Bisoprolol withdrawal

[Redwing30]

Hi everyone,Have had my Bisoprolol 2.5mg switched to Diltiazem due to a skin problem. Was on Bisoprolol for 4 years.I stopped Bisoprolol and after 3 days BP shot up from 124/76 to 160/105 at rest and I was aware of my heartbeat and pounding in head if tried to move around.For 2 days I could do nothing and for a week I couldn't drive,I had chills,nasal congestion,nausea.Lasted about 2 weeks in all.My BP 2 days ago was still high in am 160/100 and 150/95 in pm.GP increased Diltiazem to 300mg and glad to say my BP is coming down.I discussed briefly the fact the Bisoprolol was stopped suddenly and i thought i had rebound hypertension and she said they dont usually taper 2.5mg dose.I am sure it was the Bisoprolol that caused this to happen and it has been an upsetting experience. I am 61 and retired but I would have not been able to work over this period.All of this was done by phone and the only reason I knew there was such a jump in my BP was because I checked a baseline myself as was not checked in surgery beforehand which to me is poor practice.Has anyone else experienced Bisoprolol withdrawal with what medical staff think is a small dose but it still has a powerful effect on your heart?

[Mart25]

Good morning. I was on 1.25mg bisopropol and was asked by my cardiologist to stop it (the idea was to see if it improved my arrythmia - but this is not relevent to your question). 1.25mg is the lowest dose you can take but, even so, I experienced something similar to you. I was much more conscious of my heart beating, my heart rate increased from around 65 to around 75 and my BP went up a bit. It took a few weeks before things settled down a bit and I felt more comfortable. Although this is disturbing, I do know this is a "normal" response when stopping beta-blockers and there is a biochemical reason why. I guess some people are going to react to bisoprolol withdrawal more than others and it sounds like you are quite sensitive. Ideally, I guess your GP might have tried reducing your dose to 1.25mg for a few weeks before stopping altogether. I hope you and your GP manage to improve things for you - but I hope you can take a bit of comfort from knowing your experiences are not unique.

[Redwing30 in reply to Mart25]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply.It really was a horrible experience .

[anke123]

Hi I was on 2.5 mg bisopropol as well and was told to reduce it to 1.25 as my BP was going to low. Just 3 days later told to stop it all together. It did effect me for a while, heart rate up, like palpitations. It has settled quite well, BP more in normal range and I feel much better without it. All the best.

[Redwing30 in reply to anke123]

Thanks for your reply.