weight gain on bisoprolol

[Electricblue1]

hello all, can anyone tell me why different brands of bisoprolol make you gain weight and others don’t. I’m struggling with added weight since the pharmacy gave me a different brand and I don’t understand why this is.

[Ilovedogs12]

Hi,

Interesting question!

I have just come off Bisoprolol (yesterday) and I was steadily gaining weight. I'm naturally slim but have found my clothes feeling tight and I suspected my medication was to blame. I never thought to check the brand but I'll be interested to see if others have had a similar problem.

[harkim1 in reply to Ilovedogs12]

Yes I've been taking for 4years and have gain 3 stone.

[LaceyLady in reply to harkim1]

Yes i gained weight hand over fist an no idea why. I cut down till barely ate anything made no difference. 7/21 gained T2 diabetes 🤯 virtually overnight, don’t have it in my family. Put this down to various issues of course this tablet may be part of it. Started losing weight rapidly, partly due to going low carb which I have to control T2D. Get checked for diabetes.

[Ilovedogs12 in reply to LaceyLady]

I've become prediabetic. My blood sugar has shot up and it was a shock because I hadn't changed my diet, exercise or lifestyle at all. No family history of diabetes.I can only put it down to the medication.

[Electricblue1 in reply to Ilovedogs12]

Hi, yes I’ve been on it a while but since the brand has changed I’ve crept up in weight and can’t seem to loose it. I have also noticed forgetfulness and like mind blanks, it’s really worrying me .

[Ilovedogs12 in reply to Electricblue1]

Me too! People talk about brain fog and I have that but I also have total memory blanks and they are really worrying. I hadn't thought of a link to the medication but I didn't have them before.

[Electricblue1 in reply to Ilovedogs12]

Yes it’s the tablets with the memory, I find the mind blanks really upsetting.

[LaceyLady in reply to Electricblue1]

Oh my, my memory has changed hugely and husband constantly moaning because I haven’t remembered something and it wasn’t like this.

I’m now only on Apixaban and Empagliflozin for diabetes m, I’ve had an ablation so no longer of meds for heart

[Decaf_Andy]

I’ve been wondering whether bisoprolol has contributed to my weight gain too. Been on it for about 18 months and am about 4kg more than I would normally be - that’s been constant my adult life until now, I’ve always been slim. I imagine that permanently having ~12% lower heart rate than before might represent a slower ‘metabolism’??

Very much doubt that the brand of the drug would make a difference though.

[harkim1 in reply to Decaf_Andy]

Yes I've been thinking that too. If it slows down your heart, then does it slow others things too. I've always been very slim, but now I've gain an awful lot

[Ilovedogs12 in reply to Decaf_Andy]

I hadn't thought of it like that but I think you could be right.And a slower metabolism might lead to the high blood sugar and prediabetes.

I'm going to ask my GP about it.

[Electricblue1 in reply to Decaf_Andy]

Hi, I only noticed my weight gain since the brand changed as I’ve been on it a good while now and I’m not eating any more than normal. Do you get forgetful and mind blanks on it too.

[Decaf_Andy in reply to Electricblue1]

No, no symptoms other than a lower heart rate ( of course)

[kitenski]

The mayoclinic article says:

Yes. Weight gain is a side effect of some beta blockers. The average weight gain is about 2.6 pounds (1.2 kilograms) over six or more months.

You're more likely to gain weight with older beta blockers, such as atenolol (Tenormin) and metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL). The weight gain tends to happen in the first few months after taking the medicine. Then it usually stops. Newer beta blockers, such as carvedilol (Coreg) and nebivolol (Bystolic) don't usually cause weight gain.

[Electricblue1 in reply to kitenski]

That’s interesting, is bisoprolol a newer one? , I’ve been on it a good while but I’m not doing anything different so it has to be the medication. I’ve heard some of the cheaper brands might cause more problems, not sure if this is true.

[kitenski in reply to Electricblue1]

I think bisoprolol is a gen2, the newer ones are gen3!

[Ppiman]

There’s likely an explanation other than the bisoprolol since different brands are all made to rigid pharmaceutical standards.

However, if the brands do differ, it could be that the tablets are differently compressed and some are poorly absorbed. That should never happen but is one of the most common problems in tablet manufacturing.

A large study found weight gain from beta-blockers of between -0.4kg - +3.5kg, with most weight being gained in the first months.

Steve

[Electricblue1 in reply to Ppiman]

Hi, I’ve been on them 3 or so years , I’m not doing anything different. I have noticed memory loss, like mind blanks and forgetting things, do you know if this is normal. If I try a different beta blocker will all this happen still do you know. Have you any knowledge on calcium channel blockers and what they are like.

[Ppiman in reply to Electricblue1]

I haven’t tried them. I did once ask the specialist I see if I could swap to diltiazem or similar but he insisted that bisoprolol was safer and superior. I do also have a bundle block (LBBB) so that might be a factor? I have to say that I trust him but that there are studies that suggest differently.

As for memory issues, yes, as well as a strange “distancing” feeling as if reality were somehow “further away”. That is a disconcerting feeling to say the least. These are features of cardiac issues, I am sure. For example bradycardia can cause many weird feelings, or so I have read. I have that and feel sure the bundle block causes similar.

I asked the doctor I see and he said it was because the arrhythmia affects blood flow to the brain in various ways.

Steve

[Electricblue1 in reply to Ppiman]

Hi, yes I asked my arythmia nurse and she said it’s the bisoporol as I was worried it was memory problems.

[Ppiman in reply to Electricblue1]

That's interesting. The consultant I saw said it was the arrhythmia and not the bisoprolol. I suppose the nurse might have meant it was a side effect of the bisoprolol in lowering the heart rate?

Steve

[Silky57]

I’m very interested in this thread as my weight is steadily climbing on Bisoprolol despite being stable all my adult life. Nearly 2 years in and it’s still inching up. I am at the stage where I am considering whether the weight gain is more detrimental to my health than the benefit of rate control. I only had one very short burst of AF 2 years ago and none since. My question is: has anyone stopped taking Bisoprolol and seen the weight drop back off.?