Bisoprolol

[supergranny]

I had a cardio version a year ago and was put on amidorone you think Bisoprolol is toxic,, amidorone was worse, I'm now back in AF but have stopped the amidorone and gone on to Bisoprolol but still feel knackered all the time!

[jennydog]

You don't tell us your dose rate of bisoprolol. I take 2.5 daiy and find that it's better taken at night.

[supergranny in reply to jennydog]

Thanks Jenny, I am also on 2.5mg and will now try taking mine at night also to see if it makes a difference

[wilsond]

I had to come off bisoprolol ,tired,heavy legs etc. Not been on amiaderone. Some people on here have been able to swop bisoprolol for nebivolol,successfully.Hope you feel better soon xx

[montgomery]

I was prescribed 17.5mg Bisoprolol- Digoxin 62.5mcg- Amiodarone 200mg to try to steady my heart- on top of a DDDR Pacemaker implant and Cryoablation.

The side effects were challenging, but over time I had them reduced. I still take 10mg of Bisoprolol daily.

I have an excellent EP who has given me the choice of treatment, which for me ,is working very well.

[pirnough6]

I think it is worth persevering with bisoprolol as it is good at controlling pulse rate when in AF. I think most people feel lousy on it to bgin with. If after a month you still feel awful then talk to your doctor about altering the dose. I found splitting the dose between morning and night worked and reducing it from 5 to 2.5

[Thomas45 in reply to pirnough6]

2.5mg of Bisoprolol was easily tolerated by my body for 7 weeks until Christmas Eve 2017. That's when the first intermittent but very painful rash appeared. My GPs took me off Bisoprolol slowly. 10 months after being taken off Bisoprolol I still have daily and nightly rashes. Bisoprolol also caused an exacerbation of asthma which put me in hospital for, 2 nights. I don't believe in persevering with a drug that caused severe side effects.

[Tapanac in reply to Thomas45]

how did you come off the bisoprolol slowly please. I have been told to wean myself off of it over a period of time, but the tablets are too small to cut in half so I'm a bit stuck as to how to come off of them slowly. The registrar just said stop, but I don't think this can be correct after taking them for so many years! Apart from the pulse rate, do they lower blood pressure as well do you know?

Thank you

[Thomas45 in reply to Tapanac]

My GPs told me to stop taking the 2.5mg immediately, to follow it with 4 weeks of antihistamines twice a day, then 4 weeks of 1.25mg of Bisoprolol then no more Bisoprolol. I had had only 11 weeks of Bisoprolol when I came off 2.5mg and a further 8 weeks when I was off it totally.. Your medix should advise you how to come off it.

[7Helena in reply to Tapanac]

I had to come off Bisoprolol because of severe side effects. My GP cut down dosage very gradually down to 2 and a half and then again very gradually (over a period of some weeks) and then stopped altogether - I wasn't offered a substitute and have been without it for a while now. Yes it did affect my heart rate but again this was monitored and mostly controlled.

[Hidden]

I think it’s generally accepted that Amiodarone is a much more toxic drug, I was on it for two and a half years and it has ruined my thyroid, and my eyesight and lungs have been damaged.

[Mrspat]

I have been on 10 mg of Bisoprolol for over 5 years, feel well and can exercise normally. Previously I tolerated 200 mg of Amiodarone but the side effects, some irreversible, were unacceptable.

[Becksagogo]

Amiodarone does have a lot to answer for. I was put on it following an aversion and suffered damage to thyroid kidneys liver and eyes. I wish I had the courage to be completely drug free but I fear I need my diaretics and thyroid tablets.

[cycleman75]

Well I'd come off the lot, otherwise it's a slow death. Take your own advice

if it makes you feel bad, it is bad !

Best wishes supergranny.

[Mike11]

I lasted one morning on amiodarone. And two days on bisoprolol. Sotalol was four days and domedarone about the same before I had to come off of each of them.

But I was then four years on verapamil and now another four on nebivolol. It's all about finding the drug that suits you best, which because only consultants can initially recommend each of these things to your GP, does mean you need a helpful GP who understands the problem.

[KMRobbo in reply to Mike11]

I thought I was quite forward and agressive when I binned bisoprolol after a week and Atenolol after two, but I am nothing on you!

[Hidden]

It could depend a lot on whether your AF is permanent or paroxysmal. If paroxysmal and when not in AF your usual heart rate is on the low side, taking Bisoprolol can reduce it further inducing such symptoms as extreme tiredness, dizziness due to reduced blood pressure and general malaise.

For example I was put on 1.25mg Bisoprolol daily after an episode of fast AF and could not function due to the above symptoms. In my case, rhythm control with Flecainide and anticoagulation with Apixaban was considered to be the correct treatment as my resting HR is normally only 55-60 and the Bisoprolol reduced it to the low 40’s so I couldn’t function at all. I’ve been told not to take it again.

Good luck with finding the medications that suit - keep asking for review if you don’t feel right

[Thomas45]

I was on amiodarone for 10 months despite asking.my GPs to take me off it. At that time they said they didn't have the power to do so as it had been prescribed by a hospital consultant. After that 10 months I saw a cardiologist who, without my mentioning it took me off amiodarone and put me on Flecainide which worked well for 12 years to prevent episodes of AF. After 12-years I was found to be in asymptomatic permanent AF so I was taken off it and now just have anticoagulants..

[RichMert]

For me, Amiodarone was the only drug that stopped AF but was toxic and when emergency dose via canula was given, both arms became infected, swollen and required antibiotics. Bisoprolol will not work as well as Amiodarone but Amiodarone should be a short term fix before ablation.