High blood pressure on Carvedilol with adhd
I had not been to a doctor in 25 years. I finally went so I could get an inhaler. I'm a drywaller with seasonal allergies. My ADHD puts me in an anxious state when I can't mask. I had also been living in my car. I had a 40 year history of smoking cigarettes. Otherwise very healthy working 8-10 hours daily in commercial construction. The day I had my first appointment, I was nervous so I smoked a cigarette before going in. Right away they asked me questions about housing insecurity and I started crying. They took my blood pressure and it was elevated. They started me on carvedilol that day 2x12.5 mg daily. I quit smoking that very day. If I had not had a cigarette or been crying, my blood pressure may have been normal. I had to stop working while I adjusted to the new medicine because it was affecting me sometimes. Three weeks later I had a panic attack that landed me in the ER. Now my chart says I have a panic disorder. They gave me 5 Xanax. I haven't taken any of them.
Almost a year after starting the medication, my neck muscles feel tight and my breathing feels difficult. They never gave me an inhaler because carvedilol restricts the airway and said I couldn't use one. My ADHD is starving for adrenaline or dopamine but that's being restricted as well.
The medicine has to be tapered so I have called my PCP several times to get help and they scheduled an appointment 2 months out. If my blood pressure was their concern, they are ignoring it now.
I am in a constant state of anxiety now, fight or flight. I can't go for a run or exercise because of the fatigue. My allergies have flared up but can't get enough air to cough productively. I'm irritable. I have orthostatic hypotension in the mornings.
I used a Tele-health psychologist to help me with the anxiety. I have talked to many nurses.
Am I allowed to taper off of this medicine on my own? How do I do it? The nurses keep telling me to wait and see the doctor but my symptoms are getting worse. If I need BP medicine, there are others I could take. I don't understand how one BP reading got me on such a high dose. I only weigh 103 lbs. I think I'm on too high of a dose and I want to stop it completely.
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