Bisoprolol & Alcohol

[P444ete]

I’ve just started on Bisoprolol and I know it states not to drink alcohol but I just wondered if it’s ok after your body has got acclimatised to the drug (couple of glasses of wine at the weekend) ??

thanks

[Autumn_Leaves]

Well, you’ll just have to try, won’t you? 😜

But go easy. Try one glass, and you could even measure it- 100ml or 125ml. See how you get on. You might be fine with one glass. But only one glass over the entire weekend, mind you. After trying one glass a few times, and if you’re OK, you might feel brave enough to have two glasses. And I’d probably leave it at that.

[Paulbounce]

Hi P444.

Moderation is key here. The problem is that you have one and and the next weekend you have two. You feel that you were fine with two so have three the next time - bang afib kicks in.

I was always ok with a couple of beers but others are not. I also found when I was taking Bis the effect was very different - it just made me feel like I had 'brain fog'. I haven't had a drink for weeks now and feel better for it.

Don't ever binge drink - you know what's coming if you do !

Paul

[P444ete in reply to Paulbounce]

thanks Paul. I only ever have 2 glasses on a weekend but I get what you mean 😀

[ChasMartin]

This will vary from person to person, I recommend drinking only moderate amounts, especially until you know the effect it has. It is said that alcohol can raise blood pressure, so at least perhaps it would not have a compounding effect on the blood pressure lowering of the bisoprolol.

I have myself not had any issues drinking small amounts of alcohol occasionally with a few different beta blockers, though I have not taken bisoprolol. I agree with Paul in that binge drinking would not be advised for atrial fibrillation in general.

[Tellingfibs]

I stopped drinking alcohol when I was diagnosed 5 years ago. But….. I noticed my brother, who also has Afib, was drinking the same as always. I decided that I would ‘have a go’, as I did miss my wine. I was actually concerned about the Warfarin I was taking, rather than the Bisoprolol. Over the 5 years my dose has been increased and I now take 5 mgs morning and evening. I continued with my wine consumption, but it is very regular, so as not to affect the Warfarin. I always measure my wine and have 125 mls of 11% white wine most evenings. On occasion I will have 175 mls, and I have even thrown caution to the wind and had 250 mls although that was last New Year and I made it last over 6 hours ! The Bisoprolol doesn’t seem to ‘clash’ with the alcohol ( in my situation ) Plus, I have never found the alcohol to trigger my Afib, and actually, a couple of times when I have had a little flurry of Afib over a couple of days whilst not drinking, I have felt so fed up that my abstinence did NOT reward me by cancelling the Afib, I had a glass of wine ….. My Afib went away. Now I am not advocating wine to stop an Afib episode ! Definitely not, but as we all agree, everyone is different and just like anxiety triggers Afib for some people, me certainly ( and maybe the wine I drank relaxed me ? ) for other people even a sip of alcohol can cause Afib. As has been mentioned on this thread, it’s probably best if you just have a little alcohol to see how it affects you. Of course, you are asking about the Bisoprolol, but you can only try. As you can tell from my post, it hasn’t caused me any problems. Another thing to consider is any other medication you may be taking. Let us know how you get on…..

[P444ete in reply to Tellingfibs]

thanks for the feedback. Very interesting 😀

[wilsond]

well I expect it might matter as to the strength of biso you are taking? And what time of day?

I used to take a very small dose 1.25 mg 9pm until recently.

I could drink locally brewed organic ale and good quality wine with no AF result. Agree with Tellingfibs,sometimes stress is a worse trigger.

[DKBX]

Often it’s the metabolites of alcohol (acetaldehyde) that triggers Afib so watch what happens several days after drinking. Several good science articles on why tea total is best. Here’s just one - sciencedirect.com/science/a...

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to DKBX]

Yes, I think it’s generally accepted that there isn’t really a safe limit for alcohol and that no alcohol is fine. We’re not really missing out on any significant health benefit by not drinking and abstinence may well be better for reducing many health risks. However, there’s a lot of societal pressures on people to drink as people who quit drinking will tell you. Maybe they should get new friends.

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to DKBX]

Thanks for the link. It makes for very informative reading.