Hi I was taking bisoprolol for a couple of years sometimes at high doses up to 10mg then became very ill off them after my body started to reject them so I started to wean myself of them which took me months and I started to feel much better. I stopped taking them completely in early December but the last couple of weeks my anxiety levels have increased massively, I'm shaking constantly, only sleeping an hour at a time, when I move in bed to turn around etc my heart rate shoots up, I'm sweating a lot more. Through the day I can function better but still very anxious, but as soon as night comes it's a nightmare. Is this bisoprolol withdrawal after 3 months kicking in? How long will this last for? Has anyone been through this? Thanks
Bisoprolol withdrawal months after st... - British Heart Fou...
Bisoprolol withdrawal months after stopping?
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Chappy123
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Who suggested you stop taking it and di they give a planned withdrawal rate?
I started having a bad reaction to it and the doctor told me to start weaning off them. They only tell you to wean off them over a few weeks but I done it over several months then stopped in December and I've not been too bad but all of a sudden the last week or two my anxiety is through the roof and really struggling to sleep etc. I'm going to speak to docs next week but they just say it should be out of your system after 2-3 weeks, even yhe cardiologist.
If you're concerned why not go back to the doctor who advised you to stop taking Bisoprolol and get their opinion?
Beta blockers do reduce the effects of nervousness and anxiety by stopping your heart from going into overdrive, that's their purpose.I have friends in a band who take them before performing as it helps with nervousness.... maybe this is your problem?
I take bisoprol to prevent tachycardia attacks but only 1.25mg, and even this tiny dose seems to work. It's more powerful than you think.
You need to discuss with your doc, but if you are prone to nervousness this could be the problem.
Good luck
Why were you taking them originally? If you needed them what has changed to enable you to come off them? 10 mg is a lot, but perhaps you could tolerate a low dose which would reduce your heart rate enough to enable you to sleep, but not cause you to feel ill. Speak to your doctor, don’t suffer in silence.
I was taking them initially for ectopics started at 1.25 but they increased them as my ectopics increased but they were still bad at 10mg and with increasing side effects I eventually weaned off them. Now my ectopics are much better although I do still get them not on the scale I did leading me to believe the bisoprolol made them worse. Its mainly the night time when I'm in bed that it's bad now, this morning for example I woke up every 1-2 hours, as soon as I move in bed my heart rate increases and I'm getting palpitations, sweating and shaking now it's definitely getting worse, it does feel like anxiety, through the day not so bad but still present. I've tried lots of antidepressants and sleeping tablets but literally everything I try I have a bad reaction to so I think I must be very hypersensitive to all drugs now, even multivitamins. I just wondered if anyone else has been in this position and if its the bisoprolol withdrawal or rebound how long does it normally last? Ive got an appointment with the doctor in a weeks time. Thanks guys.
Hi . My sympathy . I have been off 12 weeks. Initially I was trying to get off bisoprolol but failed twice because the withdrawal effects were so bad ( documented on my threads if you want to take a look). So I switched to Atenolol which is far less likely to cross the blood brain barrier and weaned off very slowly over a few months until I was only taking an eighth of a tiny tablet every other day . My symptoms are much better than they were but the symptoms you are describing are exactly what I had amongst others . If you google Bisoprolol withdrawal nightmare you will see there are actually support groups for people coming off bisoprolol and some of them have longer term problems . I find I feel a bit better and then I get worse again but no where near as bad . I hope you feel better soon
Thankyou, there are thousands of threads so finding any detailed info is a nightmare. Since I had a bad reaction to the bisoprolol my body has changed dramatically, I no longer sleep longer than an hour or two at a time, I have 24/7 tremors, I have rosacea on my face, I am hypersensitive to any medications or multivitamins, etc I could go on, all from when I had a bad reaction from it. I'm really hoping that this isn't going to be forever and will only last for several months or so but I have a feeling that my central nervous system has been damaged in some way or something in my brain has changed maybe. I just wish I had some answers from people who've been through this. The doctors don't understand as there's been no studies on this and they just think after a few weeks it's out of your system and you should be OK. 😞
Well you are right . You have had a lot more drug in your system than me . I was only taking it 7 months and that time constantly withdrawing. You are right about the sensitivities to supplements etc also. I am down to one wake up with burning lower legs and usually faster heartbeat ( cortisol surges) also 330am give or take ten minutes but in earlier withdrawal it was every hour as you say and even reaching to switch on bedside lamp or turning over would trigger a tachycardia . Best thing I did was change to atenolol as that suppressed some of the bisoprolol withdrawal from the brain effects as you say , so I have been off bisoprolol 5-6 months and atenolol 12 weeks if that makes sense . You will get better but there’s no yardstick for how long it will take I think everyone is slightly different but I really feel for you 🤥
I'm so glad you replied as it gives me some hope. So I completely stopped taking bisoprolol early December and I was literally taking 1/4 or a 1.25 tablet. After the first week I wasn't too bad but then it hit me, I felt out of breath, when I walked it felt like I was walking through treacle, every time I moved or stood up my heart raced, I was sweating, shaking, I was out of breath easily etc so I started walking every day and these symptoms got better then the last couple of months it's like they are coming back again even after walking miles every day I never thought I'd be going backwards. So are you saying I'd be better trying to take some atenolol for a short while to help then wean off them after a few months or something? Thanks. Lee
No. I think you are so far out stick it out. To give you some perspective . My top dose was 1.25mg and I had terrible side effects and withdrawal effects from that and I weaned off that . Your body has taken a much bigger hit and for longer and stopping dead from 1.25mg is a big drop if you are sensitive . The pattern of recovery in this situation is known as the window/waves pattern . So you get windows when you think this is good ! Am getting over this. Then you are hit by a wave when all your symptoms come crashing back. To start with you may not notice windows may only be a few hours. Then gradually the windows get better and longer, the intensity and frequency of the waves decreases until you get better . If that makes sense . You are in a big wave now but although it doesn’t feel like it a window will be along . Wouldn’t advise adding any drugs or supplements into the mix if you can help it and avoid the obvious baddies, alcohol, sugar etc which can all trigger a wave . Hope that makes sense and you feel better soon 🙏
That's really interesting you seem to know quite a bit about this subject. I'm hopefully going to try ride this out for now see where this takes me, I'd say its mainly the sleeping problems that's affecting me more, not being able to sleep for more than an hour or two then waking up sweating and heart rate elevated and palpitations. I've been having some very strange vivid dreams lately most of them are about feeling endangered or chased, which is very strange, maybe these arnt helping with sleeping and I'm getting night terrors aswel. It's crazy what your body does to you 
I did a lot of research when I was going through the worst . I am still getting the vivid dreaming but not as bad . That is definitely part of it and the lack of sleep is wearing . I used to listen to podcasts and audio books quietly on my phone and I would drop off.Takes your attention away from the problem. Good luck
Hi Chappy. How are you doing now ?
Hi, I've had some ups and downs lol. So I fully come off bisoprolol early December after months of weaning myself off them and for a few months I was really not good. I'd say the last couple of months now have been improving well, after years of very severe ectopics and numerous hospital visits I finally am pretty much ectopic free apart from the odd ones through the day its like having another body, although the sleeping situation hasn't improved much I'm awake almost every hour and tremors, and my heart rate increasing slightly when I move in bed but managing to get a few hours sleep in hopefully that will improve with time, I havnt had any more bad anxiety attacks so that's a bonus so its mainly the sleep thing still I'm preying it's been the medication all along I cant believe it has this affect on my body. Hows yourself?
Hi Chappy glad things are a bit better . We are a matched pair I stopped 1 January 2021 .That is amazing news about your ectopics you must be thrilled to bits !!! Not surprised. Have heard others say they got/ increased loads of ectopics on the horrible drug. I got various arrythmia from it which have now largely settled .
So the climbing the walls terrible anxiety subsided, I get some lower level and that appears to be improving . I can sleep BUT the cortisol surges that used to wake me up with tachycardia and burning legs are much improved but do still happen usually on waking . And I am still getting vivid dreaming/ nightmares but not as bad . My worst problem is I get too easily exhausted . If you compare it with the withdrawal process it’s much improved but am not normal ( for me) and the feeling of weak legs which was so bad comes back a bit . Have been doing about 13000 steps a day including gardening etc but when I push through the exhaustion it’s no good and takes a few days to recover . How is your exercise tolerance ? It’s good to have someone to compare notes with !
I'm glad you are getting better that's great news aswel. I have exactly the same symptoms as yourself I wake up with the tachycardia every hour but not as bad as it was through withdrawals, I dont get the burning legs though I had lead legs when I tried to walk it was literally like wading through treacle up to I'd say early March then started to get better. I still get the very vivid dreams like its so real and I'm actually there, they have been very strange. My fitness levels are terrible I try and walk at least 10k steps a day also sometimes I manage a lot more sometimes I have a short burst jog for a minute and that nearly kills me my heart rate goes up to 160 bpm on my fitbit watch, considering I used to go to the gym 6 days a week and was super fit its a big shock but that could be the fact I was pretty much bed ridden for months and my fitness has decreased from that. Also I use my fitbit when I sleep to monitor my vitals and one thing with me which I'd like to know if it's just me or other people on withdrawals, but my HRV is only usually between 16 and 23ish every night when I sleep. And my heart rate can drop to about 42 bpm when I sleep and resting heart rate is around 50-52, is this just me or is it a common thing. I'm not sure if the HRV is because of the anxiety or what. I'd be interested to what you think about it. Thanks. Lee
Yup had the heavy legs thing as well . Leg muscles still feel funny. Don’t know what my heart rate variability is because I don’t monitor . My normal waking HR is 60 . That would drop when sleeping then zoom up to a hundred with a cortisol surge . It certainly has been all over the place in withdrawal . I wasn’t bedridden as such . Made it downstairs , have to let dog out ! But frequently only moved as far as the kettle ! So same thing and undoubtedly have lost fitness and muscle. First time mowed lawn felt sick and wobbly legs and had to take breaks . Better now can do it in one go. Worried because going on a weeks holiday in a few weeks to look at gardens/stately homes and worried I don’t have the stamina to do that !
Is your heart rate that low when you walk? My heart rate when I walk normally is usually around 110-115 bpm. It's such a scary experience isn't it, to think the doctors either don't know the true extent or just turn a blind eye to it is shocking, they need to research it much more. Its such a relief to speak to someone who is actually going through the same thing as me so please keep in touch and let me know your progress 😀
My heart rate increases but doesn’t go that fast when I walk. Not usually . We would need to know we were doing the same speed and basically on the flat to compare . But as you say it’s variable . My tinnitus, pulsatile and otherwise are noisier tonight . Fluctuating symptoms . It’s very scary that the doctors don’t appear to know or be able to help and we are on our own dealing with scary and life altering symptoms . Agree total relief to be able to discuss it with someone going through the same thing and at the same time . Would love to keep in touch and support each other through
Yes definitely. Wow, Do you suffer with tinnitus aswel? I suffer really badly but for me I've had my tinnitus for 20 years or so its really bad a constant 24 hour hight pitch frequency but it does definitely get a lot worse and louder when I have anxiety. And when you say pulsatile? Do you just mean the noise of your pulse? That's one thing I suffer with the past few months I get really bad what the doctors call palpitations, I call a throbbing pulse what mainly happens most when I'm in bed it's a constant throbbing mostly in my head but it can go through to my legs, I am going to get my blood pressure taken next week as I'm not sure if it's because I have high blood pressure or something but I've never suffered from it before until now. It's always a lot worse just at the point of waking up. I don't know about you but when I wake up I have the higher pulse rate and the throbbing pulse which both come together. Is this caused by cortisol levels or something or is it like night terrors or something? I'm baffled by it
The hearing of ghe heartbeat, mine is across my head not in my ear is called pulsatile tinnitus can be frequently brought in by drug withdrawals of the type that cross the blood brain barrier especially . Have heard other people describe the feeling of the pulse in other parts of the body without it being related to high blood pressure. Anxiety just adds to the mix playing all kinds of funny tricks . When you are waking up cortisol rises and causes heart rate and BP to rise and it’s more pronounced in us because our levels are higher . Messed up !
Ah right it's so frustrating feels like blood pressure even though my blood pressure has always been perfect. How old are you if you don't mind me asking? I'm 44 and feel too young for this crap lol. Do you have any other health issues?
You are too young . None of us deserve this crap ! 65 no other health issues am aware of
Tell me about it lol. Keep in touch anyway and let me know how you are getting on thankyou 
I will do. You too. I find my ability to tolerate stress has gone down the pan . Found a lump which has turned out to be ok, became a ball of pure adrenalin, couldn’t control it . Horrible stress symptoms . Emergency over, have come back down to earth but terrible anxiety reaction can’t wait for that to normalise
Aww no way, my anxiety was through the roof mine has settled down a lot now although I still feel it to some extent but nothing on the scale it was. I have tried so many natural remedies and a lot of them just made me worse like cbd for example, after taking it I woke up at 4am with my heart racing with lots of ectopics and absolutely sweating 😓, I keep trying new things every week, maybe one day il find something lol
My anxiety is so much better than it was but there’s no resilience yet so in a situation anyone would find stressful my reaction is exaggerated . I take magnesium and vitamin D and fish oil ( for long time). I find supplements can do that set me off give me palpitations and missed beats and anxiety so am very wary of adding anything into the mix. Be careful
I've tried various forms of magnesium and vitamin D and they all have the same reaction with me, I dont get any sleep with them and my heart races and I wake up sweating, that's with most vitamins I take. I think the bisoprolol have made me hypersensitive to most things now. It's a nightmare because I'm Vitamin D deficient aswel
I find I react to food stuffs too . Think the best plan is not to challenge yourself and let your system settle before trying anything else . I have to be careful with various foods because they make the wake ups with palpitations etc worse
Tell me about it lol. I think that's the key slowly introduce things back
Used mouthwash last night was rewarded by waking up with a tachycardia of 143bpm. Didn’t last long . Googled and Listerine is 26% ethanol . Alcohol a big no no for me really can’t take anything as you say
Wow that's not good. To be honest I havnt tried any mouthwash for a long time I think il have to test that one myself to see if I get a reaction to that. Thankyou
Hi, yes the withdrawals can be horrendous, for me I took the bisoprolol for 2-3 years and it took me several months to slowly wean off them and in that time I struggled with bad ectopics, racing heart, anxiety episodes, illness etc. I eventually come off them fully in early December after cutting the 1.25mg into quarters having a quarter every day and I'd say it took me a couple of months to start to feel better. Now my ectopics are almost gone I have very few every day compared to thousands sometimes tens of thousands every day. The only real thing that's affecting me most now is sleep time and Rosecea in the form of spits and rashes on my cheeks, nose and forehead which is taking months to shift. I wake up usually every hour or so, usually shaking and sweating and fast heartbeat especially if I move a bit. These sleeping problems first started in August last year when I had a bad reaction to the bisoprolol and ive never been right since that which is why I think somehow my central nervous system has been damaged somehow. I'm speaking with doctor next week see what he says about things and il update this post. Hope things go OK for you with the cardiologist let me know what they say.
Oh and forgot to say I cant have my injection because I am now hypersensitive to anything that's put into my body including multivitamins etc. I always have the same reaction which is extreme insomnia, sweating, shaking, racing heart etc. So I have told docs and they said as soon as your body starts getting better I can have it.
Bisoprolol buddies on google. Hundreds of people suffering! So am I!
Chappy123 in reply to
Thankyou il have a look at that on Google now. Many thanks 😊
I think its mainly to do with anxiety what magnifies massively when you try wean off the tablets I think its something to do with the fact that bisoprolol crosses the blood brain barrier and it suppresses adrenal glands and the cortisol in our bodies so when we remove the bisoprolol the body tries to compensate and is in a bit of shock to produce adrenaline etc so as a result our anxiety levels go haywire and our bodies don't know how to cope hence the anxiety attacks and racing hearts etc. To be honest if youve been OK for the first injection I wouldn't be worried about the second as its not going to affect anything different so you should be OK. The key is try and relax as much as possible. I used to have severe anxiety attacks which seen me in hospital sometimes a few times a week with horrendous attacks of racing heart, body rushes and ectopics. Keep away from things like alcohol, sugar, spicy foods, certain yeasts, and other foods and as our friend Peony4575 has just stated that she used mouthwash last night and had severe tachycardia of 143 bpm. All these things and more can trigger a reaction of some form. Hope this helps
Thank you for all that advice. It’s just horrendous that so many people suffer in this way from taking prescription medication you trust your doctor to give you.
You have no idea. The doctors just don't understand the true extent of this medication and they don't want to know. There should be proper studies done on this but sadly will probably never will be. But stay positive and relax and you will be ok in time.
Hi , how are you doing now? You were going back to your GP last week?
Hi, so the doctor doesn't think my symptoms are anything to do with my central nervous system being damaged but more to do with anxiety. My main problem right now is my sleep problem waking up every hour. I am desperate to try anything so he gave me some 15mg mirtazapine what I was taking before so I cut one in half and took it and I had a better sleep but felt groggy in the morning. I will only be taking one of these when I really feel I need a night's sleep as I'm not sure if these caused me problems when I last took them or whether it was just the bisoprolol causing me the problems. Hows things with you lately?
Trouble is the doctors put everything down to anxiety but failing to understand that the anxiety is caused by BB withdrawal. I saw a very nice cardiologist last week who thinks I need to come off bisoprolol as even though I’ve been trying to stay on 3/4 tablet, I’m still in withdrawal because I wake each morning really early very unsettled and trembly until 1/2 hour or so after my dose. My legs feel very weak too, I’ve lost a stone in weight including muscle tone from my legs. I’m slim anyway so don’t need this too. I’ve been this way for 2 months since my GP lowered my dose to 1/2 a tablet because I wasn’t feeling too good. I had such a bad reaction to this which you’ll know all about! That he told me to reinstate the dose after 8 days. I thought things would go back to the way they were but it hasn’t happened. I am very frightened of withdrawing further , I’ve been on them for 18 months with few problems until very recently. Do you have any advice for me? Do you think you weaned off slowly enough ? Please can you tell me also what rate you weaned off? I really hope you get on ok with the new med and get some relief from the insomnia. Best wishes
It is genuinely a nightmare and I know exactly how you feel. For me it was last August things come to a head my body was getting worse, the docs kept upping my dose until I was on 10mg bisoprolol which is the highest they can prescribe they said, so my body was rapidly going downhill I didn't realise at the time I was having a very bad reaction to it and it was slowly building up in my body every day with each stronger dose. My full body was shaking, 24/7 tremors, sweating buckets of water, my heart was completely out of rhythm every few beats it would splutter all day sometimes 10 ectopics at a time in a row, I couldn't stand up without my heart racing, I was so weak I couldn't move, my legs were like lead I was in hospital 3 times a week they didn't know what was causing it and I was just ready to give up and call it a day until my gp told me to come off the tablets he said he talked to the cardiologist and said just half the dose so I started taking 5mg, the next day I felt the effect of that for around a week I felt really Dizzy, couldn't walk, my ectopics were bad, but then after around a week or two I felt a little bit better, so after the second week I told doc I was halfing it again to 2.5mg, he agreed so for another 2 weeks I was on to 2.5mg, for those couple of weeks again my body really felt it. Then I started to research it more and realised what this drug was doing to me so then I took around 4 months to wean from the last 2.5mg slowly to the point where I was chopping up a 1.25mg tablet into 4 pieces and taking a piece every day, the doctor didn't think this was necessary but I did. So it was early December I finally finished them fully. I felt a lot better but still had all the symptoms so after about a week after finally finishing them it hit me again really bad so the really bad days I'd take maybe a half of 1.25mg just to see me through the day to try help the ectopics and this went on for a few weeks, until I started walking more, which was again like walking through treacle, my heart raced with every step but little by little day by day I started feeling better until around march time I woke up one day and never had one ectopic beat, I couldn't believe it, it was like being in a dream I never thought I'd see the day come. So from March I've been walking most days a few miles every day, eating healthy and now I'm even back at the gym. My sleep is still a problem but I hardly get any ectopics at all now I can walk for miles, I can run, I was on the rowing machine for 20 minutes Thursday and felt great. Everyone is different, everyone has a different experience but for me it was that bad in August I was ready to end my own life I didn't want to live like that anymore for the rest of my life after the docs and hospital and cardiologist didn't know the cause and wernt bothered because it wasn't classed as dangerous. But I didn't give up and through the support of this group I've come through it like with a new body, new mindset and new life so there is light at the end of the tunnel. Hope this helps you to understand more.
Thank you so much for sharing that, what a terrifying experience, I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for you , how incredibly brave. I have read that the longer you’ve been on the BB the harder it is to come off. I’ve been on them for 18 month, first on 1.25 for 8 months then 1/2 pill til Xmas last year then I gradually increased it to 3/4 by April because arrhythmia nurse said I should be taking a full dose. Started to feel weak in legs and a bit low so GP said my dose was so low I might as well come off so he said to reduce to 1/2 pill for 2 weeks then every other day etc. After a week I couldn’t stand it, shakes all over , high heart rate when I moved went up to 110bpm just watching tv, sweating , pains in chest. Went to GP who was as shocked as I was and instructed me to go back on old dose. Now I’m told I need to carry on withdrawing and apart from all the awful symptoms especially anxiety which scares me the most, I am 60 , single and have no financial or emotional support apart from my son who has Asperger syndrome and doesn’t work. I haven’t been able to work since April and I love my job, feel like everything has or is about to be taken away from me because of this awful drug. Your experience does give me a bit of hope though so thank you for that. Cardiologist seems to think I’ll be fine in a few weeks, I think it will be much longer than that . I have had a lot of support from people on this forum , though , but still feel very alone. Thank you I hope I can be as strong as you’ve been. My very best wishes to you
Thankyou it's been hard but the ironic thing for me is that I didn't need the pill in the first place it just made me worse. I think because you've only been on a low dose, even for that amount of time I think you will probably get over the withdrawals faster than I did. Why did they prescribe these for you? Was it an irregular heartbeat or something else?
Yes a type of arrhythmia called left bundle branch block which apparently a lot of people have but are unaware of, however I got minor chest pains. It’s usually detected when other heart problems present themselves so anyone with LBBB should have thorough investigations. I’ve had angiogram and echocardiogram ecg and nothing found. Was put on bisoprolol as a precaution. Cardiologist assured me it’s not dangerous and he’s happy for me to come off them. He wants me to have EP study but you have to be off busoprolol completely for 5 days before hand. I can’t do that, just come off them
Ah right, I've heard of that,I had the RBBB classic m shaped ecg results on my fitbit and had to go into hospital but they said because its only happening now and again not all the time not to worry about it. Maybe have a word with your doc and tell them you need to wean off them for a lot longer. If you don't need to be on them then my advice is to get off them asap
I think my cardiologist thinks I’ll be fine in a few weeks, having had a little experience of withdrawal when my dose was initially dropped and from what I’ve read ofother peoples experiences I think I’m in for a very rough ride and I’m more scared than I’ve ever been in my life. And I’ve told him this, he smiled kindly and said you always get worst case scenarios on the internet. I genuinely think he wants to help but hasn’t really got a clue the effects these meds have on some people. As you and other people have already said
One thing I learned was how to deal with the anxiety, and this medication caused me severe anxiety, you need to just learn to relax and look at breathing exercises. For me my anxiety was that severe it put me in hospital many times with my racing heart and ectopics, once I learned breathing techniques and told myself repeatedly my body is fine and it's all in my head I started to deal with the attacks once I started to feel them coming.
Thank you for that advice, I’ve started to do that recently , trying to prepare myself if you like. I’m supposed to be splitting my dose between am and pm tomorrow to see if that helps the sleep . Did you take your dose am or pm? Someone said on another forum that taking it later in the day helps to stop nightmares
I always took my dose on the morning, everyone is different so please try not to stress over things, you may fund you're perfectly OK, sometimes we are our own worst enemy and create stress when it's not present
Hi Chappy am still having big problems with sleep and nightmares too . Only other big problem is exercise. Really come on in the last few months but still can’t do what I would like to do or was doing before. Am sure the lack of sleep won’t be helping that
Hi, oh no are you still getting sleep problems? Right, so I am still myself having a bit of a nightmare sleeping but I think I am slightly improving, not much but slightly. My sleep deprivation is causing me problems throughout the day to the point I'm seeing and hearing things that arnt there, spoke to the doctor a few days ago and he agreed it's severe deprivation, so I decided to have half a 15mg mirtazapine just for one night and that helped me sleep but il only take one if I really need to sleep. I've started exercising and I think it's helping me feel more tired so maybe that's the way forward and I've had a few days better sleep so I decided to start taking my multivitamins again yesterday and last night I never hardly slept and joined the wide awake club again, so it was the wellman multivitamins, 800mg vitamin d3, and the cardiovascular research magnesium taurate (recommended by Dr sanjay gupta). Last time I took vitamins I had the same problem with sleep and was hoping I might be a bit better but clearly wasn't lol. So do you take any multivitamins as this could be causing you the trouble with sleeping. And are you struggling to exercise because of your fitness or something else?
Hi Chappy thanks for coming back to me . When I say am struggling to exercise it’s against my expectations, so I ve done 13000+ steps last two days dog walk and gardening . Still on my feet watering at 9pm last night am not very good at pacing myself ! Think lack of and unrefreshing sleep is probably behind it more than anything . Yes it is better than early days but still being woken say twice with the usual crap and then a final wake up about 5am so it’s a cumulative lack of sleep over months , makes it hard to feel perky ! You are braver than I . Won’t be taking any more drugs unless it’s a life and death scenario ! Thanks for tip about multi vitamins . Not changing anything in my routine as system too easily upset . I do take magnesium citrate but have found that helpful . Also take D3 but didn’t notice any change after starting and have taken fish oils for decades . Don’t think our nervous system is damaged as such but super sensitised and out of kilter.
13000+ steps is amazing thats really good! Are you drinking plenty of water ideally at least 2 litres a day including fruit juice? This makes a big difference to sleep. I usually wake every hour of the night, I sleep very lightly until I wake then struggle to get back to sleep again so I hardly get into deep sleep or REM, do you have a fitbit watch? I think you said you did? For me I am vitamin d deficient but when I take it, it makes my insomnia worse as with other multivits which is a real bummer lol. It was a big decision for me to go back to mirtazapine but it was desperate measures, tho I may only take half of the lowest dose maybe only once a week or even once a fortnight as a last resort so it doesn't get into my system. It didn't agree with me last time I took it but its the best one I took for helping sleep.
I can understand why you feel desperate waking on the hour and having visual and auditory hallucinations . Not surprised you need help. Basically makes me feel so tired that I feel ill and can only describe it as screaming inside . The nightmares can’t help the quality of my sleep either, don’t use a Fitbit I do my best to ignore what I can use my Kardia if concerned by my heart beat but think if I used Fitbit I would be monitoring all the time. I can’t tolerate anti depressants and they affected my system same as bisoprolol very similar symptoms be very careful . I think things would improve if only the sleep did but if I go to bed earlier I just wake up more ! Interestingly I have fallen asleep during the day a couple of times and didn’t get the cortisol surges
So sorry I thought I replied to this, I can totally relate to what you're going through. Right now it's the sleep deprivation, I can say that every week it is getting a tiny bit better although I still don't sleep much I can feel a slight improvement as time goes on which gives me hope. I get very vivid dreams not so much nightmares but dreams like I'm actually there and it sounds wierd but a lot of dreams are like trying to tell me something, some of them actually give me new ideas for businesses, it's quite surreal like I can see into the future or something so I make a few notes when I wake up lol. So I told the doctor about my severe insomnia now he's referred me to a mental health nurse who has now referred me to a CBT specialist who can help change my way of thinking and bedtime routine,she was very informative discussing melatonin production and body functions. Unfortunately the waiting list is 6 months then I can be referred to a sleep clinic and if needed be prescribed melatonin if they see fit but I'm hopeful before then so please dont think it's all doom and gloom I've been to very dark places with this drug and I can tell you I can actually see a way out now and I'm confident it's a matter of months.
Hi Chappy. Don’t want to tempt fate but last week or so sleep has been getting better getting to 430am before waking up with usual burning legs then drifting off for an hour or so vivid dreams / nightmares not very restful ! This morning I didn’t wake until 530am no symptoms felt like a lottery win ! I have a strict routine of going to bed 10-1030pm and listen to a relaxation recording . I can feel cumulative benefit from doing that it’s been a few weeks I think it helps .I hope the cbt is useful i do think a routine is essential . You do sound very optimistic which is great
I'm so happy for you, believe me things will start to improve, I feel like I'm getting better, even though things are still not good they are slowly improving and after everything I've read and the forums they all say the same thing, things will improve with time. Relaxation audios etc are really helpful I listen to them myself, have you tried meditation ive just started and already feeling the benefits. A lot of this is definitely mind over matter.
I think you reach a point in recovery where mind over matter can start to impact, for the first months I was hanging on by my fingernails ! Now I agree what we do can accelerate recovery . I don’t meditate it’s not for me . I find it better for me to concentrate on helpful recordings . Definitely more energy when I get some sleep !!
I do listen to calming recordings and reassurance recordings I do believe they help, I honestly believe that what we are experiencing is anxiety and we just need to do what we feel relaxes us anyway we feel best.
Hi, sorry to jump in on your conversation but was wondering about sleep.... Cardiologist got me to split my dose of 3/4 pill between morning and night for 3 weeks then to slowly reduce each dose to wean off, really not sure if this is a good idea, think it might make reducing harder but following instructions and seeing him again next week. Anyway since doing this I only sleep about 4 hrs and wake up feeling like I’ve got the flu, sort of hot burning feeling. Been awake since 4 and feeling has passed. Did either you Peony have this please?
in reply to Chappy123
I have the same symptoms. Can't sleep only a 1 or 2.
Chappy123 in reply to
It's horrendous when you can't sleep, why are you on these meds?
in reply to Chappy123
I quit 2 weeks ago and I have these symptoms. I didn't have them while on bisoprolol.
Chappy123 in reply to
Have you weaned yourself off the tablets slowly?
in reply to Chappy123
No. After 14 days of 2,5 mg I took 2 days half - 1,25 mg and then I stopped. I drink hawthorn tea and magnesium and potassium and I can sleep at night but when I forget to take them, my pulse is up and barely can't sleep. Anyway, now I live with my own mistake.
Chappy123 in reply to
Aww no, I took several months to wean off the meds, your body will be struggling to cope with the change and you're having withdrawal symptoms, just keep taking your supplements and tea if it's working and hopefully it will heal itself over time. How much magnesium are you taking daily?
in reply to Chappy123
I hope so. Thank you. I take about 300 mg of magnesium per day.
Chappy123 in reply to
Do you suffer with ectopics or just sleep problems?
in reply to Chappy123
Just sleep and nightmares. How about you? Are you ok now?
Chappy123 in reply to
Magnesium is perfect for that then, maybe increase your dosage as Dr Sanjay Gupta says the recommended dose is up to about 420mg I believe. My sleep is great now, I wake up once or twice through the night sometimes but only because I drink lots of water lol, also that's another thing try drink at least a couple of litres a day, keep off chocolate, sugar, tea, coffee, alcohol, basically anything with caffeine in it. Also don't eat late meals, don't exercise too late, keep off your phone and bright lights at least 1 hour before sleep, and exercise through the day, at least go for a walk if you don't 🙂
I m on waiting list for tooth extraction, wonder how that will turn out,
Well you might get a bit of a surge of adrenalin from the anaesthetic . Some dentists aren’t happy doing extractions with adrenalin free because not as effective and don’t stem bleeding the same . But you will get through it ok am sure
Hello Chappy123, I can not give you information on this because you were on this longer than I. I've learned over the years to check on information about any prescribed medication I am given by any doctor because they don't know your body as well as you do. I was given 5 mg which to me was a high dose. I 1/2 it , first, to see if I could tolerate it. No go. Then I, 1/4 it, still had other side effects: insomnia, teeth hurting, and even loss of concentration. That's when I decided to stop. Insomnia stopped and teeth hurting comes and goes. My thinking is better also. This medicine affects each of us differently and it depends on your medical history. My liver enzymes went up. How did your cardiologist visit go? Are you doing O.K. now.
Chappy123 in reply to
Yea I had a lot of withdrawals some like yourself, I think because I was on 10mg I ft the full force. Its took me around 11 months now from slowly coming off them to finishing them in December to get my body back into some order. The cardiologist gave me the all clear, I'm not on any medication now and feel so much better for it, I hardly have any ectopics but my sleep is still very poor. This could be to do with my vitamin d deficiency so only time will tell but there is hope at the end of the tunnel 😀
Hi, I know it's a year later but I'm was just ordered off my 1.25 bisoprolol after 11 months on beta blockers and after open heart surgery for aortic valve replacement and bypass. I'm having horrible withdrawal with all the same symptoms and I was just wondering how you are all doing now?
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