like Cardizem...if you don't mind me asking, why was it prescribed, and what's your experience with it?  

This is a question for us old timers, as I doubt any youngsters (under 40) would ever be presribed something like this.  Thanks for any feedback!  

http://www.cardizem.com/


It is usually prescribed for atrial fibrillation. Hope the link helps.

Most commonly prescribed for hypertension, not afib.  The IV form is used emergently/urgently to control the rate (ventricular response) of atrial fibrillation.  The oral form is sometimes used for long-term rate control.  

As Astro (loved your work on 'The jetsons, by the way) said, CCBs are commonly prescribed for high blood pressure. They're also sometimes prescribed for migraine headaches, cardiac arrhythmias and sometimes angina. CCBs dilate blood vessels and decrease both heart rate and the strength of heart contractions, as well as decreasing electrical conduction through the heart. These can be good things when you need to control blood pressure or protect a heart from overexertion. Obviously too much of any of these effects can be a very bad thing. Prescribed properly though, they're generally a safe, effective med.

One glitch to be aware of with either CCBs or beta blockers like propranolol is that your heart rate won't be nearly as responsive to greater demands, such as with sudden exercise.

If you're being prescribed any meds for high blood pressure, it's not a bad idea to monittor and chart your blood pressure and heart rate on a daily basis at home for the first few weeks. Such information can really help your doc fine tune your dosage. CCBs can also screw with your insulin levels, so basic blood testing isn't the worst idea.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the replies...I was curious as to side effects, etc.  I can't believe none of the other geezers take this stuff lol.  

I've googled it, and read most of the stuff about it, but nothing beats talking to someone who has taken it for a while.  

My main concern would be whether or not it causes/exacerbates things like PVCs, and whether the, uh, plumbing will still work

I take Cartia XT, a calcium-channel blocker, for Asynchronus Super-Ventricular Tachycardia (ASVT).

Much better than Atenolol, the Beta-Blocker I was on previously.

The one thing that I've noticed is that if I skip a dose the arythmia starts up pretty quickly afterwards.

With atenolol, it used to wear off slowly but also took more than a week to build up in my system.


Edit for spelling.

Oh, yeah. I was on the Attenelol Atenolol for 2, yrs. Cartia for a year and half.

Edited for sp. drug name

It was prescribed to me for high blood pressure.  It gave me a bad ass headache as well as some
very, very strange dreams.  It seems that I have taken or tried the whole spectrum of blockers-
calcium, beta- for B.P.    According to my doctor, there is a rather recent shift back to old school treatment of high blood pressure using diuretics.
On a side note,  I used to be a rather heavy drinker.  At least 12 beers a day.
One of the blocker medications that I was taking seemed to completely quench my desire to drink.
(I don't remember which one it was since it was years ago and tried so many)
Even now that I don't take blockers, I no longer have the desire to drink although I will embibe on occasion.