My husband is on 7.5 in the morning and I’ve reduced him to 5 in the evening as he has been so tired all the time . They only upped it by 2.5 when I rang heart function nurse when his ecg on his watch was creeping up to 130 . He was on digoxin before which seemed to keep his ecg around 89/90 but caused him to have a bad stomach , many trips to the toilet daily for 3 weeks , so had to come off and replace with a higher dose of bisoprolol , he was on 2.5 morning and night before . The nurse said digoxin masks the problem, when I asked about maybe trying digoxin again, whereas bisoprolol helps to heal the heart ( he had a stroke in July caused by AF with a rate of approx 165+)I’m wondering if you can take them all in one go at nighttime as it might help him be less tired in the day like when he takes his 7.5 dose in the morning . His pulse is around 80s 90 s but ecg is higher because of arrhythmia I presume . Thank you in advance
Regards Jackie
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Jackiesmith7777
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Yes only by 2.5 tablet at night as the heart function nurse upped them without even seeing him . If the consultant had told me to after examining him there’s no way I would have he is still on 7.5 mg in the morning and 5.mg at night . He was on 15mg a day which seemed an awful lot after she told us to up them .
He s now on 5mg in the morning but had a spike of 171 heart rate on his watch so seeing doctor Tom to see if they can tweak meds as biso on its own isn’t working . His cardio version worked for five days then back into AF a couple of weeks ago . So on the roller coaster ride again to see what can be done next . It only spiked for a bit and is now in 90 s again but ecg on watch about 125
I’ve always taken mine at night as recommended by my cardio to offset the initial effects. I was on 10mg for nearly 35 years but have now reduced it to 7.5mg for the last 3 years
It is highly dangerous to mess with drugs and their dosages unless under instruction/supervision from a medic specialising in the treatment so please contact your heart nurse accordingly. I messed about with mine, the outcome was not good.
Good luck with that, I did exactly the same and it put me into permanent A/F and heart failure, as a consequence my drug dosages was increased so I really was a clever girl, or thought I was lol
I am sorry to hear that. I already am in permanent AF thanks to diverse treatments for breast cancer and thyroid eye disease so it can't get much worse. I see when my pulse gets faster, so if it did, I could react. Each case is different and I for one prefer taking responsibility for my own health (what is left of it). And of course i f I make a mistake, it is my own. But maybe you are luckier in your doctors?
My mistake was that I lost 5 stone, thinking this was enough of an improvement in my heart health so decided I would try an d reduce my drugs, Disopyramide and Bisoporal, I started my halving the dosages of each and then after several months stopped taking the Disopyramide altogether, I was on anticoagulant but didn't interfere with that. I also have a Pacemaker. All was well and then I broke my hip whilst playing table tennis and whilst recovering developed a cough, felt dizzy and unwell. The medics to their credit did tests to try and find out why but not one looked at the possibility it was a heart problem and yet they knew I was one for the past 20 odd years. Finally a lung credited practitioner sent me for another chest X-ray and this showed heart slightly enlarged and that I was in permanent A/F.....I was diagnosed as being in heart failure, the reason, the discontinuation of Disopyramide! I was then reintroduced to the drug and the Bisoporal was increased plus a water tablet as I had edema - swollen legs/feet etc., so all in all not good. This was in June of this year. The drugs have controlled my heart and I am no longer in permanent A/F but it has been a real set back and inspite of the fact that I was making good progress balance wise after the hip replacement my confidence has gone so walk with a stick, which I hate, it has also turned me into an old lady but then I'm 80 next year so I guess I am an old lady, but prior to this I played table tennis twice a week and fitness to music also twice a week, I now do nothing, some days I don't even leave the house, so with this all very much in my mind that is why I advocate extreme caution with self dosing, it didn't obviously work for me!
I keep wonderung how som epeople do not notive when in AF. My mom too and my sister. I am highly symptomatic (at least I was when in PAF), also very high heart rate when in AF without betablocker 180). So I feel at once when it starts and when it stops. Even now after 3,5 years in permanent AF I can feel when it stops.
I was told by my cardio that when A/F is persistent the body gets used to it so it becomes the norm. different from P/A/F which is what I have, I obviously didn't feel the change in permanent although I had other symptoms.
Well mine did not get used to it, as I always notice when there is short break. And I still feel it when in permanent and on my left side, so no way could I not notice. But then I always have a fast heart rate, even on Biso in the 90s. And without Biso on Sotalol it was over 100 all the time, 120 or so. Difficult to sleep then.
I felt it was dangerous when I phoned up the cardiac nurse worried about his heart rate being in the 120 s and she said well it’s knky 20 beats over the norm and prescribed bisoprol from 10 to 15 without even seeing him. I’ve lost a bit of trust in The medics as they didn’t really take serious my warnings of his high heart rate at a and e and doctors and he had a stroke two days later knowing he had AF and an ablation in 2017 putting as zero on the at risk scale for a stroke ?? Hence the reason I’ve lost some trust in the medics.
Saw the gp today who said his bisoprolo l dose was far to high at 15 mg so my instincts were right he said 5mg enough and also to stop looking at his watch . He said no sign of swelling or congestion in lungs blood pressure ok Jist no heavy lifting and try to keep stress to a minimum . So will just have to wait to see the next move as to what arrhythmia clinic appointment will involve in five weeks . His heart function report says he has second stage heart failure severe function of left ventrical . I suppose it’s better than having stage three of four . Trying to look on the bright side .
My last increase was to 10mg and the cardio said that was the maximum dose, if that didn't suit then I would be put on to digoxin, so yes 10 is the maximum for me anyway.
Are you your husband's carer? With all respect I too feel concerned that you changed his dose. He's got the condition, not you. I think your husband should see your GP about this. GPs can advise on dosage of Bisoprolol. And perhaps an arrangement can be made to see a cardiologist or EP? I don't understand what the Arrhythmia Nurse is saying about Bisoprolol healing the heart. It's a rate controller. So is digoxin as far as I know.
Please do get medical advice on this to help your husband make the best choices for him.
I also experienced a stroke due to undiagnosed AF. Have cardiology not offered an ablation to correct your husbands AF. I have had two and thankfully mine appears to have worked.
Plenty of people here have commented on you changing your husband’s meds, so I will bypass that, as none of us know your circumstances. Regarding when to take Bisoprolol: my cardiologist told me, when I was diagnosed 6 years ago, to take them either morning or evening, whichever suited me. I took them evenings at the same time as my Warfarin as it was all done with in one go. The dose has increased over time until now I take 10 mgs daily. The cardiologist told me to take this as a split dose.
I took Bisoprolol for my persistent AF for 8 months and my dose was changed from 2.5 x 2 a day to 5, 7.5 and 10. With discussions with my cardiologist we reduced, increased and split the doses over that 8 month period.
Absolutely nothing changed the extreme fatigue and dizziness I felt during this period as it lowered my BP so much. Not sure if this helps but just my experience.
I was told to take Bisoprolol and blood pressure meds at night. I feel 100 % better during the day, I can even have walks without getting exhausted. Plus I get a better sleep
What dosage were you on if you don’t mind me asking I’m worried his dosage might be too high to take in one go .15 mg might drop his heart rate too low at night .
Just from my personal perspective, when my cardiologist and I were trying to get the right balance with Bisoprolol for me, she was happy to increase/decrease and split the meds morning and pm, but she was NOT happy about my taking it all night - I had suggested this as I thought it might make the dizziness better during the day. She was not happy my doing this in case it dropped either my heart rate (unlikely in the event) or my BP too low during the night, so she strongly advised against this. Again, as people have said, my personal experience and all under cardiologist guidance.
Really hope you can make contact to get the medical guidance you need Jackie.
I know. I had a cardiology appt cancelled due to the strikes 3 weeks ago, and then on the re-arranged one, was the day of the floods so only made it half way there when hosp called and said cancelling all appts that day so staff could get home, subsequently hosp was on emergency generators and advising people not to go only if emergency! sods law.! really hope you get one soon so you can get things sorted out
I think, from what you are suggesting, is that you’d like your husband to take 12.5 mg all in one go, in the evening, rather than morning- or, if you went back to his previous 15mg, take all that in the evening, in one go?
I think it really is best to discuss this with either a GP or the heart function nurse again? 15 mg or even 12.5 it is still quite a large dose and that might be the reason why they split it - and they may think it’s better for his heart issue that way? Perhaps explain the problems you think it’s causing and see what they suggest?
I think you should also let them know you reduced his dose. They would have upped the Bisoprolol to reduce his pulse, like you say and from what you say now, if you’ve reduced it, it may creep back to 130 again which is too high.
if someone was to answer you on here and say, yes, they also took a large dose all in one go, in the evening, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s right for your husband, as we all react differently to medication and all have very different needs. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s going to help you.
I would add that Bisoprolol at most doses ( even very small ones) can make people feel tired, it’s a classic side effect. The longer he’s on it, he might tolerate it better. Initially, even on just 1.25, I was extremely tired, but that has got much better with time.
Thank you . Yes he s back on 15mg as I’ve decided not to do it myself and wait for heart function clinic 22nd . I’m hoping it will be helping to heal his heart and give it a bit of rest as god knows how long it was beating at 164 plus as he couldn’t feel it beating. It was only when he had to sit up at night in bed and we thought it was his asthma thst we knew something was wrong . That was two days before his stroke .
I’m pleased you changed it back to 15 mg. I’m so sorry to hear what you’ve been going through, but at least you’ve got an appointment fairly soon. It sounds like your husband is asymptomatic, which means he’s unaware of his heart beating fast, out of rhythm.
Thank you . What’s so annoying is when he was on digoxin it brought his heart rate right down to 70s 80s but his stomach couldn’t tolerate it and he was constantly in the loo for three weeks so had to come off of them .
Perhaps they’ll try him on something else Jackie. Medication is supposed to make people feel better and if it’s not working for him, they should hopefully give him something that suits him better.
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