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Beta blocker/Bisoprolol withdrawal and breathlessness

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rachel1511
rachel1511

Hi. I am 43 yrs old and have been on beta blockers (initially metoprolol and then bisoprolol) for svt the last ten years. I had an ablation which went wrong and I ended up on higher doses of beta blocker after that (8yrs ago). They added in flecainide a year ago as they wanted to drop my bisoprolol down becacause I was still having daily runs and my BP was a bit on the low side. I have managed to drop the dose down to 1.25 bd over the last few months. Then 4 weeks ago, I started to have awful episodes of ?different kind of arrhythmia where i would feel very faint and shaky and it would last for a few minutes. Because they then wondered if I was having a ventricular arrhythmia, they stopped the flecainide and halved my bisprolol. However a week ago I had a couple of prolonged svt episodes so they stopped my beta blocker altogether and started me onto something new dronaderone (like amiodarone with less side effects). I was relieved at the thought of finally being off the beta blocker once and for all but all week I have steadily been feeling worse and worse. I know that there is likely to be a withdrawl period but it's been a week now and I can honestly say that I'm more breathless today than I've ever been. Even just sitting at rest. I can't talk or eat without stopping for breath all the time and I have never felt so unwell in all my life. I am aware that I can get marked postural tachycardia and if I so much as walk slowly to another room my rate climbs from 75 to 120 in seconds. Has anyone else experienced such marked side effects after stopping bisoprolol or another beta blocker? I would really appreciate any thoughts. R

 

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  • wen39
    wen39 rachel1511

    Posted

    Hi,

    I have been recently diagnosed with valve insufficiency, aorta sclerosis and insufficiency of the pump function.

    I have had years of nightly palpitations and extrasystoles and lately they occurred day and night.

    I went to the cardiologist and he prescribed Losartan, which didn't agree with me at all. After a few days he prescribed Bisoprolol 1,25 mg, which was the start of my living hell.

    My blood pressure is normal, so lowering it, made me a zombie. The palpitations and skips became extreme and it felt like my chest would explode. The pressure on heart and lungs was so bad, that I was desperate.

    A few days ago, after more than a week of despair, I stopped taking the meds and regained some energy. I still feel pressure in my lungs though and am still very weak.

    It feels like the fight between the bèta blockers and my body's adrenaline damaged my system.

    • ann82027
      ann82027 wen39

      Posted

      You have the same symptoms as myself, I have a leaking valve too.  I,m on bisoprolol 1.25 mg, I,m not sure whether it’s those that make me feel so weak and ill,  I have so much pressure in my chest and skipped beats. My blood pressure was also normal before, now it is low, pulse about 53 to 60. I,m frightened to stop this drug because my svt has stopped.  I,ve been taking it for9 months.
  • peter01729
    peter01729 rachel1511

    Posted

    I first posted on the thread seven months ago, it is now eight months since I stopped taking beta blockers. I would describe my symptoms as getting worst, my stomach seems to be clamping up now so I feel full after just a few bites and its after food my palpitations get worst, as much as every other beat is ectopic.

    I bought an Oximeter, blood oxygen is supposed to be between 95 and 100%, whilst mine occasionally reads as high as 98%, it is usually in the low 90s, sometimes as low as 87 when still awake, when asleep, I spend half the night at a dangerous 85%.

    Now I have found a site  http://www.dantest.com/dtr_ans_overview.htm and it talks about something called Autonomic Neuropathy. Now Beta Blockers disrupt the Autonomic Nervous System, every one of my symptoms is listed as being due to a disrupted ANS, so it seems to me to be a logical thing to check if a damaged Autonomic Nervous System is to blame, but nobody in the NHS will even test me for this, instead they try to fob me off with the usual "its anxiety" excuse.

    Now the above site, in the last chapter, says Autonomic Neuropathy can be caused by medication such as beta blockers.

    A disrupted ANS can account for the breathlessness as it monitors blood oxygen levels and causes your body to take in more oxygen automatically to compensate, if it is working that is!

    It controls the smooth muscles of the bronchi and their constriction which would also account for asthma symptoms and my eight month old cough.

    I started a thread here on an AS board you can read here :- https://patient.info/forums/discuss/can-beta-blockers-cause-autonomic-dysfunction--625611?page=0&utm_source=forum&utm_campaign=comment-notification&utm_medium=email#2963760

    Click the picture below to see one of my nightime oxygen recordings, the red line at 88% is considered a 15 minute medical emergency that requires oxygen therapy.

     

    • victor99184
      victor99184 peter01729

      Posted

      Man that is scary, what dosage and beta blocker are you on? I'm on bisoprolol 2.5 and I'm trying aftee the new to reduce it by half in a couple months. I've tried reducing before but it only made my cortisol spike at night really high and gave insane panic attacks. Also I have a compeltly fine heart and was put on beta blockers for an episode of a fast heart rate after I had when I smoked marijuana. Been on this s****y drug for 10+ years for reallly no reason but that one.

    • peter01729
      peter01729

      Posted

      Happy to report that after 7 months of trying, today I  finally got somebody in the NHS to seriously consider that Beta Blockers might well have upset my Autonomic Nervous System, and so I am to be referred to the ANS specialist in London.
    • denys1975
      denys1975 peter01729

      Posted

      Please, keep us posted as far as what kind of treatment ANS specialist will recommend. It seems like beta blockers affect everybody's nervous system to a certain extent. The question is whether the damage is repairable or not and  if it is  then how  do  you correct it and bring back to normal, if possible....

    • peter01729
      peter01729 victor99184

      Posted

      I was only on Bisoprolol for about 10 weeks, initially 2.5 but that made me feel so bad that I cut the tablets in half, this was enough to keep my Ventricular Tachycardia under control, but even on that tiny does, they found me at work in a state of near collapse, the nurse couldnt feel my pulse, even after oxygen, which brought me round, my pulse was still only 42bpm.

      The Hospital stated I was allergic to beta blockers. I havnt been on them since March, but the symptoms I got from the day I fist took them, still remain.

  • phil1234a
    phil1234a rachel1511

    Posted

    Has anyone had withdrawal from Timolol (ganfort eye drops) . I stop taking these for glaucoma and after a few weeks I started to get jittery and have  palpitations. The anxiety went from bad to worse and I got sensitive to light,agitated ,sweating,weak legs panic attacks  and a complete detached feeling. 3 months on and the symptoms have lessened  but I wake up with a gloom feeling and weak and have large times of anxiety.

    I wonder if anyone has these feeling on none oral beta blockers I have had hellish 10 weeks and finding this page has been a great help. I suffer from OCD and my family seems to doubt any of this is down to the drops.

    But I remember after I started taking the drops I lost almost all worries and now it as all the worry of a year has come back. Any help would be very much appreciated.

    thank you.

    • denys1975
      denys1975 phil1234a

      Posted

      Beta blockers block adrenaline receptors which lessen the affect of adrenaline on your body. However, your body is trying to compensate for the receptors that have been blocked by creating new ones. So imagine, while you are taking the blockers you are building a "dam" and then  when you stopped taking them you "let the water loose". So now you have a wave of adrenaline that reaches the old receptors plus the newly created ones. That accounts for the overall " jerky" reaction of your body to all of the irritants : light, noise, emotional conversations etc. That's why you feel agitation, panic, doom thoughts. That is YOUR sympathetic nervous system ( that has been suppressed ) is trying to reset.  There is no tablet in the world that can help with that. Time, plenty of rest, relaxation techniques. Also, drink plenty of water, that  should help your body get rid of all the extra stuff that's now getting into your blood. Remember, your body will TELL you when you need to rest. Just listen to it.

    • Lolasmom
      Lolasmom denys1975

      Posted

      That is a wonderful answer.  I went through hell with withdrawal from Biso.  I would rather have SVT than deal with how I felt being on it, and then stopping cold turkey.  These doctors that tell you to just stop need to go back to school.
  • phil1234a
    phil1234a rachel1511

    Posted

    Thanks for the help went to GP today and she has given me antidepressant I hope this will take the edge off.

    She was very good but seemed to think it was only a low dose and should be gone from my system by now.

    • victor99184
      victor99184 phil1234a

      Posted

      Have you tried ashwaghanda or holy basil? Ashwaghanda has done wonders for me right now while I'm weaning, usually I would feel super anxious just with taking a tiny bit off my pill but with ashwaghanda I was able to cut it completely in half with no side effects whatsoever, it's a natural root and a adoptogenic, relieves my anxiety by a ton . Check it out when you get a chance

    • phil1234a
      phil1234a victor99184

      Posted

      Thanks for the advice I'll stick with the antidepressant for now I.biggrin

    • Aj1986
      Aj1986 victor99184

      Posted

      Hi victor, I tried holy basil it helped a little and I bought Ashwagandha but I’m nervous to take it as there side effects like increased heart rate. How was your experience with it 
  • Aj1986
    Aj1986 rachel1511

    Posted

    Hi Rachel, I know it’s been two years but any updates on your situation with beta blocker withdrawal ?
    • bob52204
      bob52204 Aj1986

      Posted

      I am 18 Months off Beta Blockers.

      Now it is quite similar as in the days before Beta Blockers, except the anxiety part.

      I would say that I am 90% normal in that part.

      But still, even a year and a half later, I am scared too easily about some things, which I never experienced before Beta Blocker's withdrawal.

       

    • Aj1986
      Aj1986 bob52204

      Posted

      Hi bob thanks for the reply.

      i tried reaching you in a different post.

      i took Bisoprolol for roughly a month before starting to wean off.

      its been hell reducing from 1.25 mg to 0.65 mg but I made it through night awakenings of rapid heart rate and extreme extreme extreme anxiety.

      right now I’m skipping days on a dose of roughly 0.10, when can I stop completely ? I feel way better than I did a couple of weeks ago, I do feel anxious and my heart rate is higher than before beta blockers.

      fyi, I took Bisoprolol because of Tachycardia episode after a very stressful

      sitauation.

    • Lolasmom
      Lolasmom Aj1986

      Posted

      I also was on bisoprolol for SVT. (AT,) I took it for about 4 months.  When I went for my first attempt of an ablation,  My EP specialist said to just stop the biso 5 days before procedure.  I asked him if it was okay to just stop like that. He said....no problem.   Well it was a big problem.   I went through terrible withdrawals.      Anxiety so bad that I was put on Klonopin and Trazodone.   I just did not made the connection in the beginning that it was biso withdrawals     Then I had to wean off that crap.   Worst time of my life.   I weaned off for 10 months, and am now 6 months post, and still going through protracted withdrawal.    This really crewed me up.   If I had known that the anxiety was from the biso withdrawal, I would never have taken the other two.      I felt like crap when on the biso, and then had the withdrawals from coming off CT. I just wish these doctors would go back to school and learn what this stuff does to us    
    • Sedgly
      Sedgly bob52204

      Posted

      Not sure if you remember me Bob, I came off last year...after only a couple months..you walked me through it and gave me a taper plan.... 1st time I cut way down to crumbs.... but after a week had to go back on to slow the tachycardia... went back on 1.25 and used a grain scale to very slowly taper to 1/50th of a pill.... it took a couple months to be rid of the last of the symptoms...cardiologist said they see that in about a third of the people coming off...

      Thanks again Bob

      Sedge

    • victor99184
      victor99184 Lolasmom

      Posted

      You really need to get an ashwaghanda, a natural herb which helps the body adapt to stresses, it helped me out so much with withdrawals I cannot even begin to explain how much. Really check it out if you can I was on the same boat and literally had no withdrawals from it being on ashwaghanda.
    • Lolasmom
      Lolasmom Sedgly

      Posted

      You are lucky that your cardiologist actually admitted that.  My family doctor, my cardiologist, and my EP specialist will not admit that there are any problems coming off biso.  They say it is just fine to stop.    Geez.........I know better now
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