Originally Posted by
Deltarebel
Anyone here on beta blocker? Been doing some research and found out that people that exercise are limited if they are taking beta blockers. Can produce asthma like condition if you really push yourself. Have had this happen to me. Sprinting up a hill hard will result in this happening.(as will really good sex!)
Have to see my doctor in next couple of weeks and I am going to ask him if there is something else that does not have these side effects.
Anyone on the forum been down this road?
I have been on multiple forms of both 'beta blockers', 'calcium channel blockers', and 'ace inhibitors'. Am currently taking "Bystolic" 20mg daily. My heart DR loves the fact that I am riding, and has told me multiple times that I can ride as often and/or as hard as I like.
But, as you say, there is only so much I can do before I am puffing like a freight train~! If I refuse to act on the signs, my vision will start to grey-out. There have been many, many, many times that I have felt I could ride better/faster/stronger if I stopped taking these meds, but for me at least, it is not an option.
I have a condition where my at-rest-heartrate was 122 at the lowest, and I could easily hit the 190s with mild exercise. Now, after 10yrs of various meds my at-rest-heart-rate is in the low 70s, and I rarely go past 110 (if I do, my breathing goes wacky).
Long-term sleep apnea combined with an unknown heart 'event' some 15-20yrs in my past created this issue. I also self-bypassed my left artery.
Atenolol, Benicar, Bystolic - to name a few. Some are meant to *lock* your heart-rate at a given number (like 'Atenolol'), others are used to simply lower your heart-rate by a percentage, and still others change the 'strength' of the actual 'beats' of the heart. As I am not any type of a Doctor, I do not understand why one type is prescribed for me, yet another type may be prescribed for you? is it a DR's personal preference? Or trial and error to find what works best on a given person?
I was kept on 'Benicar' for 3yrs as my DR expected it to basically 'reset' my heart-rate - and he says that it did so. By choosing to blindly believe my DR and do as he said to do, I am better today than I was ten years ago when I first noticed my heart issues.
Back to your original question? I am not sure if I am limited because of the Bystolic, or because of the heart condition. But ten years ago, the act of walking out to my car, getting in, and putting on my seat-belt made me want to pass out~! Now I do 10-20 mile rides and enjoy myself (am not fast at all, but I can ride!)