Posted by spirlhelix on November 26, 2003, at 13:17:32
Hi!
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!
I hope someone can help me get some insight or perspectives on my medication problem. I have found in three years of being treated for hypertension that beta blockers make me suicidal.
Labetalol made me weep inconsolably and I could not stop obsessing about how to kill myself. This was within an hour and a half of the first dose.
Nadolol dropped my heart rate to 34 bpm, within a day, and again I was suicidally depressed.
Some genius of a doctor started me on 100 mg of Atenolol, and I went into a state of being barely conscious and could not even recognize what day it was. After a week, I became suicidal on that one, too.
I do deal with a good deal of depression, but I don't get to this point when I'm not on a beta blocker.
Recently, I was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy and Stage D heart failure. I have discussed this with several doctors, and they all try to get me on beta blockers. My pharmacy won't even fill a prescription for Coreg (a beta that is supposed to be good for heart failure) for me because of my past history with beta blockers. The doctors come back with a dismal prognosis that I have a 50% chance of surviving the year without beta blockers.
I wish these guys understood that a medication that makes you want to throw yourself in front of a fast train is not going to extend your life. Am I wrong here? How do I deal with this pressure from doctors who don't understand what they are asking me to live with? Does anyone have any statistics or research on beta blockers
and suicide attempts, or sucessful suicides?Thank you for your help.
Warmly,
Pam
poster:spirlhelix
thread:284106
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031126/msgs/284106.html