Great...if it wasn't enough that our heart flutters and we worry about that. Or, as if it weren't enough that we worry that our medication is going to keep our rebellious heart under control each time we feel our heart beat or our pulse rising. Now we even have to worry about how fat we will get when we take that traditional, (the older), atrial-fibrillation medication(s)!
I thought it was just me. Or, something I was doing incorrectly now that I am on A-Fib meds. . But it isn't.
My symptoms: Getting fatter. No energy. Fighting myself to get motivated to exercise. Freezing in the evenings though I am in the house while wearing multiple layers of clothing. I suddenly went from a mid-life, healthy, male to feeling like a rocking-chair-bound centenarian. I realized that ever since taking my A-Fib medication I was aging way too quickly!
So...I decided to do my own research on the subject of side-effects of A-Fib medications, known as beta-blockers. Specifically I wanted to know if they were messing around with my insulin sensitivity. What I learned shocked me. ......You WILL WANT TO KNOW THIS.
Some of the traditional beta-blockers that are often prescribed by doctors will indeed mess with your insulin sensitivity. Look at your belt line. If you have a layer of fat hanging around your belly button and belt line, then you'd better read on.
If you are taking taditional beta blockers, like I am, and if you are getting fatter no matter how much you watch what you eat and how much you try to exercise, then it may be your Beta-Blocker causing your problems. And that can quite possibly set you up for many more problems in the near future.
It is well documented that some of the older beta-blockers will reduce your insulin sensitivity. When your insulin sensitivity goes down, your body makes more insulin and your liver and the insulin start packing on body fat. Your cholesterol and your arteries also become impaired. You can become susceptible to strokes and diabetes, in addition to simply getting fatter.
People who are most subject to diabetes often pack the beef right in the mid-section. It's an early warning sign. Diabetes and too much fat, will also lead to "hardening of the arteries", increased potential for stroke, and other complications...in due time.
There is light at the end of this tunnel. One report in Blood Pressure, 1999, pp 261-268, reports that the beta blockers, dilevalol, carvedilol, and celiprolol, did NOT decrease insulin sensitivity. These three just might be the "good"guys for people like me.
I plan to visit my doctor in the near future and insist that he change my meds to one of these.
I am a pure, 100% vegan and am portioning my food. I get sufficient protein through vegan sources. I exercise to my limit of energy--though I have extremely low energy levels, I do manage to get about an hour of cardio at least every second day. I lift weights in the morning almost daily. Yet, I am packing on the pounds as though I sit around wolfing down super-sized steaks, hamburgers and french fries!!
Here's a direct quote from another recent study. "Conventional Beta-blockers decrease insulin sensitivity and increase new-onset diabetes." ("Antihypertensive agents, Insulin Sensitivity, and New-Onset Diabetes", Sarafidis, P.A., McFarlane, S.I., Bakris, G.L.; 2007, Current Diabetes Reports, 7 (3), pp. 191-199.)
And another research reported much the same outcome of that study. If you want to chase down this report, you can look for: "Metabolic safety of antihypertensive drugs: Myths versus reality: Current Hypertension Reports, 2006, 8 (5), pp.403-408.
Finally one of my favorite, lucid studies: "Differential Effect of Chronic Treatment With Two Beta-Blocking Agents on Insulin Sensitivity: The Carvedilol-Metroprolol Study", Journal of Hypertension, 14 (4), 1996, pp. 489-494. Here's the quote that caught my attention: "...Beta-adrenoceptor blocking agents have been found to decrease insulin sensitivity...Carvedilol treatment, however, resulted in slight increase in insulin resistance and a better lipid profile."
Wishing you well and wishing we can all drop a few pounds the normal way.
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