I have read that beta blockers are bad for people with myasthenia gravis. I have been on Coreg for quite a while. I am thinking that I started taking it somewhere around the time that my symptoms really got bad.

It sounds easy enough to say just don't take them; however, I almost died from uncontrollable hypertension. I was in the hospital with BP of 250/140 that would not come down. I have tried most every drug out there, and this is the first one that works. My sister and my father both failed to get their hypertension under control in time and they had massive heart attacks. They survived, but didn't do very well.

If Coreg is what has made me so sick with MG, then I don't want to take it. Surely there is something else. So has anybody else had any experience with Coreg or other beta blockers? (Coreg is actually a beta and an alpha blocker.)

Celeste, Beta blockers are relatively contraindicated in MG but some people can handle them. HOWEVER, going off of Coreg sounds like it would be very dangerous for you. No one should make drug changes without talking to the prescribing doctor first. Drug withdrawal often brings on a rebound of the symptoms and they can be far worse than before the drug was started.

The heart and brain don't care what the cause of high blood pressure is, as my cardiologist has said, they'll give you a heart attack or stroke anyway! I'm sorry about your sister and father. Did they ever figure out why they had problems too? Do you guys have genetically high cholesterol or some other genetic abnormality?

It would be nice if they could actually figure out what caused your high BP in the first place. There are so many causes. Secondary hypertension is very common and a lot of docs, even cardiologists, don't look for a cause. Too expensive, you know. Renal artery stenosis can be hereditary.

Have you had an echocardiogram recently?

I think a sit down with your cardiologist, or a second opinion from a cardio at a women's heart clinic would be a very good idea.

I think managing the MG might be a much less dangerous option, IMO. I really hope you can get answers. Is it worth experimenting on your health? What if your MG gets worse if you go off of Coreg? There are so many what ifs and a conversation with an expert seems necessary. Good luck in figuring it out!


Annie

I took betablockers for about a year for hypertension and it was the most effective drug I ever tried for that problem. No one took into account that I was asthmatic as a child - I ended up having severe asthma complicated by a severe exacerbaton of my MG. Between the 2 problems I could barely move because I was so short of breath. A briliiant allergist figured out what the problem was & I quit taking the drugs - the asthma subsided but the MG kept going into a downward spiral that I could not pull out of. Be careful - the neurologist and Dr. treating the hypertension need to work closely together on this one as hypertension like you describe MUST get under control for your safety. Best of luck.

Thanks for your replies. I wish that my doctor had used something else for my blood pressure.

In answer to the questions, I have had an echocardiogram, a stress test, EKG, and I don't know what all blood tests. The why's of my hypertension are not answered. At one point I was told that my heart was severely enlarged; now it is not. Weird stuff.

I would not just quit taking the drug. I doubt that I would live a week. I would like to try something else under my doctor's care, but he may be afraid to try.

I just got to thinking; my MG symptoms were so mild that nobody even believed that there was a problem before I started on beta blockers.

If my MG getting worse is just a side effect of the drug, I guess that the side effects may get less severe like they do for so many drugs.

I have high blood pressure that only seems to appear when I have inflamation, which is almost always. The nurses mention my high blood pressure but I guess it's not high enough to put me on meds. My blood pressure was 158/94 a couple days ago, and it's been higher than that. I take CoQ10 but recently ran out and now I'm waking up in the morning with pins and needles and feeling even more sluggish than normal. I have high cholesterol too, even though I try to eat healthy. The CoQ10 at least keeps me in the pre hypertension arena. Maybe you can talk to your doctor about taking the CoQ10. I've got to go to the store today and get some -- it's in the vitamin section at most stores. Since I haven't taken it for a few day, I can really feel how much it helps.

You really need to get on something. That diastolic number that is over 90 is dangerous. Just have better sense than I did and don't let them use beta blockers.