Do all beta blockers cause sleep prob... - British Heart Fou...

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Do all beta blockers cause sleep problems?

celticlady profile image
23 Replies

Been on bisoprolol 3 weeks Sunday but still struggling with poor sleep and swoon ey feeling at times. Got phone appt with cardiologist sat so will enquire re alternative s not been diagnosed yet but had palps/s.o.b/dizziness and GP prescribed bisoprolol.1.25 . Yes the palps have stopped but still feel unwell. My part time work begins in April. I cancelled some recently as no energy but work freelance so need the energy. Some people have recommended neviprolol as alternative but some say even that causes sleep issues Any anecdotal experience greatly appreciated. Many thanks for all advice so far...new to all this and keen to know how to sort myself out.

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23 Replies
worriedcats profile image
worriedcats

I'm on 2.5 bisoprolol they can disturb sleep or seem to with me The tiredness will get better longer your on them saying that I still feel tired at times and been on them 13 years

Londone16 profile image
Londone16 in reply toworriedcats

Hi worriedcatsI was recently changed Bisoprolol and take other meds too. Nd find I wake more or less on the hour, sometimes getting up in the middle of the night and making a drink. I didn’t know that this medication could be causing this. I will now speak to my gp.

funnyfennel profile image
funnyfennel in reply toLondone16

I have that problem too I don't know if it's the beta blocker or not but I'm going to ask them because it's intolerable not getting any sleep

Dear celticlady

How nice to hear of a lady that still swoons in this modern age !

It is something that you need to talk to your cardiologist about when you are on the phone. What your saying fits most of the drugs that we are put on so its hard to tie it down.

There are other versions of most drugs, I think that he may ask you to stay on these a little longer and see if you ‘settle in’ on them.

Its all a worry I know, but I promise you as time goes on these things will balance and you will be able to return to work.

Take care, my thoughts are with you

celticlady profile image
celticlady in reply to

A lovely reply. Thank you ...all the unknowns and the debilitating symptoms/a&e visits have dented my confidence. Hopefully all will settle and to quote a useful saying-not sure of the origin 'this too shall pass' . Warm wishes , Moira.

in reply tocelticlady

And what a great saying it is, for it all will pass, get that confidence back and if we can help on here in any way, just ask.

As ever, Kevin

Jibbyjabby profile image
Jibbyjabby

Get on the Neblivol far far better

celticlady profile image
celticlady in reply toJibbyjabby

Thank you ..when you get a minute please could you say what sort of symptoms you were getting with bisoprolol. What has changed with neviprolol? Many thanks.

Jibbyjabby profile image
Jibbyjabby in reply tocelticlady

Hi Celticlady I had quite a few problems with Bisoprolol in the early days following my stent fitting, breathless episodes, awake for hours in the night,someone on here had a bad cough for 8 weeks and stopped taking it and his cough disappeared in 2 days I was suffering with a very bad cough for 7 weeks and could not shake it off .So i decided to Stop the Bisoprolol and in 3 days my cough had completely gone!! So i decided to phone my cardiac nurse who had been very kind and caring to me after my HA and she recognised the side effects immediately, she told me that Bisoprolol is the cheapest beta blocker available and although it suits a lot of people in her experience it cause a lot of problems. So she prescribed me Nebivlol which is 5 times more expensive and the difference was incredible, ALL of my previous side effects completely disappeared overnight. It would appear that when we are first discharged from hospital we are given a standard package of medications (tablets) and they are all the cheapest available, now i am fully aware that these meds may suit a lot of patients but NOT all . Another one to look out for is the Statin (Atorvastatin) another cheapy tablet , they were making me so very tired during the day and lifeless, the nurse prescribed me Rosuvastatin which was also 5 times more expensive BUT wow what a difference they have made to my daily life. I hope you find your correct mix of meds and get your daily life as back to normal as possible,and you make a great recovery, and you have my best wishes

This is my experience of NHS medications in no way am i disrespecting the thoughts of any other group members or their opinions,

celticlady profile image
celticlady in reply toJibbyjabby

Thank you so much. Just spoke to my pharmacist re costs and he said they were same price!! I posted another question on here asking how long to give bisoprolol as am coming up to prescription reorder been on them 3 weeks. Some say not long enough but will see what my cardiologist says TMRW...got phone appt. Not yet diagnosed , lots of tests to go through . Did you stop bisoprolol cold turkey or substitute the neviprolol as they say it's dangerous to just quit. I know what you mean about fobbing us off with the cheaper drugs ..got friends who came off statins due to side effects. I asked for lowest dose of BB got 1.25 as neviprolol starts at 2.5. some cut in half. Just starting out on the Dodgy heart journey. Stay well, Moira.

funnyfennel profile image
funnyfennel in reply toJibbyjabby

Thank you for sharing. We all gather information to help us sort things out

PeterpPiper profile image
PeterpPiper

3 weeks is not long enough to get settled into the meds. I had issues initially but now I’m fine on 5 of bisoprolol .. my advice is bare with it and have a relaxing evening with a soothing warm drink before bed .

celticlady profile image
celticlady in reply toPeterpPiper

Thank you Peter. Perhaps men don't have the same problems with bisoprolol as women. What were your side effects and do I need to give them months or weeks? Take care.

PeterpPiper profile image
PeterpPiper in reply tocelticlady

Hi celticlady I hate to admit that I think men are just as likely as women to complain about anything including side effects. I went from zero meds to the full cocktail overnight including bisoprolol so it’s difficult to pin down which med was causing what but I had sleepiness, muscle cramps, no sleep, stomach pain and heart flutter. Doc said hang in there so I did. I would say within 2 months I was feeling just fine. But please do tell your doc as we are all different. I know when my doc increased my bisoprolol from 1.25 to 2.5 and then to 3.75 etc I felt like my legs were heavy and difficult to drag myself along the street but that has also blended away.

Good Health to you.

I like a sniff of lavender oil before I get the sack … works wonders (even tho it’s not very manly :)

I am on 50mg carvedilol and no sleep problems. If anything the made me more sleepy

DaveSpice profile image
DaveSpice

I started on these about 4 weeks ago and havent seen much change, I didn't sleep well before or after. I gave up watching the news about a week ago and that helped a lot, should have done that 2 years ago.

Letsallhope1 profile image
Letsallhope1

Hello Celtic Lady,I’m on a beta blocker called Sotalol for the past 20 years and recently increased to max dose and I sleep like a baby.

Maybe mentioned Sotalol to your cardiologist and see what he’s got to say.

Not sure which one is more effective.

All the best

Larneybuds profile image
Larneybuds

I am on 2 5 that I take every morning along with other meds and have not experienced any side effects thankfully. I don't know if you take yours at night or if this would make a difference but I hope you get sorted. I am waiting fir emergency surgery as mine was cancelled so have a cardiac nurse that I can phone with any concerns which is a godsend. I really hope you get sorted

celticlady profile image
celticlady in reply toLarneybuds

Thank you ..take care , all good wishes.

DaveSpice profile image
DaveSpice

I wrote this morning that I stopped watching news two weeks ago to lower my stress and how it has help with sleep. Well it seems the experts agree, talking about the dangers of social media, which I don't partake anyway. youtube.com/watch?v=_u5p6hw...

celticlady profile image
celticlady in reply toDaveSpice

I know what you mean... especially with Ukraine now. I don't bother with social media. The news is very depressing and I have low mood any way so try to distract myself reading, crafting. Take care, stay well.

DaveSpice profile image
DaveSpice in reply tocelticlady

I am the worlds worst gardener, but have a acre garden with vines, fruit and olive trees, so I am learning to do gardening and leaving the laptop alone. Watching the video and writing this, but no news at all, I personally dont believe any of it at all, so whats the point?

marypw profile image
marypw

I've been on 2.5 mg bisoprolol for several years for ectopics, with no problems sleeping, or any other side effects. My husband takes the same dose and he really feels the cold, but no other issues. We all react differently to medication (eg I'm allergic to most antibiotics). Bisoprolol has pretty much stopped all my ectopics!

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