Beta blockers for pacing?

[TJ_Fitz]

Lately I've been running an activity on my Garmin watch, with an upper limit warning set, to help me pace myself better. I've been amazed at how quickly my heart rate can jump from doing relatively simple things: for example, I was laying on the sofa, and adjusting pillows and blanket quickly drove my heart rate up to 120.

My mom has been on propranolol for about 45 years to treat her arrhythmia (which I didn't seem to inherit), and I've learned that those drugs diminish the effects of adrenaline on the heart, so I plan to talk with my PCP about getting on one myself. I'm hoping that will stabilize my heart rate during mild activity.

I'm leaning towards cardioselective beta blockers because my main concern is my heart rate, I don't have high blood pressure, and I do have some circulation issues when my hands and feet when they are cold.

Is this a good idea? Are there benefits for ME/CFS patients to use nonselective beta blocker instead?

 

[alyssum.pohl]

As an ME/CFS patient with POTS and dysautonmia, with propanolol I had to get the dosing right to avoid increased syncope/fainting. I have since switched to corlanor which reduces HR without lowering BP. It has increased my quality of life, ie less time bed bound.

 

[Curiosity]

I have a propanolol prescription I use to manage my heart rate. Sometimes I take it before bed if I'm keyed up and know I am likely to have trouble falling asleep; my doctor has also recommended I use it when I get anxious to help bring me back to baseline quicker. I find it very helpful so long as I don't take it too often. While I only fainted once, it was during a time when I was taking it nightly to see if helped with sleep quality generally, so I don't do that anymore.

 

[StephanieM]

I use a very low dose of propranolol as needed. My heart rate jumps when I reposition myself when I'm lying down or reclining but not as much as yours and I've figured out how to manage my life from a recliner. The propranolol has really expanded my ability to be upright, even just to sit up to eat, or to run a quick errand, which has been great for my quality of life. I was afraid that it would bring my heart rate down too much and I wouldn't know when I had done enough and I would push myself into fatigue, but that hasn't happened.

 

[Nancy9012]

As an ME/CFS patient with POTS and dysautonmia, with propanolol I had to get the dosing right to avoid increased syncope/fainting. I have since switched to corlanor which reduces HR without lowering BP. It has increased my quality of life, ie less time bed bound.

Hi, could you share which Beta Blocker you like?