My son had been taking the beta blocker Inderal for his anxiety as it slows his racing heartbeat and calms him down. Since learning it is the culprit behind worsening his myotonia symptoms he has quit taking it. I have 2 questions related to this:
1. His primary doctor thought there is a different type of beta blocker that people with asthma take that would not aggrevate his myotonia. Do you know of any other beta blocker and if so would it have the same affect and be contraindicated for his myotonia. (Thomsen)
2. If he starts taking Mexiletine, which is a sodium channel blocker but in the same "Antiarrhythmic heart medicine" family as Inderal, would that also slow his heartbeat and help his anxiety. He currently takes Quinine which is costing me a fortune, but he is nervous about switching to Mexiletine.

Thanks for your help - I love this website.
Trudy

Type of Myotonia: Thomsen

Country: USA

Trudy,

I don't believe Mexitil will help with anxiety, racing heart, etc. You might want to ask the doctor about using an ARB (Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker) like losartan. The danger with this is that it can increase potassium and that could worsen myotonia, but it is a very effective medication for the symptoms you mention. It would probably need to be used in conjunction with something that would reduce potassium also like Diamox.

I have seen many different therapies work for PTSD symptoms like acupuncture, magnesium supplements, and EMDR therapy. Sometimes it has to do with nerve supply issues, other times it's driven by overproduction of adrenaline or other neurotransmitters. Even benign adrenal tumors can cause symptoms. It can be a long process of trial and error, but it's worth it when you finally find the right treatment.

Jan

Type of Myotonia: Thomsen's

Country: USA