I'm 16 and taking bisoprolol
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hi, I'm 16 years old and just wondering whether it is normal to be taking a beta blocker at such a young age?? I originally took atenolol, but it didn't work so I'm now on bisoprolol and have been for about 5 - 6 months. Before taking them, my resting heart rate was 90 bpm and would regularly go over 110 just by getting and moving, even if it was really gentle! At one point, it reached 151 bpm and I was doing nothing. No exercise, no moving. I had even been sitting for a long while. I presume this isn't normal, but any ideas?! It really worries me... As bisoprolol also lowers blood pressure, it has lowered mine too low, but, there's nothing the drs want to do any more. Any suggestions??
0 likes, 5 replies
alibalibea jemma83362
Posted
hi sorry to hear that you are having to take meds at such a young age.When I was 8 then again age 14 I was given meds for anxiety. I was able to come off them. I have suffered anxiety on and off all my life but as an adult its been much easier to manage than when I was young. I don't know the reasons why you are on beta blockers, is it because of a physical problem? I hope you are able to discuss your concerns with an adult you can trust.keep us posted how you get on.
jemma83362 alibalibea
Posted
Hi, I take mess for anxiety too. I take the beta blocker because my anxiety makes my heart go too fast. I dont really trust anyone because I have trust issues, but I would trust my mum, but any medical concerns I have just end up in an argument. Yeah, of course I'll keep you posted :-)
bob52204 jemma83362
Posted
You need meds because of your too high heart rate.
Beta blockers will both lower heart rate and blood pressure.
That could be a problem, if your blood pressure is fine, since it will go too low.
Maybe you could ask your doc to try different medicines, maybe Calcium channel blockers.
Also, there is a drug called Ivabradine whis is being used off-label in the treatment of inappropriate sinus tachycardia.
Ivabradine is a newer drug, and works only for lowering heart rate and it doesn't affect blood pressure.
But, on the other hand, since it is a newer drug, there is less feedback about long term side effects after taking it for 10-20 years.
You should ask your doc how to raise your blood pressure.
You can drink a lot of water and ask is it ok to eat more salt.
About Beta blockers, maybe you should ask for Nebivolol.
It is the newest Beta blocker. From my experience, it doesn't affect blood pressure as much as Bisoprolol.
My Blood pressure was around 120-125 before Beta blockers, and I had to take Beta Blockers due to some fast rhytms (which happened from time to time).
1,25Mg of Bisoprolol lowered my resting heart rate to from 70-75 to 55-60, and my Blood pressure dropped from 120 to 95 (on some days 88-90).
On Nebivolol, my BP was around 105-110 (the same dose).
So, maybe you should try Nebivolol. Maybe it will be good enough both for your elevated heart rate, and a better fit for your blood pressure.
But then, each person is unique and you can experience lots of side effects on each drug.
On Bisoprolol I had too low blood pressure, feeling like zombie and breathing problems.
On Nebivolol, I wasn't too tired, but I had dizziness.
So, maybe you should try some other drugs to see which one is both lowering your heart rate and doesn't produce horrible side effects.
jemma83362 bob52204
Posted
yeah, I understand I need to take them for my sinus tachycardia. I managed to talk to my dr a couple of days ago but he said that it might be 'my normal', which could be someone else's 'too low'. He then said that on that basis, and the principal I haven't under as much stress as I was when I was on atenolol, he refuses to increase dose/change betablocker at this moment. But it will be tweaked if my heart rate isn't normal when I start college, although it just means I need to deal with a fast heart for 3-4 weeks. It's quite difficult to find a medicine that hasn't got many side effects, isn't it? Yeah, I find that bisoprolol makes me dizzy, as well as lowering my b.p. But the dr said he wouldn't do anything for the b.p. because I'm on bisoprolol. That means my mum is now not listening to what I say about how I feel, so she also won't let me go see another dr. But I will try to talk to her in a couple of weeks time if everything still isn't right.
bob52204 jemma83362
Posted
Try to talk to some other doc and get a 2nd opinion.
Also, ask both your doc and another doc: since Atenolol and Bisoprolol are both Beta blockers and they had different effects on you, why shouldn't you try Nebivolol (the newest Beta blocker)?
Also, please remember one thing: maybe you have read some other topics here about how dangerous a withdrawal from Beta Blockers can be.
And now, since you already have a very fast heart rate, in your case it would be probably even more dangerous and you would have too fast HR during a withdrawal.
So, you are in problems now because:
1. you need to take some drugs. And they gave you Beta blockers
2. if they won't suit you, it is very dangerous to quit them in your case
You can't live without them. When you take them, they are causing a lot of side effects. But if you try to quit them, it could be deadly.
So, now when I am thinking about your case, I don't know how your body would react to Calcium blockers and Ivabradine (because of a Beta blocker's withdrawal if you switch to a different class of drugs).
So, at least you can try to switch between Beta blockers (Bisoprolol, Atenolol, Metoprolol, Nebivolol).
About Bisoprolol, a lot of tests have shown that it is the strongest Beta blocker both regarding lowering heart rate and blood pressure.
Probably this is why your doc don't want to change it.
But I hope that maybe Nebivolol will be strong enough for you in terms of keeping your Heart rate low, and not lowering your Blood pressure too much.
Try to ask 2 docs about Nebivolol (Bystolic).