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Bisoprolol and insomnia

Picky1703 profile image
23 Replies

Hi,

1st time posting! New to the forum.

Please can I ask if anyone has struggled with insomnia since taking Bisoprolol? I have been taking it for 3 years now and my sleep hasn’t been brilliant, I have young children so have attributed lack of sleep to them (10m and 3 years when I 1st went on it) but I have come to realise it isn’t them at all. They sleep through and my sleep is getting worse. I have no trouble falling asleep but I can’t stay asleep, waking every 1-2hrs until the morning. My dream are really vivid and sometimes are nightmares.

I have left a message with for the cardiologist today as I am on the brink! But I just wondered what was the outcome for anyone who experienced the same?

thanks in advance!

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Picky1703
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23 Replies
aviation1 profile image
aviation1

yes I have trouble falling asleep - my dose is quite low 2.5 which I split am and pm .... I am going to ask my GP tp prescribe an alternative to see what happens

Picky1703 profile image
Picky1703 in reply toaviation1

Aah I would be interested to know what they suggest. It’s so hard, sleep is just so important isn’t it. Fingers crossed the next one works for you.

aviation1 profile image
aviation1 in reply toPicky1703

Indeed - sleep is part of how the body recovers !

stevetheadi profile image
stevetheadi

I sympathise!

I have had trouble staying asleep for more than 2/3 hours for years but about three months ago I was put on Bisoprolol (5mg) and it's definitely got worse. I get vivid dreams too. Most nights I sleep for maybe three hours then doze for three hours or so through a series of dreams.

Sometimes I think I'm awake but then realise I can't be, I'm dreaming. This morning I dreamt I was playing football and I kicked the wall......

It's all rather odd and rather tiring.

I don't know if that's down to the Bisoprolol though or because I'm a bit stressed over my health these days. Maybe it's a combination of both.

I'd be interested to hear what your cardiologist says.

Picky1703 profile image
Picky1703 in reply tostevetheadi

Oh gosh it’s hard, the dreams are so vivid aren’t they, I don’t feel like I have been asleep even when I am.

It has such a knock on affect to every other part of your life. I did read online (a random NHS report) that a short course of melatonin can help put you back on track because the beta blockers stop the production of it but it’s only been in the last 15 years so I aren’t sure how progressive my cardiologist!

I will let you know the outcome!

Dogloverxthree profile image
Dogloverxthree

good morning picky yes unfortunately I am exactly the same as you, I have been on bisoprol years, but they have gradually been increased over the years , they put me up to 10mg but I asked to be reduced to 5 mg but I’m lucky to sleep beyond 2 am and the nightmare s are really bad.

Picky1703 profile image
Picky1703 in reply toDogloverxthree

Ah that’s awful, I bet you are dreading bedtime. Surely there must be an alternative? I can’t work full time, be a good mum and maintain a healthy marriage on zero sleep.

I am picking up virus after virus that’s just flooring me because I am so run down.

Has your cardiologist tried you on anything else? I’m a little worried it’s going to be a ‘you have to get on with it approach’

Traveldreams profile image
Traveldreams

thankfully haven’t had the nightmares but I also have sleep issues now. Didn’t link to my Bisoprolol but perhaps it could be as I used to sleep easily.

Picky1703 profile image
Picky1703 in reply toTraveldreams

I didn’t link the two things either but having done a lot of reading online, it seems to be a common side effect!

I use to sleep well too, the good old days ay!

Traveldreams profile image
Traveldreams in reply toPicky1703

What it is to be young !!!! LOL

Picky1703 profile image
Picky1703 in reply toTraveldreams

😂

Bruce67 profile image
Bruce67

I have been a bad sleeper for decades. I can go to sleep easily every night, but once I wake up, I struggle to get back to sleep!

This has got worse since OHS. I put it down to the "water tablets" as toilet visits needed 2-4 times nightly.

Since stopping most of the water tablets I was on, my sleep pattern is still very poor.

I had never considered Bisoprolol could be the cause! Got me thinking now!

Luckily I don't get nightmares or bad dreams often. I did in first few weeks after surgery though...and as others say it was hard to determine if asleep or awake. Went through some really severe PTSD initially!

Picky1703 profile image
Picky1703 in reply toBruce67

Oh wow, I can imagine you did! Anything heart related is unsettling!

It’s crazy isn’t it, I think I assumed they would help sleep but seems it’s a common issue!

AmatureKnitter profile image
AmatureKnitter

Yes. They disrupt your melatonin production. If you've not settled after 3 years I imagine you're not going to and seeking an alternative is a good plan.

Picky1703 profile image
Picky1703 in reply toAmatureKnitter

yes that’s what I read, I hope they give me a course of melatonin to try 1st as the Bisoprolol in the main, keeps things okay!

maggie80 profile image
maggie80

Hi, I take Bisoprolol, I don't have a good nights sleep. I started taking Sleep Aid (Herbal) It does help. Try deep breathing before you go to sleep. Have you thought about yoga classes. There's nothing worse than not getting a good night sleep.

Picky1703 profile image
Picky1703 in reply tomaggie80

Aah did it, thank you, I will have a look at that. I have been thinking about Yoga actually, I keep saying when I aren’t so tired but not sure that will ever be the case!

Ive been having baths with magnesium salts in before bed and listening to sleep stories but getting to sleep isn’t so much an issue, it’s staying asleep unfortunately.

It’s awful isn’t it!

maggie80 profile image
maggie80

Can't think straight. Tiredness overtakes. Exercise in bed. lie on your back. Scrunch your feet up, relax, scrunch you calf muscles then relax, hands then eyes. I think you might just go to sleep. Don't oversleep.🙂

EllenMcC profile image
EllenMcC

My husband as well. Falls asleep easily but wakes up after a couple hours. Some nights he gets back to sleep and others not so much. Please let us know what your cardiologist says. His and his GP don’t have much to say 😕

Picky1703 profile image
Picky1703 in reply toEllenMcC

Oh my goodness, okay I will, I think that’s what I am most worried about that they just say it’s one of those things. I can’t function so they have to think of something!

Bless him, I will let you know the outcome!

Bellissim0 profile image
Bellissim0

just out of curiosity how many of you that have problems with bisoprolol are also taking statins ?

Statins caused me problems in past but bisoprolol are a major help for me

Arty56 profile image
Arty56

Hi all,I'm on bisoprolol too, I haven't slept properly for years, often I don't sleep at all, I can be trying to sleep for for ridiculous amount of time upto 10 hours off and on... It's exhausting I dread trying to sleep, even when I sleep it's about 2 or 3 hours. I have awful nightmares too, always angry, under extreme stress in the dreams and they seem real to me, so I wake up with bad headaches, this is most nights. I take statins too, I have cad and angina stable and unstable. Sometimes I think what would it be like to be off some of these drugs with the bad side effects, I mean, would I have a life then, would I sleep, try to control things with natural remedies, I do not see my doc or cardiologist anymore, say for about 3 years, I just carry on, tbh I can't be arsed with it all, iv got my gtn and been overnight in hosp a few times , it does feel like your just holding on, treading water, very tired to do anything much, the last conversation with the cardiologist was, as he stood up to show me out was, "right then, ok everythings golng alright, you have your medications," so that's that, so iv no idea if I'm worse or the same and that's it.... Don't even know what I expected, it started when I was mid fifties out of the blue, been rubbish since.

Good luck everyone with your health and life.

Picky1703 profile image
Picky1703 in reply toArty56

Aww Arty56, that’s awful. Could you ask to see your cardiologist again or ask to see a different one? It doesn’t sound like they are very supportive.

My dreams are very similar, everything would feel better with some sleep I am sure.

Having read everyone’s comments and reading similar threads on here I think I am going to ask if it’s possible to wean off them all together and see if I can manage.

I hope you get some sleep soon!

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