Bisoprolol Experiences

[Vince1001]

I have PAF - see my profile. In a nutshell, I’ve increased bisoprolol dosage until my bradycardia became a problem so I’m changing my medication as it’s clearly not for me.

The experience began over a year ago in an effort to control my AFib. Initially on 1.25mg/day and increased this gradually to 2.5mg and then 3.75mg. Note the change of pulse with time, with the 1.25mg dose giving the largest reduction in pulse rate from 55/60 to 45/50 bpm.

I had the usual side effects of tiredness and cold hands. I didn’t have any significant effects from the resulting low pulse rate and low blood pressure, though rarely felt in full fettle. My blood pressure was always low during an episode (BP as low as 75/50) and I sometimes felt quite light headed. My doctor set an arbitrary limit of 40bpm.

In the meantime, I wanted to try and optimise my lifestyle in order to eliminate medication per John Day book, The AFib Cure. My BMI was already 23, I’d given up alcohol and I’ve also eaten carefully avoiding preservatives. Kept a steady intake of magnesium/ potassium and drank 1.5 litres of water daily. I decided to also give up wheat…all of this to no avail with the frequency of episodes remaining at around once per week.

Recently I have been having a lot of ectopic double beats (bigeminy) which apparently is a symptom of bradycardia. These were problematic lasting for hrs at a time. Also, I was convinced that the medication was actually causing more episodes. Hence I arranged to see a private EP and he agreed there was an issue with the med. He dismissed the option for Flecainide/ Bisoprolol due to bradycardia and instead recommended dronedarone.

I followed the doctor’s advice of having a one week overlap for the two medications after having reduced bisoprolol dosage to 1.25mg. Thankfully I haven’t had any withdrawal symptoms yet, and after a week my pulse and blood pressure have almost increased to original values (see chart) and I feel rejuvenated. It’s early days with the new med, and I will need the usual monthly liver/ kidney function tests. Time will tell…

[snak3eyes]

Glad to hear so far it went well for your. I wish you all the best.I'm also interested in dronedarone. Please keep us posted.

[Mattq]

Very interesting post. I am in almost the same position as you but on 7.5 mg Bisoprolol. I had a cadioversion last week and my resting HR is now in the 40s and BP also dropped. Interested in your change of drugs.

[Hidden]

Thanks for such an interesting report! I like so much your bravery to make this experiment! It did not kill you, but provided useful information for all of us here! I am also experimenting, like many of us here are. In two occasions, I almost killed myself because of the wrong direction of action, lol. Luckily, still around...and still experimenting...

[Vince1001 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Steelheart...though it was a pity the experiment failed! Note however my doctrine in my working life was "if you can't measure it you can't control it". By doing so enabled me to have meaningful discussions with the cardio/ doctor, and glad that the info appears to be useful to others.

[Hidden in reply to Vince1001]

Why do you think, experiment failed!? It showed clearly that increased dosage of Biso leads to problems with bradycardia and PVCs. It exactly was the reason why I advised lately, in my post "An unnecessary comment", that taking Bisoprolol should be stopped after AF attack is over. It slows the body down in such a large extent, that people suffer more from Biso than from AF, lol.

[secondtry]

Interesting. I am definitely in the minority, but in similar circumstances (Lone PAF, pulse 55-60, BP 115/63, male 67yo) my Surrey cardiologist put me on a medium dose of Flecainide only 7 years ago. My London Naturopath put me on a Mg compound and CoQ10. OK so far.