Several months ago I decided that my increasing leg difficulties and all of my other health problems are possibly all stemming from my blood pressure medication. I told my general practitioner. He said to stop taking the medication for a while and see if my symptoms went away. They didn't go away because I could not stay off the meds. My blood pressure just went sky high without them.
Although I had asked my GP for a referral to a new cardiologist, referrals take a long while to materialize sometimes. I had an appointment with my cardiologist in early May and that would have to do until I got a new doc. I really despise him as a doctor. He does not listen and he constantly puts me off. Last year he canceled my appointment three times and rescheduled further and further back. At that time I demanded to be seen instead of waiting months again...and I got seen, by his physician's assistant. My May appointment was canceled and rescheduled for July. It figures.
I currently take Atenolol with Hydrochlorithyazide and Valsartan. A couple of years back while in Oregon, I ended up in the Emergency Room for prolonged skipped heart beats. It turned out to be low potassium caused by my diuretic (the Hydroclorithiazide part of my Atenolol). I was prescribed a potassium supplement to deal with take care of this problem. Three weeks ago, I was having other issues and got in to see the nurse practitioner at my GP. I had also been having some weird heart arrhytmias for a while and inquired again about the cardiologist.
Two days later, I found myself in the emergency room again. My heart was speeding up, slowing down and beating to its own weird rhythm. I didn't think it was the potassium because the problem was presenting differently and I was taking potassium for the problem. However, low potassium (lower than the previous problem) turned out to be the cause again. Had I been able to get in to my cardiologist that may have been prevented. Grrr.
Finally I found out I had a new cardiologist referral at last. I went last Tuesday to see Dr. Krueger. Dr. Krueger? With my luck, I figured he was probably a relative of movie villain Freddy Krueger, (If you'll recall, my first neurologist was Dr. Wolf from Transylvania...). Bu he turned out to be a nice guy.
Waiting in an exam room, I was pleasantly surprised to see framed authentic animation cells and original drawings for classic Looney Tunes cartoons.
When the doctor came in, he listened to me. I told him (without naming names) about the other cardiologist always putting me off and his refusal to believe (or even try something different just to see if it possibly could be the cause) that my Valsartan could be causing my leg problems. I also told him about the trips to the emergency room and the low potassium issues.
Dr. Krueger, while he didn't see how Valsartan could affect my walking, switched me from Valsartan to something called Nifedipine, which is in a different class of drug than Valsartan altogether. For the potassium issue, although the Hydrochlorithyazide is a "potassum-sparring" diuretic, it clearly was NOT sparring it. Instead, the doctor didn't want to chance another trip to the ER and eliminated the diuretic altogether from my Atenolol.
The transition from Valsartan has not been smooth, though. I was only on the Nifedipine for two days before I realized the dose prescribed was too low for me. My once-in-the-morning pill would wear off long before 24 hours had elapsed. I'd wake up at 2 a.m. with my heart beat pounding in my head. I'd take my BP and it would be in the 150s. So, over the long 4-day 4th of July weekend, I have had to temporarily go back on my Valsartan. I have a call out today and am expecting to get my medication dosage changed and be back on the Nifedipine soon. I really, REALLY hope my leg issues (which are increasingly worsening) really were caused by Valsartan and recede now that I'll be on something different soon. (And if they don't go away, I'll try something instead of Atenolol.)
I really hope this is the answer. These last few months, I have really felt that I was just hurtling towards oblivion; that the end was just around the corner. I need to exercise. I need to emerge from this "fat suit" I find myself trapped in...but I need to be able to walk again in order to do that. I dream of returning to my miles-long walks and the gym again. Hopefully I'll be able to before it is too late...
This is continued HERE.
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