Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 16)

i've been taking metoprolol for several years as partial treatment for high blood pressure. through diet and exercise, i've lowered my BP to the point my doctor says drop the metoprolol.

i did, 3 days ago, and i'm soooo tired, dizzy, irritable, and my vision is blurred.

is this withdrawal? how long will it last?

i remember starting this medication was terrible to get used to. it appears that stopping it is just as bad.

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REPORT

Hi Bee, I just read your post and I am kind of in the same boat. I have only been off metorporolol for 5 days now but when excersing or going upstairs I get a really all over weak feeling and short of breath, do you think this is from that? I had it while I was on this horrible medication and that's why they took me off but pharmacist says no that's out of your system in just 2 days you need to be checked but I had my heart checked and was told everything is fine. I have anxiety and this just isn't helping. Thanks for any info you can give me. Can you also e-mail me a response I stumbled on this site by accident, glad I did, but not sure I can find it again. Thanks-Deb {edited for privacy}

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Bee,
I went to the doctor (not a cardiologist) and he feels like I have an adrenal issue. He did some preliminary diagnostics and said it looked like my neurotransmitters were way out of whack. He went through the whole explanation but bare bones is that when they did an analysis of my heart rate and breathing with a strap around my torso lying then standing it showed parasympathetic and sympathetic systems were way reversed when dealing with stress. He told me metoprolol can block your natural production of melatonin (I've heard this before) and that it blocks adrenaline. This will throw your neurotransmitters and adrenal glands off and snowball into adrenal fatigue. He is checking a saliva cortisol analysis and then he put me on a medical grade amino acid shake. He told me the only magnesium that truly absorbs well enough do help your stores in your body and not just bandaid the problem and cause a BM is magnesium malate. He said it helps with anxiety, muscle pain, stress, etc. He said he takes 600 mg twice a day but that's just what works for him. He also said to take fish oil because it helps regulate the inflammation that comes with adrenal fatigue secondary to this mess. He said after a week on the supplements it should be a very small but noticeable change. He told me the brand of amino acid shake that has the right enzymes to help build your neurotransmitters, help adrenals, and you liver enzymes to help metabolize the meds more efficiently and also cut down of side effects. You can get it on amazon. (You can get everything he told me pretty much any health food store or amazon) He also gave me something short term for sleep to help me try to retrain my sleep habits since it's waking me up so much at night. I hope this helps. This doctor seems to be very much fix the problem, and less "that's not in my text book." If you're interested in the name of the amino acid shake let me know. I am starting all this stuff today so we will see how it goes on helping all my issues. He did tell me not to come off metoprolol at all until I can get some relief from other symptoms since metoprolol is the only thing regulating the adrenaline swings right now. Hopefully I'll remember to put an update later on how it's going in a week or so.

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Just a quick check in for anyone following. I cut my dose by 25% and saw only mild heart rate increase only noticeable on rare occasion. I am tempted to drop off another 25% (to 50% of regular dose) although it's only been about 10 days. I'll let you know what happens.

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I'm also thinking of stopping M today. Prescribed for high BP which has been long under control whilst on it. Wondering whether to go cold turkey. I want to. I find some brands effect me. The pharmacy keeps giving me random brands. At the mo I think my legs are affected by them. I am bouncing around from one brand to another all the time but the particular brand I am on now seems to have effected my legs. I am overweight, yes, but I was this similar weight a couple of weeks ago and my legs didn't feel this stiff or old or achey. I am 54 and super relaxed and not an anxious person whatsoever, I note some people writing on same subject are anxious, so I don't expect withdrawing on that point to be an issue. I believe in more natural medicines to help myself - I have discovered Dr Batman's The Water Cure (using sea salt) for curing many many illnesses and want to seriously prescribe myself that, along with magnesium, coconut oil, cider vinegar, etc. I also wonder if my weight gain is related to Metroprolol. I like food a lot but I am a busy person around my house, I try to walk everyday - ok, no hiking but I am not a lazy person but my weight goes up and up. I have read some people say they have gained 20 or 40 pounds on this drug?????? That aside I would prefer to take no drugs at all. I am super interested in rather researching foods and their natural minerals etc, and I am interested in simple alternative things that are at our fingertips such as lemons, coconut oil, apple cider etc. I worked in pharmaceuticals for 20 years but I am getting more and more sceptical about chronic illness/medication by the day. It is all about making money for large pharmaceutical companies. Drs have no time or inclination to cure root problems. They are not interested in natural cures. My brother said years ago "you have to be your own Dr" and I believe that is getting truer by the day. I have read The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr Kendrick recently and I am getting more and more convinced that Joe Public are being trapped into taking chronic medicines instead of being offered answers or alternatives. Particularly as it is well acknowledged that one drug leads into a whole poly-pharmacy of drugs - all "treating" one issue only to give us another
"Issue" for free! We all need to wake up and question more and read more. I plan to list a daily natural regime for myself abd ensure i tick off the things i need to do with the main focus being The Water Cure! If you haven't read the two books mentioned I suggest you do. Water is a treasure we so easily overlook as we have been hynotised by our GP's to use pharma drugs that end up giving us more problems than we started with .......but Joe Public is slowly wising up.

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CJ
how many miligrams of (M) are you on.. It all depends on how much you are on and how long you have taken (M)... but please do not.. I repeat do not go cold turkey on this drug............It is not a drug to be taken lightly.. Although you might feel well and heart rate is good its a false sense of security... Your heart rate can go bonkers so please wean down slowly.............

Yes I would believe all of the side effects from this drug.. weight gain , etc.. I had lost 35lbs. before I took this drug and then the weight started to creep up again and I was walking a lot and being active and I still gained weight back and wasn't even eating that much...........thank goodness I didn't gain all of the weight back but still now have to lose again..

I totally agree with you about big pharma and the pharma roller coaster.. Its one pill after the other...... I was on M for high blood pressure for two years and then I found natural cures such as magnesium, taurine, apple cidar vinegar, olive leaf extract, L carnitine, Alpha Lopic Acid, Vit.C, and so many others you can try.. I decided I don't want this crack in my body especially when I can try natural things in which doctors do not recommend.. and yes I feel as if I am my own doctor now.. been of the M for a few weeks now and glad I decided to get off of it.. The road was tough if you read the other posts you will read the nightmare stories.. I am still having anxiety , nightmares, and other things but getting better everyday...

Good Luck and let us know..

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I checked my mg before I decided what to do. 100 mg! I know I see them everyday but I was shocked on reading box - 100 mg. So! I took
On board what's been said here about weaning and cut it in half for today. Will take other half tomorrow, check my BP tomorrow and continue on half 50 mg for a few days, then quarter the pill....

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Sorry. Forgot to say how long on Metroprolol. It must be a couple of years. I know I have been "switched" re beta-blocker twice as some of them give me a dry annoying constant cough. Overall I have been on high blood pressure medication for 14 years.

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I don't care what anyone says. That stuff is poison. It has been 2 years now and I am just now feeling like a human. It just ruined my life. I may be an exception but I really had a bad withdrawel. I hope I never feel like that again.

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...and it all begins on the very first day of life with the newborn HepB vaccine..By the time child is 3 about 49 vaccines are given..These vaccines are loaded with toxic preservatives like aluminum , thymerosol and formaldehyde etc. The child may be sick before he even comes out of the hospital.Big Pharma sets you up to be a lifetime customer....There is no money I'm the healthy..

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Ruby,

yes the (M) is poisen.. I took it for two years... Just weaned off of it and its been almost a month and still heart rate goes up for now reason.. still getting some shakes and tremors but getting better.. I haven't had much of a life this past year.. had to be in a lot due to side effects and could just do basic necessities of life. but its been a nightmare... I am so frustrated as I cant have a life yet... Like when my heart rate gets elevated I start taking a bunch of things.. Backstrap molasses, magnesium, L theanine, sea salt etc. and it goes up if I just walk up the bedroom stairs. so I how can I go out and feel normal? I am so afraid to take a walk although I do walk around in stores a lot . I am so afraid to exercise.and I miss it so much... I cant believe its been two years for you.. makes me even more frustrated when I hear worse stories.. there was nothing wrong with me except high blood pressure but I can get that down with natural things.. Now I have more issues due to this drug...

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I had another night of the shakes and tremors and then heart rate going bonkers. couldn't sleep and heart rate all over the place.. Then I had to run to the bathroom three times with diarrhea... I am not sure if the diarrhea is associated but thinking its the adrenal rushes ... Palpitations but thank God they go down faster now.. I am still shakey and afraid to check my heart rate.. feel like when this happens I got hit by a mack truck...........I am sort of shocked as I did all the right things.. Weaned off very slowly within a whole year's time and did it very carefully and read a lot about it and assumed I did it right and now its been a month and still getting this.. I also take things to counteract the affects but sometimes they work and sometimes they don't... an expert on health on another health board told me that the drug remains in the body for months until its all out and to get something called Limonene to get the drug out of the liver as it could be stored big time in there.. As the drug releases from the liver that is what the side effects are.. I just assumed the drug would go out more slowly.. I am kind of surprised.. but I did drink some lemons yesterday to see if that would help... I guess it didn't.. I am sort of freaking out because Now I cant tell what is the drug and what isn't and no I am not seeing a doctor... As per others advice I am also using Taurine, Magnesium L theanine, COQ10 and some other things but that is my regular vitamin regimen ... Thank You

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Please help, I was on metoprolol for about a year and a half for takicardia, I didn't take it everyday prob three times a week only when I would go into takicardia, I stopped on 50mg cold turkey for a few days I thought I was gonna die, they put me on propranolol, I just got worse so I weaned off the propranolol in about three weeks not a proper wean off, I stopped on oct 31 2014, so I've been off for over four months, it's not as bad as when I first got off, if I get excited or if I sit for a short time then get up and walk around I feel like I'm gonna fall over or faint and I'll check my pulse and my heart will be pounding, I can't think straight I feel like I'm gonna lose my mind, I'm stuck in my house, I've had anxiety problems for years now i am an Iraqi veteran and did twelve years in the military I was always healthy, so the only insurance I have is the VA hospital, they do not help whatsoever, they put me on klonopin for the anxiety, and PTSD, it's like if I get excited it hurts I begged the doctor for an adrenaline test and a holster monitor and an echo, fell on def ears they gave me an EKG and blood work and said my heart was fine, I talked to a cardiologist and he told me it was my PTSD, and anxiety, no way I have never felt like this I know there is some kind of unbalance with adrenaline, over four months and I'm scared to leave the house but I push myself, I just saw my primary care doctor yesterday and said this has nothing to do with the metoprolol or the propranolol I just turned 30, I can just now sit and watch tv and kind of pay attention, someday I feel so much anxiety I can't breath even with the klonopin, my blood pressure is normal, my heart rate is everywhere but sitting down my resting heartrate is normal, 80s my BP was 120/76 witch is good, so I don't know if I need to keep on taking it easy, or start walking again, I miss exercising but it's so scary now the way my heart pounds and the dizziness and chest pain, any advice about how to get this drug completely out of my system would be helpful, I just started taking fish oil magnesium and coq10, I also have no appatite lost 35 pounds since I got off this drug and it has been an absolute nightmare, any advice would be helpfull I'm 30 years old and was always a healthy person. Please help, I have milk thistle and for what I read it stays in your liver should I take the milk thistle. The PTSD and anxiety is hard enough with this on top of it it is to much. Again any advice would be much appreciated I just want my life back thank you.

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Just read about all the problems that people have had getting off metoprolol. I have never liked taking any medicines, not even aspirin. However, a short hospital stay put me in the clutches of internal medicine doctors and cardiologist. I have only been taking metoprolol for a couple of weeks. Would stopping cold turkey now cause any or all of the problems others have posted? I am wondering about Lipitor also. Been taking it for the same amount of time.

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I would also lke to know the same thing. I had a trip to the ER a week ago because of vertigo and a bad headache. They found out my blood pressure was 200/130 and gave me 3 doses of IV Lopressor and sent me home with a perscription for metoprolol. I have been on metoprolol 50 mg twice daily for 1 week and I have noticed I am extremely exhausted and out of it since I have started taking it so I googled this medicine and I don't like what I have learned about it. Can i just stop taking this or do I need to wean off. I don't like how I am feeling on this medicine. I did help my blood pressure it was down to 136/76 on Thursday when I did a follow up with my Dr. But like I said I am feeling Horrible from this medicine.

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To everyone ;
What I would do is try and find alternatives for the high blood pressure and yes I would think no matter how long you were on it please wean of off it very slowly.. While you are weaning off of it find other alternatives for high blood pressure. There are many out there......if you don't find an alternative then add some other less insane medication and add natural things .. these things lower blood pressure but everyone is different. Find the one that works for you .. Apple cidar vinegar in water lowers bp.. Organic braggs ... Magnesium lowers bp, L Carnitine, L Argenine, Olive Leaf, Beet root juice, Taurine, COQ10, BComplex, Niacin, Vit.C , Vit.D, Hibiscus Tea lowers bp, Sea salt in water can lower bp, Alpha lopic acid lowers bp.. look up natural cures and add these in and see if the bp go down and then wean off the medication very slowly.... try all kinds of things as one size does not fit all..Also bp is very tricky... Check your diet, weight, exercise... Even losing ten pounds will lower the bp.. low salt and lots of veggies and drink a lot of water all day long.. sometimes being dehydrated raises blood pressure.. exhaust all natural cure and see what happens.. sometimes combinations of meds and natural remedies are good but I would not take beta blocker.. but all meds have side effects..
do you own research..............Oh; also stress can raise bp so maybe meditation is in order.. I know that EFT tapping lowers the blood pressure.

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22 AUGUST 2014 My last pill. Today 09 MARCH 2015, I'm still not 100%. I was only on it for a month! 25mg a day. DR had me quit cold turkey. I still wonder if I may die from my heart. BAD DRUG! DR's dont really believe it, or dont wanna admit. I try to stay off all RX now, and take strictly over the counter. Vitamin, Fish Oil, Baby Aspirin, Folic Acid, Glucosamine.

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I have also recently tapered off of Metoprolol after being on it for 6 months. Since stopping the medications I've had many of the side effects noted below - fatigue, nausea, headache, muscle aches. I have also started having a burning sensation up and down my entire body. I have never experienced anything like this before. Has anyone ever experienced that as a side effect? It is really freaking me out. It seems to change locations throughout the day - sometimes it is in my arms, most of the time in my feet, today my ear lobes. My cardiologist of course does not think this is related at all, but my chiropractor said of course it is related. Any thoughts? I feel like I'm losing my mind!

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Melissa
I have the burning mostly in my chest. I haven't taken any in over 6 months. All the nausea headache dizziness etc. has gotten allot better or gone away. The burning really scares me though. of course my cardiologist says it's unrelated months ago, and other Dr's that know him won't comment.

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Derek, I had similar symptoms a few years back & acupuncturist said it was Adrenal Exhaustion....doctors just sent me for heart tests which all came back ok!! I researched Adrenal Exhaustion & with the help of a natural nutritionist, I am back on top of it! I am still trying to wean off some of the meds the docs put me on (which haven't helped & are difficult to get off)!!! Google Adrenal Exhaustion then find a good natural nutritionist.

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I'm a 60 years old and been on M for about 3 years. 25 mg 1/2 twice a day. Also a diabetic type2 . Have blabber cancer for 6 years. They put me on M for high BP plus linsinaprol 5MG once a day. Was on a multiple drugs for the diabetes. I got off all of them because most of them may cause bladder cancer.( already have that ) I started a natural diet 3years ago. I JUICE twice a day and a month ago went wheat free. I now find out that M raises blood sugar levels and was told by my chiropractor to talk to my DR and about getting off M. I cut M by 1/2 again and waiting to see my primary in April. Wheat free diet lost 9 lbs .

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