Verapamil v bisoprolol

[KaliBill]

I was diagnosed with paroxysmal AF about 15 months ago, given 10mg of Bisoprolol together with Rivaroxaban and statins. I hate the bisoprolol, and through discussion with GP, I have reduced it, but it still gives me a 'foggy' head and, I think, has contributed to weight gain. Having recently seen an arrhythmia nurse, she has suggested a change to verapamil, I don't see many comments regarding this drug. Is anyone on it? I saw her to discuss ablation, it now seems that only 1 ecg has caught the AF (taking 4 years to do so), the nurse tells me all the Kardia recordings are ectopic beats, which I still experience for what seem like long periods despite the bisoprolol. However she says these still need me to take medication?

[ETHEL103]

Verapimil was great for the 2 years before my ablation and controlled hr nicely.It does cause constipation tho well it did for me.

[KaliBill in reply to ETHEL103]

Thanks, I saw that could be a side effect, plenty of fibre for 2023 then! 🤣

[ETHEL103 in reply to KaliBill]

I love prunes so was fine lol.

[Hidden]

give me Verapamil any day !

[Brenda-j]

I have been on verapamil for about12 years and I have no problem with it. I take it with Flecainide

[LaceyLady]

Verapimil caused me issues. All the drugs have side effects, google the drug, check NHS site. I believe it caused me swallowing problems, I’d continually cough for nothing, got told by them at home to stop eating so rapidly 🤷🏼‍♀️😵‍💫 I wasn’t!! I’d near choked eating some roast meat while away. We went on holiday and supposedly having a special meal paid for by our holiday company when I had a near anaphylaxis on 2 sips of soup!! My throat was raw for days afterwards

Stopped Verapamil and no more episodes of coughing or choked!

[KaliBill in reply to LaceyLady]

Goodness, that's a really extreme reaction. I have looked at the contra indicators, and as you say, they all have their issues. All I can do is give them a go,and if they are worse then I can change back. I just hadn't seen as many post relating to them on here as I had bisoprolol so am interested to hear people's experiences.

[LaceyLady in reply to KaliBill]

it’s been a while since I took it but I think it causes relaxation of the cardiac sphincter.

[GordonEdin]

My wife changed from Bisoprolol to Verapamil because she could barely walk uphill in a small car park on the beta blocker.

It worked. She could almost immediately walk freely again and her heart rate/BP stayed under reasonable control.

She then had problems with constipation and switched to Diltiazem which initially caused less constipation and also worked.

(The NICE protocol for AF is Bisoprolol is preferred followed by Verapamil then Diltiazem if Bisoprolol is not tolerated.)

However, she still was very unhappy with the constipation and insisted on coming off.

Her BP and heart rate then got out of control and after emergency hospital visits due to fluid retention and breathlessness ended up on Digoxin along with Bisoprol (plus others).

My takeaway from this is that Verapamil and Diltiazem can be a good alternative and may well get you moving again. Constipation is a known side effect but I think if I find myself needing either of these medications, I will dose myself on laxatives rather than risk heart damage!

[KaliBill in reply to GordonEdin]

Thank you at risk of going down the route of discussing bowel habits. I rarely have any leaning towards constipation, so I am hoping forewarned is forearmed and I will up the fruit and veg.

[GordonEdin in reply to KaliBill]

My wife was probably at more risk because she had previously had a stroke which in itself left her with a tendency to constipation. Hopefully you will be fine!

[Ronnieboy]

I've taken the same route as yourself 14 years ago ,I've no bisoprolol now no statins now and in a debate to reduce the rivaroxaban ,I've not had an AF episode for ages ,we're all differant but sometimes I wonder about this AF.

[KaliBill in reply to Ronnieboy]

I know what you mean. When they got an ecg recoding it, they rushed me on to meds, despite the fact that for 4 years they had treated me like a neurotic woman with palpitations . I was in such a panic. They have never managed another recoding and tell me all the Kardia ones are ectopic beats. What is also strange is that since being given amytriptiline for some nerve pain everything has settled, who knows what that's about 😀

[Snowgirl65]

A few here commented on Verapamil causing no problems, but I was on the drug for a while many years ago. It turned me into a zombie at work and nearly got me fired. My body just couldn't handle it well and gave me extreme brain fog.

[KaliBill in reply to Snowgirl65]

Thank you. It just proves how all this medication affects us in different ways. I shall be monitoring how I feel quite carefully