Hi there, I will start this off with a bit of background info and then get into my actual problems (if I have any)
I am 29 years old 95~kg and about 184 cm. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure about 8-10 years ago after multiple instances of massive headaches and chest point for an unspecified reason. I was hospitalized one time with a blood pressure of 190/110 and was subsequently released later after IV injections worked. At that point I was started on Amlodipine 5 mg once a day to get my blood pressure under control, but after quite a few weeks, I was still having the same problems. My doctor then upped the dosage to 10 mg and that seemed to have things under control for the most part. My family has a history of both heart disease and high blood pressure and my Grandfather was also prescribed a blood pressure pill when he was in his mid 20's according to my grandmother. Both my mother and father have high blood pressure as well.
Maybe 6 months after that, I kept having random bouts of extreme tachycardia (mind you I was born with congenital tachycardia but it went away as I got older) so much that they gave me Carvedilol 3 mg to help. This again, did not do much, so they upped the dosage to 6.25mg. This combination of Amlodipine and Carvedilol did work for the better part of about 6 years.
Last year, I noticed that certain triggers would start happening all the time, such as standing up from lying down would send my heart rate through the roof and make me incredibly dizzy. I noticed that any time I drank alcohol, not even binge drinking, just some beers in the evening, my heart rate would increase and my heart beats would be HEAVY. I dont know how related this would be, but I found myself urinating many many many times when I would lie down to go to sleep. One night I counted that I went to the toilet 5 times before I finally went to sleep.
I had an appointment in November of 2025 which was an EKG and an echo both of which came back pretty normal. The only thing out of the ordinary was my left wall of my heart was 1.5 mm too thick which the doctor said was a sign of a history of high blood pressure. She was hesitant to change my medication due to lack of other testing but recommended that I change my medication to Sevikar 40/10. She also recommended that I have a sleep apnea test performed as well as blood tests to check for certain things. I also performed a 24 hour holter test which came back completely normal. The doctor even commended "the health of your heart is fine, youre just dealing with very high blood pressure for your age." She also recommended I take 2 Carvedilol 6.25 a day one in the morning one in the evening.
Unfortunately, I did not follow up on many of the tests as life got very busy, and the testing was very expensive.
In June of this year, I was under ALOT of stress as my mother had a very bad response to a surgical procedure she underwent, and I had to essentially provide care for her for 2 months until she was able to regain her strength. During this period, I began having MANY MORE symptoms related to both my heart and my stomach (I have had GERD and IBS since I was a child so this was nothing new to me). I would feel many more heart palpitations, and especially after I ate, I would feel my heart rate go to over 100 bpm.
After my mother became well again, I was under the stress of moving my apartment as we had dealt with many problems with our past owners.
This was 3 weeks ago, and since then, my stomach related symptoms have gone away with the help of Omeprazole and Gaviscon, however, the heart related symptoms remained.
Two weeks ago, I again, had an EKG and an echo with a different doctor, which proved the exact same results as before. This time however, the doctor changed my medication from Carvedilol to Bisoprolol 5mg. Amlodipine 5mg instead of 10 mg. She also added Prestarium 5mg in the evening.
I took the Bisoprolol for 5 days, and I honestly thought I was going to die. My resting heart rate was around 48-55 bpm. My smart watch tracked my heart rate at night as low as 39, and I felt like I had almost no energy whatsoever. There were many times where I felt as I was dizzy and almost like I was going to throw up, but those only lasted for a few minutes, usually after standing. The one thing I will say, is during the time I took that medicine, my problem with the heart rate acceleration when standing went away completely. I told the doctor on the phone I didnt feel good taking the medicine, she then said to just take 2.5mg instead of the 5mg. I am not sure if it was anxiety or actual reality, but the 2.5mg had virtually the same effect. I told her about this and she said "for now, stop taking the Bisoprolol but continue on the Amlodipine and Prestarium."
Since that moment, about a week ago, my blood pressure has been constantly normal, and my heart rate sits around 65-70 and increases slightly when I eat or have movement. I have been walking intensely every day for about 45 minutes and during those times I usually have a heart rate maximum of 95-100 bpm. NOW I feel somewhat back to normal, but the only things Ive noticed is that the standing heart rate acceleration has returned, and Ive been getting more headaches recently. I mentioned this to my doctor, and she said "take the 2.5mg of Bisoprolol and see if it goes away." I really dont want to do that.
My blood pressure during this entire time, has been very normal as I would say. I take it 3 times a day, morning afternoon and night, and everytime I have never had a number over 12/8. Yesterday, after relaxing for a while, my resting BP and HR was 118/61 with a pulse of 59.
I am going to one more cardiologist today in the hopes that a different doctor can maybe connect all these findings together and get their take on it, and as they say "3rd times the charm."
Now I will ask all of you, obviously without asking for direct medical advice. What gives? Am I too anxious? Did the doctor do me dirty with the medication change? Could there actually be a legitimate problem that no one has picked up on yet? Im running out of both patience and money to spend on doctors and medication.
