Palpitations still remain(i feel like its more after taking bisoprolol) even after taking bisoprolol fumarate?desperate for any help

[Mummy-pig]

I'm 33 female.. never had alcohol,smoke,red meat.. not overweight,

[CDreamer]

Hi - I just read your other thread. Palpitations can feel bad but don’t mean anything other than you can feel your Heart and we AF’ers tend to feel our hearts more than others.

Bisoprolol will control your HR - it won’t stop palpitations but may help some people.

Until you see the cardiologist and have further tests & assessments you are very unlikely to be offered any further interventions so your best bet is to chase your appointment or consider a private consult with an EP directly - if you can your GP to give you a referral.

You mentioned Thyroid meds - poorly controlled thyroid issues can be a cause of AF so make sure it’s well controlled - see your GP for that.

Otherwise - breath work for calm & relaxation, distraction and patience are what are required because it can be a long, slow road to effective treatments.

[Mummy-pig in reply to CDreamer]

Ya that's right.. atleast now I'm relaxed since it's not life threatening..everyday I feel like what my kid and my husband ll do when I die when these shortness of breath starts and then my heart ll race more.

[CDreamer in reply to Mummy-pig]

Anxiety will do that anyway so I would suggest you seek help for your anxiety.

Many of us have been where you are now so we do empathise but know that many of us have coped with this for 10,15,20 years or more & being a bit breathless doesn’t mean you will die. I was diagnosed 2007.

Also know that I couldn’t tolerate Bisoprolol, as many can’t, because it makes you very breathless but you need to try let your body adjust & that can take a few weeks so go slower & carefully & above - be kind to yourself. Best wishes

[Mummy-pig in reply to CDreamer]

Can u just reply to this last question..I know I'm asking so many..lol..if this is because of bisoprolol.. can I tell my gp and change to a different one..?? I ve my echo test coming in next 2 weeks

[CDreamer in reply to Mummy-pig]

You can but give it time to get used to and if still very breathless after a few weeks go back to your GP.

You should know more after your echo.

[Mummy-pig in reply to CDreamer]

Will do.. Thx

😀

[Hidden in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks for this and you contribute some very useful input so thanks for that too. However, as someone who has PAF and is trying hard to inform myself of possible routes if my natural approach stops working, I don't think you should say, Bisoprolol 'makes you very breathless'. The vast majority of people have no side effects whatsoever. In fact I am beginning to think that this forum (understandably) attracts mostly people who do not find success with some medication or some procedures, hence their worry and constant search for possible alternatives or solutions. I just read this on the information sheet from one of my husband's packets - it is stated as a fact that up to one in ten folk might experience some of the common side effects of Bisoprolol. So that means around 90% of people not only do not get breathless from it, but have zero side effects. I apologise for sounding harsh here but although I have found this website to be hugely helpful, it is also peppered with people reporting personal experiences as if they were inevitable for all users.

[CDreamer in reply to Hidden]

People respond very differently to ALL medications, foods, experiences and treatments. I try to make that very clear. Reporting personal experiences does not mean that it’s inevitable for all and I take reasonable care in my replies to distinguish between the difference. That is why asking on this forum for people’s experiences is not always helpful summarised in the old adage - One person’s meat is another’s poison.

I make no secret that Bisoprolol was extremely injurious to me personally but also acknowledged that it is very helpful to a great many people.

Yes this forum is peppered with people reporting personal experiences but your interpretation that they were inevitable for all users is purely your own.

Bisoprolol is a Beta Blocker and so controls heart rate but also affects other systems in the body so is a drug that causes problems for many people, especially thos who exercise. I don’t think suggesting that people go back to their doctor to ask for an alternative IF they encounter breathlessness can be problematic.

Don’t believe everything that is on the medicine pack - you don’t know when it was written, which data was used and doesn’t take into account for the many, many people who won’t feature in the stats because they didn’t report a symptom.

Best wishes

[Hidden in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks much for this. I absolutely know that personal experience does not equal a fact for everyone - that's the only reason I commented on your sentence, ' Also know that I couldn’t tolerate Bisoprolol, as many can’t, because it makes you very breathless'. You stated 'it makes you very breathless' so sorry if you actually meant something else - perhaps you meant, 'it makes me very breathless'. Anyway, there is zero doubt that what you wrote was misleading - I thought you would have seen that. I was highlighting a problem on some of these chats so was surprised to read the response of the suggestion that it is actually my problem for misinterpreting.

Anyway, I'm getting a lot of help from these questions and comments so I will continue but I'm sure I'm not alone in being 'new' and scared so I don't want to be put off by being misled. Luckily I'm pretty good at spotting someone's personal experience as personal experience even if it isn't clearly stated so no harm done.

From my reading, the information on the little sheets which accompany medication is usually the worse case scenario but perhaps that's wrong.

[CDreamer in reply to Hidden]

We have a number of posts every week about Biso & breathlessness. It is contraindicated for some people, especially for people with asthma. Not everyone knows that it can be a cause

breathlessness and you can ask your doctor for alternative.

I’m all for clarity and I didn’t mean for it to mislead and having reread still stand by what I said.

I replied to the question -

Mummy-pig :-if this is because of bisoprolol.. can I tell my gp and change to a different one..?? I ve my echo test coming in next 2 weeks

Me:- You can but give it time to get used to and if still very breathless after a few weeks go back to your GP.

[Carolx]

Good morning I have ARVC. Lifelong palpitations.

I’m 53.

I was put on Bisoprolol last year. Scariest experience ever. My palpitations got a lot worse after 2 days of taking it.

My heart was very erratic and I was having bad palpitations on and off for days. My chest felt very tight and almost like someone was sitting on it.

I felt awful. I was exhausted.

I contacted my cardiologist who told me to stop them immediately.

I went back on my original meds.....Diltiazem, after 12 hours of taking the Bisoprolol.

Heart felt better instantly.

They then prescribed Nebivolol a few weeks ago to see if that would help with palpitations.......Oh dear! Not good. Ended up in A&E. Same experience as Bisoprolol.

So stopped taking them on cardiologists advice and back on Diltiazem again.

It seems I can’t tolerate beta blockers sadly.

Try and get advice asap.

Do you have an email address for your cardiologist?

If not ring your GP.

Don’t suffer in silence. You know your own body. I knew I had to stop these tablets, even though they work for many people.

Of course we’re not all the same.

The Diltiazem has reduced my palpitations and they are not as intense but still exist unfortunately.

I understand how scary it is. 53 years of having them and I will never get used to them. Every time I have one I tend to panic for a few seconds thinking am I going to have a heart attack or will my heart ever go back into normal rhythm. It always does and I’m still here alive n kicking.

I hope you get it sorted. Good luck.

[Mummy-pig in reply to Carolx]

Ya that's right.. Its been a week of taking bisoprolol but like u said its coming on and off.. since I've anxiety triggers I couldn't understand the difference .. my gp and my family saying u are anxious and asked me to continue the tablet. . I'm facing most of the symptoms like u said and I'm trying to control myself which I'm not gonna today.. I'll inform my gp immediately.. everyday morning the palpitations are frequent but as the day goes it gradually calms down.. Night I don't have any palpitations.. 😔this is so weird..I wish to ve a normal body most of the time I cry

[Elli86]

Hi mummy pig.

Best advice I can give is contact a private EP and book a consultation. Make sure they are a reputable one of course. I used dr boon lim and he was absolutely top draw. Only £250 and best £250 I’ve ever spent. Obviously depends on how much money you have spare and how much confidence you have in your gp but I found the whole experience early on VERY frustrating and painstakingly slow. You will probably go through the same rubbish most gps tell people, that they are just anxious and need to talk to someone or find ways to get rid of the anxiety. For me this went on for months until I’d finally had enough of a doctor trying to tell me what’s going on with my head. Spoke to dr lim and he pushed everything through for me and before you knew it I was having a consultation with st barts and have just had my ablation on Monday.

Good luck with your journey. If you’ve got the money spare then book a consultation. Trust me it will save you a lot of time and more importantly stress 👍

[Mummy-pig in reply to Elli86]

I'm epileptic and I've this from age of 4.. uk is not my birth place.. but after coming to uk the dr changed my med and controlled my episodes in the first appointment itself.. I cannot forget him he's my life savior.. that's y I wanna go with nhs.. but I do accept that I didn't get any proper treatment from my gp

[Elli86 in reply to Mummy-pig]

You can still go with nhs. I still had my ablation with nhs I just used a private consultant for the one consultation and he MASSIVELY sped the whole process up. But if your happy with the service your currently getting then it’s all good and hope you get what you need 👍

[Singwell]

You mention that the palpitations start when you think about how your family would cope if you were to die. Anxiety will send your heart rate up so while you're getting used to Bisoprolol or waiting to change from it, see how you can help yourself with the anxiety. You're a young mum and I'd be contacting your GP to say you need counselling CBT to help you deal with the situation. There's different types of CBT so go for someone who's also a mindfulness Practitioner. If you're feeling desperate - I sense you are - then pay for a couple of sessions as soon as you can. I did a thread on anxiety a couple of weeks ago - got some helpful answers. Check it out if it'll help.

[Mummy-pig in reply to Singwell]

I completed my iapt counseling recently.. we were happy and I' was feeling better and my dr was about to discharge me.. but this shortness of breath and palpitations started after getting a call from gp..so they now moved to cbt..I thought it was anxiety and now I'm thinking it was af..

[Ppiman]

I've had palpitations ("ectopic beats" or "PAC"s) since I was your age, and am now double that, and still have them. They can sometimes be unpleasant and frightening, and I sympathise with you. However, I have been told several times that they are pretty much normal and that everyone has them at some point. I was also told that they rarely lead to anything worse and are given the label "benign arrhythmia". I recall one of the cardiologists I saw about them telling me that he had hundreds more each day than I had and that he completely expected to live an entirely normal life.

There are two types, labelled according to where they originate, "PAC"s (atrium) and "PVC"s (ventricles). The former is the most common, and the latter are the type that have been linked to atrial fibrillation.

Palpitations won't kill you; it just feels that they might! The worst part for me was the fear of where it all might lead but they had no physical effects of any consequence. I've read on the internet of people who spend much of their lives in fear of them. Unless you've been told otherwise, I would try hard to put them to the back of your mind.

Steve

[Mummy-pig in reply to Ppiman]

Yes..I think I have to live with it..but after getting the iapt counseling for health anxiety I was feeling so good and rarely had palpitations and shortness of breath..I am waiting for my cardio to confirm and I' got my appointment in October.. till then I'm gonna be a desperate person

[Mummy-pig]

Hi guys i stopped taking bisoprolol .. my gp said since it doesn't help me i can stop it.. she asked me to wait for cardio.. but my cardio is on October..😔

[Singwell in reply to Mummy-pig]

So at present you're in a bit of a limbo - playing a waiting game. It's not long really till your cardiology appt. Get support from friends and family during this time to reduce the responsibilities that might be making to feel more anxious. Take steps to look after yourself - sleep patterns, daily walks if you're up to it, healthy eating - and tell yourself that you're waiting for further information. hold on to the things that feel happy and solid, while waiting to know more.

[Niki_]

Hi, I take taurine, magnesium glycinate and L-arginine for mine it’s helps a ton for me. I’m not on any other medication.