Why am i so tired on my beta blocker during morning walks?

[AddisonM]

I’ve been on a beta blocker for a few months now for my hypertension, and I’m finding it really hard to get motivated for my usual morning walks. I just feel so sluggish and drained before I even start, which wasn’t the case before. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of exercise fatigue from their cardiac medication?

[AdamBJ]

I’ve been there. A few months into a beta blocker for hypertension I woke up feeling heavy, and my morning walk felt like a slog. I still started with a 10–15 minute slow pace and kept a log of how I felt. Over the next several weeks the heaviness eased a bit, but I never got back to that old morning zing. I talked to my doctor about side effects and we looked at timing and dose adjustments; nothing dramatic, but it helped a little.

[AnthonyNB]

I’m not sure it’s only the med. Sleep quality, hydration, iron levels, or thyroid stuff can all drag energy down. It’s easy to blame the beta blocker, since that’s how I felt, but I kept thinking maybe something else was playing a part. Still, the fatigue persisted enough to throw off the routine.

[Thomas91]

Could the problem be the timing of the dose?

[KennethFT]

I kept showing up for short walks and didn’t push too hard. 10 or 12 minutes, then a day off if I felt worse. It was clunky, and it took a while for me to adjust mentally to the slower start. If nothing changes, I’d bring it up with the clinician and see if there’s a safer tweak.