Does anyone have trouble sleeping while taking Bisoprolol? I have been waking about 3.30 in a hot sweat and having to try and do deep breathing to calm it down but cannot get back to sleep.
I have read that Bisoprolol depletes your melatonin and COQ10 which isn’t good.
Does anyone have any tips on dealing with this as it is effecting my job and my life.
Many thanks x
I have taken Zopiclone and Mirtazapine at different times.Both ok with Bisoprolol.The former you only get 7 tablets from Gp as it is quite powerful and then a repeat but it is good for a nights sleep if you are really desparate .The latter is usually prescribed for anxiety but it works quite well as a soporific. I took a 15mg tablet and another half so 22 and a half mgs and usually got about 6 hours plus.Do speak to your GP about this. I regret I did not speak to mine sooner. He was very understanding and did his best to help realising how dibilitating it is.I am not working but was still completely worn out by insomnia.
How much are you taking & what time of day do you take it? I sometimes split the dose into morning & evening but realised if I leave the evening dose too late my sleep will suffer - for me bizarre nightmares. Now, if I am taking a pm dose I make sure it’s no later than late afternoon/early evening. If you’ve found that the poor sleep remains whatever time of day you take it perhaps ask your doctor for an alternative to Bisoprolol? Insomnia is awful & has so many knock-on effects.
Do you take magnesium or have you looked into it?
I started taking it ( magnesium taurate ) for awful night cramps in my feet and shins, barely happened since taking it, it also helped me a lot with anxiety and waking in the night and then not being able to sleep with intrusive thoughts.
Always check with your GP or Pharmacist before taking supplements though.
I would not advise taking any supplements or making changes to medications until you have a better idea about why this is happening and you've had the right checks with the GP.Do you have a way to check your blood pressure and heart rate during the night?
Keeping a basic cuff BP monitor near the bed is advisable to get a better idea of what's happening.
Why by the bed?
Because you want to be able to slip it on to test while you are still in a laying position to be close to the BP/ Heart rate which is likely to be the cause of a symptom like your sweating and waking.
Often the circadian rhythm changes around 4 am to begin the chemical process the body needs to naturally wake up.
Before that point, between 2-4 am the body is usually at the point when you will have your lowest blood pressure and heart rate.
If your blood pressure and heart rate are going very low (hypotension / Bradycardia ) during that "sleep mode" your autonomic nervous system will go into overdrive to kick up a gear to bring them back to normal.
As we age, or if we have a health condition that can be affected or triggered by the ANS, ANS dysfunction can happen. The change can be over sensitive or an over reaction , this can have you wake you quickly and keep you awake.
It can also cause either chills then heavy sweating , or chills or sweating on their own because the ANS controls your temperature regulation too.
The same can happen if , for some reason your body begins to generate the messages to wake up too early and causes a sudden rise in heart rate or blood pressure , or Tachycardia or Hypertension occur which wasn't triggered by a drop in BP or pulse.
If you had low blood pressure or low heart rate as a cause for this body alarm clock to go off it can help to wear a Smart Watch and use a cuff BP test over a week to see if that is the cause.
After you've sat up in bed and got over this rude awakening, many people whom have a sensitive nervous system or have tachycardia or hypertension as part of the illnesses can end up having a spike in these which keeps them awake because the body just starts reacting as though it's got an early morning alarm call at the same time.
If you have symptoms of low blood pressure or bradycardia regularly, take cardiac medications and the BP/ HR go too low at night , you should not take Magnesium supplements of any sort because Magnesium reduces the heart rate and makes low blood pressure and low heart rate symptoms worse.
If you only have occasional lows which aren't symptomatic ,you can try take half the standard dose of Magnesium ,if you require it, for nerve pain but only take them four hours after cardiac medications , after food , and not after 6pm.
Otherwise it's better to get Magnesium from food and possibly use a Magnesium lotion at night if you suffer with night time joint stiffness, Neuropathy or restless legs.
If you find you are suffering from high heart rate or high blood pressure during the night Magnesium might help , but again needs to be well timed to reduce sudden night time lows.
You should get your Magnesium and other Electrolytes level blood tested before starting this supplement if you have any sort of cardiovascular health issue, because too much in supplements can be as bad as too little.
Try half the standard dose to begin with.
There is also a moderate interaction between CoQ10 as a supplement and Bisoprolol, as well as it interacting with blood thinners.
It's because they are both metabolised by the same pathway in the liver.
The effect of taking the Q10 supplements and these drugs , especially if you take them at the same time , is that it can cause a build up of your required medication in the blood stream .
This can make the medication less effective, but it can also cause it to have a stronger effect to your system if you've taken both for some time.
This interaction can cause sudden lows in blood pressure or heart rate , particularly at night , which would cause the night time symptoms you are experiencing.
So maybe you could try stopping the CoQ10 and just getting that from CoQ10 rich foods instead which don't cause the same symptoms as a supplement while still improving your general health. Increasing B vitamins in the diet can also help with sleep and Cardiovascular health.
Basically, as you can see, knowing whether you are suffering with night highs or night lows is very important in making the decision of what to use and what to take.
If you find it's still happening despite removing supplements ( it may take a month before the levels return to normal ) and making some sleep changes , and, you have no other hormone issues that might be causing it , it's worth talking to the GP about when to time your Bisoprolol or if you might need a dose change.
If you take other medications , supplements, or herbal remedies as well , double check that there aren't any interactions and if they could also be part of the cause of the night symptoms.
Slight adjustments in doses and timings can often be the key to stop most side effects.
Drinking more fluids during the day , increasing mineral rich foods and sleeping with your upper body comfortably and gradually raised on pillows are effective in preventing night symptoms caused by blood pressure or heart rate.
Hope it improves soon , Bee
Wow, what a great post, great info on the possible causes for Cat - 22s symptoms, very interesting and informative.
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