Connect
← Return to Stopping Carvedilol (Coreg): When will the effects wear off?
Discussion
Stopping Carvedilol (Coreg): When will the effects wear off?
Heart & Blood Health | Last Active: Jan 28 11:26am | Replies (384)Comment receiving replies
Hello. In my effort to understand why I am having such side effects with Carvedilol I have been reading the various posts but have not seen any mentioning leg and joint pain. I am 74 and I had been having fluctuations in my heart, like a fluttering, so went to a heart specialist to get checked out. He had me wear a heart monitor. When results came in he said at one point my heart beat really fast 17 times in a row. He felt I needed a beta blocker to prevent that from getting worse. So I agreed and began with a low dose and finally a 6.25 tabs twice daily. My side effects only started after several months of first 3.15 twice a day then 6.25 twice a day. I am a side sleeper and the pain has become so bad I cannot sleep on my left side. Tylenol helps very little. I had no joint or leg problems before starting on Carvedilol. Now my leg is aching all the time. I had to purchase an elastic knee brace to help with my knee pain through the day. When I discussed these effects with my doctor he more or less said that it had nothing to do with Carvedilol. I told him that before I came to him and got on this drug I had no joint pain in my knee and hip. On top of that I have terrible insomnia making day to day activities harder. Has anyone else had severe joint pain from this drug? I am now cutting pills in half to try to wean myself off this beta blocker. He also had me try Bystolic at one point, but it did not work for me. Now he wants me to try Atenolol. I do not see the point of another beta blocker as apparently my body does not like them. I am a person with several drug allergies. There must be another solution. Thanks for any suggestions.
Replies to "Hello. In my effort to understand why I am having such side effects with Carvedilol I..."
Connect
Different medications are metabolized by different genes. I am not sure what gene metabolizes Carvedilol but I think it may be the same one which metabolizes a drug I had problems with - Metoprolol. As it turns out, even though everyone has the gene (CYP2D6), I had a particular variant which meant I did not effectively metabolize Metoprolol. The net result was that, instead of being absorbed and processed, it continued to circulate in my blood stream and could build up as more doses were taken. Thus the effects were multiplied. I had to be given a different drug which worked fine. This may not be your problem, but if you have not had a genetic test I would recommend one. I had my own testing done and had to convince my cardiologist and pharmacist that the drug was not appropriate for me. In fact, I am convinced that doctors and pharmacists should insist that genetic test be done to ensure that medicine can be tolerated by patients.