carvedilol / diovan question

[wes]

Greetings everyone! It's been ages since I've posted a question, but I've been lurking and occasionally chiming in to help a newbie every now and again. Alas the time has come for me to seek some advice:

I've been taking 5mg of Carvedilol and 40mg of Diovan daily ever since my operation a year ago. I had a check-up with my cardiologist this morning and my blood pressure was a whopping 99/59! That explains my recent feelings of lethargy! Anyway, we both agreed that my medication is too powerful and he decided to do away with the blood pressure medications to see how my heart functions on its own. So, my question for you would be the following:

Should I stop my medication cold turkey or phase them out? Personally, I'm leaning towards phasing them out, but the question would be how slowly/quickly to reduce the dosage. I know, I know - these are questions for my cardiologist but you also have to realize I'm dealing with a language barrier here. Although I can speak conversational Japanese, I don't know how to say "phase out" and "cold turkey" in Japanese (they're not high up on the frequency word lists if you know what I mean)

Has anyone else had to deal with cutting back/phasing out these two medications? If so, were there any side effects? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Peace.

 

[Ross]

Which one is he axing? If it's the Diovan, just quit cold turkey. Not sure about the Carvedilol.

 

[wes]

he's actually axing them both to see if my shortness of breath will subside. i've been having difficulty sleeping because of it.

 

[Jkm7]

Why not play it safe and wean off both?
It can't hurt you to reduce gradually until you are off but you could possibly (?) have difficulty if you cold turkey.

Is it possible you can find someone to call your cardio's office with you so they can interpret the few words that are stumbling blocks?

 

[Ross]

They are both so low dosed that I don't think it's going to matter. Your choice, do as you see fit.

 

[Bina]

Taken from www.medicinenet.com
""DOSING: Carvedilol usually is given twice daily. For high blood pressure, the dose may range from 6.25mg twice daily to a maximum of 25mg twice daily. For congestive heart failure, the dose may range from 3.25mg twice daily to a maximum of 25mg twice daily in persons weighing less than 85kg (187 pounds) or 50mg twice daily in persons weighing more than 85kg (187 pounds). Carvedilol should be taken with food since this increases the amount of absorbed drug that reaches the heart and arteries. Stopping and changing doses of carvedilol should be done under the direction of a physician since sudden changes in dose can result in serious cardiac complications such as arrhythmias.""

Wes, it's good to hear from you!

 

[pnwcoast]

I take carvedilol 25mg am and pm. All I have read says do not stop taking the stuff cold turkey but 5mg is a low dose. I think it depends a lot on why you are taking it. I think if you are taking it for high blood pressure you may be ok to just stop it altogether. But remember, I'm not a Doctor. My milage always varies anyway.

 

[wes]

thanks for your replies. I didn't realize that 5mg was such a low dosage. I'll have my wife call my cardiologist just to make sure and I'll slowly wean myself off the medication. The medicine was prescribed after OHS just to keep my blood pressure down, but I've never had any problems with arrhythmia or CHF (knock on wood, knock on wood)