Suffer Severe Sleepiness And Fatigue. Taking Warfarin, Digoxin And Paroxetine. Is Bisoprolol Causes Sever Side Effects Of Sleepiness?

Posted on Thu, 18 Jul 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 18 Jul 2013 Answered on

Sun, 4 Aug 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Is bisoprolol noted for severe side-effects of sleepiness? i SUFFER SEVERE SLEEPINESS AND FATIGUE AND IT SEEMS TO BE CONNECTED WITH THE BETA BLOCKER i TAKE IN COMBINATION WITH WARFARIN,DIGOXIN, PERINDOPRIL AND PAROXETINE.

Answered by Dr. Jorge Brenes-Salazar (7 minutes later)

Dear patient,

Thanks for your concerns. Indeed, lipophilic beta blockers like bisoprolol can have that notorious side effect: insomnia or "unusual dreams", fatigue, lack of energy, loss of libido and sometimes even depression.

Once we encounter that problem in clinical practice, we try to use a hydrophylic beta blocker, such as atenolol (if your kidneys are fine) since this drug does not cross the blood-brain barrier.

I encourage you to discuss this option with your provider.

Truly yours,

Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Cardiology
Mayo Clinic MN

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar