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bisoporol and insomnia

Posted , 4 users are following.

ann82027
ann82027

I,ve been taking bisoprolol for 4 weeks now after some difficulties starting  it, it made me feel terrible but it could have been the trauma and drugs they gave me in hospital when i was admitted.  I,ve had svt for many years but this attack had me admitted because my heart would not settle back to a normal beat, it was 197.  Does anybody experience sleep problems, i don,t seem to sleep deeply and wake up after 6 hours, i,ve never been a good sleeper but was sleeping ok before this even with the missed beats and thumping, i just got used to them.  It does  make a change having a silent heart i must admit. Waiting to see a heart specialist in 3 weeks.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • josephine32
    josephine32 ann82027

    Posted

    The reactions to Bisoprolol are so wide and varied, it is hard to say whether insomnia is a side effect for some and it will be interesting to see if any other members can confirm this.  My hat off to you if you can sleep through missed beats and thumps though, it still wakes me up whenever it happens. Since I was started on this drug at the same time as the heart problems began in earnest, sleep did then become very patchy, and has been ever since.  Although I now no longer take it, my sleep remains more or less the same now and I have learned to live with it.  Like you, I awake in the early hours, and maybe or maybe not, I will get a couple more hours but there is always a long gap.  Unfortunately it could be that the Bisoprolol started it, or maybe anxiety, but once a sleep pattern is disturbed, it is hard to re-establish.  I put the radio on and listen to channel 4 - it's enough to make most sleep!  It is good you will be seeing your specialist soon and you could mention your sleep difficulties since starting Bisoprolol.

    • ann82027
      ann82027 josephine32

      Posted

      40 years of these horrible things, i don,t really sleep properly through them, they rouse me and i can hear my heartbeat in my head.   The attacks of svt definitely wake me up, i,m staggering around for a while frightened to death, last year i  went to A and E 2 o clock in the morning, they sat me on the edge of a bed and checked it until it gradually went down, it was 150 when i left the house.  I listen to smooth on the radio and scroll through my facebook  when i wake so early.
  • thomas37533
    thomas37533 ann82027

    Posted

    Hi this is a dreadful drug to be on as I just had no life, weak - always tired falling asleep. I had to stop taking it.  
    • josephine32
      josephine32 thomas37533

      Posted

      Yes, although we are talking about the possible side effect of sleep disturbance, it was down to that crushing fatigue and lack of interest in life which first and foremost compelled me to stop taking it.  There are alternative drugs to try if there is no other option.  Again, some have problems with stopping and some don't - if nothing else, Bisoprolol is unpredictable....

    • ann82027
      ann82027 thomas37533

      Posted

      They put me on the low dose, i take it before i go to bed.     I cheat by taking a bit off the end of the tablet, it seems to work and has given me a better quality of life because i can,t feel the horrible thumps like i used to, i,d go to town and after a short while i,d head back home  because they made me feel weak and ill.     I want quality of life not quantity, i,d hate to be sitting in the chair feeling sorry for myself.
    • josephine32
      josephine32 ann82027

      Posted

      I used to love shopping and could spend hours browsing about, but how well I remember just sitting on a bench, feeling too weak and tired to make it down to where I wanted to go - maybe some  200 yards, so how I sympathise with you.  I also have that pulsatile tinnitus and can hear my heartbeat and feel the fear when it goes all over the place.  My best advice to you is to speak with your GP to try an alternative which may not give you these side effects.  I do now have a pacemaker but it doesn't cure the problem, just lessen the symptoms and will not slow down a racing beat.  At these times I found Flecainide one or two doses within a couple of hours restores the rhythm and rate (so far).  I carry Flecainide as an as and when drug.  However, if I do need a beta blocker again, you can bet it won't be Bisoprolol!

    • ann82027
      ann82027 josephine32

      Posted

      I don,t know which is the lesser of the 2 evils, i don,t like being like this, its got worse as i,ve got older.  When i first took bisoprolol i felt terrible i went to my Gp, she was quite brusque with me and told me to continue taking it, when you,re feeling vulnerable you should be treated with respect.I think i spoke too you a few weeks ago when i posted about starting bisoprolol, i also have tinnitus, constand whistling in my ear.  I got the usual aches and pains of being 69, just have to get on with it, not easy some  days.

       

  • alibalibea
    alibalibea ann82027

    Posted

    I was at the dr today and have to reduce or come off Bisoprolol altogether due to intermittent slow heart rate.   Around 2 weeks ago I started to take magnesium tablets which have speeded it in a bit but also has helped my sleep pattern from being up 5 times during the night I am up 2 or 3 times and sleeping for 3 or 4 hours at a time.   
    • ann82027
      ann82027 alibalibea

      Posted

      i go to bed at 10 o clock, read a while then go to sleep, i wake up many times but at 4 45 i am wide awake and cannot go back to sleep.  My heart rate was 50 when i went on bisoprolol 4 weeks ago, i,m on a low dose,  i seem to have adjusted to it but its early days yet  Lack of sleep is also exhausting. It is good that we are all in the same boat and support each other. Thankyou for all your replies everybody.

       

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