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Does nitro give you headaches?

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Does nitro give you headaches?

Old 03-10-19, 08:45 AM
  #1  
JLDickmon
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Does nitro give you headaches?

I'll tell the three beer story..
Has a blockage and a stent in 2012.
Sent me for s stress test right after the first of the year. Before the exercise portion, I already had an abnormal rhythm.
Did the exercise portion and found the part of the heart that the stent was in not getting good blood supply.
Sent me in for an angioplasty, found stent totally occluded (plugged).
Got referred to another cardiologist, this time it happens to be the guy that invented the drug aluting stent, has designed wires, catheters, etc. The guy's good.
However, to be eligable for another procedure this soon after January, insurance requires me to be on two anti-ischemic meds..My beta blocker for blood pressure (been on it for years) is one.. so he puts me on a low dose nitro..
Took the first dose this morning, and half an hr later, I get this "rush" feeling, and a POUNDING headache..

Anyone else take (have taken) nitro? And did it give you a headache?
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Old 03-10-19, 08:52 AM
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You are taking a drug to appease your insurance company? Oy vey.

I think it is a common side-effect.

Side Effects

Headache, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, and flushing may occur as your body adjusts to this medication. If any of these effects persist or worsen, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly.

Headache is often a sign that this medication is working. Your doctor may recommend treating headaches with an over-the-counter pain reliever (such as acetaminophen, aspirin). If the headaches continue or become severe, tell your doctor promptly.

To reduce the risk of dizziness and lightheadedness, get up slowly when rising from a sitting or lying position.
https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-1...n-oral/details
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Old 03-10-19, 09:00 AM
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Yep, It can give you a headache, not all the time, but it happens......

Nitro and headache story: I am in the ambulance going to the hospital after my first heart attack. My chest and back are very painful and I can't breathe well. The EMT, starts chatting away and I mostly don't know what he is saying. He starts some kind of IV and at some point asks if I have a headache because he heard that Nitro gives patient's headaches. I mumbled something about headache pain being the least of my problems. Later in the cardiac ICU after I had been stented, my heart was beating irregularly and it was worrying the nurse and doc and they kept using the dose of nitro until my head felt like it was going to blow off, worst headache I have ever had in my life. Later the nurse observed that headaches often accompany nitro doses..... I have only taken it once since then and that was before my second heart attack, when I took one and it did not relieve the chest pain, then I took another and still no relief from the chest pain, and I got a roaring headache to go with my chest pain.

Last edited by metalheart44; 03-10-19 at 09:08 AM.
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Old 03-10-19, 09:09 AM
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Originally Posted by wgscott
You are taking a drug to appease your insurance company? Oy vey.

I think it is a common side-effect.
kind of.. they wouldn't authorize a second procedure in under 6 months without "being sick enough to need it" is how it was explained to me..
And I wasn't about to put this off until June.
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Old 03-10-19, 09:12 AM
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Originally Posted by metalheart44
Yep, It can give you a headache, not all the time, but it happens......

Nitro and headache story: I am in the ambulance going to the hospital after my first heart attack. My chest and back are very painful and I can't breathe well. The EMT, starts chatting away and I mostly don't know what he is saying. He starts some kind of IV and at some point asks if I have a headache because he heard that Nitro gives patient's headaches. I mumbled something about headache pain being the least of my problems. Later in the cardiac ICU after I had been stented, my heart was beating irregularly and it was worrying the nurse and doc and they kept using the dose of nitro until my head felt like it was going to blow off, worst headache I have ever had in my life. Later the nurse observed that headaches often accompany nitro doses..... I have only taken it once since then and that was before my second heart attack, when I took one and it did not relieve the chest pain, then I took another and still no relief from the chest pain, and I got a roaring headache to go with my chest pain.
Oh Eww..
How are you feeling now?
Good enough to be on a bike, I assume..
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Old 03-10-19, 09:24 AM
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Originally Posted by JLDickmon
Oh Eww..
How are you feeling now?
Good enough to be on a bike, I assume..
It took me a few years to find the bike, but before that I was a regular in the gym using a treadmill, stationary bike, and swimming. Then, I started cycling and I have done so without any issue. I ride about 6k a year and climb 300-400k and seem to have no cardiac issues that inhibit cycling at whatever level my body can sustain. The most difficult thing has been finding a beta blocker dose that works with how hard I want to cycle, but that is mostly worked out. If you have been on beta blockers a while, then you know how they can affect heart rate, but it seems not everyone perceives the limits that I seem to have experienced. But, the good news is, I can be on the bike and ride at a level that works for me...
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Old 03-10-19, 10:44 AM
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Originally Posted by metalheart44
It took me a few years to find the bike, but before that I was a regular in the gym using a treadmill, stationary bike, and swimming. Then, I started cycling and I have done so without any issue. I ride about 6k a year and climb 300-400k and seem to have no cardiac issues that inhibit cycling at whatever level my body can sustain. The most difficult thing has been finding a beta blocker dose that works with how hard I want to cycle, but that is mostly worked out. If you have been on beta blockers a while, then you know how they can affect heart rate, but it seems not everyone perceives the limits that I seem to have experienced. But, the good news is, I can be on the bike and ride at a level that works for me...
I hear ya on that.. I struggle for a few minutes when I first get on until my heart rate comes up.. resting it falls to the low 50's.. normal is between 60 - 72
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Old 04-17-19, 01:40 PM
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Nitro is a vasodialator, yes it can give you a headache. If you are prescribed nitro at home, in tablet form, you receive teeezers in the outer container so you don’t touch the tablets with your bare fingers. Surgical gloves are recommended also. You can absorb it through your skin, nitro patches are used for some patients. Mine was by an oral spray by one of the CE nurses that met me as I got out of the truck, the other literally picked my then 245 lbs butt up, and put me on a gurney before I could take a single step.

I had it administered on entry to a hospital’s cardiac chest pain clinic, in 1998. Within the hour I had the worst headache since a failed spinal lumbar puncture that required a blood patch to clot it. Lasted over 24 hours, and until the cardiologist catheterized me and cleared that no blockage was present, nothing could be given for analgesic relief.

Bill

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Old 04-17-19, 05:23 PM
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Read this thread with interest.

Several years ago, I suffered a weird fall while taking a picture.. believe it or not. Broke my left femur. While at a somewhat remote hospital awaiting surgery to repair it, they administered a "nuclear stress test," a drug mimicking your heart under physical stress. A blockage was revealed, but I never had symptoms. Decided to go ahead with the surgery as the alternative was a 2.5 hour ground ambulance ride to Marquette, which was not highly regarded at that time.

I was enrolled in a cardiac rehab session and a follow-up with a cardiologist. He, they, routinely prescribed nitro as part of the regimen, but have never used it. I was never instructed to use special handling.
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Old 04-18-19, 09:02 PM
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