I asked the practice pharmacist to change me from 1.25mg of Bisoprolol to atenolol and she’s put me on 25mg which have been taking for 10 days . My vision is a bit funny and I just tried to look it up and it appears she has doubled my dose !
Please does anyone have any advice for safely weaning off atenolol 25mg ?
Am so distressed
OMG - that’s a really serious mistake! Consider taking it further. I’m sorry I can’t help but I think you need some support on this!
Ok - just checked & looks as though 25mg is the lowest dose but if you are wanting to withdraw because of symptoms you are going to need professional advice.
Is a pharmacist able to change prescription drugs without a supervising doctor?
Thank you so much for coming back to me so quickly . Am so upset having just gone through hell trying to get off Bisoprolol and failed having had the goal posts moved like this . I am going to write . My vision has gone funny on this one like an extra layer of shortsightedness . Am now 10 days in so presumably too late to just cut the tablet in half
I can so understand why you are upset. I’m sorry I can’t advise you or offer more than empathy.
Your quick reply and empathy is worth a very great deal and I thank you for it
I had to go through an online triage system and said it was drug change and GP just passed me over to pharmacist . GPS are not earning their crust at the moment don’t want to speak to patients mission to keep them out of the surgery
I know there are a lot of complaints. I know our practice is groaning under the strain so callers are being triaged. I needed urgent advice the other day & was fobbed off by receptionist, who are usually really good at our surgery. I was very upset so I rang a friend who advocated for me & GP rang me back within the hour.
I would in your situation be asking to speak to a health care provider today, as this needs sorting, a letter could take several days for an action to be taken.
I’m not medically trained Peony but 1.25 mg is the lowest dose available for Bisoprolol and although many here have problems, it’s generally occurs awhen they are taking higher doses. I have no experience of Atenolol but I recall experiencing white flashes at night when I was taking 3.75 mg Bisoprolol many moons ago. A number of people speak highly of Nebivolol but again, I have no personal experience. As CD says, you really need some proper medical advice. It might be worth seeing if your local general hospital had an Arrhythmia Nurse because they tend to be more sympathetic and have much better experience in dealing with AF medication......
As far as I know, 25mg is the lowest possible dose of atenolol. I have been taking 50mg for years without any serious side effects
It is the smallest tablet . But 12.5mg would be the equivalent dose you have to cut the tablets when reducing . Glad you have done well on it am finding it wholly preferable to Bisoprolol. The awful anxiety has gone because it doesn’t cross the blood brain barrier like Bisoprolol so a much better bet for me
I was on 50mcg of Atenolol for 20 years and it was my GP deciding to stop it because he said it was an old fashioned drug that made me develope AF. As far as I can remember I had no serious problems except for mild breathlessness on excretion. Since then I have tried Sotalol, Bisoprolol, and ended up on Nebivolol . The Nebivolol has been great with virtually no side effects and keeps my blood pressure and the AF in check.
(((((Peony))))) I have no answers but wanted to give you a BIG hug!!
Thank you so much ! Hugs help! Hope you are ok xxx
I never knew that atenolol was so addictive. Been on it twice over some years and stopped overnight with no problems at all.
My wife was on it as well and also stopped when her bp dropped. No problem either.
Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately in terms of this problem, I have been on atenolol for a number of years, and at much higher dosage without any side-effects I’ve also periodically been taken off it at times with no weaning period with no ill effect though as in the main I’ve been on it more to help control hypertension which has been resistant to being on multiple medications. My point is don’t you have a contact number for a cardiac nurse specialist as far as I am aware most cardiology depts have one attached who you can contact for advice as it sounds like you really need advise from specialists in cardiology pharmacology. Most GPs although are good they are generalist by the nature of their job, so don’t necessarily have the depth of knowledge to necessarily be able to prescribe the best medication outside of a narrow range of medications. I may have so far been lucky in that my GPs have always been happy to consult or check with the local cardiology dept on the best course of action especially with medications as in the past I’ve been put on medication or had dosages prescribed that only a consultant is able to do.
Thank you very much for that . Good to hear ! Am hoping to have more luck on atenolol than I did on Bisoprolol as it doesn’t cross the blood brain barrier . Seeing my cardiologist on Thursday they need to give me a plan !
Oddly enough I’m also on bisoprolol partly to help control a fast heart rate but also to help as part of my antihypertensive regime the dose is what I now know to be quite a large dose (15mg daily) though as I’ve previously said I seem to be one of the fortunate ones who have not had any major side effects that I recognise though given the number of medications I take I think my self lucky not to suffer many if any anyway.
Hi sorry bit late on this but I had to search though my records.
When I was initially diagnosed with A fib I was put on 1.25 mg bisoprolol. I was fast asleep 40 minutes after taking everyone of the 8 tablets took. Terrible side effects and very low heart rate . I only put up with it for a week and during that time saw my GP and she swapped me to atenolol
So I was also put onto 25 mg Atenolol ( still have the cardboard packet) . So this I would assume was the equivalent minimum dose of that drug. Not sure why you think you have been double dosed?
I only stopped on Atenolol 2 weeks as although the side effects were not as severe than bisoprolol, they were still bad and I went back to my GP who decided I did not tolerate beta blockers so put me on verapamil, a calcium channel blocker as an alternative, which had no side effects. ( for me)
I understand many people have problems with beta blockers.
However I did not have any eyesight issues.
In had only been on rate control for 3 weeks for both drugs before I switched to verapamil and I believe i just halved the atenolol dose over 3 days and then started the verapamil.
I had no problems, but then it was taking the dammed things caused me the problem, not stopping them!
We are all different.
Best wishes.
OMG, I'm surprised pharmacist changed your script without Dr consult.Id ring cardio office for advice.Best of luck for Thursday appointment.Let us know how you get on. 😀❤
I emailed cardio secretary at 430am after a tachycardia . Surely no one is meant to feel this ill because of a drug . Never felt so ill in my life . Asked should I break tab in half or what should I do if anything before Thursday . I didn’t have these tachycardias until I started taking beta blockers a few weeks ago. Was put on them after admission for single episode of AF after taking non steroidal . My cardio said didn’t need to be in them but have had two failed attempts to get off
I had a similar experience with metoprolol, a beta blocker, which made my condition worse.
I do not suggest this at all of what I did. From 25mg I split it to 12.5 mg for the period I was to see my GP, then I told him I would not take it but not telling him that I had split the dose. He just said you are not the only one that feels that way. I should state that this was upon diagnosis of AF. So,I stopped and took nothing.
When I went to see him in about a month's time or so, he said I was lucky I did not have a stroke. Then he prescribed Verapamil 120 mg. That didn't work because I still got episodes, so he increased it to 180mg "in the hopes that we'll get lucky." That didn't work so he reduced the dose back to 120mg. When I said I was in sinus 3 days and arrhythmia 3 days, he said that that was the drug working. Two weeks later I was persistent. Day 12 of being persistent when I had my appointment with him, I asked about anti-arrhythmic drugs to get me to rhythm and stay in rhythm. He said he was not licensed to prescribe them. In other words, fooling around with his playing EP got to persistent in one year. So now he referred me to an inept cardiologist, but that is another horror story.
Thank you Peony4575. There is a happy ending to my story. I packed it in and went to Bordeaux, France where I had to have three ablations and where at six months persistent my heart was so badly remodelled that if I had not had the ablation then, I would never been able to return to sinus rhythm. I am now at one and a half years sinus and continuing.
Luckily a new trial supports early intervention with rhythm control. Hope all GPs and EPs read about it. Here is a summary:
medpagetoday.com/meetingcov...
I was definitely on track before the results of this trial came out.
Doses are not interchangeable between medications. The pharmacist will know the equivalent dose if a medication switch is allowed by your doctor. Perhaps the new medication just is not for you. Keep trying. There are many different meds to treat AF.
Thanks for reply. Woke up at 1.30am nearly 5am and unable to get to sleep. The insomnia is terrible . This drug is definitely not for me but the withdrawal is not easy or pleasant .
sorry.. AF again..but don’t look away please !
Hasty again!
Hello A.F. again Grrr
Travel Insurance (again) 
