Advice needed re. Bisoprolol please... my hubby was admitted to hospital after paramedics thought he was having a heart attack (heart rate of 210) To cut a long story short he has myocarditis. Whilst in hospital he was on 3mg of bisoprolol but on discharge this was increased to 5mg. He has been taking this now for 3 weeks and is tired all the time. He manages 4 hours up and then has to go back to bed for the rest of the time. He was taking it first thing in the morning but is now taking it at night to see if that is any better but no, he's still the same if not worse. He is 41 and currently has no life as he spending the majority of it in bed. Has anyone any suggestions? Do you think the dose of 5mg is too much for him? I feel helpless and I don't know what to do. Thanks in advance x
Help re. Bisoprolol needed... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Help re. Bisoprolol needed...
I had a similar experience with Bisop - I reduced it to 2.5mg and over time to 1.25mg !! I’m now on 1.2mg and still it makes me feel exhausted. I’m very tempted to cut it in half again but afraid too. Discuss reducing to 2.5mg with your GP or EP - best wishes
Hello Mousey, very sorry to hear about your hubby’s health problems, clearly a big worry for you. We are not medically trained therefore we are unable to advise on medication and we are a forum for Atrial Fibrillation (rapid or slow irregular heartbeat) so not really able to comment on his condition. Bisoprolol is almost always the first betablocker prescribed and although effective, it can cause breathlessness and tiredness, but in time this often reduces as the body adjusts to the medication. However, there are alternatives, but they may not be suitable for his condition. I suggest it might be a good idea to speak first to your pharmacist to find out what other options may be suitable and if things do not improve, you can then talk to your doctor. Has he been referred to see a Cardiologist, if not, pursue that with your GP......sorry I can’t be more helpful, hopefully others here maybe able to help more.
Did the hospital doctors give you any info on myocarditis? Or explain what to expect? I suggest you contact your GP as the problem could be the myocarditis as much as the medication.
We are not competent to judge whether 5mg is too high a dose in your husband's case, but I think 10mg is the maximum prescribed so it's not all that high. I didn't get on at all well with Bisoprolol (2.5mg) but before being prescribed a different medication - on the advice of the pharmacist - I did buy a pill splitter and take half in the morning and half at bedtime. My QOL (quality of life) was still adversely affected - but not quite so badly.
In my experience, pharmacists are often better than GPs at providing information, advice and support regarding medication so I would certainly talk to yours.
Commiserations with your husband too. As far as I am concerned bisoprolol is the spawn of the devil - but other people are fine on that and not on the medication I now happily take. We can all be very different in our reactions.
Sorry to hear how badly bisoprol has affected your husband. I have AF and also take bisoprol. At first it affected me badly - always exhausted and weak. However my body seemed to adjust to it although I still get very tired and experience muscle weakness and can't walk as far as I used to. I have had to adjust my life to cope with it. I do force myself to take at least 30 minutes of walking exercise most days. I am sure your husband would benefit from chair rest rather than bed rest. He needs to keep his muscles strong.
I hope he starts to feel better soon. He really has my sympathy.
Aw thank you for you reply. You've certainly been through it yourself. He manages about 4 hours a day up and about but spends the rest of the time in bed and at 41 it's no life. He reduced the dose last night to 2.5mg so hoping that helps. I keep asking him to ring our gp for an appointment as I can't ring for him but he just keeps saying he's ok. Fingers crossed the 2.5mg does the trick. Thank you for your reply. Take care 
I do hope your husband feels better soon. He has to remember that first of all he was in hospital thinking he had had a heart attack and then prescribed pills which his body has never had before. He is probably in shock as well and that does make you want to hide and forget.
Yes Bisoprolol does make people feel tired and I felt when I first started on it that it was like walking through treacle and it is very tempting to give in and go to sleep to try to forget how poorly we feel. Also of course his myocarditis is a massive contributory to how he feels and at his young age he must feel very frightened. I know I was and am and I'm 74. A great shock to his system.
I have read on this forum about a drug (and I'm sorry I can't remember its full name), but I think it is something like nevi...lol..... which I have read by various people is a much better pill than bisoprolol. I think it would be best to speak with his cardiologist as he would be the person who not only knows your husband's problem, but the best for his myocarditis.
All hoping will be well
I had a similar experience with Bisopropol - extremely tired / depressed. Speak to your husbands doctor / EP and discuss an alternative.
I agree, I am on bisoprolol 5mg and hate it. My gp refuses to change it and will only let my cardiologist change it even tho I told him it has rubbish side effects and does not help me! I was on proprananol before that for 12 years and was fine but apparently should not have been on it so long? Good luck to your husband.
Sack the GP or at least ask for a second opinon. My GP happily switched my rate control twice in 3 weeks to get rid of side effects.
I believe rhythm control drugs are another thing if you are on those as well
Heed all your replies; Bisoprolol is NOT a friendly drug. Consult your GP and reduce
the dosage, you will feel normal again ! Age 41 is very young, you should be up and running having a great life. Don't be captured by this EVIL drug. All the best to you.
Hi, I made him reduce the dosage last night from 5mg to 2.5mg to see if that helped. He's still extremely tired. He just has no quality of life at the mo wanting to spend most of his time in bed. In hospital he was on 3.5mg but on discharge they increased it to 5mg. His resting heart beat in hospital was perfect but now on the 5mg it has significantly dropped. I just can't understand why they increased the dosage. You're right, its evil! Thanks for your reply
Could he try 2.5 in am and 2.5 in pm
Hi, he cut the tablet in half last night and just took 2.5 but same again with the tiredness. He's been in bed since 1pm today and still there now (9.15pm), its just not normal. Going to get him to ring gp to see what they advise. He has no quality of life. Thank you for your reply x
Ask whoever saw him in hospital for an appointment and ask to change to nebivolol. There are numerous posts on this site concerning the two drugs
Hi Mike11, yeah I think we might do that. He is due to go back to the hospital but as yet we haven't heard anything. It's only been 3 weeks since he was discharged but I do think he needs seeing again sooner rather than later as his resting heart rate has significantly dropped. Thank you replying
How "significantly low" is low ? Bradycardia is a known side effect of all channel blockers.
It hit my like a train for a few weeks when I first started on it. I'm currently on 10mg and all I can say is you adjust..... some people still fail to function on my dose or lower and in that respect it's not the right one for them. There are other options out there though maybe not for him specifically.
I have been on Bisoprolol for 10 years. Couldn't take 5 mg at the start.
Lowered to 2.5 and slowly increased to 5 mg a day, however I take half in morning and half before bed. It has side effects no doubt. I like to walk every day, which I believe is the best pill you can take, but some days I have to kick myself in the butt to get moving.
I have posted about this drug a few times over the last few weeks,and there are many others on here too.I do think he needs to talk to someone about it.Could be a combination of shock and worry over his health as well,but he needs to know why tbe dose was increased.There are alternatives...best wishes
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