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My 92 Year Old Mother Is On 50 Mg Of
Question: My 92 year old mother is on 50 mg of Atenolol and 10 mg of Amlodipine per day. She used to take one of these medications in the morning and the other at night, but for the past year or so, she has been taking them together usually around lunchtime. My one concern is that over the past few months, I have noticed increased breathing issues. When she is physically active, she loses her voice at times. My biggest concern however is that she is not resting well at all, getting only a few hours of sleep at all if she is lucky. The she sometimes catnaps during the day. It would seem to me that she should not be taking these medications together. Is there one that is better to take when she starts the day and one that is better perhaps near bedtime? Thank you.
Brief Answer:
I would recommend as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on Ask a Doctor service!
I passed carefully through your question and would explain that her clinical situation does not seem to be related to her actual therapy.
Sleep apnea could mimic this clinical situation.
Anyway, it is OK to take these drugs separately and see if this will make any improvement in her situation.
So, you can try to take atenolol at night and amlodipine at lunch.
If her situation does not improve with this change, I would recommend consulting with her attending physician and performing some tests:
- a resting ECG
- a chest X ray study and pulmonary function tests in order to exclude a lung disorder
-an arterial blood gas analysis
- a polysomnogram to investigate for possible sleep apnea.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
I remain at your disposal for any further questions whenever you need!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
I would recommend as follows:
Detailed Answer:
Hello!
Welcome and thank you for asking on Ask a Doctor service!
I passed carefully through your question and would explain that her clinical situation does not seem to be related to her actual therapy.
Sleep apnea could mimic this clinical situation.
Anyway, it is OK to take these drugs separately and see if this will make any improvement in her situation.
So, you can try to take atenolol at night and amlodipine at lunch.
If her situation does not improve with this change, I would recommend consulting with her attending physician and performing some tests:
- a resting ECG
- a chest X ray study and pulmonary function tests in order to exclude a lung disorder
-an arterial blood gas analysis
- a polysomnogram to investigate for possible sleep apnea.
Hope you will find this answer helpful!
I remain at your disposal for any further questions whenever you need!
Kind regards,
Dr. Iliri
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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