Scared of heart medicine
 

Not me--Beautiful Daughter No. 1.

So, BD#1, who is 6 months pregnant, complained of heart palpitations, and was sent to the cardiologist, who diagnosed her with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome--some kind of extra electrical impulse thing in the heart--and prescribed her some meds.

But I just talked to her, and she hasn't started taking them, because the idea of taking heart medicine is scaring her. She's scared of having to take it the rest of her life (though the symptoms have only worsened with this pregancy).

We all have "innocent" heart murmers-by all, I mean, me, both my daughters, and all of the grandkids, so far as I know. Maybe we all have this wolfy syndrome--I dunno, this is new. It doesn't really sound all that dangerous, but it is a bit scary. And, if the symptoms are bad enough to consult a dr. about--why not take the medicine?

No particular point to this, just a bit scared for her.

I'm afraid of any medication with a life-time commitment but I guess if its crucial for living... Taking it with a babe on board would be scarey as well. Has she been tracking the frquency and intensity? Maybe a return to the Dr with Mom to focus her questions is in order.

The pregnancy + meds thing is what concerned me too, at first, but BD#1 says that she discussed that aspect with the doc at length.

On the whole, the syndrome doesn't sound too scary--except for one syndrome -- "sudden death."

:(

Why, oh why are people afraid of taking medication "for the rest of their life"?
It makes no sense to me. I have been on certain medications since I was 24; I will undoubtedly be on them till I die -- with the help of said meds, it may be much further off, I hope!

Can someone explain to me why taking a baby aspirin, or a statin, or allergy medication, or .... 'for the rest of your life' is so damn scary? Or more scary than cancer, a stroke, a heart attack or even hay fever? :confused:

I agree, but I also think that 1) taking the medicine is acknowledging you have a serious problem; and 2) no one really wants to be dependent on meds to function

Denial is a powerful thing. But you're not dependent on these types medication to function; they just make it more likely you'll ... I dunno, be around for your kids?

I would notice absolutely no difference today if I stopped taking my statins. I'd notice in 10-20 years, when I'd be more likely to wind up dead.

Good point, Pie.

Necessary meds are important but for example I was told I'd need acid blockers for the rest of my life, instead I gave up beer/wheat... problem solved.
Some people are susceptable to liver damage from long term relationships with meds. Take my dead mother for instance who was put on statins for the rest of her life which fortunately turned out to be only a couple years before the liver cancer killed her. Few things are scarier than cancer.

Well yes and no to pie's point. I think. As I understand it, some meds you do become dependant on, because they work so well, your organs lose the limited function they had before. That could be urban legend, though.

I don't see how you can become psychologically dependent upon drugs such as heart medicine, your body won't go through withdrawal will it? You just might die later. If that is the dependency, then it seems the right thing to do.

Well Beest takes thyroid medicine, and the reason he takes it is because his thyroid is/was working too hard to maintain the correct levels -so his levels were mostly OK, but the thyroid became enlarged and pressing on his windpipe. The meds maintain the right levels, so the thyroid stops working so hard. and I'm pretty sure I remember reading online somewhere that once the thyroid eases off as the meds take over, it often can't "start up" agaian if the meds are stopped. But i was at a very very scared point when i was reading up on all this, so i may only have read the bad stuff.

Sure. So I get a liver screening every year.

If lifestyle changes are sufficient to fix the problem, bully for you. Drinking less coffee helped my reflux, too.

Somehow, I don't think Cloud's daughter is in that boat.

For all the statisticians out there, it's an expected value problem: what is the integrated short-term and long-term risk and consequences of the medication versus the short-term and long-term risk and consequences of the disease or condition? If the latter is larger, take the drugs. :shrug:

it is still scary, though. Even for rational and logical people.

yeah. And I don't think she's meaning dependency in the clinical sense either, but am really not sure. I will talk to her again.

We're having a surprise birthday party for her tomorrow, so we'll see.

Just make sure you surpise her gently, okay?

As did she.

Sorry about the hijacking Cloud. Obviously, I have a problem with over-medication just as Pie has with under-medication. We're both working off of personal experience hers good mine bad. I apologize if I came off as snippy Pie.

Good luck with your daughter.

That's okay. I appreciate the opportunity to whine and vent.

I'll let you know what happens.

My best friend's father had high blood pressure at 50, mostly from a heavy meat/fat diet and crappy eating habits. So his doctor put him on drugs and he changed his eating habits significantly. Every time he'd go back to the doctor they'd check his blood pressure and say it's fine, keep taking your meds. At 60 he was on kidney dialysis.

Not once in those ten years did the doctor ever try reducing the meds to see if less would be sufficient. Nor did he ask about lifestyle changes that might come into play.

cloud

just wondering .....how is the statin suppose to help with the electrical current problem?

IF she isn't going to take them I found this article

http://www.all-about-lowering-choles...naturally.html

mayo clinic on w.p
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/wol...ents-and-drugs

If she is afraid maybe she could see a naturopath.

High blood pressure itself causes kidney failure.
Beta blockers have no such side effects.

correlation != causation

skyshide--She's taking it now, but I don't know what kind of medication yet. I asked her last night, and she said, "It starts with an m . . . "

The cardiologist did say that she shouldn't have any more children. Not that she was planning to, but by implication that means she wouldn't survive another pregancy. Which is very scary.

Now, I'm just hoping she'll survive this one. She's got placenta previa going on now, too.

Yeah, I'm freaking out a little. She's off to Las Vegas to see Depeche Mode. I pulled her friend off to the side, and said, you'd better take GREAT care of her, you hear? Make her keep hydrated, make her wear tennis shoes . . .

I think that you need to re-evaluate your meds regularly. For example, around 1960 I was diagnosed with a thyroid deficiency. So I took thyroid regularly for about 10 years. Eventually, I decided to see what would happen if I got off the thyroid. So I reduced and eventually ended the dosage. I was just fine, and that was a long time ago.

Since then, I have had a doctor tell me that it is impossible for me to have "healed" so as not to need thyroid. The original diagnosis was wrong. Well, I know what the test results were, and the symptoms (sleeping 12-15 hours/day, among other things), so I believe that the impossible happened.

Of course, if the result of getting off the meds could have been death, I would probably not have tried it.

But he didn't have high blood pressure on the medication and might have not had it with less medication or from the lifestyle changes... they never bothered to check. Oh, and you're assuming Beta blockers.

Most likely she is on an Anti-arrhythmic medication (amiodarone). She would not be on a Beta Blocker or a Anti-hypertensive. After her pregnancy she might be a canidate for Radiofrequency catheter ablation, which I have been involved in a few times which is 100% curative. Pregnancy may predispose women to the development of tachydysrhythmias where previously they were not at as much risk during the non-pregnant state. Any events of rapid heart rate, pounding in chest, faintness, LOC, chest pain, she should seek immediate medical attention. The problem can be if she does develop a prolonged tachydysrhythmia that it could put the fetus at risk. She needs to really be in tune with her body, stay hydrated, and get plenty of rest. I don't think I would take the docs word about never getting prego again, consult a high risk OB doc for the best advice.:2cents:

Oh, and not taking the meds puts her fetus at risk as well as her life, she better start taking the med asap.

WPW

Normal pathways of electrical conduction in yellow, WPW in white:
http://content.revolutionhealth.com/...pup-r7_wpw.jpg

WPW explained:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolff-P...White_syndrome

So, what drug was he on? Your assumption that the drugs lead to the ESRD is also unwarranted. Merc, can you comment on the link between long-term low-level hypertension and kidney failure?
A quick web search leads to this statement on WebMD:

Thank you, Merc. She's taking the medicine now, and she's a sensible girl, so we shall see.

My understanding is that there is no causation of ESRD due to the BP medications. Although there does not seem to be a ton of info about it. Remember that drug companies will always warn about ESRD or kidney damage with certain meds that are metabolized or excreted via the renal system, I don't think I have seen a drug insert that did not have something about it.

There is one study after a quick search here:
http://ndt.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/co...act/13/12/3084

There are many causes of ESRD, infection, diabetes, etc, high blood pressure is just one of them. Plenty of people get it who don't have high bp but most all people with it also have High bp. The kidneys play an important role in the every day function of our BP.

No problem, glad to hear it, check PM.

You're missing the point. Doctors guess at the level of medication necessary for the perceived problem, and never check to see if the dosage could be reduced, or even eliminated, due to lifestyle changes. Every drug has side effects, even aspirin.