Atenolol

[Jillmgk]

SO finally heard from the docs today and they have prescribed Atenolol for Kyle. They are going with extended release, concerned with compliance from a teen.

What can he expect as far as side effects? I take Toprol and know it can mke me pretty sleepy....

[mbcube]

It all depends on dosage & weight, but he may feel a bit sluggish but will soon adapt (kids do that real well). You can look up side effects of meds on the internet, but know that not everyone reacts the same way. Please do discuss any concerns with his pharnacist.

[harrisb01]

Hi Jill
I take atenolol. I take it in the early evening because although it doesn't really make me sleepy, it makes me groggy in the morning. You can search the archives here to see what you might want to watch for. I have from time to time as I've had questions, and I've found lots of good info.
Best wishes,
Barbara

[Pam Alexson]

http://www.drugs.com/atenolol.html

I'd say important is to watch how he feels when he first gets up on his feet. Even though it is a low dose he could still experience a whooshy feeling in his head.. as his nervous system adjusts this feeling and symptom will dissipate. Remember these effects of atenolol are to help relax his heart and slow him down somewhat so it is doing its job to do that... it just sometimes takes a while for our systems to do some overriding.
I once was at 400 mgs daily and then went down to 300mgs daily before I had a myectomy.
My heart needed all of it to relax and allow me to function.. At first it was very hard but, increases are done gradually as needed and never abruptly stopped as this is very dangerous to do.

Check in with him from time to time about how he feels mood wise. Atenolol is a BB that has been used in the psych world for years to calm the mood of patients with great success. For me at the very highest dose it blunted my mood and made me feel unreal and not myself. Amazingly at 300 mgs I was back to my perky self and actually felt it allowed me to handle the initial overwhelming and devastating realization that I had HCM and life was different and was going to be different for evermore... I am thankful for that effect. I think many on BB develop that non chalant, "que sera, sera," kind of attitude as a result of it and that helps... I also do not think they realize that has happened a bit and allowed them to cope better.

I hope this helps.. it is hard enough to be taking meds as a parent but to have your child start is somewhat much more disturbing to a parent.

Pam

[Jillmgk]

Thanks for all of the advice. They are starting him small- at 25 mg, and gradually plan to up it to 100 mg. They said they will do that slowly. Yesterday, Kyle was adamant that he would start the meds today. That showed me that he is more anxious about all of this than he admits- he wants to start it. I didnt want him to start till Saturday- no school and no work for him Saturday, so if he's feeling any effects, he has no obligations. Anyway, I gave him the inserts and warnings from the pharmacy and he decided to wait till Saturday. he does like to drive and was wary about getting dizzy at school or having to have MOm pick him up becasue he couldnt drive. We are NOT medicine people really- he is like me- doesnt like new meds at all.

[gloria]

hi!
have people noticed if it makes a difference to take ATENOLOL during the day vs. bedtime? my cardiologist asked me to shift times since i am having a hardtime...

thanks,
Gloria
diagnosed 2 months ago

[Safiyya]

Hello,
I have been on Atenolol for some months (abt 9mths) now and have noticed that i am a little groggy during the day. I have to speak to the doctor abt it but my dosage's 200mg per day, so maybe that makes a differance.

Safiyya.

[Cynaburst]

You can also split the doseage and take half in the a.m. and half at night. That is what I used to to.

I also found that switching to Toprol was much better for me. I had taken atenolol for several years and when my doctor switched me, I couldn't believe how much better I felt, so if you are having issues with atenolol, try switching to Toprol or one of the other newer BBs. They may have fewer side effects.

[mtlieb]

Cynthia was the switch from atenolol to toprol xl pretty seamless? My doctor would like me to try toprol xl again. It sounds as though I would simply take my last atenolol one day, then start taking the same dosage of toprol xl the next. Was this your experience?

[Cynaburst]

I think that was what I did. I don't exactly remember now because it was after my surgery so immediately after surgery I took a low dose of atenolol and then we increased and I was also on Norpace. Then I think I stopped the Norpace gradually and then switched to generic metoprolol short acting just one day I stopped the atenolol and took the metoprolol instead, and then I changed to Toprol another few weeks later. As I recall, they just gave me the equivalent dose, but the Toprol/metoprolol dose is double the atenolol, so if you are taking 25 mg. of atenolol, the equivalent in Toprol is 50 mg.

[mtlieb]

As I recall, they just gave me the equivalent dose, but the Toprol/metoprolol dose is double the atenolol, so if you are taking 25 mg. of atenolol, the equivalent in Toprol is 50 mg.
I did not know that. Very helpful. Thanks.

[Jillmgk]

I was out of town so just saw your messages. I didnt know that the Atenolol was twice the dose of the Toprol. I do not have HCM but do take Toprol for diastolic hypertension. I know that the 50 mg dosage really knocked me on my butt when I started it, so maybe thats the issue with Kyle too.

I did finally hear from CCF on Friday. They are questioning if its maybe anxiety . Dr. Boyle said that he has no signs of any coronary artery disease so shouldnt have those symptoms. My neighbor though sees another CCF doctor for something else, and did say she had some similar initial symptoms when she started Atenolol but was able to work through them. Now I have to convince Kyle to try again. Dr. Boyle did say that its not life or death for him right now, so not to stress him by forcing the matter.

I think Kyle's situation is really different too- he has HCM but no damage and no symptoms. he doesnt seem to feel anything even when the exertional gradient is so high. But he has had to give up activities and regulate himself, and as a very competitive and athletic teen, he is really struggling with that mentally. Not to mention most internet info makes HCM sounds like a death sentence. We are looking for a therapist and he has agreed to that.

[Jillmgk]

We are still waiting for an answer about switching meds- the local doc does not want to do anything without consulting CCF. In the meantime, they had suggested Kyle try again with the Atenolol. he was refusing and they advised not to push- its not life or death for him at this point, and seemed to create a lot of anxiety. So today, he decided he would try again becasue he wanted to go to the YMCA with his friends. he figured it would help him keep his heart rate lower and he had no obligations. Anyway, he never dod go to the Y, but did once again experience chest pains. I am wondering if it could be pulmonary- he has had some allergy issues recently (no meds) but it is raining today so the pollens and things in the air shouldn't be bothering him.....