Morning guys, my back ground 33 years old, active and on my feet for work everyday, I have a bad heart valve well leaking mitral valve for the last 12 years that causes Pvcs and other heart related issues. I've been suffering with them almost constantly the last week struggle to lay down and sleep as it's constant so having to sleep sat up. I was prescribed Bisoprolol 3 days ago only 1.25mg but my head and fear are stopping me from swallowing the tablet, see i also have asthma and my resting heart rate is normally low 60s and when I do deep sleep as low as 55. My blood pressure is spot on to normally the 120/80 mark. I'm really scared I'm going to have an allergic reaction, have an asthma attack or my hearts going to beat to slow etc I just can't shake the something bads going to happen when I take it. I feel if I do take it I'll be sat there waiting or thinking something has happened and make it come on myself. I don't really know what to achieve from my post but I needed to share this feeling somewhere people around me don't understand the battle going on in my head so makes it hard for people to grasp why I've not taken it yet.
Thank you.
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Farmer87
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Hi I can sympathise as well, prior to my heart issues I was pretty much against taking anything other than paracetamol, but am now on Bisoprolol as well as other BP meds. I also look at them as life savers especially Bisoprolol, I think it's an excellent medicine, albeit some side effects but nothing that goes anywhere near negating it's benefits, it is a pretty miraculous drug IMHO.
I went from nothing to 5mg and then to 10mg then back to 7.5mg and to be honest it took a while to get used to it but now its fine. It is very well tolerated and allergic reactions are very rare, at 1.25mg I doubt you will even notice it with regards to HR reduction, a few BPM maybe, mine goes sub 40 sometimes and I feel fine.
I think you also need to look it another way, by not taking it something bad may also happen, so probably better to at least give it a go, as per your doctors advice, you will probably be surprised that you may not feel any change, but rest assured it will be doing its job and protecting your heart.
I have been talking Bisoprolol for the last 4 years, with no problems at all, husband as been taking it for over 15 years again no problems. We are both on 2.5 msg.You have been prescribed this and the Doctor/Cardiologist have done it to help not to cause you any more problems. Having heart issues our brain can really play games with us.
Hoping you can get through this anxious phase.
Best wishes Pauline
Just to add, when I first started taking Bisoprolol I was on 1.25mg with no problem, they increased it to 2.5mg and I did suffer from a few side effects, after a few days I thought I would have to stop them (they wanted me on 10mg a day!), however I persisted and after 7-10 days most of the side effects went, I increased to 5mg then 10mg with no problem.
I'm telling you this so that if you are unlucky and get any side effects, persevere for a week or 2 whilst your body adjusts, see if things settle, if they don't then speak to your GP/Cardiologist.
I must say a big thank you to you all for taking the time to reply to me. If i am honest it has gave me a bit of ease and confidence to want to give it ago whether i can get it down or not is a different matter with the battle of evils in my head, I have been able to lead a normal life with the symptoms until recently, I can't even bend over the sink with out setting my ticker off so i know there needed and i am probably damaging my heart my longing it out.
It seems that the majority haven't had many symptoms and your all on fairly high doses, I guess my focus is on the serious side effects that would effect asthma or give an anaphylactic shock, Even down to the erm make cause erectile problems i'm only 33 and reading that side effect was fairly daunting.
Gaz if you don't mind me asking what side effects did you have when you upped your dose?
Do you all lead normal lifes, Sleeping and being able to do things?
I’ve been taking a 3.75 dose reduced down from 5mg for 5 years now since my heart attack with no problems at all. However, I used to share your issues with actually swallowing meds. They even sent me to a speech therapist to teach me how to relax my throat!! That did it - I felt so ridiculous because I knew I could swallow food - so I compromised and now swallow all my meds with food!! I found that my local pharmacist was a goldmine of knowledge about meds and exact explanations of what they do - far more than the doc. I’m sure he/she could help to allay some of your fears and worries about all of it. Good luck with it, keep us posted🙂
Hi I have a condition called CPVT which is a dangerous arrhythmia. I was diagnosed eight years ago & have been taking 5 mg of bisoprolol & 150mg of flecanide to control it. This condition is dangerous when my heart rate goes to high I could have a cardiac arrest. So they want to keep my heart rate as low as possible, Resting it’s as low as 43. But I’ve known it to go as low as 37 bpm. When I first started to take it the only side effect I found was that I felt quite tired and felt like there wasn’t enough oxygen going around my body. But my body soon adjusted to it. I feel fine now &and haven’t had any major attacks since taking the medication. Please try not to worry as you need it to control your condition so you really should take it. I’m sure the hospital will monitor you.
Hi, im 32 and i take 2.5mg bisoprolol. Like you im also asthmatic and ive had no problems. I started taking it in 2019 when i was pregnant. I felt scared to take it too, i'll be honest though im getting more palpitations lately and i dont know why. Im sure you'll be fine. Its not that you can have an allergic reaction its that some beta blockers can make some asthmatics feel breathless, bisoprolol is a well tolerated drug for most people. ** I asked my nurse and that's what she told me, please seek your own gp advice if you need to.
Hey thank you for your reply, I don't want to ask what condition you took it for as I know it's personal but was it to do with heart problems? Did you feel any different and able to do normal life things? It sounds silly but I actually cut one of them in half and took it this morning to see if I would have any reactions and it's actually made me feel better. Thank you though it does seem that everyone on this post has not really had bad symptoms and everyone rates them highly.
In 2019 i was 36 weeks pregnant and i kept suffering skipping beats and pauses throughout my pregnancy so cardiac team saw me and after an echo scan and 7 day monitor they said i have sinus tachycardia which is a fast heart rate. They prescribed me bisoprolol because at the time was the only drug they could because i was pregnant. The first week i took it i felt so tired all the time, yawning, heavy body type feeling but i had to put up with it because i knew there was no other option. I take it 8am every morning and it takes about an hour to kick in but you get so used to it you dont notice. I was driving my kids to school by day 4 i felt that fine. I went 3 days without it last month for a treadmill stress test and had very minimal withdrawals, just a little shaky because my heart rate crept up without the tablet. My heart rate got up to 188bpm so went straight back on it after the treadmill test after having two ventricular episodes.
I have mitral valve prolapse, ectopics and palpitations and have been taking Bisoprolol for over 19 months, helps my ectopics. My blood pressure has always been low.
Thank you for your reply, how long have you had your prolapse for if you don't mind me asking? Do you feel like you can do every day activities etc?Mines been gradually getting worse for 12 years when I had my echo you can see one side of the valve is drooping and slowly dieing.
I did not find out until 2015 but I must have had it for a long time beforehand, I have been having ectopics and palpitations for a long time and had been told they were harmless. I found out when I was going to have general anaesthetic and they said I had a murmur,after having tests I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse and have it checked every year. My appointment was cancelled this month because of the virus. I did not like the side effects of Bisoprolol so didn,t take it but in 2019 I had to persevere because I was getting worse. I have got used to it now.
I am Welsh and brought up on a farm in an isolated area of Wales and have a determination to be as active as I can, I get tired but do everything I want to do.
Thank you, I to am fairly active probably not as much as you on the farm, i bet that's wonderful job especially in wales lovely place. It really played up with my electrical current even though i had sinus rhythm i was all over the place and the premature beat thing makes the palpitation like your heart stops before it thumps back in and carries on. Do you still have side effects or are you used to them?
I am meant to see the cardiologist in march / april the last time i saw one was 2 years ago i think covid might make it longer im not sure how long i can last with the feelings.
Hi,I've been taking bisoprolol for some years now,5mg, the only side effects I had were cold hands and feet.I take it for branch bundle block and ectopic heart beats and after a few months it all settled and no side effects at all.Looks as if your bp is good anyway,my resting heart rate is around 60 most of the time.Try not to worry anxiety can make things worse. All the best. Judy
Thank you for your reply, Do you sleep ok and are able to enjoy life how you would like to? My heart rate does race around or go slow its really hard to explain, bp always been great though very anxious all of the time don't know how i make it out of bed sometimes, Think because its my heart its messed up my head a lot! Thank you i am trying not to focus on it all the time.
My husband only ever took paracetamols for pain due to his neurological condition but 14 months ago was diagnosed with advanced mitral valve disease. He had a successful repair in July last year, though suffered complications after surgery - 2 cardiac arrests, pneumonia and then had an ICD fitted. He now take a combination of 5 heart tablets in the morning and 4 in the evening. Up until December his heart rate was crazily erratic and his ICD recorded an abnormal reading, Cardiologist placed him on Bisoprolol on the lowest dose, first day he had mild dizziness, but 4 weeks on has a stable heart rate between 50 bpm - 80 bpm , cardiologist sent a fantastic letter explaining the benefits of take it and how they consider it a very positive medicine. My husband is more tired since taking it but he has a stable heart rate for the first time in 15 mths which means his heart is functioning bit better. Mentally found it really hard taking so many meds and for life now but truly appreciates the benefits they give him and his heart. Now 7 months post surgery and one month of taking Bisoprolol he takes them without grumbling and sees it as just past of his days routine. Taking meds is a personal decision but clinicians won’t advise taking something if they don’t feel it will help you
Hi, i take 1.25 Bisoprolol and was exactly like you, i sat on the prescription for weeks before i decided to take them. At the start of the treatment i did have some side effects, bpm dropping to 50, fatigue, feeling really cold all the time but these things soon passed. I have been on them for 6 months now and have to admit they have helped a lot. I had mycarditis/pericarditis as a result of covid which has left scarring and before starting the Bisoprolol my bpm was going as high as 220bpm. Since starting the tabkets it has stayed .uch lower. I still get breathless and limited to how far i can walk but really dont want to increase the dose (as the consultant suggested.
I developed heart failure in 2018 and am now on 7.5 mg every morning. I am full of energy and aim to do about 10000 steps a day. I am not asthmatic but do get bad hay fever!
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