HELEN: As one who knows.....There are other heart meds that may help your Mom, I don't know her story, but talk to the Doc. Beta blockers are very popular nowadays for the protection qualities they afford the heart, but like your Mom, I am REALLY ALLERGIC to them. In any normal dosages, I become very anxious and CANNOT catch my breath...feeling of drowning and I have to THINK about breathing...very scary. The problem that required the BB was repaired with a new laser ablation procedure which a DIFFERENT cardiologist performed. No shit, the one I had just blew off the reactions I had to the BB's. The ablation totally fixed the arrhythmia which was the problem I had after the quad by-pass.

I guess that I worry about folks who have Docs that are so negative that the patient feels its hopeless. Or where you begin to treat yourself....I had stopped the blockers as I was told by the first asshole that it was pretty much in my head and I'd have to live with it!!!!

Live my ass...I COULDN'T BREATHE!!! I diagnosed the problem myself through reading about the meds and watching when the attacks occured with relation to the meds. I think that pissed him off too.

Best of luck to your Mom and Much Love to You and Bruce too.....and his banana tree(obligatory catspaw crack)

Spaw