Bisoprolol

Don’t have a question just want reassurance. I am on day 69 of my Bisoprolol withdrawal and it has been the worse ever. Palpitations, jitters, insomnia, breathlessness need I go on. Is there anyone out there that is suffering as much withdrawing or is it just me that is unlucky.

[DollPD]

Hi nannyknitting sorry to hear you have had a bad day today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better for you. Xxx

[Hidden in reply to DollPD]

Hi Doll

Thank you I have had a very bad night with a massive anxiety attack and feel dreadful again this morning.

How are you feeling? I hope you have had a reasonable couple of days.

[DollPD in reply to Hidden]

Hi Not too good. Been put on Sertraline and on day 12. Had couple really bad panic attacks (like I have never experienced before) and in such a high state of anxiety. Just hoping this subsides as my body gets used to the new med and like you struggling to sleep which doesn't help. We WILL get there!! xx

[Hidden in reply to DollPD]

You are doing really well I am sure it won’t be long before you start to feel better now that you are on day 12. I have heard that initially the panic attacks are bad but once your body gets used to sertraline they disappear. I am sure we will both get there eventually but it’s a long old haul. Keep thinking about June coming and how much better you will feel and able to enjoy your new grandchild. I do think grandchildren take our minds of our problems for a short while at least. x

[DollPD in reply to Hidden]

Yes I will. Thank you. It is so hard though to see a light at the end of the tunnel at the moment. Like you I am desperate to feel my normal self again. Is your hubby very supportive? Mine is a rock - I don't know how I would manage without him. I am so lucky as I have a lovely supportive family. xx

[Hidden in reply to DollPD]

Yes my husband is wonderful and makes me go out when I don’t want to which makes me feel brighter. Unfortunately we have just found out he has a heart condition and has an urgent appointment with cardiologist on 11th March so I am trying not to worry him too much with my problems. I have some wonderful friends and neighbors who have helped me a great deal. I don’t see my son and grandchildren who live in Birmingham very often as his job is demanding and he gets called into work a lot of weekends. Unfortunately my daughter is estranged and I have not seen my other 2 grandchildren for 2 years which is sad as my grandson is on palliative care.

[DollPD in reply to Hidden]

Hi again. Sorry to hear about your hubby and I hope all goes well at his appointment. I am pleased that you get support from friends etc. My family etc are really good but I don't like to worry them. I have 3 lovely daughters who have all left home now but all live in Lincoln so I see them quite a lot. I hope you have had a better day today. I have had a couple of panic attacks which I just hope is a temporary side effect of Sertraline. Take care.

[DollPD in reply to Hidden]

Hi nannyknitting just wondering how you are doing? X

[Hidden in reply to DollPD]

Hi Doll

Have had some pretty rough days and nights. Awake this morning at 4.10am and the anxiety attacks came fast and furious. I know mine is the Bisoprolol withdrawal because after I have taken my tablet I am ok for a few hours then get the anxiety and creepy feelings all over again.

It’s going to be a rough year for me as I can’t see me quitting these tabs until next year and then I have been told I will get rebound symptoms for several months.

Enough of me how are you doing? I hope you are starting to feel better they say after about 21 days you should start to feel some good effects. Have you been able to get out and about and are you still getting anxiety attacks? Did you find the nurse visits productive and were they able to give you any pointers with how to cope? The one that came to see me was going to write to my doctor but that has not even happened. I felt I must have just waisted her time.

It lovely to hear from you and I hope you will feel better and better as each day goes by. x

[DollPD in reply to Hidden]

Lovely to hear from you and sorry you are having such a rotten time. I have been struggling with the heightened anxiety and panic attacks which the nurse has said is down to the medication. They are making me an appointment to see the specialist to review my meds hopefully next week. Been for a walk yesterday and today and I took myself to Asda’s this morning - first time I have been out on my own without hubby in over 2 weeks. I have been given some coping techniques but when in the throes of a panic it is hard to put them into practice.

Have you managed to get out at all the past couple of days? Where about do you normally have a walk? X

[Hidden in reply to DollPD]

Glad you were able to get out. How did you find Asda, I went Thursday with hubby to Asda but shelves were nearly empty, went to get diesel and no diesel ended up at Sainsbury and they only had 1 diesel pump left but fortunately was able to fill up. One of my lovely neighbors came across yesterday and asked if I wanted to go with her to walk her dog. We went to Hartsholme park which was nice but got back home and don’t know wether it was anxiety or a bit of pill side effect but had to lay on settle for about half an hour was shaking for no reason but after that pulled myself together and evening wasn’t too bad but I dread going to bed at night wondering how much sleep I will get and wondering what I am going to be like when I wake. I’ve forgot what it’s like to have a normal day or night!!

[DollPD in reply to Hidden]

Hi Asda wasn’t too bad today but I only nipped in for couple of bits. Good that you managed a walk with your neighbour it is nice at hartsholme. We found a nice walk behind the fox and hounds pub two or three lakes to walk around there. I feel like you regarding not sleeping. I am absolutely shattered by bedtime but struggle to get to sleep and when I do tend to wake really early and can’t get back to sleep. I have been prescribed Zopiclone which I have been taking but cut them in half now as want to wean myself off them. Without them tho I dont think I would sleep at all! Xx

[Hidden in reply to DollPD]

If I am desperate for a few hours sleep I take a piriton, it doesn’t give the sluggish morning feeling of zoplicone and the co op chemist sell it under there brand of pollenase which is half the price of piriton. x

[DollPD in reply to Hidden]

The team have advised me to take an antihistamine instead as it doesn’t leave you with sluggish feeling in the morning. Gonna try and get hold of it today. Did you manage to get any sleep last night? I got about 3-4 hours feel very low this morning x

[Hidden in reply to DollPD]

No a couple of hours only this morning then when I got up I just burst into tears for about 30minutes. I get the severe anxiety withdrawal from my tablet from about 3.30 in the morning. Still have the shakes but at least some of the housework as got done and I might try to have a short cat nap after lunch for about 30mins to see if I can revive myself.

The other thing you can use for sleeping is phenergan which again is an antihistamine my doctor suggested that the last time I couldn’t sleep. Can’t take it this time as it lowers blood pressure and mine is already low.

I hope you have a better afternoon have you got anything planned? Do you also find that sometimes as the day goes on you feel a little brighter? x

[DollPD in reply to Hidden]

Sometimes but just lately feeling rubbish all the time. Since starting the sertraline one day I am super anxious and panicky and another day really low and no motivation etc not sure which is worse!! Just so fed up of feeling like this it is never ending it has got to get better soon.

Hope you manage a little nap later and feel a bit better xx

[Hidden in reply to DollPD]

Hi Doll

It’s been a couple of days how are you feeling a little better I hope? I have had a couple of reasonable days but last night was terrible I have been trying not to catnap today hoping I might have a bit better night. Managed to go to hubbies heart appt at hospital today although a bit jittery got there and back ok. Have you manage to get out at all and are the tablets kicking in yet? x

[DollPD in reply to Hidden]

Hi Nanny

Not been very good unfortunately. I went to see the psychiatrist on Monday and he said I am not on the right dosage yet so he has doubled it and halved another one I am currently taking. Just got to sit and wait it out I guess.

How did you hubby get on at his appointment?

[Hidden in reply to DollPD]

So sorry to hear you are not too good the only thing we can do is hope that each day will be better than the last. I actually write a few lines in a book each day as to what sort of day I have had then on real bad days look back and see that there are some days when I feel a little better hoping the good will soon outweigh the bad but it’s not easy.

My hubby got on better than we thought it not so serious as we thought but he has got to have an electrocardiogram to rule out any underlying problem and he has been started on an inhaler to see if that helps his breathlessness.

Do you think your medication is making you feel any better at all? I must admit when I feel low or anxious I go my knitting. I try to find a complicated pattern so that I really have to concentrate and it does help me, then again you can tell I’ve been low because I have knitted 5 Aran jumpers or cardigans since Xmas.

Do you have any hobbies that can take you mind of things for a while?

[DollPD in reply to Hidden]

Hi again Nanny. So pleased your hubbys appointment went well that’s a relief for you both.

I used to knit years ago when the kids were babies and I did quite enjoy it. My hobbies are mostly sport related but not felt well enough to do them unfortunately. I feel the meds have made me so much worse up to now but I keep being told that they take time to work and it gets worse before it gets better. I am getting to the end of my tether tho because I can barely function at the moment. I guess I have to be patient but I just want to be back to my normal self right now. I am sure you feel just the same.

Xxxx

[Hidden in reply to DollPD]

Hi Doll

Just wondered how you were getting on? Sent you a message a few days ago by direct private messaging through this sit and wondered if you had received it?

Hope you a feeling a bit better although I don’t see how anybody can with the present virus situation.

[DollPD in reply to Hidden]

Literally just replied to you lol

[Pearipile-55]

Pt mine Bisoprololul mi_a adus linistea si somnul.Singurul betablocant care ma ajuta sa scap de palpitatii,hipertensiune si insomnie.Dovada ca nu suntem la fel toti.

[Hidden in reply to Pearipile-55]

Sorry I cannot understand you message as I can only speak English

[Pearipile-55 in reply to Hidden]

Google are traducere,folositi_0

[Hidden in reply to Pearipile-55]

Thank you for your reply I have now been able to translate. I also took Bisoprolol for palpitations but it caused me to have feet numbness and low blood pressure so I am having to withdraw but the side effects of withdrawal are horrid and have caused great anxiety, insomnia and my palpitations have returned so it is a very bad time for me.

I am glad they have helped your palpitations and not causing to many side effects. How long have you been taking Bisoprolol and what strength?

[Pearipile-55 in reply to Hidden]

La inceput o saptamana am luat 2,5 bisoprolol apoi,3,75 Il iau de 15 zile ,sper sa nu trebuiasca sa ma retrag, deocamdata imi face bine.Multa sanatate sa aveti!

[Hidden in reply to Pearipile-55]

I am glad you are doing well and not having side effects. Just remember if you do have to stop taking them reduce them very slowly over several months as they cause great anxiety and can bring you palpitations back

[Pearipile-55 in reply to Hidden]

Multumesc,o sa tin cont de sfaturile oferite!

[dunestar]

Hello Nannyknitting. So sorry to hear you are still struggling with the bisoprolol withdrawal. Are you still taking it or have you stopped now? I do know how easy it is to be completely overwhelmed by anxiety attacks. Things can spiral downwards very quickly. In my case I was helped by a very kind doctor. He didn't actually do very much but he was sympathetic and something changed in me - difficult to explain. Also I found breathing techniques very helpful if you can catch things early. Don't beat yourself up about how long things are taking. I'm sure you will get there.

[Hidden in reply to dunestar]

Thank you for your reply and kind words. I am having a dreadful time at the moment. Every time I reduce I get sleep depravation which make it worse to cope the next day. I am only reducing by 0.02mgs and the side effects even on that small dose are horrible. I just wonder if I increase to 0.05mgs if the side effects would be a lot worse.I am not only having anxiety attacks but my palpitations have come back with a vengeance. My blood pressures has also dropped to 90/53 which I find strange because I thought by reducing blood pressure increased I do have some success with the breathing but palpitations are coming more often than when I was not taking Bisoprolol

[dunestar in reply to Hidden]

Sounds awful Nannyknitting. I do know that feeling when you've had a bad night and then you feel dreadful the next day as well. What's difficult is that everything is linked together so that if you're anxious chances are it will affect your heart and you may get palpitations. It's worth persevering with trying to get on top of the anxiety but it's a question of finding something that works for you. Just another thought, I find I can get palpitations if I've not drunk enough water during the day.

[Hidden in reply to dunestar]

Than you for your reply I am not normally an anxious person but I can be fast asleep and suddenly my whole body is shaking sometimes I can control it if I catch it early enough but it leaves me wide awake. I drink at least 8 large mugs of fluid a day and sometimes more. Mainly boiled water but I do drink tea at the three meal times. Whenever I reduce biso I seem to have 5 or 6 nights without hardly any sleep and this is what drags me down. I have a loop recorder fitted and have today contacted the hospital that has confirmed I started with the palps on the days that I lowered the biso and the lower I go the more palps I am getting so they are going to have a word with the cardiologist.

[Qualipop]

What does your doctor say about these horrible effects? I'm amazed. I just stopped it immediately , no problems at all.

[Hidden in reply to Qualipop]

Not very sympathetic gave me antidepressants and diazepam and said on such a small dose I shouldn’t have withdrawal symptoms or any problem coming off the meds. They haven’t read some of the threads on this site.

The antidepressants made me worse so stopped after 5 days took one diazepam when have huge anxiety attack and vomited most of the night so won’t be taking any of them again.

[Qualipop in reply to Qualipop]

Anti depressants do havehorrible side effects for about a month. You have to persevere with them until tehy wear off. My son started some about 2 months ago and has only been feeling teh benefit for about 3 or 4 weeks. Problems sleeping, tummy problems, diaarrhoes, panic attacks but hey did wear off and he feels much better. He'd had them a few years ago so he knew what to expect and stuck with them. I would go back to your doctor. Yes side effects coming off bisop can be nasty. I had none at all but your GP needs to realise how bad this is. Can you see someone else in the practice?

[Hidden in reply to Qualipop]

Have now seen 3 doctors who say the same one doctor said if I’m feeling side effects then increase tablet again but consultant has said come off them as blood pressure has been as low as 76/54 which was making me dizzy and light headed also numbness in feet. Really don’t know where to go from here I suppose I have just got to persevere and take doses for a longer time before reducing. The light at the end of the tunnel keeps getting further away.

[Qualipop in reply to Hidden]

I would try to speak directly with the consultant. Phone his secretary.

[Hidden in reply to Qualipop]

I had to go private as waiting list was 22 weeks all I got for consultation price was 1 consultation and 2 emails. No info whatsoever regards side effects and withdrawal of biso. I curse the day I went to see him there was no questions asked just prescribed biso and said it would stop palps when I emailed to say it hadn’t all he said was go to my GP and get a further 1.25mg and increase to 3.75mgs. I only took 2 before I could no longer catch my breathl

[Qualipop]

Evens so,, he's the one who prescribed it and even if you went privately he should be prepared to answer questions. I would email him again just saying, you prescribed this. I wasn't warned of side effects or what would happen when/if I stopped it. Explain your problems and ask for his advice.

[Hidden in reply to Qualipop]

I have a loop recorder fitted so I have contacted the hospital which have been able to see I am having palpitations caused by Bisoprolol withdrawal and a cardiac secretary is contacting the consultant who saw me as an inpatient at the beginning of January and who told me to reduce and stop biso and she should now be getting back to me tomorrow. If I haven’t heard anything by lunch time I will contact the hospital again.

[Qualipop in reply to Hidden]

Oh that's good. Good luck

[Alison_L]

Hi Nanny. I switched from Bisoprolol to Carvedilol because my feet were numb (apart from the toes which were hyper-sensitive). They've come back to life now, although my toes are still painful.

[Hidden in reply to Alison_L]

Hi Alison

Thank you for you reply. Did you just swop medication without withdrawing from the Bisoprolol and did you have any withdrawal symptoms by stopping the bisoI have been told to reduce and stop because my blood pressure is too low. The strange thing is that the more I reduce the lower my blood pressure is last nigh it was 90/52

[Alison_L in reply to Hidden]

I switched straight from 5mg Bisoprolol to 12.5mg Carvedilol. I'd been on the Bis for 18 months since my MI. No withdrawal symptoms, but I do feel more tired. My BP has stayed more or less stable.

[Yasyass]

Wish I didn’t have take them I have take them for hf stage one althou blood pressure is good

[Gracey888]

Im so sorry your'e having such a rough withdrawal. Is it any better , as this was a few months ago? Ive read some thing some things on other forums about withdrawal and its really not easy reading. How long have you been on them?

Im following as was changed to Biso on Friday 29th from Tildiem (after about 5 days), as I got every darn side effect straight away and felt so bad. Biso doesnt seem much better. Day 3 today and woke 5:30am this morning to palpitations and breathlessness which went on for hours. Im feeling so unwell. I called 111 today to get further advice after calling BHF nurse (who suggested a call to 111 was needed), and they sent Paramedics straight away. They seemed to think I had an SVT at 5:30. Im waiting an appt with an electrophysiologist to possibly do an ablation. It could be some time though with everything going on. My anxiety has got so much worse on this lot.

[Hidden]

Hi

I was only on 2,5mgs and only on them for 3 months before starting to reduce on 3rd January this year. At the rate I am reducing I will not be off this nightmare tablet until end of November. I thought it might be easier as I reduced the dose but it isn’t. The sleep depravation and anxiety jitters are the worse. I have to take one day at a time but there are not many good days. I only average three hours of broken sleep a night if I could achieve more sleep I’m sure I would be able to cope better. I have also developed severe earache which the doctors thinks is a side effect. I am determined I am going to get off this drug and hope to start my normal life again next near.

Thank you so much for your concern x