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blood pressure meds

Hi! My doctor wants me to start on blood pressure meds, and I was wondering which ones are safe for us? I avoid potassium rich foods, because I find they worsen my muscle stiffness.

Type of Myotonia: thomsen's

Country: Canada

Re: blood pressure meds

Judy,

I'll paste in a list below of contraindicated medications. Some people are able to use lower doses of the medications like beta blockers without a noticeable increase in myotonia, but almost everyone reacts to the statin drugs for cholesterol.

I would just advise discussing the pros and cons with your doctor and experiment, starting with a lower than normal dose.

If you want to try supplements, I would suggest magnesium citrate (250-500 mg per day) and an amino acid called L-Citrulline (500 - 1000 mg per day). The citrulline is especially effective in hypertension related to diabetes and COPD.

Since there are different causes for hypertension, the best treatment will target your particular cause.

The second page of this article lists medications that can affect muscle diseases including myotonia:
Muscle Disease: The Bare Essentials

Jan

Here's a list:

Statin Trade Name

Advicor
Altocor
Altoprev
Atorlip
Baycol
Caduet
Canef
Crestor
Inegy
Lescol
Lipex
Lipitor
Lipobay
Lipostat
Lipvas
Livalo
Mevacor
Pitava
Pravachol
Selektine
Simcard
Simcor
Simlup
Sortis
Torvacard
Torvast
Totalip
Tulip
Vytorin
Zocor

Statin Generic Name

Lovastatin
Atorvastatin
Cerivastatin (withdrawn 2001)
Atorvastatin with Amlodipine (Norvasc)
Fluvastatin
Rosuvastatin
Simvastatin with Ezetimibe (Zetia)
Pravastatin
Pitavastatin

BETA BLOCKERS

Non Selective Beta Blockers

Propranolol
Sotalol
Timolol
Pindolol
Levobunolol
Nadolol
Metipranolol

Cardioselective Beta Blockers

Atenolol
Acebutolol
Metoprolol
Bisoprolol
Esmolol
Betaxolol
Nebivolol

Alpha and Beta Blockers

Labetalol
Carvedilol

Type of Myotonia: Thomsen's

Country: US

Re: blood pressure meds

Thanks Jane!
I don't have diabetes or COPD, but have had a lot of stress this year. I am a nurse and work in a very busy ER, and my BP at work is usually quite good no matter how busy it is. Unfortunately I have "white coat syndrome", and when I go to see my doctor, it is usually high 150/90 range. The nurse there does a cycle of 3 pressures over 10 minutes, and the 2nd and 3rd pressures are much higher. I explained to her that after the first one, my bicep starts to spasm, and by the 3rd it is rock hard. I am pretty sure that this affecting the reading? I can usually feel when it is up, like when I walk into his office. I am just finishing a month of Coversyl 4 mg daily, and I am not happy with the side effects. After about 3 days I started having the irritating dry cough, that randomly happens, and the the increase in muscle twitches. I have an appointment tomorrow to talk to him about this. Thanks! Judy

Type of Myotonia: thomsen's

Country: Canada