Swelling/Heart meds

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/1/2004 2:25:27 PM Eastern Standard Time,

mrh2482az@... writes:

At least in heaven we won't have to take any pills !!!!! PTL

AMEN to the power of 10 to that Priscilla, hope you feel better soon. M.

[Guest guest]

Thank you all for your responses to my heart med/swelling questions.

Matt, I loved your comments about your heart meds. It is always interesting

that we can feel worse taking a med. I too lie down when my heart pounds.

My big question for the heart doc is whether it is dangerous when the heart

pounds and if you can get it to stop by lying down, then why take the med.

I am already on Lanoxin now for several years and the Verelan was just a new

addition which also caused constipation and blurry vision. They never tell

you this in advance, and I don't read my pill book till I start feeling

something different. In this case I thought it was related to my arthritis

flaring and the warmer weather, duh.

Connie, you were right about contacting my doc. I faxed my rheum doc this

morning and asked about all my meds as to whether they contributed to the

edema. She said all were ok, but the Mobic was questionable, so I will stop

it for awhile. She also said to ask my heart doc for a diuretic. Are there

any natural diuretics as I hate to add another pill to the cocktail?

Also, last night I called the Enbrel hotline and the nurse there said there

is a 2 to 3 % edema reaction on their clinical trials on Enbrel. So I think

I will wait a couple more days to go back on the Enbrel. I am feeling a

little better this morning. But if I have another bad night then I will

call my heart doc first thing in the AM. They are thinking of giving me

another heart med once my edema goes away, but I am like Matt now and want

to wait on that.

At least in heaven we won't have to take any pills !!!!! PTL

God bless

Priscilla

[Guest guest]

I just wanted to share that I take Atenelol (tenormin), a beta blocker, to

slow my heart rate and it doesn't cause me any problems. I take it in the

evenings. My pulse rate is dramatically lower and more even. It lowers

blood pressure too but is sometimes given to heart patients even if they

have normal blood pressure.

Janet in SF

ReA since 1973; diagnosed 1997; HLA-B27+

[Guest guest]

I take Diltiazem (with the same features as Atenelol), but not for the

heart. My rheumatologist prescribed it for muscle tension in my neck.

Initially, it worked like a charm. Now, its effects are negligible.

Pat