Coming off beta blockers to have holter monitor fitted...side effects?

[celticlady]

Just got appt for holter monitor and cardiologist said I had to come off BBs in order to ascertain abnormal heart rates etc. I've been on bisoprolol for under a month and by the appt date it will be approx 2months on them. Will the gates of hell be unleashed as adrenals kick in and I'll be back at A&E? Any anecdotal experience greatly appreciated.

[Prada47]

Hello

I would work on the basis the Cardiologist knows what He / She is doing, after all they are the professionals who are going to say what's wrong with you, and no doubt you will believe that !!! Beta Blockers do get a bad press I belong to a group who have no problem at all I can go from 10mg to 7.5mg without problem. I know that's not the same as stopping but what dose are you currently on ??

Regards

[celticlady in reply to Prada47]

1.25 seem to have a sensitive metabolism/low tolerance to any meds

[Hidden]

As catching arrhythmia in the act is half the battle, being on meds designed to alter the natural rate (and sometimes rhythm) of the heart whilst using a holter monitor isn’t always helpful. It takes a couple of days for beta blockers to pass through your system (although side effects can take longer to pass), so I would make certain as to when exactly they want you to stop, but I never had any problems temporarily stopping betas for any reason, even on really high doses. When I finally came off them after 8 years to switch to a different kind of med, I was fine then, too.

[celticlady in reply to Hidden]

Thank you

[Hidden]

Hi , It’s difficult to say.. but I’d hope not. That you’ll have a break from what look to be awful side effects while the holter monitor is fitted .It’s interesting to me that your cardiologist has made that decision to do the holter monitor minus the medication.

That wasn’t the case either time for me & I have wondered if symptoms may have been somewhat masked by the bisoprolol .

Obviously everyone is different & your cardiologist will have made that recommendation based on your symptoms.

I’m sorry you’re feeling so unwell with these side effects & really hope that the results of the holter monitor come quickly with other treatment options that help you feel better . N

[tommywaits]

Hi, I was also on just 1.25mg following a heart attack and stent. I had to come off them for a stress echocardiogram and, yes, I did feel agitated and anxious. I year later I came off them altogether but did so by taking a half dose for a few days. This time I knew what to expect but didn't notice any effect. My resting heart rate was between 53 and 57 whilst taking the medication and is now 63.

Of course your reaction will depend on your body and heart condition, but 1.25mg is the lowest dose.

[Foxey2]

I was also on bisoprolol 1.25 for a year and stopped in January on my Arrhythmia nurses instruction as my resting heart rate is low, I just stopped taking it the next day and didn’t feel any after effects at all 👍

[Taichid]

I had a 24 hour holter monitor twice but didn’t have to stop bisoprolol. In fact it showed what beta blocker was doing and causing my problem.

[celticlady in reply to Taichid]

Thank you ...what was the BB doing if you don't mind sharing this.

[Taichid in reply to celticlady]

Hi, the beta blocker was causing heart pauses which were identified on monitor. Reduced bb for a week, then stopped, after this no more pauses. However as I have Afib eventually my heart rate went up again. Have been given bisoprolol again but this time with a pacemaker. Bisoprolol reduces heart rate and pacemaker kicks in when rate drops below 60. Am still getting side effects and dose has been reduced. Hoping to get it reduced again to 2.5 mg.

[DaveSpice]

Well, a whole range of answers there and this interests me because I recently had a stress test while on them and had only started on them a couple of weeks earlier.

I have just finished my first box of (2.5ml) 30 and have been suffering dizzy spells in the evening, that said I just started on Pantprozol around the same time, so don't know what is causing it.

Neither have made any difference to my symptoms of stomach related heart twinges. Which may be down to stress as an odd 1mg of Lorazapam makes me sleep like a baby.

[celticlady in reply to DaveSpice]

Yes I have some 2mg diazepam which I could break in half if I get to a stage of chronic sleep deprivation. Don't like taking them but like to have in stock just in case.

[DaveSpice in reply to celticlady]

I find that after I take one, two days later my body complains a little and tries to get me to take another.....

[richard_jw]

1.25mg is the lowest dosage you can have. When I came off bisoprolol, I went down from 2.5 to 1.25, then managed to break the pill in half to half the 1.25 dose. I did this in one week stages at the recommendation of my cardiologist. I felt OK throughout. However if the 1.25mg dose of Bisoprolol made a difference in your case, sudden stopping might have some rebound effects. I'm not a doctor, so you should ask the cardiologist. I do read that people coming off BBs with no withdrawal period can give rise to bad symptoms. However some people start on a high dosage (as much as 10mg) so stopping immediately is different to your case.

Another thing he said was that it can be difficult to "catch" some arrhythmias, and that a normal Holter (certainly in my case) when I wore one for 4 days did not. I looked at the report and it seemed that averages were more important than individual attacks There are other devices which you activate when the irregular heart beat makes you feel unwell.

My irregular heart beat was spotted by a triage nurse in A&E when she took my pulse at the wrist. They put me on an ECG recorder for a few hours but were unable to record the arrhythmia

[celticlady in reply to richard_jw]

Thank you Richard .

[Qualipop]

I was on bisopralol after my HA. The lowest dose. It completely knocked me out so after about 3 months it w as stopped. I stopped taking it straight away and had no ill effects at all.

[celticlady in reply to Qualipop]

So glad it's not just me! Great that you had no I'll effects after stopping. Did you take anything else?

[Qualipop in reply to celticlady]

They changed me I think candesartan but side effects were bad so they too were stopped without replacement

[seniorita]

I'm on 2.5 mg Bisoprolol but it doesn't stop my AF, just keeps my heart rate down. If it stops your AF that might be why he wants you discontinue when you have the holter. I stayed on BB when I had a 24 hr holter, but as I said, it just keeps my heart rate lower.

[CDPO16]

I read this thread with interest. My husband had a holter monitor fitted in January but at no stage was he told to stop taking his bisoprolol.