Anyone Happy with Atenolol?

[Mark]

Hi,
Just taken my first 25mg tablet today for tachycardia and it has instantly brought my heart rate down to around 60bpm. So I thought I would come on here and find out what everyone thinks of this drug, and I'm getting a bit worried by eveyones negative experiences.

Is there anyone out there who is entirely happy with what atenolol is doing for them? If you are having a positive experience please could you reply to this thread, so I could see the other side of the story!

Thanks

[tbone]

i just started taking atenolol for my bp. i have experienced lite headedness, dizziness and confusion at times. i also take diovanhct and norsvac all of these for my bp. does anyones else take all of these meds for thier high bp.i am 51 and have highbp for about 4yrs nows.

[WyldWun]

I have been taking it for about 6 months now. I take one 25mg in the morning and one at night. I switched to it from Lotrel as Lotrel made my legs ache like crazy. It works wonders on my bp. BP was usually running between 140-160 over 75-80. This afternoon it was 114/65.
No side effects at all.

[MAB22]

What kind of tachycardia do you have? Appropriate or inappropriate? I have sinus tachycardia, I think appropriate, as my doc did not tell me. I have been taking for 6 months. Do you have an arrythmia? I am on 25 mg a day, of which I take 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the evening. I am male, 43 years old, weight 191 lbs, 5'8", so I am overweight. I do exercise quite often. I used to lift weights, did sets with some heavy weights for me. I have seen two cardiologists. I am trying to make the best of the atenolol. It slows down both your resting heart rate and heart rate during exercise. This is a problem, as you have to reach at least 70-80% of your target heart rate to get aerobic benefits. I have been able to do this, but my blood pressure has been going up over the last month or two. I had BP around 130/80 prior to atenolol and recently had BP 147/84. This is concerning me. I feel the atenolol is depressing my heart function. My resting heart rate has been 75-80 with atenolol, but my BP is going up. I kind of wish I had never gone on atenolol. This stuff has been scaring the *&%$ out of me as of recent. I keep trying to work out to control my BP, but my cardiologist told me if BP stays up, may have to try additional hypertension med. I see him in July 2008. I am trying to lose some weight. Be careful and make sure you know what exactly your taking atenolol for. Sinus tachycardia may be due to other underlying condition. Hope this helps and I will pray for you.

[mel]

Hey I have been on 50 mg of atenolol for 1yr. I started having my heart race and a heaviness in my chest. I had to wear a heartmonitor for 24 hrs. It showed my heart was beating 6800 more in 24hrs than it should be. They did a ekg and found nothing. So they uped my dose to 100 mg aday.My heart has stopped racing and I am sleeping better, however I have no energy at all. I am only 40 and I have 2 young children to take care of. Any suggestions? I really don't want to just be medicated,but how do I manage the fast heartbeat and lightheadedness?

[MAB22]

mel wrote:

Hey I have been on 50 mg of atenolol for 1yr. I started having my heart race and a heaviness in my chest. I had to wear a heartmonitor for 24 hrs. It showed my heart was beating 6800 more in 24hrs than it should be. They did a ekg and found nothing. So they uped my dose to 100 mg aday.My heart has stopped racing and I am sleeping better, however I have no energy at all. I am only 40 and I have 2 young children to take care of. Any suggestions? I really don't want to just be medicated,but how do I manage the fast heartbeat and lightheadedness?

Are you on the atenolol for just fast heart beat? I have no energy also, however, I find that my blood pressure is going up. I have been on since 9-07. I am 68" tall, weigh 191 lbs, 43 yo. I am overweight. I have been trying to exercise more to improve fitness. However, I have been having hard time getting into target heart range. I am trying to lose some weight and have lost about 9 lbs since 9-07. I need to lose more. I feel tired, but it has been the blood pressure bothering me. Maybe you can try some exercise? May try another website, MedHelp, as they have more postings. This site does not have as many as they do. Why is your heart rate increasing? I find that the Atenolol may decrease cardiovascular fitness (actually probably does). I have been exercising constantly to try to improve my fitness. It is very difficult. Hope things get better.

[Mary Prudence]

I haqve been on ATENOLOL for 3 months. I am experiencing SEVERE leg abd hip pain. I am a 67 year young female with no other medication only 25MG. Any suggestions?

[TMW]

Been on one daily dose of Atenolol (50mg) for over a year now, and it's helped with the HBP. Was a little dizzy the first few times I took it and cold fingers are the only side effect drawback I can think of.

About six months ago my Dr placed me on Norvasc along with the Atenolol but I could not deal with the the edema and depressing effects.
Going to stick with the Atenolol and long walks.

[rickhsims]

i have been taking atenolol for eight years . works great .bp always around 117 over 72 used to be 155 over 90. pulse is around 64 to 70 most of time. used to be 104.

[steph8400]

hey ive ben on atenolol for a little over a year now. at first they had me on 25mgs but had to lower it because my heart rate droppped in the high 40's so now i just take 12.5mgs. it really does work great. my bp is usually around 120/80 and heart rate in the mid 60's to mid 70's, but for the past year i've had no energy and am always light headed 24/7. my dr said it's not from the atenolol so i've had a million different tests runs and everythings fine....any suggestions?

[Kim Harmon]

Mark - 42 YO female. I've been on for five years and have had no side effects (other than excessive sweating). I take 25 mg in the morning and 25 mg at night to lower my BP.

Has kept me steady at 114/70. I work out three times per week. On occassion I feel sluggish tired - but I make myself get up and get active and then I'm full of energy.

My father died of a heart attack at age 48. I can't help but think that if he had taken blood pressure meds and saw a doctor regularly - he might be alive today.

[Fran]

I have been on atenolol for seven months now having switched from ramopril which made me feel dreadful. I am good on atenolol and my blood pressure is now 145/78 from 171/90 so well pleased. I have a weight gain but hopefully can rectify this with excercise , the one thing I have noticed is a smell in my nose of musk/perfume, anyone else noticed this?

[Cindy from Eastern Oregon]

My concern is my resting heart rate taking atenolol is about 44 bpm. when I do aerobic exercise I have to work extremely hard to get my heart rate up to the fat burn zone(120bpm), and I have to keep up the pace to keep it up. within 30 seconds of stopping the exercise my heart rate falls to 55-60. I did not take the atenolol for two days (my resting heart rate went to 65)and when I did aerobic exercise on those two days. I was able to get my heart rate up to 130 fairly easy and keep it up for the whole hour without totally wiping myself out. I guess my question/concern is because my resting heart rate is 44 while taking atenolol will getting my heart rate up to 100 (and keeping it in that area) while exercising doing any good or do I need to keep working harder and harder to get it to 120 and higher. Does anyone have any ideas or comments.

[Karen]

I started taking Atenolol in 2002 at the age of 50 for rapid heart beats (my resting pulse was always 100, even as a child). Then caffeine drinking (I started drinking a few cups a day) really did me in, and my heart started suddenly beating in overdrive and my pulse would race to over 200 bpm, necessitating a trip to the ER for a shot in the vein that brought the rhythm back to normal instantly. It was after a few of these ER visits that the doctor put me on Atenolol 25 mg once a day.

I have had no side effects at all, and my heartbeat is a steady 75-80, making me feel much calmer. The only thing I have noticed, come to think of it, is lower leg pain, after reading other people's postings. This started after taking Atenolol but I didn't at first associate it with this.

I know that ALL drugs have negative interactions, so I am looking into the operation that corrects SFT permanently so I can get off Atenolol, which is the only drug I take. I barely even take aspirin and have a very healthy diet. DON'T TAKE ANY DRUGS UNLESS IT'S AN APSOLUTE NECESSITY TO LIVE! You'll lessen your life expectancy. I'm in the health field.

[SiPitung]

Karen wrote:

I started taking Atenolol in 2002 at the age of 50 for rapid heart beats (my resting pulse was always 100, even as a child). Then caffeine drinking (I started drinking a few cups a day) really did me in, and my heart started suddenly beating in overdrive and my pulse would race to over 200 bpm, necessitating a trip to the ER for a shot in the vein that brought the rhythm back to normal instantly. It was after a few of these ER visits that the doctor put me on Atenolol 25 mg once a day.
I have had no side effects at all, and my heartbeat is a steady 75-80, making me feel much calmer. The only thing I have noticed, come to think of it, is lower leg pain, after reading other people's postings. This started after taking Atenolol but I didn't at first associate it with this.
I know that ALL drugs have negative interactions, so I am looking into the operation that corrects SFT permanently so I can get off Atenolol, which is the only drug I take. I barely even take aspirin and have a very healthy diet. DON'T TAKE ANY DRUGS UNLESS IT'S AN APSOLUTE NECESSITY TO LIVE! You'll lessen your life expectancy. I'm in the health field.

Can you share with us your plans on How to get off Atenolol ?

I've been thinking about that as I intend to live life drug-free.

[David in Anaheim]

I've been on atenolol for 5 years or more. It does the trick! It's a beta blocker it does slow the heart and makes you tired at times. My np Is very good consistently 110/75 or within 10 points lower even! I think it's great! Saved my life: bp used to be 160/110! The swelling/pain in thigh? Leg/hip? I may have that now I'm not sure it's the atenolol could be?

[Confused]

Has anyone out there experienced erectile dysfunction while on atenolol?