Atenolol withdrawal

Hi Everyone

I’m new to this forum and newly diagnosed. I was put on Atenolol 17 years ago to help control migraines. Last month my cardiologist ( was refererred to her because I had Right bundle branch block show up on a recent EKG) told me to stop the atenolol...cold turkey. I stopped the atenolol and 2 weeks ago had an episode of racing heart. Went to ER and was told I was in AFIB. They gave be Diltiazem by IV and I converted on my own in 12 hours. I left the ER on Diltiazem and Eliquis. In the past 2 weeks I have had BP that is all over the place, HR that is down to 45 at time sitting. Fatigue, extreme dizziness , flushing feeling on face, burning head tingling hands and feet, blurry vision, tremors and a heightened level of anxiety. Last night I was sitting and i had a sudden rush of heat through my chest and head....my heart rate went immediately from 60 - 90 and I stood up where it continued to climb to 138. I have the Kardia band so I took an EKG which showed Sinus Tachycardia but no AFIB. Within 20 minutes of laying down heart rate had returned to normal 50’s. I think my AFIB was vagul induced as it happened after eating a high fat meal. I have GI issues as well. I also think it had something to do with the abrupt withdrawal of atenolol. Anyone think these rapid heartbeats are part of my withdrawal..... I have read some horrifying things about withdrawal on the internet!

Thanks for any help you can give to me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2018 04:38PM by traceyf45.

Impossible to say for sure but it's possible. You've been suppressing the effects of adrenaline for so long that stopping atenolol suddenly would subject you to a strong response. Palpitations, rapid heart rate, and all the other things that go along with a fight-or-flight response aren't surprising, so that could be triggering your afib. Is the afib entirely due to stopping the atenolol? Not likely. More likely you simply have afib and stopping the atenolol has brought it out. What's also possible is that you've had it for some time but the atenolol was keeping your heart rate down and therefore suppressing symptoms so you were unaware of it.

Are you still taking diltiazem? If not then call that cardiologist because that would help quite a bit with the symptoms.

Thanks for your reply

I am currently on the Diltiazem but not so sure I’m tolerating it as well as I tolerated the Atenolol. I think you are right when you say that I have had it for some time and the atenolol was keeping it under some control and stopping it brought it to light. I am feeling so much adrenaline even on the Diltiazem. Feelings of flushed face and chest, increase in heartburn etc. Not sure how good of a BP med Diltiazem is....but some days mine is 112/60 and other days 140/90. My heart rate is very slow however. The nurse practioner suggested adding metoprolol 25 mg. I’m hesitant because of the already low heart rate....does the Diltiazem work on something different than the metoprolol? I’m at my wits end as I know that this is something that has to be controlled but between the Diltiazem and Eliquis....the feeling of anxiety which right now is out of control , I dont know what is causing what!!

A week after the AFib diagnosis I landed in the ER with a kidney stone that still has yet to pass....never had one of those before either! I’m looking at surgery to remove that and now I’m even more worried about surgery on these meds!!

Thank you again you’ve been very helpful

Tracey

I wouldn't worry about your BP, or at least not for now. The cardiologist was correct to take you off the beta blocker due to your RBBB, but maybe he didn't do it so gracefully. The NP's suggestion isn't a bad one. A small dose of beta blockers are usually okay for people with RBBB, but how low is your heart rate? It might need to be compensated with a lowering of the diltiazem dosage? Make an appointment with the NP and work with them on this.

You have my sympathies on the kidney stone. Is surgery really necessary? Can't they pulverize it with ultrasound or something less invasive?

My heart rate is around 50 sitting. During sleep I’m sure it goes a bit lower. Yes the Kidney stone showed up at the least opportune time! But when it rains it pours I quess. Trying to keep my head up and not get to down about all of this AFib stuff. It’s definitely stopped me in my tracks and I’m finding it hard to push forward doing the same everyday things that i used to do.

Again thanks for your input.. it helps to talk to someone who knows what I am going through


Tracey

I did research on Withdrawal from Beta-Blockers. There certainly is withdrawal and rebound effects from discontinuing these Drugs. I slowly Tapered off Bystolic, but my HR and BP still went up for months afterward. I would tell you Dr. all of the bad stuff that is happening. To me it would make more sense to take a lower dose of the Atenolol, then add the Metropolol.

The Diltiazem is a "Calcium Channel Blocker" ,and yes it does work differently than the Atenolol. For me, the Diltiazem works well for Rate Control during an AFIB event, but it does really help much with Blood Pressure when I am in NSR.
I was taking 240-360mg of Diltiazem, but it only slightly lowered my BP. I went back on a low dose of Bystolic 5mg, and that did far more to control my BP.

Thank you

I finally saw my cardiologist today. She agrees that I’m having some withdrawal effects from the atenolol and said she would like to put me back on the atenolol, see if my symptoms abate a little and possibly switch over to the metoprolol.

I definitely feel as if I’m going through withdrawal. Such nervousness , agitation, difficulty driving...generally feel on the edge of a panic attack all day long. I have persistant feelings of flushing. I just looked up Diltiazem side effects and some of these as listed ( not the difficulty driving) but the feeling of heat that I get on my chest and neck -warmth in my face and head.

I’m supposed to add some atenolol back tomorrow.

These medication adjustements are tough. Does everyone go through the medication changes?

Tracey

Quote
traceyf45
These medication adjustements are tough. Does everyone go through the medication changes?

Yeah, pretty much. Welcome to the club, but glad to hear your cardiologist saw the light and is working with you.