Starting my weaning off journey with Bisoprolol
Posted , 27 users are following.
hi guys, im 30 years old and have been on 2.5mg bisoprolol for 10+ years over 1 episode i had, really rapid heart rate after smoking some marijuana, i was bed ridden and terrified to get out of bed because my heart was beating so fast i would almost pass out. that last about a week until i got put on Bisoprolol.
i have been pretty good since then with this terrible drug bisoprolol and i recently have been approved to get off it(finaly) i also have no heart issues whatsoever i have been told by the cardiologist. Now the crazy part is that i dont understand how cardiologist do not have a clue how bad this drug affects people when they are coming off it, they litterally told me to just get off of it completely that i wouldnt need to wean..,.(holy crap)
i knew that wasnt going to happen being that i have tried weaning off this drug before with litterally no success! the effects i get from a tiny bit of cutting the pill by a 10th was horrible. For me it would raise my cortisol levels at night causing extreme panic.. like i thought i was for sure dead waking up at 3:30am !!!! This was litterally happening for months with no explanation and countless visits to the ER. After researching this drug and months later i finally figured the pill was the cause of high cortisol spikes at night/extreme panic attacks so i made sure my doses were exactly 2.5mg. Before i was just hoping to get the right cut by eye but of course that wasnt the case.
Does anyone have any suggestions on weaning off Bisoprolol? How is life after getting off the drug? anything i should worry about? I go to the gym 4 times a week and notice the cortisol spikes at night get worse if i try weaning and still hit the gym. Im hoping to get off this pill completely sometime in 2018, i will be starting the wean jan 1st of the new year so im excited and scared at the same time and really would like some guidance. Oh yea i take Holy basil for the high cortisol at night which really makes a difference, thought id throw that out there in case anyone was going through the same thing!
anything would help
thanks
0 likes, 98 replies
peter01729 victor99184
Posted
Seeing this thread has been recently commented on, so if I may report how I am now that it is a full two years since I last took a beta blocker.
I am still exactly the same, Bisoprolol has done some sort of permanent damage to my nervous system. I still feel as if I am drunk and have peripheral neuropathy, the only symptom that is better, is the low blood oxygen and feeling of breathlessness I got the day I started taking Bisoprolol, this pretty much resolved itself a full year after coming off.
I do wonder though if the brain fog and nerve damage are a result of my having such low oxygen levels for so long? You can see the red line that is the danger line of 88 percent, that for much of the night my oxygen level would be well below this! Oxygen levels are controlled by the autonomic nervous system, beta blockers disrupt the autonomic nervous system. image
Vimes peter01729
Posted
That is terrible news for you and I do hope that you are coping as well as you can. It is not just the physical side of things that we can struggle with. It changes so much of your life.
I can only imagine, like many of us here, that you wish that you had never been placed on that medication.
I remember being on Seroxat once for around two years, the side effects were not good. The doctor took me off them with no taper. Then the symptoms were terrible for quite a long time. My doctor was quite dismissive of what I was saying, believing that the relationship was in my mind.
I am trying again to reduce my dosage of bisoprolol but I also have other health issues going on and I find that the side effects of this drug are not good but trying to get off it takes a lot of effort and is not symptom free.
I get no support from my doctor, nor understanding, in that respect.
Take care.
peter01729 Vimes
Posted
Thanks Vimes, and yes, its the other aspects as well, I had been looking forward to enjoying my retirement, yet now I am not far off being housebound, no fun when you live alone. As for doctors and there obsession with fob offs such as "its Anxiety"!
Vimes peter01729
Posted
Hopefully the situation might improve for you as time passes.
I know it's two years since you took a beta blocker but there is still that possibility.
I do understand somewhat what it can mean to have a life changing event occur. Being more sedentary and less able to do the things that should be considered as being perfectly reasonable is not easy. Due to a long term chronic back condition, after three surgeries, I am sometimes in pretty dependant on others for help, as well as being forced to be very sedentary and house bound. That is not easy at times.
Best wishes to you.
alibalibea victor99184
Posted
its 2 years and 2 months since I CAME OF bisoprolol altogether. it took me 4 months to come of the 2.5mg. i had been on beta blockers for my Bp for 33 years.my heartrate had been around 41 to 45 and I was very tired all the time.
Coming of the drug was horrendous with my pulse going up to 150+ on a little effort. The following year my BP shot up to 200/115 for most of the time but its now well controlled. After months of anxiety, etc my heart rate settled down and I have felt great for almost a year.
being on this group helped me immensely as I knew what to expect. I don't wear my fitbit any more and don't check my BP at home as it would just raise my anxiety again.
Vimes alibalibea
Posted
That is very good news for you and a big well done. The journey to come off these is not easy at all, unless you talk to a doctor...!!!
My heart rate has been very similar to what your was, even though it does control my BP. The cold hands and feet and being very tired and drained is ridiculous, everything seems so muc heffort.
Have you needed any further medication to help with your BP, considering that was why you was taking a beta blocker for all those years ago...?
Did you have to wean slowly off the bisoprolol over that time...? To go from 2.5mg to 0 seems rather quick over 4 months.
I can relate to not wearing your fitbit, who needs extra help to be anxious....!
Well done again, pleased for you.
alibalibea Vimes
Posted
My doctor wanted me to do cold turkey and cut me back right away to 1.25mg in the November It was difficult but the withdrawals got much worse in the January when I tried to cut back further. I ended up biting it in half and tried that till the February I still had lots of withdrawals and knew I had to stop because of the slow heart rate. At this time my heart rate was all over the place. I don't think GPs recognise the difficulties involved in coming off this drug.I decided then I had to get of it altogether and deal with the consequences.
I had a difficult couple of months, at thst time my BP was fine. I then noticed side effects from the other tablet amlodopine, lack of sleep with going to the loo 6 or 7 times a night.So I was taken of everything.
A couple of months later my BP was sky high which was very frightening and it stayed high for 6 months. The practise nurse was very good and after 6 months it was normal on Losartan 100mg and Vasalpha 5mg. Which I am still on. I think its ok but am not checking as it just makes me anxious.
Vimes alibalibea
Posted
Wow that seems like a very difficult journey. For me it is not just about the physical issues that you have to deal with but what it also does to your anxiety. At least it would be for me as anxiety has been a big part of my life for so long.
I remember mentioning how some particular drug made me feel to the doctor. He then looked it up in a book and said he couldn't find that listed and so it was in my imagination.
Perhaps times might be slowly changing but I do feel that there are a great many people who suffer from very real side effects of taking medication that are just not recognised as being associated with that drug by a doctor or largely dismissed.
Now that you are taking the two tablets you are for your BP would you think that your overall side effects are easier to deal with than when you was on bisoprolol..?
Do you have any side effects now from those two medications...?
I know what you mean about measuring your own BP. But if I do not check mine at home then it is much worse at the doctors, white coat syndrome.
Take care
alibalibea Vimes
Posted
I had read the side effects of Losartan before going on it and wasn't happy about it. However the only side effects are going to the loo a lot in the morning but I sleep great at night only up once or twice.Some aches and pains but nothing to worry about. I am eating healthier trying to lose weight and walking as much as I can. I have suffered from anxiety all my life but at almost 60 it's less of a problem I went for counselling 3 years ago and that was a huge help. I now know the triggers and am more able to stop any negative thoughts.
Vimes alibalibea
Posted
Reading what you have written whilst a difficult journey from you, is inspiring.
Even though I know the side effects are not good with bisoprolol I have not succeeded before in coming off it (other health issues got in the way) but I was also concerned about dropping one tablet with a series of bad side effects for another with even more or worse.
I am 58 and whilst anxiety is less of a problem for me these days reducing bisoprolol the first time that I tried made that much worse to deal with. Measuring my BP at home whilst going through that perhaps wasn't helpful. But if yours shot up to 200/115 there is hope for me yet, I mean that in a nice way đŸ˜ƒ
I have had CBT counselling but the best for me was a 12 weeks Mindfulness course, that greatly helped with anxiety.
I too have modified greatly my eating habits and do try my best to be as active as I can. At the very least I try and have a daily walk at above a strolling pace.
Take care.
alibalibea Vimes
Posted
all the best. I hope you stay well.
alibalibea victor99184
Posted
There are ups and downs coming of Bisoprolol.You will be fine for a week and then your heart will pound again. There is no apparent reason for it but eventually things will settle down
brandon68612 victor99184
Edited
I am currently on 10mg and would like to come off. I didn't realize this was an issue. does anyone have a successful story with this
brenda76831 brandon68612
Posted
Hi Brandon,
Most of us on this forum would agree that stopping the bisoprolol is a fairly long process. There are some people on here that have successfully stopped taking it, others are still in the process ( such as myself). Others have been permanently damaged from taking it. In my opinion everyone is different and the reason for taking bisoprolol in the first place is different for everyone also. you may be one of those people who can just quit "cold turkey." Lucky for you if you can. The only way to know if you can is to try going without it ( following your doctor's orders of course). I would NEVER stop taking it all of a sudden without the go ahead from your doctor. Most doctors don't realize that some people have a terrible time coming off of it. ( withdrawal symptoms include increased heartrate, blood pressure, anxiety) just to mention a few. Thats only my opinion.
brandon68612 brenda76831
Posted
thank you for your advice Brenda. i was put on it for high BP when the first drug they tried didnt work. I never realized nor was I told that coming off it would be or could be hard. I started on 5 mg and 6 months ago I was in between doctors so I had to go to the ER to get a script and the dr there said "wow your on a very, very low dose. I'm going to bump you up to 10 mg". That was after he had to look the drug up. I never would have allowed that had I known that I was already on a high dose. now I've been on the max dose since then and I'm terrified to come off them. I don't know what to do.
brenda76831 brandon68612
Posted
Your welcome for the reply. Its nice to be able to share with people what you are going through. Can I ask why you want to come off the drug? Have you tried other types of high blood pressure meds like ace inhibitors, calcium channel blockers etc.?
brandon68612 brenda76831
Posted
I just don't like thr idea of being on a beta blocker at 32 years old. I feel like I can manage without something that could possibly damage me permanently. also i really don't know much about other blood pressure medications. do you think it's possible to make a switch without too much withdrawal? i wouldn't mind doing that
brenda76831 brandon68612
Edited
First of all I cant understand why the doctor in the ER doubled your dose for no reason? Is it possible that your BP was elevated on your visit to the ER? Even if it was elevated ( unless it was extremely high), that shouldn't warrant that doctor to double your dose with just ONE elevated reading, in my opinion. Blood pressure needs to be taken more than once and it needs to be consistently high to be put on a blood pressure pill. You need to talk to your family physician (if you have one now) and ask questions. 5 mg was NOT a very, very low dose for me. That dose was too much for me (I ended up in the hospital when put on that dose). Everyone is different. I honestly don't know how you can tolerate that high a dose. There are many many different kinds of high blood pressure drugs out there if you need to be on one. If you are concerned about being on a beta blocker at such a young age, maybe you can lower your BP by diet and exercise and reducing your stress? I do think you need to do some reading, become educated so when you talk to your doctor, you can ask the questions you need to ask to ease your mind. If you need to lower your BP with a drug its not the end of the world! There are worse things that could happen to you. Just be glad that you can tolerate a high blood pressure drug without any of the side effects the rest of us on this forum have with the bisoprolol (this is the reason we want to wean off of it). Let me know if you have any other questions and sorry for the long post.
Take care.
chris94148 brenda76831
Posted
From these post most people have been on bisoprolol for over a year. Can the short term users of this drug expect the same protracted withdrawal. I was on 2.5 a day for about seven weeks. Two independent cardiologist gave me the same wean plan of 1.25 for a week and 1.25 every other day for week. Well you can guess how that has gone. Heart rate unstable and extremely high when i move, lethargy sweats . This has only been the sixth day since the last dose.
I'm i kidding myself here on a quick detox.
victor99184 chris94148
Edited
I dont take advice from medical professionals anymore, I've come to the conclusion they dont know anything about withdrawl and weaning. the only successful way I see people coming off this drug is a really slow wean, with a digital scale that can measure milligrams. I have weaned myself off the drug successfully and that's me being on this drug for 14 years..I'm 31 btw. you need herbs to counteract any withdrawl symptoms like ashwagandha or holy basil. I went down one milligram every week, took me about a year to get off fully. so from 2.5 I went down to 2.4 the next week and so forth. good luck to you guys !!
chris94148 victor99184
Edited
Thanks. By that estimation and similar dosage 2.5 it would make me 25 weeks (0.1mg a week) to wean from 7 weeks of main dosage. Crazy. I don't want this drug in my system for that long. I am not dismissing your advice as I admire the people in this forum for their strength but its only been seven weeks not 14 years. What are these doctors doing?