LindsaySince my last update on the research study I am participating in that tests the effects of ivabradine (brand name: Corlanor) on hyperadrenergic POTS, I finished the first bottle of pills and underwent the washout period. This past week I was given the 2nd pill bottle, which could be ivabradine, or could be the placebo. I have been informed that eventually I will be told whether I received the drug during the first or second month, but not until the end of the study.
I have been tracking my heart rate and blood pressure pretty closely to try to predict whether I am on ivabradine or the placebo. For the first month, my resting heart rate was higher than usual (was mid 80s), but my palpitations were much better. So, I assumed that meant I received ivabradine during the first month. However, my norepinephrine test at the end of the first month was actually a tiny bit higher than my initial pre-study norepinephrine test. So….maybe placebo?
But during the washout period (a week where I don’t receive any medication), my resting heart rate was mid 60s and my blood pressure was low-normal. That makes me think something was different between washout week and first month, since there was such a difference in resting heart rate.
I am only on day 3 of the new bottle, but thus far I have experienced a low resting heart rate (50s-60s), but my palpitations and adrenaline surges are increased. I thought it would be obvious by the 2nd pill bottle whether I was taking ivabradine or the placebo, but surprisingly, it’s not. I will be interested in seeing whether my last norepinephrine test (in a month) is any different than the previous two.
Interestingly, I have also discovered that I have high dopamine. Which either means that I’m just a happy person, or I’m crazy.
I’m pretty sure it’s the latter.
‘Crazy’ is a term of art; ‘Insane’ is a term of law. Remember that, and you will save yourself a lot of trouble. – Hunter S. Thompson
Smell ya later.
– Linds