Verapamil and Extreme Fatigue

[BrodyB]

Lee is on 120 mg. Verapamil per day and while his HCM symptoms (SOB, chest pain) have improved well, he is so fatigued he cannot get up in the mornings for school.

Have any studies been performed or does anyone have experience with what foods might affect this and what can be done to alliveate the fatigue. He is going back to the cardiologist, Dr. Hong at Asan Medical Center on Friday.

:?

[bryan]

I know grapefruit should be avoided, because both the grapefruit snd verapamil compete for the same enzyme in the liver. Thats the only thing I know of.

[Lisa Salberg]

Brody,
Something to remember with teenagers... they sleep more then young children and far more then adults anyway...It is hard to know how much of the issue is HCM, Meds, or just being a teen... I recall just about my entire family (those with and without HCM) could sleep till noon as teens as did many of my friends at that age.
Just a thought.
Lisa

[TForden]

My 3 y/o daughter is taking 270mg per day and has a typical energy level. The one thing I think you'll see throughout this talk groups experiences and with almost any other condition is that meds effect people in different ways, and its worth experimenting with different regimenes until you find one that works for the individual patient.

[BrodyB]

:D

Update to all,

I took the time to for my son to adjust to the Verapamil, but two weeks ago I began trying something different. I had him stay on the same schedule for sleep and wakening for non-school days, and pressured him to get up on school days more. A family member is also a naturo-pathic doctor and provided a list of suppliment for him to try, which we began 6 weeks ago. He believes he is able to rest better now after starting them. For two weeks he had been able to make every class. Believe that with the scheduling and use of some natuopathic treatments he is resting better and wakes more alert. Thank you all.

[Karen P]

That's great to hear Brody!! I'm glad to know that Lee isn't as tired. I know that Verapamil didn't work well with my husband. Quite often it's a matter of time.
:D :D

Take care,

Kren

[murrayfan33]

Hello all, it`s the ATENOLOL, thats makes me tired, 250 mg. I guess will do that !

[Rebeca]

Hi there!

I was on verapamil for several years and, though not a teenager at the time, I do feel that in lowering my BP it took an edge off my energy level. It was a catch-22 for me, physically I could last longer but didn't have to energy to do it. Keeping a routine does help as your body will adjust to the medication and sleep pattern. Perhaps an adjustment to the dosage is somethng you could discuss with your doctor?

Hope this is of some help.
Take care,
Rebeca

[Tom]

I think its tricky. I believe HCM itself causes fatigue. When I took Atenalol---I think I became even more mentally sliggish and physically and Verapamil mitigated it somewhat. My gut or intuition tells me HCM for some leads to fatigue and malaise. Unfortunately, everyone responds differntly to medications as well so who really knows. The thing to do is to switch around medication if your Dr. knows HCM, but give it 3-6 months.

[Sarah]

Hypothyroidism can make you sleep and sleep. He should have his thyroid levels checked (not just T4, but a Thyroid panel). Hypothyroidism and HCM also seem to track together.

take care,

S

[randsean]

My 2 1/2 year old boy with HCM has been extremely tired on Verapmil. He sleeps to 9 am, and then wants a nap by 11:30a. He doesn't get up until 3 pm, and that is because we wake him up. His eyes always look tired.

[Reenie]

It sounds like a change in meds might help him a lot. Ask the doctor. A popular med for little guys is propanolol, which is a beta blocker. I know a lot of kids who have used it with success. Good luck when trying to get the meds figured out. It's a tough thing sometimes to figure out.

Reenie

[randsean]

The reason we went with the calcium channel blocker is because he has moderate/severe asthma. We reduced his dose, and today he took a normal knap, so maybe it was just too heavy a dose for him.

[Reenie]

I understand. I hope you can get the dosage right soon. There are also some beta blockers that are specific to how they work and are less likely to interfere with asthma. I'm sorry, but off-hand I can't remember which ones are better. You might ask his doctor about that too.

Reenie

[Linda]

It's so hard knowing your little guy has a problem, and especially so when the meds cause additional concerns. Please keep your doctor informed and ask him/her what you should be expecting from these meds in terms of tiredness, etc. Adjustments may be in order. Best wishes - Linda