Hi! This may sounds a bit random, but about 8 weeks ago I was put on bisoprolol 2.5mg twice a day by my cardiologist. Felt a bit rough the first few days but then felt much better! However, when I ran out of that prescription, my local pharmacy gave me a different brand of bisoprolol and honestly I’ve just not felt right since. I feel a bit shaky, cold arms, sometimes I’m going dizzy and my chest can feel a bit heavy. The cardio nurses say all brands should be the same but I was doing so well until I switched! Has anybody else experienced this?
Update: Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to comment. I have found all your comments so helpful! I have requested the GP to revert back to the old brand, I am awaiting to hear from them but fingers crossed!
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Fullofheart98
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Can't comment on the bisoprolol specifically as I pretty much always get the same brand but my inhaler prescription specifically states it has to be a GSK brand because the cheap knock offs gave me massive skin itching. My wife has a similar issue with Omeprazole, one brand is really good and she takes one a day, the others she needs to double up to get the same effect.
So the concept that all brands are the same is clearly wrong.
I have this problem with the brands of all my tablets if they change the brand I can feel effects I did not feel before and some Doctors etc will be adamant it had nothing to do with the change of brand however personally I disagree
When this happens I tell my Doctor and she is understanding and she will put on my records what brand to prescribe which they can do that so if you know the brand of what suited you then you could ask if they could do that for you
If you do not feel well though maybe think about seeing the Doctor anyway but you are not on your own finding different brands do not suite you as well as others
I become more symptomatic if I do not have a specific branded calcium channel blocker. The reasons why brand changes can affect us is that there may be some slight differences in the ingredients when they are manufactured.
If you have your old Bisoprolol medication box handy, you can call the GP and ask them to change it on their end so that going forward, the pharmacist only dispense that specific brand. Might be worth giving them a call.
Thank you very much - I am very reassured that I am not going crazy and most likely is due to the different brand! I know my body and know I was doing really well until this change!
Hi, I am on bisoprolol for 5 months now. I remember reading that bisoprolol unlike some drugs is a slow burn drug, by that I mean it takes quite a while for the body to become adjusted to it. Although I've not had in your face symptoms, I do believe in conjunction with my other meds my body has slowed down (basically it's what bisoprolol does to the HR) and as I move into a bit of rehab exercise regime I am definitely off the pace.I can't separate out this clinically from the realities that my heart events may have also taken there toll.
BUT I did have some of those symptoms, dizzy, unusual feelings of doom chest. They are not to be ignored or put down to a minor prescription change in my view. And your nurse said 'unlikely'...... So what has she suggested happens. She can't (shouldn't) leave such an observation hanging in my view.
While you can try changing your meds and have a clinical trial of one, I would also check in with a clinician.
And my symptoms, they were serious and real, a failure of my ICD.
This reply is a bit different to thers but I hope it helps.
funny you mention that, I've been on it now 2 years I think and ive always said I can tell the difference between brands whether ones working as good as the other! Maybe it is a thing who knows.. but you're not on your own.
I am very relieved I’m not the only one! I had just started to feel good on bisoprolol and then they sent me a different brand and I can definitely tell I’m not as good! It’s strange isn’t it!
I think I agree with tablets I’ve had some similar problems but not been able to work out which of the ten a day I take. However I do have a problem with generic trusopt eye drops and my eye consultant has specifically written to my doctor to say I should only have the original. Some of the issue is in the cheaper dropper the generic uses
I experience this with my statin tablet. One brand is great, but if they change it then I am quite unwell. It is not the cade that all the tablets are the same!! Different brands co tain slightly different ingredients and it's that that can make you unwell
Thank you for your message! I knew it was the different brands that had done it as it’s the only thing that I’ve changed recently that correlates with these symptoms! I’m waiting for a call today to see if my GP surgery can get the brand I like for me, I will keep my fingers crossed!
The active ingredient may well be the same, but the "fillers", and colouring, can be different. On one of my meds I can tolerate one brand but not two others I've tried. And why on earth do they like putting yellow colouring in meds?
Hi, different brands can contain different fillers and it is usually this that causes the problems with a change of brand. My GP put the actual brand name I used on my prescription so the pharmacist knew not to supply another brand.
Absolutely! I had been on Bisopherol for 2 years or more and moved house. I decided to use the nearest pharmacy to where I moved. I did not realise that the packet was different for awhile but eventually put two and two together after ending up in hospital with all those symptoms. The difference was the original packet was blue Almis from Boots and the Lloyd's gave me a brown packet the doctor gave me another prescription and I went back to boots and all is well. It was nearly 3 months of ill health!
Phone your doctors. Ask for the same bisoprolol you've been taking in the beginning. Tell them you can't take the ones you have now. There making you feel awful.
Hi. I'm on ramipril and bisoprolol. To tell you the truth I've never felt well on any of them. Doctor just dismisses the fact and says oh well you're better off on them
The heart meds are quite strong. My cardiologist started me on 1.25mg/night and my pharmacist told me to keep monitoring it's effects and to stop it if things started to go the other way. So far so good on this dose. But beware! It is making changes to your heart which will show up in time.
The brands the hospital gives are usually always the best. The pharmacy then usually change it to the cheapest brand sometimes, some of those brands are usually copies cheaply made. Stick to the hospital brands.
With one tablet they changed the brand and instead of white it was a deep yellow. My feet became swollen and I felt awful. The pharmacist told me it could be the dye gave me an allergic reaction. They had the white ones there so she changed them back.
No they are not all the same. Different companies use different colourings and fillers. I react really badly to some of them. I ask my pharmacist to stick to one brand where possible and for one of my meds I can only take the original branded version which is more ex poensive so my GP prescribes it by name. Are you certain you have been given the correct dosage too? Someone on here just two days ago was sent completely the wrong drug by his chemist.
I double checked and it is deffo the right dosage and drug! I think whatever is in it I’m just reacting to it! I am waiting to hear from my pharmacy today about a plan moving forward and seeing whether they can just send me the same specific brand!
It could be conclusive if you were able to revert to the brand you were taking to see if symptoms or side effects cleared. It would be even more conclusive if you again started back on the newer product to see if symptoms recurred but I'm not sure you'd be willing to undergo such an experiment.
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