Starting my weaning off journey with Bisoprolol

Thanks. The very best wishes to you, and I agree that it is not easy and not always helped, or understood, by those responsible who prescribed the medication we need.

Hopefully Victor99184 will reply to you but I have gone back to using my full dose Bisoporol.

I am 2 weeks post surgery (FESS) and still recovering from my nose and sinuses being operated on. What with that and the really bad side effects when trying to reduce them, very similar to yours, I have decided to delay trying to come off bisoprolol.

I do know that I'm now dealing with the side effects of these beta blockers again, and they are not good, but on balance might just be better than trying to come off them whilst dealing with other issues. I can only manage so much at once.

What had surprised me is just how strong the side effects can be when trying to reduce them.

At least I am now aware of that and next time I'll need to consider carefully how this could be done to minimise those issues.

What I do know is that if I'm successful in coming off these tablets I'll definitely need something to help with BP and perhaps the physical effects of anxiety that beta blockers can help with. Could that be just a different set of side effects.?

Best of wishes to you and your journey with bisoprolol.

I was on biso for tachycardia for about 4 months.   When I went for my first ablation attempt, my cardiologist told me to just stop them 5 days prior. I asled if that was okay.  He said it is just fine

Well, it was not fine.   I went through so many withdrawals.   |But \i did not know it was withdrawals at the time.  I thought it was anxiety. 

So I went on trazodone and a benzo.     Then had the struggle of withdrawaling from that crap

If I had known it was biso withdrawl, I would have never started the trazodone and benzo.  These took me 10 months to withdrawal, and right now, I am now 10 months off, and still going through protracted withdrawal.

Worst thing I have ever gone through...........

I'm officially completely off them for about a month so far. And yes I had the exact same symptoms when coming off them as well (panic at nights were the worst possible thing ever, I had this every single night for 3 months!!!!) I'm convinced I lost my gf because of the pills and panic attacks. So I one day just started to Wean off 1mg every week for almost a 8 months. I then finally just decided to Stop taking them at 0.05mg(using milligram mode on the scale I bought) btw I was taking 0.05mg for probably 2 months steady before just coming off them completely. I Just told myself I'm not going to take these for one day see what happens,

first day so far so good decided on not taking them again( yikes), second day I was great, felt amazing had alot of energy, I said let's try it again, 3rd day really good, super excited realizing that I was just about in the clear(out of my system pretty much). So I just kept going!! And It's been a month so far and wow, I feel great!!

Things are so different it's kind of unreal. I feel so good, I have tons and tons of energy and I'm not depressed anymore. When I was on bisoprolol i didnt realize how this pill affected me mentally until I got off of them, I'm actually alot happier then I can remember, my anxiety disappeared after a couple days, its just amazing. I look forward to the future now, Before I dreaded thinking about the days ahead, hated rainy days or when it was just dreary out, now it's the complete opposite.

I'll say though I would not have been able to get off these if it wasnt for the ashwaghanda pills I was taking while weaning off, it just made me adapt to stresses alot better and alot less worry so it made the weaning process sooo much easier. It's been a rough 14 years on that pill but I'm just happy I'm finally off of them. Woohooooo

Just keep going if you really want to get off. Try a slower wean if possible. Make sure you have a milligram scale (0.000). Eat healthy, less caffeine. Excersise a bit. Adaptogen herbs help with weaning. Goodluck and just let me know if you have anymore questions!!

victor thanks its great to hear someone as yourself, who was on so long can do it gives me hope like you i too am so depressed and have decided to come off after 10 weeks use

would it still be sensible to do the 1mg ive got all the way down (original over course of time was on 2.5,5 10,5, 7.5,5 ,2.5 ,1.25 ) and now for a week been on half a 1.25 cutting with nail clippers

i am so depressed ive lost a stone in weight can bearly make it round shops without sounding like im on 40 a day

i cant take diazapam low tolerance to it

the palpations make me dizzy and panic.

should maybe point out i was just under 9 stone and a half now only 8 stone 5lbs last week lost all muscule power due to this drug

Yes as long as it weighs what you need it to weigh you cam take it crushed with yogurt.

Hi can you recommend a scale? Liked online but have no clue as need 125mg halved so would need to measure 62.5 microgranmes? X

I used something just like this for my scale

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20g-X-0-001-Precision-Mini-Pocket-Digital-Jewellery-Milligram-Scale-Black/392076867108?hash=item5b499a3624:g:8T8AAOSwC-JbPFth

Microgram scales are in the hundreds to thousands but if your dedicated to getting off them it wouldn't be a bad thing to look into.

The actual weight of the pill is way different then what its says your prescribed. For example on the prescription bottle it says I need to take 2.5mg but when placed on the scale it's like 75mg weighed or something along those lines, so whatever your taking, weigh it then proceed from that weight to wean.

Also the milligram scale I posted says its goes down to 0.001, that's not true they all go to 0.005( the cheaper models), if you want a scale that goes lower your gonna have to go into like I said hundreds of dollars. But this is pretty much the scale I used to get off!! Let me know if have any more questions.

Hi

I was put on Bisoprolol last December 31st after waking up with heart rate of 148bpm

Had a few previous episodes of 134 but weaning off now. This forum has been a lifesaver as my Cardiologist had just said to come off them totally. I did that but heart rate went up to 126 so I'm weaning off them gradually. Am current on half a tab a day x

I initially saw a cardiologist due to a very similar reason - elevated heart rate. The ectopic beats for me were just a bonus, I guess..!

It can be very scary to wake up with a raised heart rate, even more so for me in the middle of the night.

As I have mentioned before I'm not sure why it is suggested to just stop taking the dose without any weaning off, perhaps some people can mange to do that....?

You are fortunate if you do not have BP issues, as I do. Even with a very good diet and reasonable amounts of exercise my BP is not where it should be without some form of medical help. 

Anxiety does not help with my BP, as well as white coat syndrome.

The very best wishes to you and I do hope that you are able to come off completely from this tablet and also no longer experience an elevated heart rate.

 

 

I just took one a day for ashwaghanda for about 5 months straight, they do take around 2 weeks to start feeling any difference, they have to build in your system. Also noting after going lower and Lower I learned that taking the pill later during the day helped with the panic issues at night, when we panic it's your body response asking for the pill. Example when I was weighing them at 0.15mg I was taking the pill at around 12pm afternoon. When i got to 0.10mg I started taking it later around 1pm and so on. That's critical to getting off them and not experiencing the panic attacks at night because your body registers them being in your system for a longer period of time thus not have panic later at night.

As usual that is an excellent and most informative post, many thanks for that.

The ashwaghanda capsules arrive today and I do look forward to starting those.

To measure such small, but needed, doses must be most difficult.

Hello Vimes. I am just wondering how you are doing now? Your situation seems very similar to mine. I was put on 5.0 mg Bisoprolol to start because I had a couple of episodes at night where my heart rate went up to about 128 or higher and stayed there for about an hour or so and then came down. After those episodes my heartrate was usually around 90-100 bpm during the day ( higher if I did too much). I had the usual tests done on my heart and everything checked out okay. I felt horrible on the drug and ended up in the hospital. The internest doctor on duty thought it was too high a dose to start at so I was dropped to 2.5 mg but I still felt horrible ( all the usual things- lack of energy, trouble swallowing, acid reflux, couldn't exercise, slow heart rate - in the low 50's, I also developed PALPATIONS - I NEVER had these prior to taking the Bisoprlol). So I saw a new cardiologist and he said that the drug was only prescribed to slow my heart rate and to help with the symptoms the fast heart rate was giving me ( shortness of breath, panic, dizziness). So he said if the Bisoprolol made me feel worse than before - to just stop taking it.........WOW that did not work at all. So I came across this forum and decided to take things into my own hands and SLOWLY cut back by cutting the pill. It has been 8 months now and I'm down to approx. 0.08mg / day. I have also about a month ago started taking magnesium and ashwaganda to help with the panic I feel worse at night - seems to be helping as I am sleeping better. I'm not sure if the Mg is doing anything. It was suggested by my GP that I may have had a spell of paroxysmal A-fib that caused the initial fast heart rate. ( could have been a virus that affected my heart?). Seemed logical to me. I just wished I had known how hard it was going to be to get off this drug. I was feeling better on a very small dose ( around 1.25 mg) and I may have stayed at that dose if it wasnt for the daily palpatations and weird flipflopping that my heart would do. It drove me crazy- I NEVER had that at all before taking the beta blocker. Sorry for rambling on about myself. I just want my old self back.

Hi Brenda

I got your PM and as it is the same as what you have written here I'll reply within the group....

For me, in respects of bisoprolol, it hasn't been good.

I have had other health issues to deal with, just four weeks post op after my second sinus surgery. Still need specialist intervention there.

Somethings that I've had to come to terms with in my journey when trying to reduce my dependancy and need for this drug.

The first is that I do need some form of medication to help with BP. This drug is doing that but would not be the first drug of choice in doing so and probably there are others that would do it without the side effects felt whilst using this one.

The next is that my problems with anxiety, long history, makes any attempt to come off this much more difficult, understatement there.

The next is a feeling of lack of support or belief from doctors when trying to explain how I feel and the symptoms that are associated with taking this drug.

So I do know that it is an issue for me taking these tablets and, it seems, a bigger issue in being able to come off them.

I really do wish that I had never started taking these tablets in the first place.

Understanding what you have written 5mg does seem a rather large dose to be given for what you had as symptoms..?

Reading on you then seemed to have gone to 2.5mg and then started to feel better at 1.25mg.

You also mention that you are now at 0.08mg by cutting the pill.

You do give the impression that you are doing a great job with reducing your medication. Well done for that.

Is it the residual side effects you still experience that you are most concerned with..?

Hello Vimes,

Thank you for such a quick response. Im sorry to hear about your continued health problems. Hopefully this will be the last of surgeries for you. I cant imagine dealing with all of that as well as the beta blocker. I too have alot of anxiety and also white collar anxiety. Yes, it seems that I would be able to tolerate a lower dose of bisoprolol to control my fast heartrate (I dont know if it would still be fast now if it was just a one time virus?) if it was not for the nasty heart palpatations that I developed as a result of the drug. I have read somewhere that everyone gets them its just that some people feel them more than others. I also read that when the heart slows that they are more noticable as well. This would explain why I started feeling them when on the bisoprolol. I'm just hoping that my GP was right that it was just a one time thing ( paroxysmal Afib) and when I can finally, hopefully be rid of the drug entirely I can get back to feeling somewhat normal again. I dont know.......maybe I will have stay on them the rest of my life and just learn to deal with the palps. I dont get them that often but at least once a day (usually at night). I will be living proof that if these palps dont go away eventually while being off the beta blocker that they truely have damaged my autonomic nervous system for good. I plan on trying Victor 99184's advice and try and take the dose later and later during the day. I am wondering when your ectopics started? Did you have them before taking the bisoprolol? Could the ectopics just be a part of the anxiety thing?

Thanks for listening!!!!

Hi Brenda

You're welcome for the reply.

When you have a lot of things going on in your life, physically and mentally, I find that I only have the capacity to deal with so much at once without being overwhelmed. Even tho I knew that I would like to address the 3.75mg of this drug that I was taking daily other things became more of a priority. Thanks for your thoughts.

I became aware of experiencing ectopic beats before I started bisoprolol. I remember being very afraid and anxious about them which in turn made them worse. With having elevated levels of anxiety, and white coat syndrome like you, I found that I am typical of a person who tunes in to their body and the ectopic beats sort of fit with that. Others I know have to deal with them and are able to do so largely in the background of their awareness.

When I saw a cardiologist he didn't ignore them but he very much downplayed their importance.

Since being on bisoprolol they haven't got worse, if anything they have reduced over time. I'm not positive if that is due to the drug, the CBT / Mindfulness courses that I have done or perhaps because I have now sort of accepted that I'm not about to die when I experience them they are no longer focused on with as much sense of importance. Maybe a combination of all of those things might have helped...!

My cardiologist suggested to me to take the drug in the evening as that was when I woke up in the night to an elevated pulse. I have since changed that to each morning.

I have recently dropped the 3.75mg to 2.5mg. I still have a couple of boxes of those left over to use. If those go well over the next two months or so I'll see the doctor and explain what I have done and she will prescribe the lower dose.

I'll monitor my BP as well as my heart rate, I record those to my phone.

I'll not bother checking for a week or so as I'm taking 8 steroids a day for a week, placed on then after seeing my ENT surgeon yesterday., also a steroid nasal spray. They can affect the BP I believe.

Do you have any BP issues and what is your heart rate whilst taking this drug.?

What is your daily dosage at present.?

Is it the ectopic beats which are your primary concern or do you have any other issues with this drug.?

Take care

Hello Vimes......when I initially had the rapid heart rate( that was in January 2018),my BP was also around 140/90, however being a 57 year old, my GP didnt think it was necessary yet to start on any meds for it. (prior to this event my BP was always good). When I started on the bisoprolol 2.5 mg to lower my heartrate, my BP returned to 120/80. I havent taken my BP since I started with the reduction of the drug. I am now down to 0.08mg- 0.1mg ( I havent been weighing the pieces so I am just guessing. I have taken 6 months to get from 2.5mg to what I am at now. I try not to take my pulse too much either. I have actually gotten quite good at guessing it by feeling my pulse in my neck. I still get the odd time where it will go up into the 90's it seems for no reason. Sometimes if I eat a big meal at night it will. I dont have any other side effects from the drug right now. My biggest concern is the flip flopping and the pvc's I get now ( which started about 3 months into taking the drug). Some days I dont feel hardly anything and then others I do. They mostly are felt at night after dinner when I am at rest. It just seems like too much of a coincidence that they started after I started the bisoprolol. Of course none of the doctors agree with me.  This is why I am determined to get off these eventually, SLOWLY, to see if I still get them.

Hi Brenda

After mentioning that I had these ectopic beats before I started bisoprolol is correct. But now I remember being put on Propranolol, another type of beta blocker, for the elevated heart rate before I saw the cardiologist. That was done by my doctor.

It was then that these types of beats were first noticed.

They continued after the cardiologist changed the medication to bisoprolol.

I am more aware of them at night, not sure if that is because I'm pottering around and being distracted during the day or if they are more typical when at rest and noticeable then.

The doctor and cardiologist were dismissive about either of the medications being the cause.

It give me the opinion that once I had been diagnosed with having anxiety then that became their answer for them. I'm not sure about that, but I am where I am.

I remember when I last tried to reduce the dosage of this drug my heart rate would become quite rapid at doing the least physical thing. Not always, but enough to be of concern. The ectopic beats seemed more frequent, or it might have been because I was more tuning in and being aware of them.

These tablets are so small and do not break precisely. I had got a pill cutter but no weighing scales as I was dubious off their accuracy and I had given up on coming off them the first time due to those other issues I mentioned. If I am able to do so this time with more success I might have to reconsider that.

From 2.5 to where you are now how have these heart beats been in terms of being worse or the same for you..?

Hi Vimes

It sounds to me like your ectopic beats could have started from a beta blocker as well? It makes so much sense to me that because it lowers your heart rate, that is why we can feel them more. Also, we are both more aware of them at night when we are resting or not doing too much......our heart rate is slower then too. I cannot explain why you feel them more while trying to come off the drug......perhaps you were trying to reduce too quickly? I havent had an increase in numbers of ectopics since reducing the bisoprolol....they had gotten better, but in the last couple of weeks they started again. They started about two weeks after starting taking the Ashwaganda......so I have stopped taking it for a couple days now to see if it makes a difference. The ashwaganda really helped me sleep good at night and really relaxed me though (I took it before my dinner at night), which I really needed as my anxiety levels went up around that time. I realize that you need to take some sort of med to help with your BP but maybe you can work your way down to a lesser amount that will alleviate the ectopics (when your feeling better and there are no more surgeries in your future). Perhaps you could be put on a different drug(not a beta blocker) to help with the high BP? I also still have times where my heart rate will go up, but I am blaming it on the withdrawal that some people say they have also experienced? Someone commented that when we are on a beta blocker our body produces more beta receptors and when you reduce the drug, if you have any kind of adreneline surge or anxiety you really feel it and your heart rate will spike until your body adjusts to the new dose. I dont know if that is accurate or not, but seems plausible to me. That is why I am taking my time coming off of them. I plan on being on this dose for awhile. If my heart rate goes backup I will have to go back on the Bisoprolol but I will take the lowest amount possible to avoid any side effects.

Take care.

I think that I now have a better recollection of using the Propanolol beta blocker prior to the bisoprolol then I am now more certain of an association with the ectopic beats and the use of beta blockers.

I do agree that I probably did try and come of bisoprolol too quickly, underestimating its potential effects whilst reducing it. Even though I'm on day 4 now of going from 3.75mg to 2.5mg I know that my body needs time to properly adjust to those levels and I need to avoid thinking that I can reduce it lower without any implications.

You make a good point about those adrenaline types of surges, which will include bouts of anxiety, those are going to spike further my heart rate for the reasons you mention. It is learning to deal with those and also minimise them by slowly tapering.

Bisoprolol is not the first drug of choice for BP control. If I do need to keep on this drug I wish to take the absolute minimum possible. If that needs to be supplemented with a BP control drug then so be it.

Doing this you realise that this journey is very much made up by you the patient and not under medical control or supervision, as much of what we can experience is often not taken credibly.

Take care also.