Hello everyone, I am 13 months on from having a quadruple bypass which came as a great shock as I thought I was only suffering from indigestion
Although I have recovered well from the operation it seems to have left me with feelings of terrible anxiety made all the worse by the side effects of bisoproporol, I.e. Chest pain/fluttering/slight breathlessness when this happens. I have discussed this with my doctor on various occasions only to be told it's a good protection for your heart. I'm not disputing this but surely there is another better blocker that I can change to that won't give me as many side effects
Thanks for reading
Grannymurray
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Grannymurray
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I will be interested to see people’s views in Bisoprolol as I have just had this increased (12 weeks post cbg x 4) and feel a little rubbish!!! The plan is to increase a couple more times which I’m not looking forward to now.
When you say you have spoken to your Dr, was that your Consultant or your GP? I have taken Bisoprolol for years, maybe 20, to deal with my high blood pressure. I take 10mg a day because that was what I was told was the maximum daily dose, I also take 3 other drugs to get my BP to a reasonable level.
Reading the article I have posted above, it tells me that there are alternatives for you. I see there is also a helpline which it might be worth your while ringing. Some of the charity helplines are manned by nurses, I don't know about this one.
Thankyou for your reply, it was my gp, who normally I get on very well with as I am very susceptible to side effects from any tablets and she knows this but just can't get anywhere with this and it's beginning to get me down now as with the nature of the side effects it's always nagging at me is it my heart playing up again
Try the helpline,you might feel better talking to someone who understands what you are going through & may even be able to suggest a way forward with your GP
I have been on Bisoprolol for years. You might find that if you persevere the side effects will lessen with time. Like you I tend to have side effects to some medications, the Doc always makes me stick with it for a while to see if things settle. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't!
Thankyou the trouble is I have taken this now for 13 months and my side effects are getting worse, I'm getting worse and I just want to be the person I was before all this happened. Thankyou for replying
Hi I’ve been on bisoprolol for nearly 10 months I feel rubbish on them. My GP has just tried me on reducing them and now a week without not much difference. But my heart rate has gone up . I too want to be like I was before. Speaking to my GP later when he rings . See what happens might put me on a different one. Let us know how you get on
I know it's terrible, I'm sat at the airport waiting for flight home from a holiday that we should have taken this time last year but had to cancel because of my heart attack. I thought I was doing ok today but the flutterings have started and the feeling which I can only describe as slight breathlessness. I feel that l have spilt my husbands holiday with going on about these side effects so much. I wish you all the luck with trying to change yours, I am going to have another go when I get home x
I hope it didn’t spoil your holiday too much. My husband wants to go on holiday this year but as I had 2 warning attacks in the airport last year. Then the heart attack when I got back and this bisoprolol rubbish I’m not sure. It’s interesting to hear you get the breathlessness the same. Just try to keep calm, hopefully your GP will get to the bottom of it
Thankyou, we have had a good holiday really but I just can't be the person I was before because of these side effects, which I keep saying to myself are side effects but it's so difficult when I had a heart attack and didn't realise it was a heart attack Thankyou for your response it does help to know that someone else is effected the same way x
Bisoprolol may well be causing your anxiety, I am not able to take it as it gave me very bad depression. It it the way this medication medically interacts with the brain and there are other beta blockers that work in a different way, had a long chat with the pharmacist about it, they are a fountain of knowledge. I had to be very clear and firm with my doctor that it was the medication that was causing me to feel as I did, depression is not something I have ever suffered from and I was absolutely fine before this was prescribed. One week later max back to the normal bright and breezy me and I’m now fine. I now take alternative medication and this is perfectly ok. I was able to do my research before going to the doctors so I was quite clear what the cause, but please don’t be fobbed off, medication is there to make you better not to make you poorly. By the way, I suffer from AF and take blood thinners as well. Hope this helps.
Good evening Greymore, I’m so sorry to disturb you but as I feel so much better now I’ve given up taking my bisoporol, not 100% but much much better, I feel more like the old me.
I was wondering if you would mind telling me what medication you take in place of the bisoporol, I’m seeing my doctor on Thursday and I feel I need an alternative to the bisoporol.
Hello Grannymurray your not disturbing me at all that’s what these forums are for. I am thrilled that you are feeling more like to old you. It’s understandable after all that you have been through to feel slightly different but it see s that awful feeling of depression has left you, so that’s a real result.
When I first stopped bisoprolol they didn’t actually put me on any other medication. My condition I think I mentioned I suffer from AF but this comes and goes and when it there my heart rate is too fast so it needs something to slow it down. This condition is very different from the extensive surgery that you have had. The medication my doctor has recently given me, as it kicked off again, is a bit of a trial and error, at present it’s working fine but I have to go back in two weeks as it’s an unusual medication for my condition, so I don’t think it would be wise for me to share this at the moment. I personally have no problem with it being unusual as it working!!!
What I would say is that my Pharmacist said that bisoprolol works chemically on the brain causing the depression and there are other medications that are ‘water based’ and do not have this effect. I think you will find that as you are much much better and the depression has gone your Doctor will know what to prescribe that will not have this awful side effect and will be right for you.
I do hope this helps, you are in a much stronger position that you were two weeks ago, both with feeling so so much better and with having the proof that the bisoprolol was the problem.
I wish think of you on Thursday, I won’t say good luck as you don’t need it, your armed with facts, positivity and looking forward to a lovely bright future.
Thankyou so much for your reply; I’ve wondered for a while if it was the bisoporol that was causing my anxiety, because as you say I’m not a person that suffers from anxiety/depression but every time I say something to my gp she just says it’s very good at looking after your heart, . I fail to see what good it can be with how I feel at the moment and as time goes on I’m feeling worse not better; I’m wondering if I should try another doctor in the practice, but your reply has just made me more determined
Your very welcome, your doctor is right that it is good at looking after your heart but it’s certainly not good for the head!!! and there are other alternatives so be persistent and yes do try another doctor in the practice if you hit a brick wall some doctors can be very nearsighted. If your head isn’t in the right place through no fault of your own then how on earth is that going to make you better, a positive mental attitude and a good feeling for life and yourself is one of the best medicines and you can’t feel that with medicinally induced anxiety. I wish you all the very best and if it’s ok will follow you to see how you get on. Kind regards.
Hi, thankyou so much I have infact just spoken to my doctor and told her that I wanted to change my bisoproporol for a different beta blocker and she had suggested that I give up taking it until the 1st August when she had made me an appointment to check my BP etc and she says that by then we will know if it is the medication that is causing my problems or something else, she says that it's not long enough to cause me any great harm. So for the time being I will go along with that I have to admit it's a touch scary to be going without tablets altogether but I will go with it for a while just to be able to get my life back.
Hello Grannymurray, I’m so pleased that the Doctor listened to you. How are you feeling now? I’ve left a couple of days to ask but it may take just a few more. Don’t be anxious the Doctor has given it time to see if it is the tablets that are causing your anxiety and I do hope so as I just wish for it to go away for you, then any BP issues can be dealt with differently and you will feel fully charged and in control of your life again. I’m so looking forward to hearing from the new you. Enjoy the lovely weather, lots of sunshine and vitamin D so good for the sole. Kind regards xxx
Sorry about this addendum, I have been laughing at myself, I can spell really but had a strange moment this morning, perhaps I had been dreaming of fish, I meant Soul !!!!!!! xx
Hello Greymore, Thankyou for your reply, I have to admit to being a complete and utter wuss!! Instead of going down straight away to no tablets, I cut one in half and then into quarters, so still got a quarter to go🤔🤔so yes I still have had side effects but not as bad and not as long but the good news really is that the anxiety and depression is nothing like as bad. The depression certainly has almost disappeared, the anxiety (as my husband calls me a stress head); is more down to myself stressing about not taking the tablet and also the effect it will have on my heart rate and blood pressure, because yes I may be a stress head but I’m not stupid and do realise that I can’t go through the rest of my life after having a quadruple heart attack taking no medication. Hope you can understand this jumbled up message. Thankyou x
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