bisoprolol are the benefits worth it

[diep98]

I'm recently prescribed with 5 mg bisoprolol to slow down my heart rate. I noticed that it did help with my heart rate but in return gave me awful side effects (leg pain, bad anxiety, rapid heart rate if I missed a dose, panic attack at night). I guess my general question is is it worth it in the long run? If you've taken this and stopped, has it helped to manage your heart problems, or do they come back after you stopped? Or are you finding yourself dependent on this to keep things under control?

[Hidden]

In the long run you are dead ..... quoted from noted economist John Maynard Keynes, father of modern Western economics !

Yes ! It is worth it.

I went onto 5 mg Bisoprolol when first diagnosed with paroxysmal AF in January 2010. I have been on this dose continuously since then and my HR is now steady at 64 to 67 bpm. and has been for some years.

My AF events have reduced progressively ( with the help of changes in diet) to 2 last year and none so far this year.

Hey lets get one thing quite clear ... yeah .... don't mess with Bisoprolol, get on it and stay on it for ever. If you can't handle the side effects get off it and find something else ..... who knows what ?

I'm only a bus driver so I know nuffink ............ but all these Cardio plonkers who believe in switching it on and off, like a pill in the pocket ... in yer dreams. It is a long term, continuous user drug.

I was 65 when first put on it I'm now 78 and I still drive buses on a 30 hour week roster ........ so whats the problem ? and my employer ( a major national bus operator) and DVLA are well aware of my cardiac issues.

Your final line .......... yes I am dependant on it to keep things under control ............ so what? At least I haven't had my heart BBQ'd as in ablation.

Good luck.

John

[mjames1]

A lot of people don't do well on beta blockers like bisoprolol, including myself. So if You're still uncomfortable in a week or so, ask to be switched to diltiazem. Has a similar function, but with much fewer side effects for many.

[CDreamer]

In my experience the affects of Bisoprolol were far worse than the AF so for me - no it’s not worth it.

You will find very mixed opinions as it suits some and not others. There is no evidence that rate control drugs extend life so in this matter I disagree with John.

If you suffer from side effects go back and see your doctor - there are alternatives which some people tolerate much better but if you have anxiety when you have missed a dose you will have to titrate off Biso very, very slowly.

[Peony4575]

some people can tolerate bisoprolol and beta blockers . Made me feel awful on them and had a terrible time weaning off them . Tachycardias and arrhythmias especially at night and terrible panic and anxiety . The fact you are exhibiting these symptoms as your pill becomes due indicates you might be one of those people who has problems withdrawing from them. It’s a personal decision but I will never take another beta blocker . My husband tolerates bisoprolol perfectly well . Peoples constitutions are different

[Thomas45]

I'm sure Bisoprolol slowed my heart rate for the 13 weeks I took it, but and it's a big BUT, the side effects caused me to be taken off all beta blockers.The first side effect was urticaria, also known as hives, painful rashes which appeared anywhere, except my face . I also started with an intolerance of foods, tomatoes, oranges, bananas and grapes brought with them painful rashes. Six years later I still cannot eat tomatoes without getting painful skin. rashes . I still take antihistamines daily.

The second side effect was sudden onset of asthma. My asthma normally is linked to infection. If I get a common cold I'm very likely to get an asthma attack. Bisoprolol gave me a dry attack, my lungs tubes began to close without infection. I also had chest pains. Fortunately I was in a pharmacy attached to a medical centre which was about to close. An ambulance was called and I spent two nights in a very hot and noisy hospital ward.

I have permanent though asymptomatic AF. What I take instead of Bisoprolol is nothing .

I largely stay off alcohol. I've drank two bottles of red wine in the last 9 months. One lasted 6 weeks, the other only 3 weeks, sipping it rather than gulping it . My diet is pescatarian., Vegetarian plus fish, both fresh and tinned. I try to do 3000 steps a day, but am a fair-weather walker, hampered by right foot drop, so I wear a foot/leg orthotic, and use a stick for balance. I have lost weight avoiding processed food, and sugar. I have more to lose. I still eat the occasional chocolate bar because I like chocolate . I'm aged 77.

[Ppiman]

If the tablets have been prescribed for symptom relief only, then you don't need them but need your GPs permission to change your prescription; if they have been prescribed for clinical reasons, then that is different. In general, betablockers have been shown to extend life in people with cardiovascular disease, so do some rather good things to the heart and circulation, it seems. ☺️

[CDreamer in reply to Ppiman]

With respect - I can’t see the point of an extended life if you are living in misery because of side effects of the drug that is supposedly extending your life.

[Auriculaire in reply to CDreamer]

First time I was put on 5mg Bisoprolol I felt so awful after a fortnight on it I told my GP that if I had to live like this for the rest of my life , I would rather not live! There are lots of lifestyle changes you can make to extend your life that involve actually feeling better too. I wonder if the "life extension" is of any real consequence or if like statins it works out as a few days?

[Ppiman in reply to CDreamer]

I don't fully understand your comment. In the scenario you depict, then the tablets would not be doing their job and relieving your symptoms, i.e. they would be replacing them with new, worse, ones. In that case, a different approach is, self-evidently (and implied in my reply) needed.

Steve

[Linkj]

I agree, it is a ghastly drug, I was able to reduce my dose after my first ablation and after my successful second ablation, I have come completely off it after 4 years of taking the drug and I feel wonderful. Before the ablation if I tried to come off it I was in AF within 3 days. Slightly higher heart rates but that is normal post ablation.

[joolzj in reply to Linkj]

Like certain contributors keep repeating, everybody is different, so it is really not helpful to say it it’a ghastly drug’. By the same token, I would say it is in ‘astoundingly amazingly brilliant drug’! but I realise that I am speaking about how my body personally responded to it.

I altered my lifestyle and took a lot of supplements which worked pretty well for a long time but then the incidences of AF ultimately increased to two or three a week. For me, a bit like our favourite bus driver, carneuny, bisopralol was a wonder drug and more or leas stopped the attacks.

What doesn’t seem to be clear to me from certain people’s comments is how long they had the terrible side-effects – I absolutely had very unpleasant side effects but they completely went away after about two weeks. For instance I had been lucky enough to always sleep through the night but when I first started taking bisoprolol, my sleep was very disrupted and I started having nightmares which was very unsettling. But from my reading, I knew the side-effects can settle so I persevered. Crucially, as I say, the side-effects totally disappeared. Perhaps other folk might find the same as me and that the side-effects subside if they persist with the beta-blocker for several weeks. Who knows how the body works and how we all have the same organs and make up but respond utterly differently to medication? But I would imagine that some people might have side-effects for much longer than two weeks and then they go away. So my only advice would be to persist as long as you can, in case the side-effects go away and, like me, your life is transformed by a beta blocker.

we all try to listen to our bodies and we all have different triggers. Mine were largely linked with food. I was so disappointed when my AF was triggered after having Chinese curry sauce. But then after only a small amount of research, I discovered that MSG is a known trigger. The upside is that I learned to make my own which is much healthier and does not trigger me!

Most information you read says that a beta blocker doesn’t actually prevent atrial fibrillation events, but simply stops your heart going mentally fast. In other words the abnormal rhythm can still persist. So, I was puzzled as to how come my loan paroxysmal AF attacks reduced hugely after I started taking them. I was pleased when I read caeneuny’s story as he also seems to have responded like me and the beta-blocker has actually massively reduced occurrences of AF. Perhaps he and I have addressed lifestyle issues in a similar way too, and I would think that the combination of medication and healthy lifestyle affected the positive change for us.

So there you go, it is hard to get one’s head round it, but anecdotal evidence would seem to indicate that for some people a beta blocker is the devil incarnate and for others it is a godsend!

Best of luck to all who try it,

Julia

[Bodydoctor12]

hello,

I’ve had terrible side effects with BISOPROLOL and after 6 months tolerating them I switched to VERAPAMIL. That was an even worse night mare - awful awful.

So I went back on BISOPROLOL at half the dose - 3.75 mg and since my cardioversion on Feb 15th have slowly weaned off to now on .625. Funnily enough I’m still having the same horrible burning sensations in my feet, on and off, and occasional runs of them in spots on my upper limbs and occasionally my face. Somebody on here told me it was a peripheral neuropathy type pain, this feels like a cold burn. My GP has sent me for a blood test to see if my liver enzymes are still raised. I’m planning to come off it completely in the next few days. I’m still in NSR and if It looks like my heart rate starts to change then I’ll go back on the lowest dose. The hospital told me to just stop taking them but my pharmacist cautioned me and said to do it slowly. For sure, everyone is different. Some people sail through it, others don’t.

Good luck in your decision.

[Desanthony]

I couldn't take any beta blockers, calcium channel blockers or other types of rate control medication as it took my heart rate down to about 36 once in my sleep and definitely made me feel far worse than the AF. I just take anticoagulant - Eliquis and so far so good I am fine.

[Jimmy1944]

I take 3.75 mg have done for years, it has controlled the A/F for a long time. I have noticed my maximum HR when exercising is reduced but have not suffered otherwise. As I understand you must not stop taking them without medical guidance. I use a weekly pill dispenser box so I can see if I have remembered to take it to stop the worrying I havn't.

[scout70]

I'm on 1.25 bisop. No noticeable side effects and so far gives good heart rate control.

[Adiepie]

hi there. Another one who can’t really take bisoprolol. Pre ablation I was on it daily, however it felt that I was living my life through treacle - every time I stopped, I fell asleep! Moved to calcium channel blockers (dilitiazem) which seems to work, resorting to 2.5mg bisoprolol as pill-in-pocket when the beast raises its head!

[JOY2THEWORLD49]

Hi

If your resting Heart Rate is over 100 and Bisoprolol controls your H/R

try less. 2.5mg or 1.24 x twice.

What other meds do you take? As Bisoprol even up 10mg did not give me any side effects.

cheers JOY

[Auriculaire]

5mg can be too high a dose for those who do not do well on Bisoprolol. On 5mg I felt like a zombie and had leg pain , headaches and worsened asthma too. I complained to my GP who told me to cut the dose in half ( it had been prescribed by the hospital cardiologist ). Still got side effects so I halved it again. Now I take a small dose of Nebivolol which has less side effects and a much bigger dose when having an afib episode.

[hausjac]

I’ve been on 10mg for nearly 30 years for SVT caused by an accessory pathway in my heart although about to reduce to 7.5mg and it also helps prevent my P AF. To start it was horrible but I persevered because there were no alternatives at that time and my body got used to it and the only reason I’m reducing now is HRs in middle fifties which reduces my energy levels at 77!

[jimlad2]

I don't like criticising other contributors, but: Cardio plonkers? Etc. . John (carneuny) knows best obviously. Who needs doctors when you have that kind of expertise to fall back on! And 9 users of this forum hearted his comment! We're all different and have different environments, working and otherwise, and histories, for starters; we all have unique variations of AF - which follow their own course - and the various complications that go with it; and we all react differently to medication. I'm sure you're doing as much research as you can on the condition, though for most of us it seems that there's no effective solution, and we try to live with it the best we can, always with one eye on the hope that we'll stumble across something that'll help us. Meantime, it might be worthwhile to try adjusting your diet, exercise levels, stress exposure, and the amount of sleep you get, and it's probably wise to give your body time to adjust to the medication, though so far your body doesn't appear to be coping well with it. Maybe try a lower dosage? I'm on 2.5mgs but for the last year I've been taking only half a tablet per day to reduce side effects, without my condition worsening. But as I say, we're all different, and my experience with medication may be of no value to you. However, there are some contributors on here with high level knowledge who've studied the condition for many years. My tuppence-worth: read as much as can tolerate and draw your own conclusions based on your own experience, aims and hopes.

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to jimlad2]

Well said Jim. We are all so different and some people who have never experienced feeling truly dreadful with an AF attack have no idea how others suffer. Crazy to suggest do as they do and shut up, because they're ok on their meds. So uncaring and inconsiderate.

Jean

[baba]

I tried 1.25 Bisoprolol, the side effects, in sinus rhythm, were worse than the AF symptoms. I couldn't tolerate Diltiazam either even in small doses, caused collapse.

[Tomred]

hi, Diep, i was first put on bisoprolol 5mg some years back as pill in pocket, well, i couldnt get out of my chair, really knocked me for 6, cant imagine if i was on that dose daily, however fast forward a year or two and was put on 1.25 mg daily and and extra one if need be, i can tolerate this , but tiredness is a real problem, Bobd answered a question about 2 weeks ago which i posted asking for thoughts on what can happen to heart with afib uncontrolled, cant access his exact reply at minute but heart failure and cardiomyopathy potentially, so reluctant as i am to take any meds i bite the bullet and depend on bisop to help lessen effects of afib.

[mav7]

Key is "recently prescribed", diep.

Many find that side effects lessen over time. So be patient for a few weeks, a month, etc and then talk to your doctor if bothersome side effects persist.

Keep in mind the bisoprolol is best for your heart as determined by the doctor.

[Hidden]

Hi,

I’ve taken 3.75mg of Bisoprolol for just over a year now without problem apart from about 4 weeks at the beginning while my body got used to them. Keeps my heart rate steady at around 67bpm.

Calcium channel blockers like Diltiazem can have side affects, one of which is swelling of the feet and ankles, which I get although not everyone gets them.

Just give your body a chance to get used to them and if after a few weeks you still have problems then ask your doctor to change them.

[Finvola]

I took Bisoprolol for 4 miserable years, firstly at 2.5mg and then at 1.25mg. I was constantly breathless, felt like I was wading in deep mud, couldn't walk uphill or climb stairs and felt my life was effectively over as an active woman. My cardiologist called it the 'drug of choice' and wasn't particularly bothered.

After reading about the experiences of others on this forum I saw my GP and was changed to Nebivolol 2.5mg. It was like a new lease of life for me - my heart rate is managed and I have no breathlessness or fatigue.

My advice is to talk to your docs about experiementing to find the best and most suitable medication for you.

[jeanjeannie50 in reply to Finvola]

What I don't understand is when I asked my cardiologist about Nebivolol, he laughed, shook his head and said that wasn't for me. If only I'd asked why!

Jean

[Finvola in reply to jeanjeannie50]

The cynic in me thinks 'cost'. Nebivolol used to be much more expensive than Bisoprolol and I think many cardiologists are like mine - great drug, they think.

[Hidden]

I split the 3.25 dose and take half morning, half evening. Works for me. Seems to calm any sides.

[Teresa156]

Hi diep98,

You have got very mixed responses here. Some people really dislike Bisoprolol, but whilst I don’t love taking bisoprolol , in fact I don’t think I like taking any medication for my afib, but for me, it has vastly improved the number of afib episodes I was suffering. In 2021, I had 8 episodes and was rapidly heading to one every 3 weeks, before I started on the bisoprolol in the September. In 2022 I had only 1 episode, so it’s most definitely helping. I take 1.25mg as 2.5 mg was giving me worse side effects. I think I have got “used” to how they make me feel now.

The problem, as you have found, is your HR rising rapidly if you miss a dose, or if you try to come off too suddenly, so the rapid heart rate you have, when you missed a dose wasn’t a side effect. Did you have the panic attack when you missed the dose too? As they’re quite a powerful drug, it’s understandable that this could happen and it would with any beta blocker, not just bisoprolol, if you stopped suddenly.

Some, if not all, of the other side effects you are experiencing now may go…I had some which went. Sadly some don’t.

You might find after a while that you could go on a lower dose, if, for example your HR goes too low, but you would need to taper off slowly and with your doctor’s advice and guidance. You will need to go much slower than they advise too however, in my experience.

In answer too, to your question about being dependant on it, that’s probably a correct term, though sounds scary, put like that 😳 but it’s true it’s not easy to come off but it’s possible, as you can see from other’s replies. Also, to answer your last question about if your heart problems come back when you stop it - yes, very likely. It will only control heart issues while you take it.

Teresa