Beta blockers

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Freddy2020

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Hi everyone. I'm just looking for some general info/experience of beta blockers. I'm T1 for 44 years and was prescribed 1.25 mg of Bisoprolol and 2x5 mg Apixaban (blood thinners) daily before Christmas. So far no problems. Anyone else here on beta blockers? How d'you get on with them? Do they affect BG at all and have you noticed any side other effects? I don't know why but I'm a bit nervous about beta blockers. I was prescribed them for intermittent AF.
Thanks for any info.
 
Freddy2020 said:
Hi everyone. I'm just looking for some general info/experience of beta blockers. I'm T1 for 44 years and was prescribed 1.25 mg of Bisoprolol and 2x5 mg Apixaban (blood thinners) daily before Christmas. So far no problems. Anyone else here on beta blockers? How d'you get on with them? Do they affect BG at all and have you noticed any side other effects? I don't know why but I'm a bit nervous about beta blockers. I was prescribed them for intermittent AF.
Thanks for any info.
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My other half (not diabetic) has intermittent AF which really freaks him out however he saw a private cardiologist who reassured him it was nothing too serious but ordered an echocardiogram which showed nothing to worry about. He has taken apixaban for some time as he had a TIA about 8 years ago but he also takes bisoprolol but 5mg so you are on quite a low dose. He also takes 2 blood pressure medications, but he is 77. The cardiologist also suggested having a 'pill in the pocket' mediation to take in the event of prolonged AF, he said to take 1 tablet and if the AF didn't go then take a 2nd tablet if that didn't work to go the hospital. As instructed by the cardiologist the GP has prescribed the medication Flecainide but only 2 tablets.
I don't think he has any particular side effects but he does bleed a bit more if he cuts himself and has to stop the apixaban for a few days if he is having any procedures that could cause bleeding even dental extractions.
Sorry for the rambling.
 
I take 40mg of Propanalol 3 times a day for Long QT, so far only side effect is that I’ve had no heart trouble and better management of my anxiety
 
One side effect is that they may mask hypo symptoms - google betablockers and insulin - so need to be aware of this possibility.
Freddy2020 said:
Hi everyone. I'm just looking for some general info/experience of beta blockers. I'm T1 for 44 years and was prescribed 1.25 mg of Bisoprolol and 2x5 mg Apixaban (blood thinners) daily before Christmas. So far no problems. Anyone else here on beta blockers? How d'you get on with them? Do they affect BG at all and have you noticed any side other effects? I don't know why but I'm a bit nervous about beta blockers. I was prescribed them for intermittent AF.
Thanks for any info.
Click to expand...
 
silentsquirrel said:
One side effect is that they may mask hypo symptoms - google betablockers and insulin - so need to be aware of this possibility.
Click to expand...
Yes I've seen an article about a fast heart rate being a hypo symptom and obv if you're not getting those any more that's a symptom gone. It's never been one of mine tho. And with the Libre my alarm would go bonkers.
 
I have taken 125mg Bisoprolol every morning since my triple bypass in 2018. Zero side effects especially compared to antibiotics I have been prescribed at various times for my foot/leg problems over the past year

What it does tend to do is change the hypo symptoms. My heart rate used to increase as my BG dropped but no longer does. Fortunately I get other symptoms including perspiring profusely (even on a cold day) and blurred vision similar to a silent migraine.

Be wary of the Interweb as a lot of keyboard warriors have it in for beta blockers like they have it in for the COVID jab. It also decreased the chance of a clot forming which could have serious consequences!
 
Leadinglights said:
My other half (not diabetic) has intermittent AF which really freaks him out however he saw a private cardiologist who reassured him it was nothing too serious but ordered an echocardiogram which showed nothing to worry about. He has taken apixaban for some time as he had a TIA about 8 years ago but he also takes bisoprolol but 5mg so you are on quite a low dose. He also takes 2 blood pressure medications, but he is 77. The cardiologist also suggested having a 'pill in the pocket' mediation to take in the event of prolonged AF, he said to take 1 tablet and if the AF didn't go then take a 2nd tablet if that didn't work to go the hospital. As instructed by the cardiologist the GP has prescribed the medication Flecainide but only 2 tablets.
I don't think he has any particular side effects but he does bleed a bit more if he cuts himself and has to stop the apixaban for a few days if he is having any procedures that could cause bleeding even dental extractions.
Sorry for the rambling.
Click to expand...
Yes AF is scary. I've only had a few episodes and the GP thinks it's intermittent so only put me on a low dose. I'm also on olmesartan and amlodipine for blood pressure. The beta blockers do seem to be doing their job. I did have a couple of slight nose bleeds but that seems to have cleared up. I'm 74 and rapidly turning into my mum. She used to say she took so many pills that it was a wonder she didn't rattle!
 
MikeyBikey said:
I have taken 125mg Bisoprolol every morning since my triple bypass in 2018.
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I've been taking that dose since 2005ish, when my GP first noticed my heart rate was rather high. A couple of months ago I noticed it was high again (had my annual review and it was ~140bpm even though I was relaxed and rested).

That GP (and another I saw a week or two later) described 1.25mg as a paediatric dose and a homeopathic dose, suggesting that it's very much at the lower end of what people take. Since then I've been taking 2.5-5.0mg which has worked better for me. Most likely I'll end up at 3.75mg since that makes me feel normal. (Unless they decide there's some cause or something else wrong. I've had a 24h ECG (results unknown), and the thyroid test was pretty inconclusive.)

Haven't noticed any changes in BG.
 
Freddy2020 said:
Yes AF is scary. I've only had a few episodes and the GP thinks it's intermittent so only put me on a low dose. I'm also on olmesartan and amlodipine for blood pressure. The beta blockers do seem to be doing their job. I did have a couple of slight nose bleeds but that seems to have cleared up. I'm 74 and rapidly turning into my mum. She used to say she took so many pills that it was a wonder she didn't rattle!
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Yes my OH stopped taking amlodipine as it gave him palpitations, he is now on Losartan and Felodipine and other than a cough they seem OK. It's when you have to take pills to prevent side effects of other pills that it is a slippery slope
 
I took Propranolol as a one-off many years ago, pre-D, to solve the shaking/tremor I got when doing a piano exam. It worked. Increased tremor is one of my hypo symptoms.

I did say "may" not "will".

8. Cautions with other medicines​

There are some medicines that may affect the way propranolol works.
........
  • diabetes medicines, particularly insulin – propranolol may make it more difficult to recognise the warning signs of low blood sugar. Speak to your doctor if you have low blood sugar levels without getting any of the usual warning signs. Check your blood sugar after exercise, and follow usual advice about checking it before driving, cycling or operating machinery
The above is from the NHS website, hardly "keyboard warriors".
 
silentsquirrel said:
One side effect is that they may mask hypo symptoms - google betablockers and insulin - so need to be aware of this possibility.
Click to expand...
They only possibly mask the racing heart symptom. They don’t affect all the other symptoms.
 
Lucyr said:
They only possibly mask the racing heart symptom. They don’t affect all the other symptoms.
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For you - but for others it may not, and both the NHS site and the Patient Information Leaflet say may block signS/symptomS.
 
I have persistent AF, in remission since a cardioversion in 2020. On Apixaban and Bisoprolol. I did notice a slight loss of hypo awareness in the early days, but it restored itself within a few weeks and I'm now back as I was before. No apparent effect on BG though.
 
silentsquirrel said:
For you - but for others it may not, and both the NHS site and the Patient Information Leaflet say may block signS/symptomS.
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That’s not what my cardiac specialist said, he said the leaflet over simplifies the explanation
 
When I was in hospital a few years ago diagnosed with the supraventricula tachycardia the cardiologist was going to put me onto beta blockers. But then decided to changed to calcium channel blockers due to the risk of the beta blockers masking hypo symptoms.
 
Lucyr said:
That’s not what my cardiac specialist said, he said the leaflet over simplifies the explanation
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But it’s individual experience that’s relevant, not what a consultant or leaflet says. We can only tell the OP how it is for us, not say categorically that something will or will not happen.
 
JJay said:
But it’s individual experience that’s relevant, not what a consultant or leaflet says. We can only tell the OP how it is for us, not say categorically that something will or will not happen.
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I gave my experience though and was told it was wrong because of the patient leaflet. So I gave the explanation I was given by the specialist.
 
Lucyr said:
I gave my experience though and was told it was wrong because of the patient leaflet. So I gave the explanation I was given by the specialist.
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“For you - but for others it may not”

It was acknowledged that your experience was different. No-one has said you were wrong
 
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