Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 18)

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

I have been on Metoprolol for 15 years -since I was 19. It was prescribed to treat my tachycardia and arrhythmia. When I asked my heart specialist if people can successfully stop taking Metoprolol, he replied 'people who try going off don't succeed'. I was initially on 100mg twice a day for a few years, and then went down to 50mg twice a day for a few more years. I recently decided to try to cut down further, as doctor's only advise is to try it and see what happens!?
It's important to do it slowly though -remain on each dose for a few months. Cut down only a quarter of a tablet on one of your doses, eg. if you are on 50mg twice a day, then take 25mg in the morning and keep the 50mg at night. If all is well over the next few months, then take the 25mg in the morning and cut down to 25mg at night also. I did this until I reached a quarter of a 50mg tablet just in the morning, and no tablet at night (I did remained on this dosage for about 6 months). Two nights ago I didn't take my tablet and I was ok. It has been about 72 hours and I haven't ingested any Metoprolol. I am so happy!
Whenever I dropped a dosage I lost feeling in one or both of my hands during the night, which was unnerving and uncomfortable, but this only lasted one night after the dosage drop. I also felt extra shaky, more disorientated, fuzzy brained and a bit highly strung for about a week after going down on the dosage, but then this ends. Although I haven't been off it for long, I really never thought it would be possible. I am so thrilled.
I have learnt that drinking lots of water, getting a good night's sleep (at least 7 hours every night) and not drinking alcohol is pivotal to being able to do this.
I hope this helps. x

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i have cut down on metropolol by 25mg at night getting very bad arthritic symptoms in feet hands and knees has anyone else experienced this

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I've been reading through this thread and thought I'd add my own experience. I'm a 61 year-old male, overweight with a recent history of high BP. I was on just hydrochlorothiazide (diuretic) for a couple of years, which helped. But my BP has always been tied to my weight, and as I get older it's harder and harder to lose the weight. So last summer, my weight went up and my BP went up and the doc put me on the Metoprolol (50mg)+HCT combo med, once a day. It helped the BP and I tolerated it pretty well for about six months. Then I lost a few pounds, finally, but as I did so I started to get M side-effects: woozy spells lasting from a few seconds to 20 minutes or so. By "woozy" I mean feeling like I had LOW BP from getting up too fast, even though I hadn't. I'd also sweat, but I think that's my anxiety kicking in.

A little over a week ago, I decided to cut my med in half, while taking an additional half pill of HCT, so I was getting the same amount of HCT but half as much M. I did this and felt more "normal". I'd still get the odd woozy spell, but much briefer. After a week of this, I told my doc what I'd been doing and asked if I could try going off the M altogether. He said to keep taking BP readings and keep him informed.

My last half-dose of M was last Friday. On Saturday I had a brief spell, and some anxiety, and that was all. On Sunday, I had another very brief spell (maybe 15 seconds), and edginess and anxiety on and off through the day. Today, 3rd day with no M, I definitely feel like I'm feeling the full "fight-or-flight" response that the M had been blunting for months. Anxiety comes and goes in waves, and I also get a "drunk in the head" feeling, for lack of a better term. My BP was up a bit this morning, 146/91, but not too bad.

And, as others have described, I feel the pulse changes with exertion, such as climbing stairs. It's not a crazy pulse rate; you expect pulse rate to increase when an old fat guy climbs stairs! But after having the M blunt that for months, it feels strange. I've had anxiety issues with palpitations in the past, so I know I'm prone to this sort of thing.

So, I've decided to try to work through these side-effects. Like others, I've used EFT tapping and find that it produces results, if temporary. I'm starting a mindfulness meditation program too. I've been going to the gym regularly, so even though I'm fat I have at least some baseline fitness. I do find that if I miss going to the gym for more than a few days, the edginess gets worse, even at the best of times.

I hope this tale is of some use to someone! It helps me just to set it down in writing.

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hi tracey i am having to deal with arthritic symptoms especially at night the reason i want to stop taking M is for that reason however my symptoms appear to be worse in that area i have also experienced racing heart and irritability i am determined to get off this drug and am going to stick to it it has been a month now since i cut down half a tablet at night good luck with your journey linda

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I cut my Metroprolol 100 mg per day to 50 mg 2 months ago. I logged my intent here on this site at the time.

I have never felt unwell on M and feel very good mentally and physically all the time but my motivation was two-fold. A) my weight keeps going up and I am quite a busy person so I wondered if M was influencing my weight. I like food but I am not a couch-potatoe burger eating maniac. B) my legs felt very stiff and I wondered if it was age (54) or weight or M! I have none of the anxiety or issues a lot of people report on here. Life on M was pretty straight forward. And still is.

I took my BP regularly during the first month. it was very good. With excellent pulse results of 60/61/67. I practiced the Dr Batman Water Cure and also took magnesium and apple cider vinegar.

I sometimes 'fall off the bus' with my natural cures and don't always take them as regularly as I should or drink as much water as i should for my weight and I need to get a grip on that. And might have lost focus during the second month, which could be the reason I report the following:

In the two months I have only felt "strange" once over a period of 3 days where I was either having palpitations or my heart was simply beating louder and I was very aware of it. I wonder if it was eating chocolate again and eating more carbs - having cut back on carbs at the same time as cutting my daily dosage in half. My BP went up and I wasn't so content with my experiment. But I occasionally had the same experience whilst on M full dose!!! So it is very difficult to be sure especially when one doesn't pay that much attention to the little hiccups we all experience from time to time.

I am determined to continue weaning slowly. I will focus more on my sea sake intake/magnesium/apple cider vinegar. One improvement seems that my legs feel "lighter". I feel less stiff.

I really must walk more. I feel stiff walking. Could be my weight.

My experience seems very much easier than a lot of other people's, for which I am very glad. I find reading everyone's individual experience most helpful.

I'll keep going but with a sharper focus re the natural things we are all talking about on here. Plus my water intake. I need to sharpen my walking and my gym session too. Also I must take more note of what my body is saying and if it is related to food in anyway.

I will update in 2 months.

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I have had just about every side effect in the book from weaning off of (M).. I was confined to my home for about a year because when I would go out I didn't know what to expect like racing heart, anxiety, pain and yes like arthritis, dizziness, and then at night another whole host of things.. So I decided to remain in the house more and wait it all out... I did do necessities of life but rarely went out at night or did much of anything for the whole year of 2014... I did start meditating and yes I do EFT (tapping)... and started taking a bunch of natural supplements ..

Anyway; It took me a year to get off and Feb. was my last dose.. I did it very slowly as I was on 100mgs. for two years.............Now its April and I am feeling a million times better but there are days I don't feel all that great but I am going out more and walking and doing more.. and my anxiety seems to be way down... My nightmares have stopped and I am sleeping through the night and my heart rate is pretty good..

For what's its worth I would go down slowly with this drug.. No matter how long it takes. cut it slowly or just lengthen the time you take the first dose and then remain on that until you feel stable and then cut it.. I couldn't cut mine as I experienced too many side effects so I just lengthened the time I took it and then when I felt stable I would cut the dose but not much...That is why It took me a year as I believe I was very highly allergic to this drug.. Doctors did not want to hear it...

For the nervousness I started taking theanine.. An amino acid and now I take a few amino acids which help me a lot.. Taurine, L Arginine .. I also use magnesium and if you feel your heart rate going up take some organic unsulphured black strap molasses or celtic sea salt in water or Motherwort the herb with Hawthorne will lower the heart rate rather quickly.... An l/8 teaspoon of celtic sea salt in 8 ounces of water will stop palpitations quickly.............when I would wake up many nights with palpitations I would just reach for my sea salt and water and gulp it down and the palps would stop right away......or when I would just go to the bathroom my heart rate would jump up for no reason and then I had the runs , etc,etc..but all of that has stopped Praise God but I believe its the natural supplements I am taking that has helped me also 100 percent..

I thought I would never feel better but I am now . One day at a time..

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It's only the fifth day without M for me, after weaning for only a week. As I wrote a few messages back, Monday, two days ago, was rough.

But I want to thank the people who have posted here for some useful suggestions. In particular, L-Theanine and Hawthorne seem to have been very helpful in calming me down and getting rid of that "high anxiety" feeling. I also tried blackstrap molasses, but I'm not sure if that added anything; I was already feeling better from the other two.

To make matters more complicated, on Monday I also started a ketogenic diet, to try to get the weight off so the BP can take care of itself. This may have been ill-advised, since carbohydrate withdrawal can all cause edginess for the first week or so; but I'm determined to turn things around, so I'm still on it.

Today I'm feeling more "normal" than I have for some time. I had one very brief period of nervous arousal that lasted no more than two minutes: a feeling of fear, sweating, etc. I was able to just watch it and let it recede, like a wave. It hasn't recurred.

I'll post again as I go, but less frequently.

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Glad to hear it TCM.... what Hawthorn and Motherwort do is to slow down the heart rate and calm the heart and its a food so its safe too...........Black strap molasses will send iron to the heart but don't take it everyday or take too much or go by how you feel.. I don't take it much except if I am having a weird day I will swallow a tablespoon.. it also has potassium which is good for the heart.. Our bodies need minerals if we are deficient so check the minerals you are taking in.. L theanine is an amino acid that calms the central nervous system and slows down the adrenaline.. good for you............ feel better.. but do please check all of these supplements and check with interactions..

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I have found a lot of success weaning from Toprol taking calcium magnesium.Especially at night when the heart was racing during withdrawal.I am 10 months post Toprol and I no longer have anxiety or heart palpitations. I actually am calmer than I have been my entire life.A vegan lifestyle also was a major contributor in continuing good health.I never imagined at age 60 that I would feel this way ,as I was plaque by severe anxiety from a very young age.

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So appreciate everyone's sharing their experiences with (M). It is disheartening to find so many having serious issues with this medication...and I am one of them! Put on (M) "just for two weeks" to have some repair surgery Mar. '13. Bp normal and heart rate of 80 supposedly indicated need for "precautionary" two week regimen of 25mg/day of (M). Well, 5 days after surgery awoke at 4AM shaking uncontrollably, heart rate over 120...panic! EKG was normal, told it was 'just' anxiety and continue (M). Became very anxious, have 'internal tremors'...my upper torso muscles feel like shaking jello.. usually worse at night, insomnia. No doc (primary, endo, cardio) has figured out the tremors. About 8 months after surgery when tremors seemed to be getting worse, (M) was doubled to 50 mg/day. Was on that dosage for almost1 1/2 yrs. Meanwhile, was told I not only had an anxiety disorder but that I was depressed (I didn't think so...just fed up w/ dealing w/ insomnia, tremors and leg pain). Sent to psychiatrist, psychologist, anxiety classes. Tried Celexa, very small dose for about 3 months. Finally found these posts and did more investigating and fairly certain (M) might be the culprit. Legs felt like I was slogging through wet concrete and harder to breathe during exertion. So primary said to reduce by half. This had beed over a month's time...now down to 25mg/day. Feeling better but still having leg issues of stiffness and weakness when trying to go for a mile walk. Still having 'strong' heartbeats and sometimes palpitations for short while. Taking some magnesium, B vits, COQ10, probiotics. Tried theanine but seems to upset my stomach...anything to do w/ neurotransmitters does that. Am starting to sleep better but still waking 3 - 4 times per night. Will continue to work on getting off of it. As I suspected finally, a nurse friend said there was no reason I should ever have been put on (M)!!! Now feel like two years of my life has been taken from all the side effects while on it....and now trying to get off it. I'm sure it serves a good purpose for some people BUT......it is a serious medication to have to deal with. May we all get healthy AND stay healthy!!!!

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I too was put on it for afib but that was before my ablation after my ablation I thought they would take me off..but after years of being on it only went back into afib once an they added cardezim. Side affects is awful sob depressed tired hair loss weight gain sire muscles.. so I tried to when off and my anxiety to wen up the roof heart races sob palpation can't sleep so they put me on celexa. I only kept on that crap for two weeks ...I hate I ever started this medicine I pray that I will be off soon right now only taking 25ng a day... but when I go to my check ups and my pulse is high upon excretion they tell me too up my dose to control my heart rate heck no I aint...I have to start walking to build up my resistance an control my rate because I haven't been able to do anything but walk a link without getting sob but NY o2 stat reads normal but it feels like I can't get enough air in...I hope an pray for us all...they give us that to control rate an blood pressure but then put u on a blood thinner because they don't tell ubthe med effects the way your blood flows...then another to take care of another side affect and so on....thus is pure hell....any supplement suggestions for the palpitions and know enrgy

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I've hit a snag. I've gotten down to 25mg which is 25% of my origional dose but my blood pressure is up a little and I have started having migraines again. Not sure what to do. I thought I might take a tiny step back to 50mg. to see if this helps, but I hate to back track. Ugh.

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I was very interested to hear what you said about your legs - walking through concrete, etc. I feel my main suspected issue with M is the stiffness and discomfort walking. I find walking - a basic and most vital life tool - a little bit of an effort. I have two dogs and walk most days but I don't enjoy walking anymore. It feels like such an effort. I'm overweight but I carry it well and you wouldn't look at me and think "there's one who would struggle to walk". But i have to "drive" my body on a walk. Push it. I used to walk in a ladylike fashion and now i feel like i'm losing the ability to control the way i walk too. My gait. I keep challenging myself to keep walking. I zip around my house with housework but find longer walks an effort, legs feel comfortable. Strangely, yesterday it felt lighter and easier to walk around the supermarket first then through the forest - I'm currently just over 2 months into weaning down from 100 mg to 50 mg pd. I'll be very interested to see what today brings walking in town and with my dogs. Yes I need to drop a few kilos. Yes I need to work on my fitness. Yes I'm just turned 55 but I still don't think I should feel the way I do in regard to simple walking. I used to love walking now I find it a chore. But of course I can't really pinpoint when I started feeling like this vs how long i've taken M. I just drifted into this situation only waking up to Big Pharma in last two years. I've been on BP medication for 13 years but can't say how long on M. Anyway, the slow weaning will continue and I will continue to walk and cut carbs.

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Be careful Racesien, That happened to me and all the time the doctor thought it was just the withdrawal until I finally got so out of breath to where I couldn't walk across the room without sitting down. I was taken to ER and I had four blood clots on my lungs.

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On 4/9/15 I was placed on Metoprolol ER 50 mg taken at bedtime for hbp & rapid heartbeat. That day I went to my gp because I had a false hypoglycemic episode. I am a T2 diabetic and was reducing my carbs to get my sugars down. When I have false hypos I get all the signs of a true hypo which includes rapid heartbeat. I was on Losartan and he said EKG was fine but due to rapid heartbeat he was placing me on Metoprolol. The first night I took it I felt anxious but was able to relax after 30 minutes. I took it for 14 nights. The side effects I had were shaking, fatigue, shortness of breath, chest tightness, dizziness, cold and sweaty hands and feet, chills, headache and one time my bp was 171/100. I called my doc and he switched me to Bystolic 5mg taken once daily. This is another beta blocker with less side effects. I waited a couple of days before I took Bystolic. I took it for a week minus 2 days. The first day was not bad. The second day moving forward was a nightmare. When I would take the pill I would get anxious. When it would wear off I would get anxious. I had loss of appetite, insomina, shaking, jittery, cold and sweaty hands and feet. Tingling on my arms,legs, various parts of my body, chest tightness, shortness of breath. I went to my GP and he referred me to a cardiologist and told me to continue Bystolic. I could not take it anymore. The day before my visit with the cardio I quit cold turkey. I went to cardio and was placed on Almodipine Besylate 10 mg with hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg. I took my first pill on 5/7/15. Since quitting beta blocker I have had horrible withdrawal symptoms which include anxiety, nervousness, inside tremors, loss of appetite, rapid heartbeat, bp fluctuating, insomnia, stomach upset, chills, sweats, fatigue, dizziness, shakiness, etc. Today is day 7 with no beta blockers. I have felt very little anxiety today. So I must have gotten through the hard part of withdrawal. The doc told me it should take a couple of days for beta blockers to leave my system but the Pharmacist told me I would go through withdrawals after being on beta blockers for 3 weeks regardless and that I could take Benadryl for withdrawals. I chose not to go that route because you can get addicted to Benadryl. I just toughed it with prayer. Beta blockers work in the sympathetic nervous system and suppress adrenal glands. I will never take beta blockers and should have never been placed on them since I am a diabetic. I have lost 26 and am still losing. My goal is to get off of my meds. I hope telling my story helps someone.

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Hello all! I'm new here, but I've been reading this thread for the past few days since discovering my own sense of hell with taking Metroprolol. I'm 61 years of age, and my doctor started me on 25mg twice daily about a year ago for pre-hypertension. Prior to that everything seemed to be fine. Then my PR dropped from an average of around 65 or 70 to around 50, and I began to experience dizziness, headaches, chest pain, tingling in my left arm, etc., etc. For whatever reason my BP remained fairly normal. After two trips to the ER and being told that I was fit and healthy, I began to look into the Metoprolol, only to find how nasty this drug appears to be.

Long story short, last Tuesday morning I began cutting my dosage in half (12.5mg) in an attempt to begin weaning off of them entirely. I also saw a cardiologist yesterday (Thursday), and while he agreed that it's a good idea to get off the Metoprolol, he also prescribed a drug called Ranexa (ranolazine) to help with my chest pain. This is a drug that's primarily used to treat angina, and while I've had symptoms of angina over the past two weeks, I've had no history of it previously. Does this seem odd to any of you? All I really want to do is to get off the Metoprolol, and since I've increased my fitness level while losing a significant amount of weight, I have a strong feeling that I really won't need to be on BP medicine any longer. This was the goal I had with my primary doctor when I was first prescribed this drug, but he has since retired. I also have a hunch that I'm also in for some serious drug withdrawal issues as well. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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I have been taking Metoprolol for only a couple of months for the treatment of AFIB & I too had the tingling in the Left arms and my Left foot was hurting to the point of not being able to walk on it (not to mention all the other myriad of side effects) so, last night was my last dose of this crud... I pray I dont have a heart attack!

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Hi Jimbo;
one of the side effects of weaning off of (M) is angina..so I don't doubt you go this from this drug.. I also was experiencing some angina but it went away.. if you look up the side effects of weaning off of this drug and taking it if you haven't done that there are so many side effects including diabetes, angina , etc.. I had just about every side effect in the book.. Rapid heart beat, couldn't move without HR going up . pain, numbness, nightmares, stomach issues, insomnia, headaches, shortness of breath... its been since Feb. for me since my last dose and it was a nightmare for me for about a year but I feel so much better now.... I wont tell you what to do but now I take L- ARGENINE for my heart and for prevention.. It is used for angina .. Argenine is an amino acid and I don't think it harms like a drug.. so far for me its good........look into it instead of the pharma drugs.. I too now am very skeptical of Western Medicine.. Argenine will get oxygen to your heart ..

Please don't take what your doctor says as gospel.. and yes it does sound suspicious.. I remember when they gave me (M) it was anxiety and I never had anxiety and I had a host of issues while I was on it.. Like you I had no issues before this drug..........Oh; and look into Hawthorn.. It is the number one herb for the heart.

If natural things fail you can always go back into pharma drugs..

good Luck

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Bee, thank you for your reply! It really helps! I'll check into some natural herbs for the heart, too. You know, though, I never had any idea that Metoprolol could create such havoc on one's system or I would have never taken them in the first place. My blood pressure just wasn't bad enough to warrant these kinds of side effects. I really trusted that my doctor was doing the right thing when he prescribed them, but now I've become rather angry about it. And, now my cardiologist wants me to begin yet another drug that requires weaning period to get off of them. It's really quite depressing. I feel for everyone who's posted here over the past few years.

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your welcome Jimbo but don't forget first look into the L Arginine .. Ask someone at your health food store .. but let me ask you first do you have any issues with your heart? Don't forget to tell the person at the health food store what drugs you are on as some natural things interact with pharma drugs.. sorry I forgot to mention that... I didn't know either this drug would totally keep me mostly in the house for a whole year while I was getting off.. If I would go out I would experience horrific side effects so I kept inside more..My heart would race for no reason I would feel really sick.... oh; and I haven't had one palpitation in months since getting off this drug... The (M) was giving me palpitations and I never had one heart problem. I did have high blood pressure but I needed to lose weight and change my lifestyle and diet but right away I was given the drug before I had the chance to change my habits.... I don't blame you for being angry.. I was pretty mad for a long time and thought that I was stuck.. The doctors didn't even want to help me get off the drug so I had to do my own research...I was one of those people that was highly allergic to the drug so it was harder for me to get off.... there were days I couldn't even walk or shop or anything and I have only me to rely on so I know exactly how you feel...

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