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The affect of beta blockers on adrenaline and cortisol levels.
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Nov 7 10:00pm | Replies (14)Comment receiving replies
That consult with your cardiologist was quick. I only posted this less than a day ago.
I'm also currently on 25mg of metoprolol, having reduced last year down from 8yrs on 50mg following a heart attack. My BP yesterday was 116/78. I see there are new articles coming out this year calling metoprolol an "older" blood pressure medication which should be reviewed for some people as it affects things other than what's being treated. It also reduces melatonin production, so I take a small dose of melatonin each day to help with sleep, and renin production in the kidneys which affects salt/potassium balance, the same as prednisone does.
Good to hear that you're able to reduce prednisone to 2mg so far while taking 25mg of metoprolol. That gives me hope.
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It is difficult to be hopeful when a person is still on prednisone. The following was inspirational to me. Everything was explained to me by a person who had an adrenal crisis. Her only motivation was to spare me the same fate. She said the following to me before she died.
"A person with low cortisol often will experience erratic bursts of adrenaline - anxiety, rapid heart rate, flustered mood. Adrenaline is secreted as a means to compensate for lowering cortisol as the Pituitary/adrenal duo falters. Insomnia is another frequent manifestation of waxing and waning cortisol.
As cortisol is dependent for life, the body will do everything in its power to compensate for a slowly failing Pituitary-adrenal axis. The Pituitary gland does not falter without a good fight. Waxing and waning low cortisol symptoms, feeling OK one day and feeling as though you have been hit by a Mac truck the next day, reflect this insidious downward trajectory.
The body produces about 5 mg of hydrocortisone/cortisol a day. An external/exogenous dose of prednisone in excess of 5 mg a day is where the pituitary suppression and adrenal gland atrophy originates. Anything above 5 mg of exogenous steroid a day (oral prednisone) and the Pituitary gland correctly “reads” that it does not need to tell the adrenal glands to secrete cortisol. The oral dosing is covering (in excess) the body’s daily need."
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First I had to find a way to stay on less than 5 mg of prednisone daily and stay there. My luck came when my rheumatologist wanted me to try Actemra and I was able to taper down to 3 mg. I stayed on 3 mg per day for nearly a year before my cortisol level improved.
It wasn't helpful when another source was telling me to increase my prednisone dose and it was okay to take 5 mg of prednisone for the rest of my life. I resisted the "prednisone fix" that was recommended by the other source and eventually everything started to improve.