Side effects of Bystolic

 Do any of you take Bystolic for BP problems?  If so are you having adverse side effects?  It works great on the BP, but wrecks havoc other ways.

Thanks, Annie

Has anyone actually taken this drug? If so what if any side effects did you have?

Thanks

I started on Bystolic in June. Since then I've had terrible side effects: headaches, mental fog, feel like I can't breathe, fluid retention in legs, ankles and hands, trouble sleeping, mental confusion, chest discomfort. Had to add 2 fluid pills to help with edema

On the plus side, blood pressure is in normal range and tachcardyia (fast pulse) was also normal.

Doctor has had to adjust doages 3-4 times and then took me off. Now my bp is climbing and so is heart rate. I am at my wits end. I have never felt so awful in my life as I am right now with and without the bystolic.

BTW--all heart tests came back normal.

Marburg

 Could you explain what you mean when saying normal blood pressure??  I am not too medically literate. LOL

Bystolic is my 5th medication since April 2009 to treat slightly high blood pressure and my Ventricular Tachyardia.  They put me on this medication 4 weeks ago, with 4 sample bottles to see how the side effects go. The previous 5 medications also gave me such dire side effects, they thought this one would help. Well it worked wonders for the first 4 weeks. I called my Dr last week to tell them the good news, they ordered me up 3 months of medication. By the 2nd day into my prescription, my ankles started to swell.  I started getting very very mild palpitations. I checked my bp this am on my home monitor and it was up there and my pulse was very low at 53. I called them to let them know what was going on and its now a head scratcher for them. They have no idea why, one day it worked fine and the next, the light switch went off and now I am having issues again. Topped with the fact that the other 5 popular meds to treat me- I cant take because the side effects were devastating. I take my meds in the AM and within an hour i feel like could sleep a week. I feel dragged out all day long now and have zero energy. I force myself to do what I need to do during the day but by 9pm I am exhausted from the day. By 10pm I can feel my meds starting to give out. The flush comes over me, the palps start in stronger and I do have to say i sleep at night- some minor night mares but 100% better than with any othe drug I have taken. I guess we all are in the small minority that it has effects on. I have talked to many people who have been on it for a very long time and have had zero problems at all.

Makes me wonder what the next step will be.

CK,

In some cases, your doctor might prescribe a calcium channel blocker along with other high blood pressure medications or with cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins. It looks like this is what your Dr. has chosen for you and it is working so I would trust in your Dr. and if you have any unusual issues do let your Dr. know.

Happy Wednesday to you.

Kitt

 Thanks for all of the information.  When I started on the 10mg I took the first pill in the am.  I was completely zonked for the day.  I then decided to take it at night which helped until it built up in my system.  I now take just 5mg at night and I still get sleepy in the afternoon but nothing like when I medicated in the morning.  Sometimes you wonder which is worse, the disease or the cure.

I was put on Bystolic 5mg after being on Toprol, Coreg, HCTZ, Lisinopril... none of those worked and actually made me feel terrible. Lisinopril caused an allergic reaction. All of this in a few months! I have been very discouraged already and as I wrote somewhere else on the forum, it was a little worrying when reading about people trying for years to get medicines to work.

The Bystolic 5mg did not lower my blood pressure but did work on my heart rate. My doctor raised it to 10mg and so far, my blood pressure has been in the mid 90s-130/70s-mid 80s. I wrote about it here to introduce myself to everyone. www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=42&m=2292973

I have had side effects, but have lost some side effects the other meds were causing. My mental clarity is good. I felt like I was in a fog with the other medicines. My fatigue is going away. I was having issues with insomnia the first week, but that is letting up. I had only one night of nightmares - which can happen with Bystolic. It was a crazy, silly dream but very vivid.

My doctor is having me do a stress test because since going up to 10mg, at times I have chest ache. No shooting pains, or any other issues when the discomfort occurs such as vision changes, shortness of breath, etc. Just a sort of ache at my breastbone or at the top of my breasts. It is not activity related. I am thinking it may be more gastronomical because I have had a more gurgly stomach, burping and gas on the 10mg. I am actually glad we are doing the stress test. I gained about 50 pounds in the last two years and that is the cause of my HBP. I have no other health issues. Still, it will be good to have this done and know for sure that there isn't anything else.

Besides the insomnia, dream and chest ache, I do get headaches from time to time. They are much less now than the first few days I went up to 10mg. I also have pressure in my sinuses in the afternoon/early evening when my blood pressure used to be at its highest. At times it feels like a flutter since I went on BP medications. My doc says that she doesn't feel it is anything to be concerned about right now, and this has become less intense in the last week or so. One weird effect that I had the first week on 5mg was incredible tooth sensitivity with my top teeth. It was very uncomfortable at times, and apparently other people have experienced this. It went away after a few days thankfully.

I read from others on this drug that it takes around 6 weeks to see some effects fade out. I am hoping it keeps working for me and that the effects I have become even less. Still, compared to what I have experienced on the other drugs this one is giving me the least amount of problems.

It's different for everyone.

Post Edited (shopgirl1971) : 12/23/2011 3:56:49 (GMT-7)

Just going off Bystolic today. I've been on it for about four years and never really thought it was giving me problems. But now, after researching I can see where I did suffer. I thought my asthma was getting worse, turns out it could be the Bystolic; I gained over 20 pounds on the drug, partly because it lowered my already low blood sugar; my svt and afib started getting much worse and come to find out Bystolic blocks potassium from entering your cells, so my blood tests looked good but there is no potassium where it's needed. I'm starting a calcium channel blocker today, hopefully this is the end of the road. Oh yeah, and I took Metoprolol for nine days and thought I was in hell. Then thought I was having a heart attack when I stopped it. So I took the Bystolic again until I could convince my doctors I needed something different.

Kitt, I am on Dilitiazam. I do have a couple questions. They told me I could quit Bystolic cold turkey. My bp has been a little high and I seem to have on again, off again afib-more than usual. Last Bystolic dose was three days ago and I'm getting ready to take my third dose of Dilitiazam. Is what I'm experiencing withdrawal symptoms? I've had svt and afib for years but hardly had any episodes until they started messing with my medications.

I have noticed that ever since I started on the 5mg bystolic, I have gained alot of weight and I generally do not feel my best. I get dizzy very often , I am beginning to have sharp headaches if I laugh even for a little bit and I get some weird jittery feeling from within all over my body. I have a very strange feeling of being unwell, lack of cordination, and have been having very serious body aches , weakness in the lower leg and pain in the feet for sometime now. I can only attribute this to bystolic .

Is anyone else out there going through the same things I am? I

would reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeèey appreciate an input....

Thanks


....

Currently taking 5mg Bystolic since May 26, 2013.   My average bp heart rate is 100/65 80.  However I am fatigued, light headiness, and deep breathing, after minor excursions such as walking for 100 yards, or going up 1 flight of stairs. I am 68yo.    I had to stop and lean against some wall or post for about 3-5 minutes before continuing.   Any one else has such fatigue and weakness experience taking Bystolic?  Prior to I did not experience this.

Albert45 

Well, I think I need to go back to the drawing board for yet another BP med. Glad to be off the Bystolic, but the Diltiazem is causing some things I don't like. My ears ring all the time, I have massive hot flashes, and my heart pounds hard in my chest, which will sometimes trigger SVT. Looked it up and the caution is to call the doctor right away. Crap!