General feedback

[SteveWX]

Hi All,

I said to my doctor the other day, this is my first go at 52, therefore I don't know what I know. I had a heart attack 5 years ago and had my main artery stented, apparently all other arteries were fine. They put me on 80MG Statin and 5 MG bisopromol. In the last 6 months due to the fact I generally feel lethargic most days I went to see my cardiologist privately as I wasn't getting the right sort of responses from my GP and with overall collesterol of 2.9 he lowered my statin from 80mg to 40mg, after 3 months collesterol is now 3.4 with a good ration between HDL & LDL. Having a resting heart rate of around 52 I've now managed to get my doctor to reduce my Bisopromol from 5mg to 2.5mg. Its never sat particularly well, all these tablets!, I've just turned 52 and thank goodness I don't work as some days I need a snooze, I don't tend to sleep well, I wake around 05:30 and if I was a betting person I'd say its the impact on the tablets. I'm going to see how the reduced dosage of bisopromol goes and also looking at a supplement of K2mk7 to maybe help with the impact of the statins. Does anyone else get similar problems? I feel like I'm turning into someone who is always talking about health and while I guess its fairly healthy to take your health seriously I really wouldn't mind 1 day without the thought process!

[Tos92]

Hi SteveWX

Welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately, I do not take any of the medications which you have listed. Fatigue is a common side effect of some medications. I hope the new adjustments in meds help.

If you are looking to take a new supplement, please inform your doctor or cardiologist before you proceed to buy them.

I hope others can help with the medications you’re on.

All the best.

Tos

[SteveWX in reply to Tos92]

Hi Tos, thanks for the reply, I will speak to my doctor before taking the supplements, but they are plant based so I am assuming they shouldn't cause any problems, although I agree changes have to be slow and thought through. The statins do unfortunately have side effects and this K2MK7 is well documented to help, but I will run it past my cardiologist first. Thanks and have a good evening. Rgds Steve

[Captain_Birdseye in reply to SteveWX]

Just a note to say that just because something is plant based doesn't mean it won't interfere with medication... grapefruit is entirely plant based but is known to interfere with the metabolism of various medicines... same with St. John's wort.

[Seal59]

Yes my husband has similar problems with tiredness since taking the standard cocktail of heart medication. We are convinced that the medication is responsible, but the G.P is reluctant to change anything. Perhaps a private visit to a cardiologist is the answer. Please post an update to let us know if the reduced dosages help.

[SteveWX in reply to Seal59]

Hi Seal59, I’ve been in that standard cocktail for 5 years, I haven’t really noticed any difference in the drop in dosage on statin, going from 80 to 40, 40 still being fairly high when you compare it to someone who hasn’t had a cardiac event but has raised cholesterol at a GP check, they tend to go on 10mg or 20mg. The beta blocker is still early days as I’m on 3 days in but I’ve been feeling generally pants for a while now, in excess of 12 months and also if the truth be known I’ve been worrying more of late of a reoccurrence because the mental state of just being on the drugs for the rest of my life just wasn’t sitting right. So I went to see the cardiologist who put the stent in, I did an echo cardiagram and an ecg fitness test. Both came out well. What I am researching now is GG Pure which is herbal and also CX8 which are both produced by Xtendlife, which is a New Zealand company. The GG Pure is designed to neutralise the impact of statin in the body, we know it does a load of good but the side affects are known, and cx8 is designed for artery health in a vitamin. But again I’m just researching and will probably spend another £170 on a consultation with the specialist before I do anything because we never want to make things worse.

The more you research and look into things the more there are other things to consider as while I am a huge advocate of the drugs I take in the fact they keep me alive, one of the biggest drivers to me seeing the specialist and considering my dosages was that I had a full men’s health check last November and my only stat which came back with irregular was my cholesterol which was too low at 2.9 total cholesterol which combined HDL & LDL. That’s what caused me to speak to him.

So as sad as it is, if your husband’s event is recent then you have to give it a year or 2 and then look, but that is not medical advice, it’s just how I have approached it, and in fact I have been longer as I am 5 years post event.

[Seal59 in reply to SteveWX]

Thanks for that info. My husband is 4 years post op. When we lived in Canada before the CABG the doctor was prepared to reduce his statins and he reduced them from 80mg to 40mg but then he had his heart attack so back up to the higher dose. Now we live in England he has never seen a cardiologist, so maybe a private consultation is the answer. It is a very tricky situation as there are so many factors involved it’s hard to know what is best sometimes.

[MountainGoat52]

Hi SteveWX,

Getting the right medicine that suits you is very important. It takes some effort initially to be proactive and work with your GP to get it right, but it is well worth it in the long run.

As regards Bisoprolol, it can make you tired and dizzy. I was initially put on 3.75mg and I had dreadful feelings of impending doom. Even on 2.5mg I was getting bad dizzy spells, particularly when I stood up which is when blood pressure naturally falls. I had to get my dose lowered to 1.25mg. On this dose my resting heart rate is in the 50s. You might ask your GP to prescribe a lower dose, or even an alternative beta blocker if you are still having problems on 2.5mg.

The sleep issue may be partially habitual, having been initiated by medication. I would certainly discuss this with your GP as you may need some help to get back into a normal pattern. I hope that you can get this sorted soon.

Gersld

[SteveWX in reply to MountainGoat52]

Hi Gerald,

Thanks for the reply, its certainly interesting that other people are experiencing things like this and I agree with working with the GP. After recently speaking to my GP, my resting heart rate on 5MG was 50-52. My GP stated that my resting heart rate should be closer to 60, hence he was happy to drop my dosage to 2.5mg. I think the majority of my problems is either I'm on the wrong type of drug as others could make me feel better, or the actual impact of the statin coursing through my body. The thing is none of this is bad bad, its just what I'm not prepared to live with. Hence the slowly slowly approach. I do also wonder if its a mental state issue as having a heart attack at 47 years old was great in some ways as at least I was young enough to respond, but did take my superman suit off. Hence this forum is the first step in talking about these things as most days I wake up thinking about my health and go to sleep thinking about it!!

[MountainGoat52 in reply to SteveWX]

The main thing about taking medication is not to get hung up about it. There is no shame in taking medication. I regard it as a tool to help me, just as I use a mobile phone to speak to people. Medication is just a part of life.

I always say that having a heart attack did me a favour. As a fairly fit hill walker aged 65, it was work stress in combination with an hereditary factor that got me to pay more attention to my health. Through being proactive with regards to my medication, I am now in a better position than I was before my HA. Maintaining a positive attitude has been the key and I have never let my situation define me.

Gerald, aged 71 and still climbing Munros.... ☺

[Qualipop]

I couldn't tolerate bisopralol. I was like a zombie even on the lowest dose. I had it changed to an ace inhibitor then eventually stopped completely.

[Instructor57]

Hello again !Just seen your post here and thought I'd reply about k2 .

I take it daily along with D3

I'm sure you will find this video of interest.

youtu.be/z3njgh2nFRk(Not working as expected?)