Questions about atenolol

[karen cicconetti]

My son is 16 and has been on 50mg of atenolol for more then 2years. He has never had any problems, until lately. He seems to be haveing trouble in school, it seems as though he has lost interest. Im not sure if it is the meds or just having HCM and the added pressures of being in 11th grade. This is the first time he ever seems to think that with HCM he has no future. Any clues would be wonderful.


Karen

[Reenie]

I don't know about sudden changes in attitude with atenolol, but I do know that it makes it hard for some people to concentrate. I'd call the doctor and discuss if a meds change might help your son. I hope he's feeling better soon.

Reenie

PS~ You son might also be resisting change. He'll be a senior next year, then it's out of high school. I'm dealing with my own daughter right now who doesn't want to grow up and go to high school next year. We have a very small school so that shouldn't play a big part of it, but she's terrified to go to 9th grade next year. I feel for you.

[Abbygirl2]

I don't really know about the Atenolol, but perhaps all 'this'(HCM) is starting to really sink in and he's maybe realizing all the things he can not do(even though there are many many things he still CAN do).
Its got to be awfully hard for kids, growing up is hard enough, without something that makes you "different". Could he be a bit depressed?

Certainly worth calling his Dr on. I hope he gets feeling better real soon.
Take care,
Pam

[karen cicconetti]

Thanks for the feed back, I think I will call the doc and take it from there.


thanks again
Karen

[Laoshur]

I would look at underlying problems unrelated to HCM but exacerabed by them, possibly fears of graduating and finding a college as Reenie suggested, but also things like girlfriend problems, friends on drugs, difficulty with classes, you name it. My daughter went through a similar time when she was 14-15. In her case we had just moved across country. She was going to a public high school after going to a private school that was less conservative in externals like dress but without obvious drug influences. The kids at the new school all thought she looked like a druggie, so in spite of the fact that she was a top student and a gifted artist, the kids who loved her were the wild ones. She hung around with the drug crowd for three years, managed to avoid doing more than some experimenting (but that included LSD and a flirtation with cocaine) and her grades stayed excellent, but not as stellar as she was capable of, but she had serious emotional and personal issues. Boys often go through these challenges a couple of years later. His sense that life with HCM is futureless may be a symptom, not a cause. If he had just changed meds, I might think differently, but he did not.

What would I suggest? 1) Take this seriously - you are. 2) Talk with his doctor in case something has gotten worse with either his drug level or his HCM 3) Get him to counseling, if possible. Even if the counselor is not the best (ours was not), he or she is someone to talk to. My daughter told me recently that even though her counselor was naive and missed the significance of nearly everything she was going through, it was helpful to talk to him, because he believed in her and he always took her side. 4) Talk to his teachers and everyone you know who may have insight into what is going on. 5) PRAY!

We finally decided that our daughter's future was more important than anything. We committed ourselves to each pray one hour per day for her. At first I though, "How can I think of what to say for an hour?" But I made a list of all her friends, all her classes, even her CD's and tapes, and prayed for the influence of each of those on her life. I found the hour flew by. After doing this daily for a summer (I usually went for a drive and parked at a park and prayed in the car so she would not know what I was doing, while my husband prayed driving to and from work), she suddenly changed and her senior year in high school was totally different. She is now a reasonably confident young college grad, artist, wife and mother.

When we were home last month, she told me with great sadness and some guilt that her best friend from the drug scene is now dead at age 26, leaving two small children, who have entered the foster care system. We are SOOO thankful that that was not her life, although we grieve for Cindy, her friend.

So, I hope I have not overreacted to your son's situation, but our experience was that we feel that we walked along the edge a very dangerous cliff with our daughter. I will pray that your son will find his way through this time, whatever its cause.

Rhoda

[blazinspirit]

I know when I was growing up I also took atenolol form like the age 13 on, now I am 31, and I would say that for me fear and pressure of not being "normal" and getting ready to enter the real world was scary and I don't think the atenolol caused me any extra problems.

[Sarah]

i took atenolol from age 14 to 17 and i hated it. i would skip it and get sick and take it again and they increased my dose and it would make me stupid and tired and slow. i switched to nadolol and was much happier.

[Grecoeuro]

I think that Atenelol may cause some problems with concentration. I am in business and find that I can't do one task for a long period of time like one hour or longer. Its a good thing for me that I have a million things to do. But I like atenelol cuz it is the most effective on my heart. Nadolol seemed to weak, Toprol was effective but I had some rare side effects. I suggest trying Toprol. Dr. Lever recomended it for me.

All the best


Theo

[Sarah]

ALL beta-blockers will reduce one's ability to concentrate. however, some are worse than others. google "selective beta-blockers" for more info on the difference between selective and non-selective beta-blockers. also, everyone is a little different so even among selective bb's, you may respond better to one over the other.

sadly, only trial and error will determine how you do.

[BrokenPunk]

i dont know about anyone else but in the little info slip they gave me with my atenolol it has depression/mood changes listed as a side effect.. which if your son is getting that side effect on top of the stress of school that could be why it has been hard for him to concentrate and why he seems to have lost interest.. just a thought..

[karen cicconetti]

Thanks Everyone for all your help. I have spoken to all his doctors and they all think that the atenolol is just one factor in all this. My mom was diagnosed with lung cancer a few months ago which seems to have put him over the edge. We have an appointment with a counselor next week, his teachers are working closely with him finding ways to help him feel includes. The athletic director presented him with a letter jacket for his help with fundraising, and helping the teams in other ways. Hopefully with everyones help we can help him through this. Once again thank you for your love, prayers and support.

Karen