Is it my HF condition or meds that are causing me to feel constantly spaced out?

[Gandyk53]

Hi

Am wondering if anyone else has/is experiencing the same….I was diagnosed with heart failure in Nov 23 (EF at 20%) and am currently on the following daily drug regime:

Dapagliflozin (10mg)

Eplerenone (12.5mg)

Bisoprolol (2.5mg twice a day)

Amlodipine (5mg)

Perindopril (4mg)

Omeprazole (20mg)

Thiamine (300mg)

Allopurinol (100mg)

and have just been told to stop Furosemide.

I feel constantly “spaced out” - thankfully not in too a debilitating way - but my (excellent!) cardiac team have not really been able to give me an answer as to whether this sensation relates to the drugs I am on to help with my HF and high blood pressure or whether it is the nature of my heart failure condition?

Just wondered if anyone else has experienced something similar and has any insights??

[cotonh]

My husband also on a cocktail including some of the ones you are on. His EF was 23% when last measured in February. He is also spaced out a lot of the time and we too don't know if it is the medication or the heart condition. He is waiting for a by-pass so we have thought we will soldier on as is and see what difference the operation makes. If the spaced outness continues after the operation then we thought we would take this up with the cardiac failure nurse. If you look through other posts on medication you will find a wealth of experience.

[Gandyk53 in reply to cotonh]

Thank you so much for responding quickly. I’m lucky enough not to need any surgery (yet) so I’m told,

Like many others I’ve googled (mainly NHS resources) loadsa times and coming to the conclusion that there’s a general “unknown” around drugs vs condition?

Hope your husband gets his bypass soon 🤞

And thanks again for replying - still trying to get my head around “stuff” 👍

Once your husband gets his bypass then I’d definitely recommend cardiac rehab classes - they are great when the time is right 🤞

[Desktop54]

My husband was the same. After discussing it with his doctor he split his Bisoprolol and takes half in the morning and half in the evening. Its much better now. So maybe have a chat with your doctor.

[Murderfan58]

My spacing out is due to my neurological condition not my heart problem. I noticed you are on Amlodipine . As soon as I attended AF clinic nurses took me straight off those because of my swollen ankles and lower legs . And said she wished GPs wouldn't prescribe them . Within a few weeks my ankles and legs back to normal and could wear ankle boots. I have been on Ramipril for decades and never had any problems with them .

[Nellier]

I felt very spaced out and so fatigued I couldn't function past midday.Cardiologist took me off Amlodipine 5 days ago and I'm feeling much better.

Hope this helps.

[fishonabike]

an EF of 20% means that your heart is pumping out much less than it's usual voulume of blood (the normal range is 50-70-%), so your body and brain are not getting oxygen and fuel deliveries as quickly as the used to - this could certaily make you feel "spaced out"nobody really knows the full side-effects of a cocktail of drugs like yours, they each affect individuals in different ways and it is hard to predict the effect of them combined

Bisoprolol certain left me feeling woozy, and i wasn't on the rest of them.

you could ask your pharmacist for suggestions on how to stagger taking the medication during the day to spread them out a bit, but it seems like a lot of drugs aimed at doing the same thing in slightly different ways - only three are not cardiovascular medications

[roy29]

I tok 150 mg coq10 three times a a day for three months. My EF ejection fraction went from 49 % to 63 %. Hope this helps.

[theonethatgotaway1 in reply to roy29]

is this okay to take with heart failure meds?

[Skertchly]

yes I’m on similar drugs plus diabetes drugs and insulin. I sleep a lot during the day. But no Fin as I have a pacemaker fitted. Best wishes. Dave in NZ