Hi, I decided to open this topic because I'm going through a difficult period of withdrawal.
I spent 1 year on bisoprolol, which caused numerous side effects and, with the doctors' insistence, I dragged it out until I wanted to quit. Currently after 8 months withdrawal symptoms remain. During my first months I followed the patient website forum where there were many shares from people going through the same thing, which gave some encouragement and hope. People who shared their stories and helped others with their testimonies. It turns out that the forum closed and some contacts and support were lost
This topic is intended to share testimonials from those who have already gone through or are going through beta-blocker withdrawal.
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My husband has just come off Metoprolol as advised by the consultant as his heart rate was only 41. (Before heart bypass and meds his heart rate was around 51). He’s been off them a month now but he seems to be complaining of chest pain more frequently now. I don’t know if this is related.
Thanks for sharing, it's possible these are symptoms of withdrawal. did he have it for a long time with the beta blocker? withdrew immediately or lowered the dose until withdrawal? It is possible that the pulse rate will now increase and have high peaks until it stabilizes again.
He was on Beta blockers for 4 years. The consultant told him to come off gradually but he was only talking days. His heart rate has now come up to 48-50 but he was told his blood pressure would go up so the consultant doubled his Ramipril to 5mg a day.
What were the "numerous side effects"? I take this medication and seem ok on it but it may well be that various factors I attribute to getting older might be as a result of the drug. Thanks.
Good grief! you demonstrate how we are all different and need to listen to our bodies and request alternatives. I don't have any of the problems you describe, although like many older people I certainly don't get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. In response to ski girl , I walk around 80000 steps a week including some steep slopes. Ectopics have generally been better but by no means cured.
You're right. And I forgot to mention cold hands, it flared my Raynauds. In fairness, things started to settle after about 4 months. I've been off it for 8 weeks and still have stomach problems though, they're lingering.
I think it's a fabulous drug though. It did exactly what was needed.
like you, I am fit and active 75 but take bisoprolol for SVT Have low BP anyway and cannot think that it does me any good at all, just more tired. Still have the occasional SVT.
I do not know what other medication you are on. I always think it would be useful for a GP or pharmacist to once a year look at all the drugs people are taking and see if one is interacting badly with another.
I would liken it to a new set of traffic lights. That might necessitate a no right turn to be introduced or a filter lane that then backs up traffic so a roundabout is needed etc etc thereby making the situation worse than it was before
There are always possible consequences of introducing drugs and these need to be considered in the round. At the very least alternatives might need to be considered as seems to be the case with you.
it turns out that it was only given to me for hbp and at the moment I don't take anything. I was prescribed buspar in case of anxiety but even that made me worse. and I'm taking Trazodone to sleep at the minimum dose for at least this week since I can't sleep because of the palpitations 24/7.
A lot of what you list can be attributed to the anxiety BBs can cause. I find it ironic that non-selective ones are prescribed for anxiety.
They interfere with your adrenaline uptake and reduce melatonin production, basically destroying your circadian rhythm and disrupting your nervous system. I had an awful experience on Propranolol, experiencing most of what you list. Bisoprolol was better and the side-effects improved with time. I was on it for 8 months at doses between 5-10mg per day depending on symptom control and what I could tolerate. I've been off 2 months and out of everything I just have stomach problems left.
Melatonin is needed for oesophageal and diaphragmatic tone. I have a hiatal hernia that was very controlled until I took Bisoprolol, now my stomach is causing me all sorts of grief, even reducing my peak flow/lung capacity when my hernia is large. The pressure in my solar plexus and behind my sternum is awful.
and after these 2 months you feel like you're back to your old self with the exception of the stomach problems and hernia? I confess that in the first few months I had no symptoms that appeared later. had some symptoms such as palpitations 24/7 Or tremors?
Tough one. It's apples vs pears. My old self was super fit - cycling, weight training, dancing - 6 days/week, plus lots of travel for work - loads of energy. The hiatus caused by lockdown and ensuing heart problems caused me to struggle getting back in to training. I can't tell if it's because I'm a stone heavier and very unfit or something else. I'm OK-ish. The lifestyle changes are permanent, I'm constantly wary of triggers and not taking the Bisop makes me super diligent. I know I have almost no arrythmia now - hence coming off it.
I think I'm clear of the side effects - waves of fatigue are very rare. Strangely, I can now sleep on a clothesline, I was a poor sleeper for decades, I wake up refreshed these days. It's like the Bisop broke the cycle of years of stress insomnia (despite causing insomnia itself), it has reset me.
I’m 9 weeks off Bisoprolol and it’s been a tough journey. To start with my HR was high all the time and rocketed to 140 on movement. I also had loud pulsatile tinnitus, intense anxiety, shakes and adrenaline surges. Couldn’t walk more than 0.5km.
9 weeks on and the withdrawal happens in windows and waves. I have a few good days where HR seems to settle and I can walk 3-4km. The tinnitus is still there but quieter. But then I’m hit with a wave of bad days (currently in a bad wave now) where the HR stays at 80-90 all day and goes up to 120-130 on walking and the pulse in ear is louder. Also have bad anxiety during waves.
I keep a journal everyday to log the journey. The doc is referring me back to cardiologist for POTS. I had none of these symptoms before starting and then stopping Bisoprolol. I was put on the drug in Spain after an episode of tachycardia where they found no abnormal rhythm.
I’m sure this drug works wonders for some but for me it’s been horrendous. My life has been on hold for four months now. I keep telling myself it will get better, it has to get better and I am able to do more (during good days) than I could 6 weeks ago. But it’s painfully slow and a very frightening experience. I was a fit and active person in Feb. Now I’m reduced to only walking 3km when I can, riddled with anxiety, not sleeping well, down to 8.9 stone and aging rapidly with this withdrawal. Thanks for starting this thread as it’s reading the experiences of others who have gone through this that give me hope. I copied and pasted into the notes on my phone several accounts of others and on my bad days I read these to remind myself I’m not alone with this.
I know exactly how you feel, not wanting to scare you, it's a long road and at some point it seems that the improvements are non-existent or very slow, however I feel that I'm better in some aspects, however after 8 months it seems like a long road to travel. I'm very sorry that the other forum is over because there were interesting and hopeful testimonies for those like us who are going through this. I'll be here in the thread or via chat to exchange and share situations, ideas or perhaps solutions
Yes, I had all of this when stopping Bisoprolol. I’m now at 3 months and symptoms are easing. Able to walk 5km now (HR still higher than it was prior to betas). It’s always worse in the morning, up at 120-130 when getting up and showered etc. Anxiety starting to lessen. Still have the pounding heart, comes and goes in waves. That’s the thing with this withdrawal, you think you’re ok then symptoms can come back. But the waves eventually last less time and become less intense. It’s a very tough journey. Some people are ok after a few weeks. It’s taken me longer but each individual is different. It’s been a frustrating, tiring and sometimes frightening few months but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Stopping bisoprolol warning: Bisoprolol lowers your heart rate and blood pressure. Suddenly stopping bisoprolol can worsen your heart condition, especially if you have coronary artery disease. It may also cause changes in heart rhythm or blood pressure, worsened chest pain, and heart attack. If you’re stopping this drug, your doctor will slowly lower your dosage over at least 1 week to help prevent these side effects.
Took me 3 months to come down from 7.5mg. I ignored the titration instruction and did it VERY slowly. I could feel my heart getting angsty when I lowered the dose too quickly. I was chopping pills up and all sorts, but now I'm off I'm doing OK.
Mmmmmm - ish.... I went 11 weeks without a any then a dental anaesthetic kicked off my arrythmia again. When it didn't subside I took a dose. So my drug free streak was ruined. I'm off again now - fingers crossed.
Yes, my HR did fluctuate for a bit. Occasionally 90 bpm sat watching TV, that did settle. On BB my average resting is 55-ish, off them it's 69-ish. I think coming off them is stressful and has it's own set of side-effects as the heart adjusts to being sensitive to adrenaline again.
It's been nice to be able to start working on my fitness again; I always felt the brakes were on when taking Bisop. I've had to invest if supplements - folic acid, Bvits, ferrous fumarate, D3, K2, Magnesium - make sure I don't end up anaemic again and my heart has everything it needs.
I was reduced by half post op so difficult to say which issues were op related and which were Bisoprolol. I’m now back up to pre op levels due to very high resting heart rate (which apparently is common after mitral valve surgery). Very interested to hear about other people’s experiences.
Really well, thank you. Only major problem is with my left shoulder which apparently is quite common post surgery. Have been on holiday to Italy twice in the last month, walking 5-7 miles per day and while away I was swimming 20 lengths at a time.
Can I ask why you didn’t switch to an alternative? I was started on Biso after my heart attack, but because of side effects (not as bad as some people), switched to Carvedilol after about a year. Just did a straight swap - had my last Biso one evening and started the Carved the next morning. No withdrawal and the side effects went.
I didn't have any doctor with a pedagogical attitude to say that we could address another situation before removing it. as well as the removal was almost sudden. unfortunately it was like that with me
I was only taking a beta-briefly and experienced no withdrawal effects, fortunately - but have experience this with another medication and can appreciate the need for support - my experience was before the existence of digitally mediated support like this
you can find other posts on "beta-blocker withdrawal" using those words in the search option 🔍 at the top of the screen
Like Alison_L I was on bisoprolol (1.25mg) and other drugs after my OHS and I was diagnosed after 6 months with dry eye by my optician. I persisted for a further 6 months and eventually spoke to my doctors as it had got worse, I couldn’t read a book without it flaring up and effectively blinding me after 10 minutes. Writing this would have been very troublesome.
GP practice told me to stop the Bisoprolol for a week, I did so and dry eye improved instantly. I’m now on Carvedilol and not having any issues about two weeks in, the dry eye has pretty much gone. No other side effects from either drug so far.
My HR is stable at mid 50’s resting but it can drop to mid 40’s briefly during the night or be as high as the 140’s when exercising hard (gym class or running 5k), I recover my base rate quite quickly. My BP is in the 120’s/70’s range, dropping a little bit after vigorous exercise. Just coming up to my annual drug review with my GP.
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