Health Care > Dad cant sleep while on stroke medicine Atenolol... what can we do?Related Photo
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I assume that you father is on Atenolol for Hypertension as you said it was a StrokeMedication and hypertension can lead to strokes. If this is the case then I would assume that he is or was taking a Diuretic such as HCTZ but that the diuretic did not control the hypertension well enough by itself. A Beta-blocker, which Atenolol is, is often added to therapy when a diuretic alone can not control the hypertension.
Before you try anything you might want to consider the possibility that it is not Atenolol that is causing the insomnea. Sleeplessness in not listed as a side effect of Atenolol and in fact some people have reported fatigue and drowsiness. There have been some reports of people having Nightmares on beta-blocker therapy.
Atenolol does not pass the Blood-brain barrier very well and so causes few neurological side effects as compaired to other Beta-blockers such as Propanolol which pass the Blood-Brain barrier more easily.
However if you are sure that the Atenolol is the problem then perhaps switching to an ACE (angiotensin coverting Enzyme) inhibitor (such as Vasotec) or an ARB (angiotensin receptor blocker)( such as Diovan) to control hypertension may be helpful.
In any case you should talk to a doctor as sleeplessness is associated with many health problem including guess what.....hypertension.
Good Luck
Blood-brain barrier , Hypertension , Medication , Nightmares , Diuretic , Enzyme , Stroke , health
