the information