Need to come off Bisoprolol quickly.
Posted , 9 users are following.
The NHS in the UK is a bit rubbish- My doctor did all sorts of blood tests and a 'quick' ecg one morning to tell me that my heart palpitations and my chest pain was 'all in your head' because my blood results, my heart reading and my blood pressure were 'fine'... but put me on Bisoprolol anyway just 'to give you peace of mind' he got me schedualed however for a 7day ECG the only problem is the NHS have given me the date of the start as the 19th of july. Because the other doctor thinks it 'could be something else but we dont know yet' There seems to be a communication conflict between doctors!
I'm 29, female and I do suffer with social anxiety and its only increased by my health (i had depression a few years ago) He told me to come off the biosoprolol 2.50 mg completly 3 or 4 days before my ecg or it'll mess it up. But I tried to do what the pharmacist told me and half the pill and then take that for a week and then take half of a half for another week and then stop completly and it made me feel awful again within a day of half a pill, i felt worse than when i went on it. (i've only been on it for two weeks at the full dose so far) Even the pharmacist was surprised he'd even put me on it just 'to get you to july' given that she said you can't just stop it instantly.
I was also told by the doc they give this pill to people who suffer stage fright so it's harmless, but that's not what i've heard from other people.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I cant reschedule that 7 day ecg the NHS wont let me. I'm scared I'll end up with a real heart attack if I stop this drug and my anxiety support (my mum) is currently on vacation in another country so I'm on my own.
0 likes, 19 replies
berry56906
Posted
I forgot to add (I can't figure out how to edit that post) The box says 2.5mg not 2.50
and the heart palpitations i went to see my doctor for were severe on a saturday night after drinking a bottle of coke- but then didn't really stop for three days, no one however seemed terribly concerned.
elaine1972 berry56906
Posted
hi, if ur on fb go heart palpatations/ectopic beat group of friends , lots of advice on their.
phoebewhite berry56906
Posted
Hi there,
How as your palpitations diagnosed in the first place? Was it in hospital? My heart problems were diagnosed in hospital I was hooked up to all kinds of machines, they kept me for 3 days trying to get things working as they should, I was put on 2.5mgs Bisoprolol (5 years ago)but that has just been reduced at my request to 1.25mg, Cola is a known trigger and anything with caffeine in, I haven't touch coffee for 5 years now, i also suffer with anxiety (and am agoraphobic) but that has never triggered an attack, yes my heart will beat faster when I am really anxious about something, but it always calms down again within a reasonable amount of time, IE.an hour say but no longer. As far as i am aware Bisoprolol stays in your system for a few days after coming off it so stopping it for 5 days shouldn't make too much difference, however talk to the pharmacist if you are worried, they often know more than docs anyway.
Good luck with your ECG
Phoebe
phoebewhite
Posted
Should read how was.
berry56906 phoebewhite
Posted
They wern't diagnosed so much as I had to find a word to describe to my GP what i was feeling because the hospital wont see you here unless you go to your GP first (unless its a heart attack, which the first lot felt like to me after that fizzy drink, like my heart was a rolling flutter feeling and a sharp sudden beat...which went on all night. Nosleep, and then in the days after my chest was tight and I could feel my heart beat so strong in my chest and that wouldn't go away, i felt so tired with it and so unwell...my GP said my blood tests and etc were fine and 'for your age you wont get these things but well check anyway' but he put me on Biso just 'so you dont worry anymore ok 😃' usual fob you off in 10 miniuts doctor, no one really knows what the problem is, which is why im worried about suddenly stopping these tablets if i do it wrong I dont want to die on mistake XD but that ECG I wish they'd given me it sooner and not a month later because if it was sooner i wouldent have really needed these pills, before they could actually find out what was wrong. (The ecg was to find out but if this biso isn't out of my system i guess its going to screw with all my ecg test thing.)
berry56906 elaine1972
Posted
Joined that thank you! Alot of them sound similar in experience to what I felt after that coke and the really bad saturday night x.X
phoebewhite berry56906
Posted
From what you say about the 'rolling flutter' then sharp sudden beat sounds to me like ectopic beats, I get these every day on and off and recently had a bout of it that went on for almost 48hrs , it was like morse code, it righted itself when I had a fit of sneezing.
I don't understand why the hospital won't re-schedule your ECG? that doesn't make sense, if you weren't well and had to cancel they would have to re-schedule.
Phoebe
momist berry56906
Posted
Hi there. I'm a two year sufferer of Atrial Fibrillation, which is a form of heart palpitations. I'm not a doctor, and can't give you any real help regarding what is going on with you. However, I can tell you to stop worrying that this will lead to a heart attack. There are thousands of people who are like me having severe bouts of 'palpitations' lasting from hours to several days, and many more who are permanently in AF, some of which don't even know it. It doesn't kill you, just makes you feel rubbish.
I am currently on 1.25mg of Bisoprolol twice a day, together with Apixaban an anti-coagulant to lower my risk of stroke. Two things about Bisoprolol: your body adjusts to it after several weeks, and they can give you nightmares or very vivid dreams. They are intended to prevent the very high rates of heart beat that can occur during palpitations, which can damage the heart if allowed to carry on for a very long term (years).
Yes, you are supposed to withdraw from Bisoprolol slowly, as you described. AF can be triggered in some people by alcohol, caffein, or a very cold drink. Avoid all three until you get sorted.
If AF is diagnosed, insist on being referred to an Electrophysiologist. They are a heart surgeon who specialises in the electrical systems that control the heart, most cardiologists are just plumbers who concentrate on the piping and blood flow.
Good luck! Chin up!
phoebewhite momist
Posted
I've been on Bisoprolol for just over 5 years for AF and my body still hasn't adjusted to it. :0(
heady1 phoebewhite
Posted
Been on it for 2 years + and still feel bad. Not the person I was before going on this . Still experiencing new side effects which Doc says is just anxiety. Never had anxiety cause this kind of effects before.
phoebewhite heady1
Posted
No I never felt like this before I went on this awful drug, some days I find it hard to put one foot in front of the other, I get very dizzy/nauseous with it and have put on a stone in weight which I can't shift no matter how hard I try, I hate it but it does control my Afib, I am only on 1.25mg now at my request, been on that for about 3 months now, symptoms aren't quite so bad, but still there and not down to anxiety.
heady1 phoebewhite
Posted
If I listed all the changes I have gone through it would take me an hour to list. I have anxiety, loss of appetite, dizziness, nausea, major sensitivity to heat and sun, poor circulation issues, no sex drive, fatigue, weakness etc.... and it goes on. I am going to see Cardiologist soon to discuss my options about getting off this and trying something else for BP and arrythmia.
Mardi berry56906
Posted
Firstly I am sorry to hear that you are going through this.
bisoprolol is not a drug to be taken lightly and I cant believe your doctors said its harmless and sometimes used for stage fright! Its nothing of the sort its a serious drug in most cases that works on heart function. Also it shouldn't be stopped abruptly.
i have been on 10mg for two years after a heart attack! its been a living hell
Mardi berry56906
Posted
Firstly I am sorry to hear that you are going through this.
bisoprolol is not a drug to be taken lightly and I cant believe your doctors said its harmless and sometimes used for stage fright! Its nothing of the sort its a serious drug in most cases that works on heart function. Also it shouldn't be stopped abruptly.
i have been on 10mg for two years after a heart attack! its been a living hell
berry56906 Mardi
Posted
Yeah! he said he prescribes it to a lot of people to help with anxiety issues too. Everything is so quick fix on the NHS they don't really like spending money on tests >: I'm worried I'll try to come off this now for the ECG on the 19th of july and just end up making my self far worse than before I went on the drug. Even my family arn't happy I was put on it.
He said mostly because 'your young and your blood pressure and heart rate test is good, I'm not concerned about prescribing these for you to take as I think this is all anxiety related and these will just reduce the anxiety.'
I've had anxiety for years and i know what an anxiety attack feels like and what i was suffering with was nothing like an anxiety attack...I had a ecoli bug last summer that the doctor diagnosed as a acid issue and gave me a PPI drug that messed up my digestive system so now I have this and I'm like...so stuck...But I still need to come off this drug for the 19th so I'm going to try and reduce by quaters of the pill over the next while and see how I end up. Its only been as I said, a couple of weeks since I was put on it..and the pharmacist did seem concerned I'd even been perscribed it and told to 'just stop taking it three days before your appointment'....
Mardi berry56906
Posted
It is very good to hear your tests are all clear! they did the same with me and put it down to anxiety. I feel those tablets caused me plenty of anxiety its awful gone are the days where my body relaxes