side effects of coreg

[crystalr]

I am so glad I found this website.I have about a million questions I could ask.I have learned more in the two weeks since ive joined than I have in almost two years of asking doctors or nurses.I was just wondering what kinds of side effects eveyones had with coreg? I find myself getting dizzy sometimes and also sometimes get pains in my chest.There always seems to be great advice here!

[C.Alyse'sMom]

My dr. upped my dosage of Coreg yesterday to 12 mg. I asked about possible side effects, and he said dizziness. I sometimes have pains that feel like needle pricks in my chest, but he said that it doesn't sound heart related. :confused:

[mandyb]

Hi!

I really didn't like coreg. It made me exhausted all of the time, have headaches, and get very dizzy. It also dropped my blood pressure significantly. I switched to Toprol XL because of it. Dr. Fett posted some interesting info. about coreg awhile back. I think it was under this same category... look back a little and see what you can find!

Good luck!

Mandy

[momoftwoboys]

I would have to tell you that those two symptoms seem to be or have been very very common for a lot of us here. I don't know how long you've been on the Coreg, but if it hasn't been very long, you might just have to adjust to it. The dosage may even need to be adjusted once in a while. I probably wouldn't worry too much about the symptoms unless they become really bothersome or your blood pressure drops so much that you feel like you are going to pass out or something.

[Yvonne]

My Coreg is up titrated a few times last year, and every time I had a rather bad period. I was very dizzy during the day, worst two hours after taking my Coreg. I was exhausted after every little exertion and had sometimes symptoms of heartfailure (blue lips, SOB, very mild fluid retention). Every time I consulted my GP. First time she send me to ER and everybody freaked about my ECG (it was not in my 'heart' hospital, they didn't see often PPCM ECG's) till they called my cardiologists. He explained it was a side effect of the Coreg and if other tests (bloods, x-ray, bloodpressure, puls) were allright, nothing was wrong. He also explained that in the beginning of an increase it is like there is a 'brake' on your heart, Coreg slows your heart down. When you start moving/ exercising, your heart isn't able to produce the right amount of beats to provide your body of oxygen at the first moment and this gives the symptoms. After a while it is going better. Your body and heart will adjust to it and there will be a balance. Then you will feel better. After every increase it took longer for me to adjust. Last time (I went to 18,75 mg) it took two months to adjust and I had really bad days. Now I can say my body has adjusted, but it took a h****va long time. It is that I am quite stubborn and still think it is good for me, but otherwise I would have stopped using it. But to be honest at the moment I don't have problems using it.
In my team of doctors their argueing about an other increase (to 25 mg), but they don't know if my body can handle this, so now my ACE-inhibiter will be increased first.

Oh, and on some of my really bad Coreg increase days I used some extra Lasix (in consultation with my doctor). I lost some extra fluids then and felt better afterwards.

[Nails]

I now take 25 mg of coreg and as far as I know everything is fine now but the above post does explain all that dizzyness and all the spots I was seeing a while back! That hasen't happened in a looooong time but I always wondered what was up. Thanks, this forum is great.

[melissamph]

As a PPCMer of nearly 3 yrs I would like to say (also as a nurse) do NOT change your own dosage of any of your meds! You must trust your doctor to take care of that! If you don't like what your doctor says then get a second opinion. Find a doctor that listens to your concerns and questions. I have seen ladies decide they aren't going to take this med anymore and end up in the hospital in significant heart failure again and have to start from square one again. My cardiologist says that once you have been in failure it is easier to go back into it and harder to come out. Trust your docs and listen to what years of education and practice has taught them. PPCM is new to you and it is your body feeling it's effects but Cardiomyopathy is NOT new to your doc! Communication is the key!

[margaretinva]

I've been on coreg since September 2003 - the side effect I associate with this drug are hair loss, exhaustion and weight gain.

[Natasha]

Yes, I definitely experience dizziness when my dose gets increased. It was recommended to me that I eat with my medication. I found that this made a big difference. It almost completely took the dizziness away. Try eating when you take the meds and see if that helps. Time, too, will make most of the discomfort go away. Another thing the nurses told me that I didn't find very helpful was to "get up slowly". Yeah, right! I don't do anything slowly! That wasn't very useful advice for me!