Fatigue and meds

Hi all, I had a heart attack in 2020, given balloon angioplasty and a stent, since then been on a morning dose of bisoprolol 1.25mg. I suffer very bad sleep patterns and fatigue, I read here some take it at different times yet my prescription just says "daily". Is it safe to try an evening slot? My other meds are; atorvastatin, lisinopril, clopidogrel, lansoprazole and levothyroxine. The atorvastatin is the only one I take at night. Any suggestions or info would be great from wise experienced fellow pill poppers. Many thanks.

[Hidden]

Hello

I personally could not see any reason why not but what I would do is either ask my Doctor or where you get your repeat prescriptions from ask to speak to the pharmacists and they will be able to advise you

You can phone either rather than making an appointment and journey out

You medications should have a phone number on the sticky label on the box

These medications can take some working out sometimes what suites us when is the best time to take them and I hope you get it sorted x

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thanks BeKind28, I could ask the pharmacist as he advised me on tinnitus suggesting I changed from aspirin to an alternative as it has a record of causing it in some, although sadly it didn't work. In fact I forgot to mention the tinnitus in my original post, so if anyone has also experienced that too with a solution I would be grateful. Thanks..

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I have tinnitus but I did have it before I was on a large cocktail of meds even though I have to admit it is worse since been on the meds I am now on I think I have just learnt to live with it x

[Heyjude31]

Hello WildeGreat, I changed my bisoprolol from taking it in the morning to taking it with my evening meal. It seems to work much better for me, I am on the same dose as you. However, best you get some advice as to when is best to take it with regard to fitting in with your other meds. Hope you feel better soon. Judi

[Hidden in reply to Heyjude31]

Thanks Judi, it will be good to get a decent sleep and shake off the tiredness. Even just before my HA I had great solid sleep 😴, will be worth trying.

[Hidden]

I have been taking 2.5mg of Bisoprolol for 6 weeks and I have awful insomnia! They are working a treat to bring my BP down but I just cannot get to sleep and when I do get a little I have vivid dreams. It would appear that all beta blockers cause the same side effect though so I am not sure what the answer is.

[tommywaits]

Hi WildeGreat,

After my heart attack and stent I was on 1.25g of bisoprolol which I took in the morning. I got fed up with the lightheadedness and indigestion and switched it to the evening. A couple of months later, at a consultation, I was advised that it is better taken during the day. In my case it was to lower heart rate to help promote healing and heart rate reduces during sleep anyway. (blood pressure has never been a problem).

I switched to after lunch because I exercise in the morning and was to surprised to find the side effects had all but disappeared.

None of this is to offer advice, we are different and have different medication regimes, so I would seek advice from a medical expert who is familiar with your case.

[Hidden in reply to tommywaits]

Thanks for replies Mbroad and tommywaits, your input is invaluable, didn't know that about betablockers, and perhaps a shorter shift in med time instead of full 12 hrs may be more suitable. Thanks.

[Hidden]

Hi, amongst other things I'm on 5m of bisoprolol. It's taken at night on the advice of my cardiologist. I believe it can help sleep and may cause drowsiness.

I'd double check with your GP just to be sure.

Good luck 👍

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thanks. I think I will try and get in touch with a cardiologist who may have my info and take their advice, with a view to taking the med at an adjusted time. 👍

[Legs]

It’s probably not this but not sure if you are aware that long term use of Lansoprazole can cause severe fatigue, I was getting progressively worse yet within a matter of weeks of discontinuing it I went from from being unable to stand up on bad days to playing competitive sport again. I was alerted to it by a post on this forum and then researched side effects of the mineral depletion it can cause, B12 and Magnesium I believe were 2 of them.Good luck anyway with getting the meds right….

[Hidden in reply to Legs]

Hi Legs, I've been on lansoprazole for 20 yrs+, still I will mention it to the cardiologist.

[T2Green61]

Hello, I have suffered similar problems with these meds and moved everything to the morning. The Atorvastatin will cause bad sleep as well - I was on 80mg and got it halved to 40 and take it mornings. I question everything now as when I was first discharged my pharmacy said they would increase all of my doses, because "that is what they always do". As my pulse was running at 43/45 bpm at the time I said no way was I increasing the beta blocker. It was halved and I still have a slow pulse and low blood pressure. Hope this helps, best wishes, Tim G.

[Hidden in reply to T2Green61]

Thanks Tim, looks like all the meds are contenders, may be a process of controlled elimination.

[momander]

As we are all different, and medication also affects us all differently, we cannot advise you. However, if you ask your gp, cardio rehab team or pharmacist, they should be able to advise. I jiggled around with mine until I found a way of taking everything that didn't make me feel sick or lightheaded. I take bisoprolol, atorvastatin, clopidogrel, lansoprazole, perindopril and aspirin. I found that taking the atorvastatin and bisoprolol together last thing at night worked well for me. best to get professional advice as I did though. Good luck.

[Hidden in reply to momander]

Cheers momander. All suggestions are welcome.

[Platypus6]

Hello WildeGreatI was taking Atenolol for over 2 years and changed to Bisoprolol last June originally taking in the evening to see if my muzzy head would stop and sleep problems no change, swapped to morning still have a muzzy head and sleep problems. If you find a solution would love to know! Good luck. 😀

[Jibbyjabby]

I take mine (Bisoprolol) at 9pm it suits me a lot better 👍

[Hidden]

Now to get a callback from an out of hours GP next Tues evening with a view to changing the times I take or lowering meds, or even how to contact the cardiologist that may have instigated them. Some of the posts on this site indicate some people who've had 2 or 3 stents now only on 2 meds. My ha was no pain, just felt weird and sickly and was at rest, told it was very mild and heart undamaged. I had 1 stent and 1 balloon angioplasty. I know we're all different but I can't help thinking I've not been flagged up for a review as it's been almost 11/2yr since my ha. Will post here what the measures and outcomes are. 👍

[Hidden]

Update, talked with gp last night, he was very informative. Due to my being on 1.25mg of Bisoprolol which is a low dose, suggested I don't take it for a couple of weeks to eliminate it. If that doesn't help, start taking again and call GP about possibly reducing my Atorvastatin from 80mg to 40mg. Let's see....😬

[HomerJSimpson in reply to Hidden]

Hi there, something caught my eye on one of your replies about not having a review for possibly 1.5 years? Have you had any blood tests in this time to check things? My reason for asking is I was initially put on Atorvastatin 80mg and when I went for a blood test approx 3-4 months after the HA, they found some raised levels in my liver. It was decided to reduce it to 40mg instead. Coming back to your original query, I have some nights where I sleep well and others where I don't but I'm on Ticagrelor and I believe that can cause fatigue/tiredness issues.

[Hidden in reply to HomerJSimpson]

Hi HomerJSimpson, I was on Ticagrelor for over a year, saw in an old letter I was to stop after 1 year! Called my docs and they confirmed I should stop. I have had a blood test but only as part of the usual annual one. I do wonder if anyone looks at the results! I can see the results now myself using an app, all readings good and show all details. The only other check was a few weeks after my HA treatment for an angiograph. Meanwhile I am still trying to find a sweet spot with my meds to put an end to this fatigue and bad sleep.