Vitamin C Forum

At the end of June Cardiologist prescribed at Statin (Zocor) and a Beta Blocker (Metoprolol) 25mg. I started taking both the same day and on the fifth day I felt like I was either going to be paralyzed or die so I did some research on the side effects of Zocor and was horrified that any Doctor would prescribe one of those drugs. I stopped taking it immediately. I continued taking the BB until I started feeling some of the side effects. I cut back to 12.5mg per day for 9 nine days then stopped taking it all. That was 6 days ago. The side effects of discontinuing this drug is just about as bad as those when taking it. On day four my tachycardia averaged about 155 for the entire day, then the morning of day five, my HR had dropped to high 60's and maintained between 60-75 for most of an active day.

So I thought the worst was past....well at 1 this morning my tachycardia was back in the range of 120-130 and has remained most of the day fluctuating between 90-130 on average with the most recent right now of 121. My question is: How long do these withdrawal symptoms persist and when can I get back my normal HR prior to taking this medication. My resting HR was 55 prior to taking this med for a total of 53 days.

I have never taken any drugs in my life except for some antibiotics after some dental work and I want to get this stuff out of my system,.

Hi Ray,

Question: Do you ingest a Bowel Tolerance dose of ascorbic acid every day? If not, why not?

Just trying to help,

David

David,
Oh, yes...I'm taking about 18 grams orally a day as well as 10 Lipo per day for the prior week....turbo boost sort of. I'm also taking 6 grams or Lysine and one gram of Proline along with E, A, K2, D3.....and some other supplements. Diagnosed with CAD with the preferred treatment being CABG. I opted for PT after research and found a Natural Medicine Dr. to work with, so I'm really optimistic but it is sort of frightening to have your heart jumping out of your chest all day.

Hi Ray,

...it is sort of frightening to have your heart jumping out of your chest all day.

I can only imagine!

Have you read Dr. Cathcart's "Titrating to Bowel Tolerance" article? If not, I HIGHLY recommend you do so: http://vitamincfoundation.org/www.ortho ... itrate.htm My reason for asking, is that even though you "seem" to be ingesting quite a bit of ascorbate daily, it may still be well short of what your body really wants/needs [at least initially].

"For my money" I highly recommend a Bowel Tolererence dose many times per day, for maximum health.

Just my viewpoint,

David

Right now that IS my maximum dose due to BT.....up from about 10 grams daily in the beginning.

Glad to hear it, Ray!

May I inquire as to how long you have been Bowel Tolerance dosing?

Best wishes,

David

Since I started around July 1st. I had been taking a daily 2 grams VC for the past 3 years. I actually tried too much at one dosing to begin. I now take a powder of 4.5 grams three times a day and try to remember to take 1 gram pill about every hour between powders.

I peaked out at 165 hr yesterday evening and finally at 10PM last night started to drop until about 10:45 it was down to 70 and so far today has maintained in the low 60's so maybe my body has kicked the habit. Those BB s are some nasty things with some nasty side effects.

I firmly believe that it is the "rebound effect" from going off of the metoprolol as I have read that most people that stop the drug have these symptoms. Today I wake up to mid 50's HR and it has been like that most of today except right now it is 135.... Just started like that. I just wonder how long this is going to last as I have read where some people experience these withdrawal symptoms for weeks or even months.

Is it because the meds are still floating around in the bloodstream or that the adrenaline in the blood is now free to attach to a receptor in the heart?

I'm somewhat ahead of the curve here....from day one after the cath I went total low carb again. I have had no sugars and extremely limited grains (couple of Beck's beers on occasion). Being 5'10" I weighed 202 lbs on June 26th and since I've dropped to 184 and continuing. I do not take any sugar or artificial sweeteners and eschew all simple carbs (no bread, pasta, potatoes, etc.).

My total cholesterol on 7/2 was 292 and since finding my Natural Dr. I had everything tested again on 7/31 and (hopefully due to my lifestyle change) it had dropped to 254. HDL was 31 went to 33, triglycerides were 372 went to 330, LDL calc was 187 went to 155, glucose was 116 and went to 108. This was all in a 30 day period and I have only intensified my regimen since.

I will turn 66 in December and I really believe that I am in fairly good health with the exception of the artery issues and I fully expect the PT to "cure" this disease. I did forget to mention that when I go tachy that my blood pressure also rises. When my HR was 135 I took my BP and it was 165/110, at 88 BPM it was 155/98 and at 63 it was 148/88. When I had it taken at the end of July it was 120/80 at 55 BPM.

I do not have any 'head" issues with the Metoprolol...just the tachy now that I'm trying to wean off.

I have the support of my naturopath, David Clark, DC, NMD who says that I am on the right path and the only thing he would suggest is to consider maybe some IVC but I do not expect further examination until sometime in November.....I would just like to get off of this Metoprolol!

Thank you all for taking time out to help and encourage...I'm not used to not being well.

Owen,
The blockage was determined via an angiogram. I went into the cath lab fully expecting to come out with stents. I guess location or extent of the blockage (Johnwen?) prevented insertion of the stents for which I am so grateful at this time. Being completely ignorant of CAD and the treatments involved meant that I was totally accepting of what the Dr. said was wrong and the recommended treatment. Only after I was taking the statin and experienced those horrible side effects did I investigate. I actually was looking up Red Yeast Rice as an alternative to the statin when I came upon Dr. Mercola's site where I discovered the Pauling Therapy, the Pauling Institute and Rath's book. Once I understood the cause of CAD the "accepted" treatments no longer made sense.

I looked for the fallacy behind the PT and couldn't find it. I basically looked at it this way: The recommended "acceptable" treatment of CABG would always be available, unless I died before then. Yet the statistics show that CABG does not extend, on average, the lifespan. Those that opt not typically live as long as those that do although the quality may not be the same. I have also read that the molecular makeup of arteries and veins are inherently different and no matter how the body tries a vein never does become an artery.

Although I have tried to steer clear of the "medical industry" by listening to my body, i.e. knowing when I carry too much weight, knowing when I tire easily, etc. and making lifestyle changes at that time, inevitably one must seek the services in order to get the insurance to pay for the needed tests. I do believe that our medical profession has the finest technicians in the world and believe that if I opted for the surgery that it would in all probability be a success. In other words our technicians are the best in the world at acute care but definitely lack in their ability to diagnose and treat chronic illnesses. The Pauling Therapy made sense to me.....it was the logical treatment.....cure the cause and the symptoms will disappear.

I took the gamut of the tests....I had the angiogram in the cath lab, the blood tests, chest x-rays, chest CT scan, EKG and echo cardiogram. Blockage shows up on the angiogram. I have the film and the pictures of the chest CT scan on my hard drive.

Oh, by the way at 7:32 AM My blood pressure was 116/70 at 57 BPM....so I feel like I'm getting back to normal and I have had no instances today of tachy......so far.