Atenolol and Weight Gain: What Users Say

• dia...
• April 28, 2013

For High Blood Pressure "I have found that atenolol has brought my blood pressure numbers to a good, acceptable level. Prior to atenolol, I was running 168/108. I have noticed some weight gain. I will have to work out more. I saw somewhere on one of these posts that someone mentioned very low to no sex drive. I think this is a very common problem with a lot of meds like atenolol, beta blockers, and antidepressants. I too experience those problems. I also take high cholesterol medicine and an antidepressant."

• Anonymous
• December 7, 2009

For High Blood Pressure "I have been on atenolol for about 3 1/2 months. I am only 23, so my blood pressure wasn't too, too high, but for my age, it was a concern to my doctor, so she had me start taking half of 25 mg every night. It did help for my blood pressure. It also helped me get to sleep at night, since I have a slight insomnia problem. But I do have a problem with depression also, and it seemed to make that a little worse. Since I started taking it, I also went from about 130 lbs to 146 lbs in those few months, and with dieting and exercise, I still have not been able to get that weight to go away, and it has also made me no longer have a sex drive."

• Dor...
• July 28, 2010

For High Blood Pressure "Been taking atenolol many years. I have an extremely difficult time keeping my weight down, bad metabolism. I needed to increase the amount to 50 mg to get a good blood pressure of 120/70. So now will probably gain weight. Will change the extra 25 mg atenolol to something else soon. Wish I knew exactly what would work for the extra. I am writing this after reading all the helpful comments here."

• sky...
• August 2, 2009

For Migraine Prevention "I've been taking atenolol 25 mg for about 3 years. I used to get very bad migraines at least 3 times a month, but since taking atenolol, my migraines have all but gone, and my blood pressure has come down. I do, however, have strange dreams and have slowly gained weight over the years."

• Pak...
• August 4, 2011

For High Blood Pressure "I've been using atenolol for 20 years, not my favorite. I struggle with exhaustion, low blood pressure, and weight gain. On the upside, my aortic aneurysm has remained stable, and aortic replacement isn't necessary for now."

• goo...
• September 25, 2016

For High Blood Pressure "Since taking atenolol 50 mg twice daily for about a year, I have been slightly weak and gained a little weight, which is hard to get off. I think I have other side effects, but nothing extreme. My problem, I mean the one that worries me, is nightmares. I simply don't like having crazy nightmares. I think I'd rather gamble on having elevated BP. I think my quality of life will go up if I reduce the dosage, even though my longevity will probably go down. I suppose there are other medicines that do the same as atenolol, but I think maybe it's better to see if I can get along without them. Of course, if my health gets worse, then I must give up and just do what the doctor tells me. I trust my doctor, I just want to trust myself too."

• Lar...
• October 6, 2015

For High Blood Pressure "I ended up in the ER with my BP over 200. I was very scared. I was put on atenolol 25 once a day. So far, after a week, I'm down to 150's - 160's, but needs to go lower. How long will this take... anyone know? I also feel tired and am hoping this does not cause weight gain. Any help appreciated. Thanks!"

• Run...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 29, 2024

"Prescribed atenolol after an Afib attack. I also have anxiety and high blood pressure and migraines. Took 50 mg for two months and 25 mg for 8 months. Definitely was great for migraine and anxiety prevention. The first three months I was very fatigued and slept a lot. I did settle in for the most part, but exercise was difficult, and I gained weight while on this when I needed to lose weight. I exercise daily, and after I saw the weight gain, I had enough. Hopefully, the switch to a new drug works."

• Mec...
• September 21, 2020

For Supraventricular Tachycardia "So, I was diagnosed with SVT while in my teens. I barely noticed every episode as I was a healthy person, however, after a few palpitations episodes, I started taking it more seriously. Now fast forward 15+ years and an Apple Watch later, I started getting notifications that my rate would go over 120 bpm while resting. I went to different doctors and cardiologists that got me into metoprolol (apparently better), but it made me gain 20 lbs in about 3 weeks, and then back to atenolol. We started with 50 mg, but at the end, he told me to try 100 mg just to be safe. Since then, my BPM stays in the 70s while resting. If I do any exercise or physical activity, it will go to the 110-130 range, heavy load will get to 160, and by then, I'll feel I'm dying :) but still will be able to walk away from it. For me, it had a period of adjusting, as my BP was not too high, sometimes it would drop too much, and that would make me dizzy, but as I gained weight, I think the BP leveled to the point that the 100 mg is right."

• KMW...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 27, 2020

"I was prescribed atenolol by a neurologist for essential tremor. Since I have asthma, there are only a couple of options of meds to try. I'm on 25 mg, and it does lessen the tremors. It also helps keep my blood pressure at a good number, too. However, I gained about 30 pounds really quickly once I started it. I felt so awful, and my stomach was huge. I've lost those 30 pounds now, but it's been a lot of work. So while I'm grateful it helps with the tremors, I dislike the weight gain."