I have now been on 1.25mg Bisoprolol for 3 weeks. I take the tablet in the morning. For the 1st couple of weeks I did not have any effects but this week from about 1pm onwards and the rest of the day I have started to feel a little light headed and mildly dizzy.
The info sheet says you can get this for the 1st 2 weeks but I'm hoping this is short lived. Anyone else experienced dizziness at first and does it go away?
Thanks for reading.
Sorry I have never taken bisoprolol but I do know that 1.25mg is a very low dose. I also know that many here on the drug take it in the evening so any side effects are overnight while you are sleeping. If things do not improve I suggest you discuss with your doctor as we are not medically trained here.
1.25 might be a very low dose but it was too much for me - after three days of feeling very tired I checked with the pharmacist who had shown concern over my being new to these drugs and having taken my pulse told me to stop taking it any more and the doctor agreed. We are all different and some people are able to take far higher doses but I only take it when in AF with a very high heart rate, when it is very helpful as it helps the flecainide I take as aPIP so that episodes don’t last long and I can get back to sleep when episodes start in the early hours as tends to happen.
Hi Kay.
Yes your body can (might) adjust. If you eat before taking Bis it slows down the rate it enters your system. 1.25 mg is a fairly low dose so it could resolve itself. Only your doctor can confirm this and resolve the matter.
I was put on 5 mg for my morning dose - I couldn't cope with it. From a personal point of view I could cope with 1.25 mg but we are all different.
You wrote
"For the 1st couple of weeks I did not have any effects but this week from about 1pm onwards and the rest of the day I have started to feel a little light headed and mildly dizzy".
As far as I'm aware any side effects will happen fairly quickly (I could be totally wrong about that). I would suggest if you feel dizzy to contact a medic and discuss any issues.
I'm sure you'll be just fine but that's my opinion.
Good luck - I'm sure you'll get it sorted out soon. Please don't panic and try not to worry.
Just one last thing. You say you feel dizzy at about 1 pm. This is often lunch time for many people. This on it's own can make you feel dizzy (not eating). I wonder if it's worth having a snack 11 / 12 ish to see if this helps ?
Just a thought.
Paul
Hi, I started taking 2.5mg Bisoprolol daily last June and was feeling dizzy especially when standing up. I noticed my BP and Heart Rate were very low. Resting HR was going into the 40s whereas previously it was in the 60s and systolic BP was going below 100 from time to time. I'm now on 1.25mg daily and BP and HR are still lower than previously but within acceptable levels.
So it could be that 1.25mg a day is sending your HR and/or BP too low and it would be good to monitor these two indicators and see (for example) whether they are going particularly low when you feel dizzy. If so then you will need to speak to your doctor about possibly trying different medication, perhaps a different beta blocker? I notice from your previous post that your resting HR has always been around 46 which is definitely on the low side for the vast majority of people. If Bisoprolol is sending the rate even lower then that could be the cause of your symptoms. Steve
This happened to me on any beta or calcium blockers in about the 3rd or 4th week of taking them I felt worse than I had without them. My cardio tried me on several at the outset and a mixture but after about a year - when I was back on bisoprolol because a new cardio wanted me on them I couldn't even walk downstairs so called the cardio who told me to stop taking them. I was due a Cardioversion (CV) within a month or so and was quite glad and willing to stop. However, when the time came around for my CV in November the hospital was not taking any outpatients due to norovirus so couldn't have my CV. By this time I had moved into a new house and was on a heart rehabilitation class with another hospital's cardiology and physiotherapy department and they got me in to see another cardiologist and I had a successful CV within 4 months. Now waiting for an ablation which I should have had last April and has been cancelled 3 times last year. If I were you I would continue to take the bisoprolol and take in the evenings, rather than morning and see how that goes and contact your consultant to ask for advice. My pulse had always been on the lower side of normal and I think that just took me too low. all the best.
When I was first put on Bisoprolol 5mg I had no side effects for 3/4 days. Then they kicked off - headache that started like clockwork 2 hours after taking the morning pill then as time went on just feeling awful no energy ,no motivation, breathless. My GP told me to reduce the dose but even on 1.25 mg I felt lethargic. Eventually my cardiologist said I could stop it. I went on it again after afib returned in hospital after major bowel surgery - again 5mg but this time I did not take it once in sinus rhythm at that dose. Some people tolerate Bisoproplol much better than others. I find from reading the posts here that women complain more about side effects on the whole Many drugs that have been in use for decades are tolerated far less well by women than by men. This is because before the mid 90s there was no requirement to include women in drug trials and their hormonal fluctuations were regarded as a nuisance. So the dosages for many drugs are based on those for men 's bodies and it was just assumed that that would be ok for women too. Nor were older frail people with less well functioning livers and kidneys included very much. As treatment for afib is supposed to be for QOL it is very important to find a drug regime that suits you personally and not put up with undesirable side effects. If this dizziness continues you should speak to your doctor about it.
Hi. You need to stick with it. I've been on 1.25 for the last 10yrs and not had any side effects
Yep happened to me on 2.5 then cut to 1.25 then weaned off completely. Even when I took ramipril I couldn't tolerate low bp. As others say monitor hr and BP then discuss with your cardiologist benefits Vs risk
How long to wean off, and how did you achieve it?
I think it was around 3/ 4 weeks in total to ween off completely as advised. I was only on 1.25. so your just reducing the amount in your system each week either by reducing amount you take or by taking every 2 or 3 day over the weeks. Note this was approved with my cardiologist and I had no negative effects during this period.
Wow , I’m on 10 mg every morning and have been for around 5 years . I must be the exception to the rule as I’ve really had no problems , maybe in the early days but I stuck with it and it got better . It was either that or feeling dreadful before i took it . Like a lot of these meds what suits one doesn’t suit another . Try it awhile longer and if the problems persist go back to your doc
I would try the dose at night that solved my problem. The dose you are on is very low. It could be that it knocks your bp too low. If you are on bp tablets they might need to be reduced slightly. Maybe continue for a week taking it in the morning but take your bp when you get dizzy and then for the next week take at night and then talk to your gp about the results
Kayjas. I too have low HR and low BP. Been taking 1.25 Bisoprol for a few years. Always dizzy but GP said just to carry on 🥶 saw Cardiologist this week, first time in 6 years. I was told to stop taking Bisoprolol daily and to use it as a PIP. I'm now waiting to have a BP monitor fitted which I'm pleased about.
Very new on Bisoprolol and feeling rather dizzy, sick and headachy. Also very tired. Is this common?
Bisoprolol
Bisoprolol
Bisoprolol 
Bisoprolol 
