Hi Everyone,
Is anyone else out the on the forum taking Verpamil, and if so what has your experience been like? I’m on day 9 and I’m taking 40 mg. At first I didn’t feel any side effects until a few days ago. Now I feel more dizzy and off balance than I have before I started taking the medication.
Love to hear you guys story…
Best,
Emma
Hi Emma, I gave Verapamil a shot and likely will add a lower dose back in it to the Lexapro that I am on now. I did have a little increased dizziness/off balance in the beginning but it settled down after a couple weeks. In the end, it didnt take my dizziness away but it did make things a little more tolerable. I came off of it because I was experiencing swelling in my lower legs and ankles. I started by opening up the 120mg capsules and taking 1/2. I made it up to 300mg and noticed the ankle swelling at 240mg. Looking back, it was the one drug that seemed to help the most but not “the” one for me. Ypu may want to try the extended release capsules…it could be that you are getting too much at one time. Good luck and try to stick with it a little while longer. Ben
I was on it for a month and it helped some at first, but then my BP Dropped too low. Tturned OUt to not be the med for?me.
Hi Emma. I have been taking 80mgs of verapamil for about 1 1/2 months. I definitely felt an increase in dizziness and feeling off balance initially, but it seems to have subsided. If you can tolerate it, try to stick with it because it should settle down. Hope this helps 
Denise
I started verapamil in Sept. at 120 mg. It seems like I started off feeling more tired than usual but that subsided. My Dr. warned if I felt more dizzy to make sure I was drinking plenty of fluids. My prescription is for the slow release. I upped my dose to 180 last week and haven’t noticed too much difference. I actually decided to stop taking it because I don’t really think it is helping and I’ve noticed some side effects that I don’t like (super long menstrual cycles and brittle nails). My primary care didn’t really think it was a good idea for me to take it anyway since I have a super low heart rate. Guess I’ll just stick with the valium until I find something that works better. Try to stick with it for at least 4 to 6 weeks and that should give you a good indication of whether or not it will help in the long run. Good luck! Marcy
Hi Emma,
I spent 5 months getting up to 240 mg of verapamil. I had no side effects at all even though my baseline resting pulse and blood pressure are very low. Unfortunately it only seemed to help my headaches and not my rocking or dizziness so I decided to lower the dose and add topamax with the goal of coming off of it completely if topamax takes over the headaches as well. I am sorry you have increased dizziness on this. I hope it settles down soon! I just started 6.25 mg of topamax a week ago and feel worse than ever, but I am sticking this out. Maybe it is a good sign that you are having side effects that the drug might work. That’s what I am hoping.
Best,
lisa
Hi Everyone,
Thank you for sharing your stories with me.
I’m currently taking 60 mg of Verpamil and I’m experiencing some side effects like constipation…I also feel bloated and notice I gained some weight, and I’m wondering if that has to do with water retention???Has anyone else experienced this? if so, how long did it take for these side effects to go away…?
Lisa, I’m sorry to hear that you’re not getting the relief you hoped for on Verpamil…Don’t you want to give Zoloft a try? I thought you talked about trying it??
I’m wondering how many people on this board have actually had some significant success with Verpamil?..it seems like it only helps a little…
For now I’m just going to stick with it to see what happens… :?
Emma
Hi Emma,
If verapamil would have helped a bit more than I would have added zoloft to take me all the way. But, after really evaluating verapamil at 240 mg, it was not strong enough for me to just add something like zoloft. Yes, it helped with my head pressure and headaches a bit, but not the symptoms that are keeping me from moving about this world (rocking, dysequilibrium). Keep in mind this is just my thinking. So, I decided to go for a heavy hitter (again, my opinion) like topamax. We’ll see if my theory is correct.
I hope verapamil works for you. Keep us posted.
Best,
Lisa
Hi Emma,
Also, regarding my reasoning in choosing topamax next… it seems that the majority of MAV specialists offer this drug as one of their first line treatments. I wanted verapamil to work because for me I had ZERO side effects (not even the slightest constipation). Maybe that’s why it did not work? Who knows… I wish you luck. I do know one woman on the forum who got better on only 60 mg of verapamil and remains well.
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
How are you doing? How much are you taking right now of Topamax?
I just increased to 80 mg today. I talked to Dr. Hain on the email and he told me if you don’t feel any difference in 2 weeks and don’t have constipation it generally doesn’t work…but then he said that the right dosage would be 120 mg for me because I’m 120 pounds. I was confused by this, so I called his medical assistant and asked him what to do, and he thought it was a good idea to try to stay on Verpamil because my constipation only lasted for a few days. He thought that I could probably tolerate higher dose to see if it could work. Now I’m slowly working my way up to 120 mg, and I hope it helps…We shall see.
Emma
Hi again,
I forgot to ask you if you got really tired on Verpamil??? I’m sleeping all the time it seems. I need two naps a day, and it wasn’t like that when I just took Celexa by itself…zzzzzz :?
Emma
I have been taking Verapamil since December of 2008. I was suffering terribly from dizziness, heavy headed feeling, rocking, etc. This medicine is the only medication I take and I have to say it has worked. I have my life back. I have to say I felt alittle “off” at first. I was more tired and woozy, it didn’t last long. I think it was my body adjusting to the medicine. I had a period of constipation when I increased, but now there are no probs. I take about 1/2 or alittle more of a 120 mg Er capsule sprinkled on applesauce before bed. I have no side effects. I did experience heart palpitations when I went higher or if I try to increase. I have spurts of dizziness and vertigo, very minor. I can work through it, it is tolerable and very short lived, like seconds. It is more like waves here and there. Hard to explain. I think weather is a huge trigger for me. I didn’t have any dizziness or vertigo at all when I was on a higher dose. I just hated the heart palpitations.
Overall, I am satisfied with the Verapamil overall. I would love to have no signs of mav and am hoping one day this will be the case. But my worst day now is like 95% and i do have mostly 100% days. Hope this helps.
Nance
Hi Nance,
I’m so happy to hear you a feeling almost 100% on Verpamil, I hope it works for me too.
How do you feel when you exercise? do you drink at all now when you are feeling better? Who is your doctor? What meds did you try before Verpamil?
Best,
Emma 
Hi Emma -
My doctor is Dr. Hain. I feel good when I go to the gym to exercise. The only “weird feeling” I have noticed is when I get off the treadmill or eliptical, I feel as if the ground is kind of moving. I am not sure if I felt that before or if I just notice every little thing now and overanalyze. See, one of my worst symptons was I felt as if the ground was dropping and coming up to meet me. I felt as if I was walking on a sponge. Thank God the Verapamil took care of that. It took a good while for the Verapamil to really “kick in” so to speak. I have had a few drinks over the summer and I was fine with it. I am very cautious since the onset of mav. Verapamil is the first and only med I have tried. I hope it works for you too. Feel free to ask me any questions.
Nance
Hi Nance,
How long were you on Verpamil until you felt a difference? I month?