The backstory is that I was on Metoprolol to control my heart rate. However that drug interferes with the function of the epinephrine which is a form of adrenaline, as it keeps the heart rate low. I need allergy shots for my allergies. I am a person who really shouldn’t stop them after the maintenance dose is reached. I don’t retain the sensitivity or what ever they call not having bad allergic reactions. So as I was going to be getting my shots again, I needed to be removed from the medication.
When I was removed from the Metoprolol my heart rate soared uncontrolled. The first two weeks I was running in the high 130s to lower 140s. I also had huge shortness of breath and my Apple Watch EKG function showed my rhythm was not even, giving pauses and double beats. Ron worked open heart ICU and he was freaking out. I contacted my primary care doctor, who referred me to my old heart group. The doctor who treated me there was no longer with them, and they simply ignored the referral. Almost a month went by with first me then the primary care office trying to contact their appointment desk and they never answered us. So I got referred to a different group at my request.
In the wealthiest country in the world the next appointment I could get was three months away at the end of May. My heart rate settled down to running in the 100s to the lower 120s. However the shortness of breath remained bad. Here is where the current trouble begins. I used the patient portal to ask my allergist office if they treated asthma and included the details. And the nurse replied that yes they did but due to the heart rate she referred the information to the doctor. Danged if yesterday afternoon I got a call from the doctor himself. He was very concerned. He asked questions and said he felt that the heart rate even at the lower rates it is now down to from the upper rates it was still too high and the shortness of breath which he thought was not asthma but heart related. The allergist really pushed hard for me to go back on the Metoprolol until I have seen the cardiologist. When I reminded him I have an upcoming testing for the level of my current allergies so they can correctly prepare the serum, he told me with my heart rates so high he wouldn’t give me the test nor the injections anyway.
So as of yesterday afternoon I am back on the heart rate medication, my heart rate has already fallen into the high 80s, low 90s after exertion. The allergy stuff is on hold. Hopefully I will be back to normal me soon. I was already feeling much better as the heart rate settled in to the 100s, but when it gets back into the 70s I will feel even better. This is not the result I wanted, and the allergist was not sure if I would ever be able to get my shots because metoprolol is the only drug doctors use to slow the heart that he knew of. Hugs
Scottie's Playtime 
I’m not a doctor … nor am I all that familiar with your various maladies (except what you have shared), but it seems to me that your HEART action is FAR more important than anything else. I recognize that allergic reactions can be MOST unpleasant, but it’s the HEART that keeps things going so I personally think the doctor you spoke with was spot-on.
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Hello Nan. The allergist was making about the same argument. However I really am sick when my allergies get bad as they have been all this year. Every day especially in the mornings I feel like I have a cold or lite flu. At night I wake up because I can’t breathe and have to take my allergy inhalers to dry my sinus systems out. It is hard to do anything when you feel like you have a cold but know it is just allergies. Plus as I said some things hit me so hard it can be serious and even life threatening. The other day I had to take a lot of Benadryl which made me feel so crappy the next day to mention spend all of that afternoon / evening in bed.
I have to find a way to make the heart work correctly while getting the shots to control the allergies. But how? Hugs
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As I think I’m mentioned before, my other-half has bad allergies as well. PLUS he is on heart medication. Somehow he’s able to get the two to work together (although this doesn’t mean he feels 100%!) so it seems there should be SOME sort of solution. I would think taking “a lot of Benadryl” wouldn’t be all that good for you … !!
In any case, I hope things get worked out.
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Hello Nan. Does your husband get allergy sensitivity shots? See I can take the medication for allergies but the doctor’s office won’t give me the shots while I am on metoprolol. That is because if I go into a severe reaction, something I have never done, the standard response might not work or work as well on metoprolol. I am on other blood pressure medications but the allergy people don’t care about them. The one that is the problem is the metoprolol and how it works. Both doctors I have asked said it is the only one used to slow the heart down. I am hoping the new cardiologist will have new ideas. As for Benadryl, that is what they gave me in the hospital when I have gone in for a bad allergic reaction. Yes it is not good to take it long term but for the occasional need it is safe. Hugs
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Essentially, he has similar problems to you, Scottie — allergies, heart problems, along with severe childhood asthma — and he takes beaucoup medications to keep it all under control! (Recently we had to call an ambulance because he wasn’t getting enough oxygen! All worked out OK.)
No, he doesn’t get allergy shots. He has medication (not sure what it is) that he takes whenever he has a really bad allergy attack.
I just read a bit on metoprolol and it says it’s used for hypertension — which is a side effect of some allergy medication and is probably why the doc says to avoid it. Anyway, I also read that apparently allergy medication that has a “D” in its name if best to take for those with hypertension.
In any case, I’m sorry you’re having all these problems … but the main one you need to focus on is your heart … so listen to the docs! Hopefully, as you say, the cardiologist will be able to help make everything come together.
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Hello Nan. Glad everything worked out well with your husband’s close call. The reason I take metoprolol is not hypertension, which is high blood pressure. I have other medications for that. Metoprolol is also generally used to lower heart rate, which is what I need it for. My heart rate was getting worse as I got older and with other heart issues such as pauses it caused them to put me on metoprolol the first time. Metoprolol is a beta blocker. Beta blockers work by blocking the effects of the hormone epinephrine, also known as adrenaline. Beta blockers cause the heart to beat more slowly and with less force. The effect of epinephrine on severe allergic reactions may be decreased if you are also taking beta-blockers. Which is why my allergist’s office won’t give the sensitivity injections when you are on a beta-blocker, the normal method they use to counter a server reaction may not be effect or work as well. I have to find either another way to lower the heart rate, which as far as I know might be limited to either these types of drugs or surgery, or get the allergist to do the shots with me on the metoprolol. I need both, but seems I might not be able to have both. I really do need to have my heart rate slowed as we all just found out. As soon as I went off the metoprolol my heart raced to seriously dangerous levels. That caused my rhythm to be off and that caused my to have trouble breathing. Over the 6 weeks or so I was off the drug my heart rate slowed some to the 100s and 120s but I still had rhythm problems and trouble breathing. Also during all this I lost cognitive ability. Really I couldn’t think. I struggled to understand what was going on, I couldn’t reason, I had complete brain fog. It has cleared a lot since my heart rate has come down. My current heart rate is 66 and I feel so much better. Also I can think again. I still have some brain fog and periods where it is hard to concentrate or think, but it is getting better. Best wishes. Hugs
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First, I said metoprolol is for hypertension because that’s what I found when I looked it up on Google. 🙂 Plus my other-half said it’s the medication his doctor put him on for high blood pressure (i.e., hypertension).
I did come across this, so this may be what’s behind your thinking: It works by relaxing blood vessels and slowing heart rate to improve blood flow and decrease blood pressure. I interpret this to mean your fast heart beat is a symptom of high blood pressure. (BTW, my other-half also had an ablation some years back due to an extremely high heartbeat … so again, it would seem the metoprolol is a dual medication.)
I know you probably don’t want to think about it, but you know (and have shared) the reason behind your extreme allergies (it starts with the letter “c”). Since your heart is far more important than some of your other health problems, doesn’t it seem logical to focus on that and perhaps reduce your exposure to this allergen? 😎
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Hello Nan. I am confused by this sentence. I know you probably don’t want to think about it, but you know (and have shared) the reason behind your extreme allergies (it starts with the letter “c”). Oh I suddenly got it, CAT. Sorry actually the last tests I had done back like 2019 showed cats were not very high on my allergy causing things as before. Originally back in the early 1990s I started getting allergy shots for pet dander, especially cats. Every few years they retested me and found my allergies changed they added more and changed the levels of intensity. Sadly it is other environmental factors I cannot remove from my life, and now this latest testing showed I am seriously allergic to most soaps, shampoos, lotions, and other normally used products. Now that I am using specialty shampoos, conditioner, and soap my face which would be raw skin burns is clear and normal color. I still have to be seen by a dermatologist, but that has to wait. Hugs
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Yes, cats. 😈 OK, yes, I just read that you can build up some sort of immunity via injections that contain cat allergens, so maybe that’s why it’s not such a problem anymore. But the fact that you continue to have other things affect you sounds like it could be a heredity problem … and obviously, that’s going to be tough to get rid of!!
Another thing that may be contributing are the particles and dust related to the repairs from the hurricane, as well as Ron’s various projects. From what I’ve read and heard, allergens are everywhere! It just depends on how each person reacts to them.
In any case, I still say you MUST focus on your heart and do WHATEVER it takes to remedy that problem.
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Hello Nan. Yup, what you write is correct. And did I mention that Ron just rescued another cat that now likes to spend its time on our bed and seems to love to creep up on my pillows at night to stare at me? Even though Ron rescued him and brought him into our home he seems to be getting attached to me. Weird Ron can not touch me at night without me being startled or walk into the room without me waking up, but this little former street urchin can crawl up on my pillow next to my face and not bother me at all. I woke up this morning with him laying on my side. He is so small, he reminds me of my lovely Milo. This new cat is named Tupac and he is filling out since we got him. He had an accident so his back end / hips are damaged, but he is so sweet. I need to fatten him up a bunch. Yes I am falling in love with him. But he is Ron’s cat for now. Hugs
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Thinking of you Scottie.
Wishing you well.
Roger & Sheila.
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Thanks for the update, Scottie! I am sure all will go well. Best wishes, and keep on calming down. xx Michael
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Hello Michael. Yes my resting heart rate is down to 60 and my current heart rate is only 65. No leg swelling, easier to think. Still having some brain fog but it is better. Hugs
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