Difference between Bisoprolol & Flecainide

[HowMyHeartSings]

Hi - I’m on 2.5 mg dose of Bisoprolol but after 7 weeks it’s still giving me very broken sleep & difficultly getting to sleep. My doctor said I could go try Flecainide - anyone have experience of switching? Will the sleep disturbances lessen with Bisoprolol over time? Any suggestions?

Many thanks.

[dave205]

Bisoprolol side effects

Common bisoprolol side effects may include:

•headache;

•feeling tired;

•sleep problems (insomnia);

•joint pain;

•swelling; or

•cold symptoms such as stuffy nose, runny nose, cough, sore throat.

Flecainide side effects

Common side effects may include:

•dizziness;

•vision problems;

•trouble breathing;

•headache;

•nausea; or

•feeling weak or tired.

[2468abcmuk]

Hi took me around 16 weeks for side effects to fade ! Think bisoprolo long term is pretty safe drug to take but not so sure about flec u would need to research

[Funkygirli]

I had the same problem when I was taking 7,5 mg Bisoprolol last year, I was sleeping very poorly, then I started taking Flecainide (100 mg per day at first, meanwhile 200 mg) and reduced the Bisoprolol to 2,5 mg per day, and my sleep improved greatly!!!

[jimpiggott]

firstly if your doctor is suggesting Flec then i'm assuming you have a healthy heart other than electrical problems, In between ablations i was given bisoprolol and didnt get on with it at all, so much so that i stopped taking it and put up with PAF till the next ablation .After the 3rd ablation showed that my heart heals without scarring (therefore no point to ablations for me) i went onto Flec, and haven't looked back since. i can train hard and no fear of arrythmia,

[Felix123]

I’m afraid to say my sleep disturbance got worse culminating in regular nightmares and occasional night terrors before visiting my doctor. He confirmed it was Propanalol that was causing it and changed my meds to Bisoprolol which stopped the problem immediately but I have now developed tinnitus as a side effect from this! I will take tinnitus anyday instead of the night terrors which were causing me much disstress and embarrassment.

[LindaDaisy]

Can’t take Flecainide as I also have a cardiomyopathy (LVNC). I’m on Carvidilol and I tolerate that well. Local hospital changed me to Bisoprolol and after a couple of weeks of not good sleep, I started getting nightmares. Royal Papworth EP changed me back. Much better.

[lancashirerose]

I never had any side effects from bisoprolol, but it didn't stop the ectopics. I'm on flecainide now and hardly have any ectopic beats any more, only odd occasional ones I can cope with. Used to get runs of them so many times, it was horrendous.