No energy or motivation

[Lilytrish]

Hi, I'm new to your forum but have read some relevant posts and joined so here goes. I am 57 and recently (6months ago) began taking Propanalo!for high blood pressure and Fluoxitine 20mg for extreme anxiety. The propanalol seemed to increase anxiety so I switched to Bisoprolol 5 mg. These all sorted the anxiety and high blood pressure but to such an extent that I can sit for hours just flicking through Pinterest or eBay when I'm supposed to be working on my degree dissertation ! It's as if I don't consciously choose not to work i just struggle to get round to it. I can have one relevant thought then 5 randoms. I am trying to complete and have done really well up to now but I had to take an extra year due to the anxiety but that time is now running out! I have no urgency it's all somewhere in my head but vague. I'm loving the warmer weather but don't go out i just sit or watch tv. I also have tingling hands and fiery feet. I think everything is menopause related but it's too high a price to pay for relief. Althogh I must have been terrible as my lovely daughter (also completing a degree) has begged me to stay o n medication. We suffered an extreme family tragedy which left us both with mental health problems - 19 years ago - my daughter has suffered greatly and is 26. She's been in education all her life and is amazing. She also takes strong meds. Oh dear, a bit rambling but I hope you get the general idea. Thank you so much for reading this 😊Lilytrish

[Calliope153]

This helped me when Bisoprol turned me into a bit of a zombie - I could spend all day looking at paint charts! - ask to go down from 5 mg to 3.75mg. See how it goes but remember we are all different and, frustratingly, what works for one person may not for another. Good luck with the dissertation - even when you finish it you wonder how you did it!

[Lilytrish in reply to Calliope153]

Hi that's great thank you. I will do that and thanks so much for the encouragement x

[Griff-64]

My partner takes 40mg fluoxetine daily, along with a whole host of other drugs.

She's got very limited mobility due to (mostly) MS.

She decided one day to stop taking fluoxetine, without telling me. I knew within days something was wrong and quizzed her, but she denied she'd stopped taking them.

After a week, she as unbearable to live with, and eventually owned up. When she started again, It took another week before she was back to "normal".

We've since tried a controlled reduction with her GP's help, but it becomes obvious she needs them.

Her mood is very much a couldn't care less about anything. Most of the time, but that could be one of many things causing it.

She certainly becomes fixated on things though, especially on line shopping for make-up 😏 😕

[Lilytrish in reply to Griff-64]

Hi, yes this certainly is similar to my experiences. I feel ok in myself on the flouroxitine and Bisoprolol - even happy sometimes - but nothing much is getting done. It must be extremely hard for your wife - and you too - maybe the shopping fixation is due to the inertia of bisoprolol if she takes a beta blocker but flouroxitine does knock you flat and that's a high dose so more than likely that's not helping. I also had heart racing but now it's about pulse 54 which is low. i shop for clothes so maybe the make up is also for confidence but I do have that feeling of obsession - yes it all makes sense. Take care, thanks for your help

[Love100cats]

I could really feel your anguish. It's so hard to know what you should be doing but the body won't respond. So different to feeling sleepy! I'm on 7.50 bisoprolol since June last year due to a racing heart and Atrial fibrillation. The meds control the symptoms but like you, I'm not productive at all. I feel I'm just going through the motions of staying alive by eating, sleeping, showering and getting dressed but I was so ill when I went into hospital with heart failure I'm scared to change any meds. But I'm setting very small goals and one is to walk to the front gate, about 20 yards, each day. I've done it 8 times, then on Monday I actually drove to our local shop and went in and bought something and that was the first time in 8 months. So my new goal is to do that once a week. It's hard to know, maybe impossible to know how good recovery can be, but any improvement is good. Please just keep trying. Don't give up.x

[Lilytrish in reply to Love100cats]

Hi, I love cats too - we've got two. I think you are inspirational. My Husband has heart failure - he's had triple bypass and stents and takes lots of meds. I just want you to know, it may be a slow process with ups and downs but he now does a little delivery job and has been tinkering with the caravan today. Step by step you can do it with all your determination. My situation pales in comparrison. He counts every day as a bonus when he wakes up so I know what you mean. Thank you for your encouragement, take care.

[Hidden]

You will get there its took me 6months to feel my self again but getting there little steps takes time but we can do it

[Lilytrish in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Redbull, I've been taking Bisoprolol for six months and am trying a half dose. Thank you for your encouragement, I hope you continue to feel better - little by little.

[Jaycey]

How long have you been taking the Bisoprolol? It took me a good 6 months to get used to this medication and I am only taking 1.25mg daily. If you have been on this awhile perhaps discuss reducing your dose with your GP. Hang in there - the body does adjust to all these meds. Tough when you have things you need to do though.

[Lilytrish in reply to Jaycey]

Hi Jaycey, I've also been taking it for about 6 months. Until I found your forum, I had no idea that you could take less than 5mg ! Sounds crazy i know, but no one ever discussed it with me. It was a case of, propanalol not reducing the high bp so change to this. In future i will ask more questions. Thanks for your help, Trish

[Recoder_Bill]

Hi Lilytrish,

I’m very pleased that you posted on HealthUnlocked and described your situation; obviously I’m not pleased that you are suffering in the way you are!

The reason I’m pleased is because I think I know exactly how you feel wrt the “No energy or motivation”. I’ve been feeling the same way for nearly 4 months now and had thought it was just me being lazy. Let me explain my circumstances; sorry in advance for the long read, just skip to the end if you like.

Slipped into retirement (I was never going to retire was I!!) mid 2016 and found that a bit hard to cope with but this was compounded by health issues. I had a twisted bowel in November 2015 followed by two incisional hernias resulting from the surgery for the twisted bowel. ….. oh yes, I was diagnosed with AF some time back too …. post 2005, maybe 2007’ish ... and I had mechanical aortic valve fitted in 2005.

Then at the end of June 2018 I had a rectal bleed and lost two pints of blood but crucially during the investigations done by the hospital they found I had a pseudo thoracic aneurysm. I had surgery in November 2018 for the pseudo thoracic aneurysm to replace the aortic root, mechanical aortic valve (already had a mechanical aortic valve fitted in 2005) and the aortic hemi-arch.

My cardiac surgeon told me I wouldn’t feel myself again until spring 2019, so I’m getting there but…… like you I have next to no energy and find motivation to do even the most trivial of things extremely hard. It’s not that I don’t have anything to do or that there are not a whole host of things that I want to do, even planned to do; it’s just I can’t seem to find the will power to get going!!!

Now we come to the nub of the issue, I’m taking:

- Warfarin for the :-

mechanical heart valve (been doing that since 2005 so no issue with that),

also for the synthetic aorta bits,

the new mechanical aortic valve

and because of the AF to guard against strokes.

- Digoxin for the AF.

- 5mg bisoprolol for the AF to reduce my heart rate. I’ve never been diagnosed with high blood pressure.

Prior to the surgery last year I was taking dilitiazem (a calcium channel blocker) to reduce my heart rate/BP because of the AF and noticed no side effects. Since the surgery last year they switched me to bisoprolol and I believe I am noticing some of the documented side effects for bisoprolol like, problems sleeping, no energy, lack of motivation and generally a low mood.

This week I went for assessment for cardiac rehab. The specialist cardiac nurse said that the low mood and lack of motivation is common with bisoprolol. She suggested splitting the dose in two and taking 2.5mg in the morning and 2.5mg at night and monitoring my heart rate and BP; that might improve my low mood and lack of get up and go. She also mentioned maybe reducing the dose and again monitoring the effect on heart rate and BP. If that didn’t resolve my issues she said I should go to my GP and discuss going back to dilitiazem.

So I’ve now ordered a decent BP meter (one that is supposed to be able to cope with AF) and I intend to monitor my heart rate and BP for a week whilst keeping my drug regime the same, to get a starting point. Then I’ll try splitting the dose into two 2.5mg doses morning and evening, then reduce to two 1.25mg doses, then maybe one 1.25mg dose and see what happens.

If things don’t improve then I’ll go back to the GP/cardiologist and discuss it further.

Sorry for the long read and thank you very much for sharing your story, I thought I was on my own!

Regards,

Phil

[Lilytrish in reply to Recoder_Bill]

Hi Phil, don't apologise for the long read it was very interesting. I do believe we are on to something by reducing the dose. Just today i split my tablet (took 2.5mg) and have worked fairly productively on my dissertation until now. I also feel less 'zombified' and able to think. I feel more 'present'. I think it's a very good idea for you to take things slowly and monitor your bp and pulse rate, especially with other related conditions. Thank you for taking the time to explain your situation, I'm sure it will help a lot of people. Take care, Trish

[Annemac62]

I reduced my dosage of Bisoprolol to 2.5mg ( with GP approval) and find that this appears to be optimal dose for me to reduce blood pressure and anxiety. I am 57 and menopause appeared to be a contributing factor for a lot of my health issues. Think a lot is trial and error with best drug and dosage and what suits one person may not work for anyone else. Good luck

[Lilytrish in reply to Annemac62]

Thank you Annemac, I am praying this will be the answer as my house is in need of cleaning, not to mention the winter weary windows! One problem is that being in that fuggy place, it's difficult to rationalise and realise the problem. I really hope this discussion has helped others to realise it could be their Bisoprolol causing the problem. Many thanks for your help, good luck to you too

[stevejb1810]

It is certainly worth investigating lowering your bisoprolol dose (you can go as low as 1.25mg - which is what I used to take pre-op). Too high s dose can leave you feeling breathless and completely washed out. Fluoxetine (Prozac) evens out your mood. Unfortunately it takes out the highs and the lows so everything is the same. This might be not helping you when it comes to motivation to do anything. Have you ever tried, or been offered, talking therapies? They have been shown to help and avoid the need for drugs. As with all meds, you should not just stop but it might be worth a chat with your GP about other options.

[Lilytrish in reply to stevejb1810]

Hi Steve, thanks a lot for your comments and ideas. I didn't know Bisoprolol was responsible for breathlessness, I've been short of breath for a while. The doctors suggestion was deep breathing which didn't help. I was beginning to think I was becoming asthmatic ! Or just really unhealthy. This is great! Thanks so much. I'm now on day two of 2.5mg and so far so good. Take care, Trish

[shwills in reply to stevejb1810]

Hello

I know I am replying to an old post but read your reply regarding Bisoprolol and it is exactly how I am feeling breathless and washed out no energy

Until I read this post I couldn’t find anything on breathlessness and Bisoprolol

I have been taking it for 4 weeks now and my GP is testing me for heart failure. I have sinus node disease, Aflutter, Atrial fib, super ventricular tachycardia. 3 ASD’s caused through 4 ablutions

Had pacemaker fitted due to long sinus pauses

All the breathlessness and feeling totally zombie like could be the Bisoprolol well I am hoping as at least this can be fixed

Again apologies for replying to an old post

[Pippa1234]

Maybe its side effects of meds

[Lilytrish in reply to Pippa1234]

Hi Pippa, I'm certainly thinking that. Some meds have quite awful side effects unfirtunately. I'm still on the lower broadband just really hoping my bp doesn't go up.

[Lilytrish in reply to Pippa1234]

Sorry, should say -- lower dose -- it's getting late x

[Pippa1234]

Its all trial and error, just chill. When I was first diagnosed I was always taking my blood pressure. Started eating loads of porridge, and had a severe intolerance to it. I blocked the drains lol. So stopped that!! Now I go with the flow ,excuse the pun! We can only do so much the rest out of our control. Just live without being ruled by it x

[suffolk2]

I have had the tingling and burning feet. My dosage of Brisoprolol is to be reduced.