Hi, I take Apixabam, dapagliflozin, bisoprolol and ramipril for HF and AF.I get pains in my legs daily and very bloated more so when I eat which makes me feel really uncomfortable and nauseous, stomach bloating has got worse in last 6 weeks, every meal I eat I suffer from this and things get that bad that I try to restrict myself to 1 full meal a day in the evening and small light snacking during day.
My sleep patterns are horrendous, normally in bed for 9pm as I'm physically and mentally exhausted but get up to go toilet through the night and can't get back to sleep, when I get out of bed from a state of sleep to go to the loo as soon as I stand up using energy my AFib gets worse and I can't get back to sleep!
Some mornings I'm up at 2:00am and I stay up until the AFib settles, I hear thumping in my ears and my body can go all weak, total exhaustion.
Also started having dreams every night which doesn't help.
Just wondered if anyone would know if there's a possibility that it's the meds making things worse for me?
TBH I felt better before I started on them back in Jan/fed but realize there essential to prevent future harm and decline.
I'm 53 currently on sick leave and just wondering if il ever get back a reasonable standard of health.
Thanks
Written by
Nomis21
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I used to get pains in my legs when taking Bisoprolol and though I felt better heart-wise taking them, I had to stop.
Re getting up in the night and AF kicking off. I believe that's because of going from sleeping and your body being still and then sudden movement. What a lot of people have to do is sit on the side of the bed for a minute before standing up slowly. Then when going to the loo do not strain in any way and try to keep the area around your heart relaxed. Just give it a go please and see if that helps.
Re the bloating, make sure you chew your food really well and slowly. If overweight try having smaller meals. Also take a look online at the Fodmap diet.
Trying smaller meals now, not really overweight, put a few pounds on since I cannot be as active as I used to be since my diagnosis and symptoms kicked in but do try to keep active in-between giving in to the tiredness and exhaustion but just can't do the physical things I used to.Only started with the bloating recently and not sure why it's this bad now.
Re bloating, I believe changing to lactose free milk helped me, also avoiding cakes and biscuits. I definitely eat smaller meals and it's strange how I can do that now, used to have huge meals. My AF was diagnosed at age 54 but I now realise that I had it long before then. I snack on various nuts (not salted) between my small meals.
If symptoms have changed then in an ideal world you should discuss with your health care provider. They only know how well you were last time they saw you.
Good advice above about smaller meals, eat slowly.
I share your insomnia issues. Lot of tips you may want to google. What seems to help me is to not go right to bed, sit in the living room or a dark room for about 15 min+ and relax your mind and body.
I’m sorry you are having such a hard time. Re the meds, you do not have to take them if they make you feel worse. You do have to try them, so you aren’t seen as an uncooperative patient, but if they don’t agree with you you need to say so. Dapagiflosin is a drug for type 2 diabetes but also used for heart failure treatment and I think is the cause of the loo trips. Difficult to win 😕
Instead of dapagiflosin maybe ask to try empagiflosin which is a different version of the same drug. It gave me urinary tract infections and I had to stop it, which it is known to do for some people. Depending on how long you have had heart failure, trial and error drugs is helpful for a best final steady state solution. A cardiologist should be involved. GP's are not qualified for this. You could ask if entresto might be an option instead of ramipril. It is an expensive generic so may be why it is not recommended. It is a newer drug. I suggest you research the side effects of all the drugs. Another drug to ask about for swelling is spironolactone. You need to push for a better solution.
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