I had an experience with beta blockers that almost killed me, with a lot of help from three doctors.
As we know beta blockers are an efficient medication for some heart conditions and propranolol can be used for not just heart problems but as already stated anxiety and believe it or not, I didn't at first, it is also used to help treat migraine headaches.
Anyway to cut a long story short
I was in hospital with chest pain after previously having 5MI's and appx 8NSTEMI's the beta blocker I was on didn't seem to be helping much, AF with a testing rate of 130bpm so another was added, bisoprolol and ivabradine, still no change so sotolol was added, still no change so an anti arrythmia drug dronederone was added.
The problem here was that the other drugs were not changed or dosages lowered.
The cocktail of drugs were nicorandol, relieves chest pain opening the arteries, also lowers blood pressure, ramipril, lowers blood pressure, isosorbidemononitrate which is a form of gtn and opens arteries and lowers blood pressure, bisoprolol, sotolol and dronederone all designed to slow the rate and your blood pressure, there was also another heart med I can't remember that acted the same way.
After three days on these meds I went to use the bathroom, on the way back I felt really dizzy and sick and almost passed out next to my bed.
The cardiac nurse, just came on duty, took my obs and I had a bp of 65/45 and a heart rate of 22bpm, she tilted my bed back and called for help. Luckily for me a consultant had come in on his day off 26th December and was on the ward, he took one look at my chart and knew what was happening, all the meds had caused heart block and I had been dangerously overdosed by the doctors. He called down to the pharmacy to make up an IV solution containing calcium and other drugs to reverse the effects, he also called a vascular nurse to put in a line because my veins had collapsed. While this was going on I felt pretty ill and someone had called my wife to say I was critically ill and could die. Luckily a line was put in, fluids were pumped into raise my bp and the meds from the pharmacy arrived, I was moved into intensive care and administered drugs to help with the vomiting from the cocktail given to me.
Everything worked out fine and I moved back into cardiac care the next day.
Even professionals can screw up and I have learnt to ask questions, even if it annoys the doctors, about every drug I have been given since then.
