Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 23) (Top voted first)

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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They r thinning my blood for the heart cath tomorrow around 10 am. They have been trying to get my bp down since I've been so upset. I'm really scared. I been writing down my wishes just in case. I'm hoping it all goes well but I admit I'm worried. I worked so hard to improve so much and now this.

I was having intercourse last night and started swearing a lot. Pounding heart. Dry mouth. Heart paused and got a big impending doom feeling. I took an asprin and had nausea. I knew something was wrong so I came to the ER. And my enzymes were elevated.

So the heart cath is the next step to see what's going on. I'm afraid after all I've been through it won't be enough. I tried so hard to improve. But no telling what might have happened had I not tried. I'm hoping with all my heart I get through things tomorrow ok.

I am stressed. Thank you guys for caring. I hope none of you EVER go through this. Gonna be a rough night.

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Tony, again, for what it's worth, I had a heart catheter done about 4-1/2 years ago when I was having a few issues with another matter. I won't go into details, but it's the one thing where the doctors can obtain a very clear picture of what's going on. It's a very safe procedure, and you won't feel a thing. It turned out that my arteries were crystal clear - thank goodness - but I was fully prepared for whatever was necessary. I have a few friends that have had stents placed during such a procedure where blockages have occurred, and they're living very active and normal lives today. I was scared to death as well, but it'll be ok. If there's a serious issue going on, it'll be taken care of. It's nothing like some ignorant doctor prescribing meds that we don't really need. Anyway, my thoughts are with you. Wishing you the very best!

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Jimbo, Anita and everyone else.... Thank you for the encouragement. It has meant a lot. I've read and Reread your messages several times to help me.

They will be getting me ready in a couple hours. I'm very nervous but it has to b done so I'm trying to be positive.

Jimbo.. You and me have shared some stressful moments haven't we my friend. If something goes poorly ... I just wanted to say thank you. Hopefully it won't but you guys, all of you, have helped me as much as I've ever helped you. I really appreciate it.

Please live your lives to the fullest. Don't waste a second. You only get one. Make every second count. I spent most of my night watching my wife sleep. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.

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Tony. I hope this reaches you after the doctors have done their magic. And that you are sitting in your hospital bed with a smile, a sigh of relief, and your lovely wife holding your hand. And that you are too busy to read my message because you are busy making plans for the future. Hold the faith. Stay strong. Wishes whizzing to you from Wales on a sunny day x

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Tony:

I hope we hear from you soon and how well you're doing. More prayers and good thoughts are coming your way for a full recovery. You should be proud of all that you have worked for and accomplished with your health. Godspeed.

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Tony congratulations on the good outcome of your procedure! Better that they find your issues sooner than later. You must be relieved that it's over. Good thoughts coming your way for continued healing.

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God answered prayers. You are fortunate that you were checked and a solution found and fixed. Modern medicine does have flaws but overall we live in a great country with good medicine.
I am so glad that all is behind you and your new gift will help you move forward!! It's a humbling experience to be at the receiving end of medical care. My working years I was at the giving end of the needle! Having back surgery 2 months ago was a frightening experience since as a nurse anesthetist I knew toooo much! I can understand your fear. When we don't have control of the situation we feel vulnerable!!
Continued prayers and keep us posted!

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Tony,

Hi.. If I were you I would be reading everything I could get my hands on about your issue.. There are many naturopathic doctors on youtube like Dr. Stephen Sinatra and Dr. Mercola, Dr. Robert Morse, Dr. Dean Ornish, Esselytn, Joel Wallach and countless others who have some great videos on how to reverse disease and lead a normal healthy life.. See which ones resonate with you... You could also find your own natropathic cardiologist.. they might not take insurance but heck its your life and you need to find and all you can do heal...look into amino acids for the heart. I hope you are taking magnesium... I also read that apple cider vinegar, lemons, ginger and garlic juice will keep arteries clean and clean out stents.. just make sure you investigate that yourself.. check this site: earthclinic.com.

And as far as your emotional and spiritual side of dis-ease start by doing some meditation, EFT, energy healing, accupuncture, etc.. look on youtube for these things also... Louise Hay is great for this too.. she has a book How to Heal your Life... she also has some great videos on youtube.... taking care of yourself inside and out will greatly improve your issues.. Good Luck

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Tony so glad you are getting back on to a routine. Your experience is one everyone fears. As a retired anesthetist, I can say that every time someone is given anesthesia it is like an out of body experience. That's what I fear when having any surgery! Your life v adhering event, will leave you worried but you have to resume doing things you enjoy and take time to relax. To all the other friends here, I send greetings and prayers that life will improve daily. Keep pushing with updates!

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I was put on metprolol 2 weeks ago for symptoms from an iodine overdose. I knew right away this med was bad news despite reassurances from my (normally) great gp. It did stop the pounding heart issues, and I have weaned myself off the low dose of prednisone I was on, but now I am having noticeable dizziness as the doses wear off, and palpitation issues in early am. I never got beyond 25 mg in pm and 12.5 in am because I have to function and the brain fog and dopiness are as bad as the thyroid/iodine issues were. I haven't has a clear headed day since going on it. So I started to try and eliminate the metprolol, and got the dizzy waves, then found thisbsite. I have spent the better part of the afternoon reading all the posts, and trying not to get too discouraged that now I am dealing with withdrawal symptoms that are as bad as the iodone/thyroid symptoms that have basically ruined my life for the last 2 mos. I am a Nanny and I can't tell you how hard it has been to do my job and act normal around my bosses, I can't risk losing my position. After reading everything I am will proceed to cut my doses in half, and pray that I can make it through this fresh hell. I just want my life back, and the brain fog and dizziness is driving me crazy. I totally relate to just being disinterested in living anymore with how I have been feeling. I have no interest in anything at all and feel so little hope for the future. I am praying that getting off this poison will improve things. The sad part is that I went on this stuff just as the thyrotoxicosis was actually starting to resolve. I feel like I have been completely gypped at this point. I will heck in here regularly for hope and strength. My family doesn't understand what is wrong and why I have been such a dud for months.

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I went to the doc yesterday for a follow up. She was appalled that I was having symptoms from such a low amount of M, and advised me to continue the planned wean off post haste. Yesterday was a pretty good day, and today seems ok so far. I like every one else who has weaned am kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop. It seems to be an hour by hour thing, much like the thyrotoxicosis symptoms were. She seems to think I am about done with that, and we are hoping for normalcy to return as I end the brief foray with M. Should be off completely in about 3 weeks. Taking things hourly. She is on M herself, and admitted that if she forgets a pill in the am she gets wild palpitations within a hour or two. Honestly this drug should be much more cautiously prescribed!!!!! She joked that my final dosage for wean off may consist of licking a pill once a day, but as sensitive as my system is, she may be absolutely right! Whatever it takes ! She also highly recommended milk thistle 500mg twice a day, as well as NAC, along with magnesium and other various supplements. I have ordered milk thistle and NAC. So YES, lowering your dosage or forgetting a dose WILL produce those horrible palpitations!!!!!

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Hi Lauren, I'm sorry you are going through this. I used to call it "weirdo head". I took Metoprolol for about 3 months for high blood pressure, which did nothing for my blood pressure but sure messed me up in lots of other ways. My i**** doctor did NOT warn me of the side effects and I had a terrible time getting both on and off this poison. I have since developed an irregular heart beat, which did not exist before and was one of the major issues while "adjusting to the dose". I told my doctor about it and unfortunately he did not advise me to stop taking the stuff. I had to make that call myself, after months of struggle, going to the Er with spiking blood pressure, lost days to "weirdo head" and so on. Those of us who are sensitive to this stuff are in trouble. I want to tell you it will get better and your body will adjust to life without it, but it can be a rough ride. He tried to give me "atavan" to deal with the anxiety. WTF!!! Let's get her hooked on another powerful and addictive drug while she's trying to get off this one. you have to watch the doctor, they want to give you more and more pills. I am now clear of it, although I still have the heart problem which I am having checked out next week. My heart skips beats and does a big "kathunk" in my chest every so often. My EKg is normal. This "kathunk" and burning in my chest was what happened while I was trying to 'adjust" to the M. I have been off it completely now for several months, and I weaned off very slowly. You can do it. Just go slow...be patient and try not to have anxiety about the weaning process which makes it worse. Anxiety is one of the worst things that happened to me when weaning. I had to consciously tell myself I was ok, and it was just anxiety from the drug withdrawal. You can do it...be patient. Listen to your body... you CAN get off this stuff.

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Good grief I am still having a heck of a time! I am still taking "dust" every 2 days because I start withdrawling so bad. I have to work and have to take it to keep going. I feel terrible on it but feel like im gonna die when im withdrawling. I cant take a smaller dose its not possible. How am I supposed to get off this crap?! Im at a loss of what to do. The withdrawal scares me bad. I was off for 3 months last time but it was a rough ride and I started a new job and had to get bk on it. Any advice on a better weaning process or vitamins to help? Something??

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I have been off this stuff for a week now, and yesterday was iffy and today is BAD. Pounding heart, feeling like I'm falling, anxious, just AWFUL. Why on EARTH is this stuff so bad that even a slow careful detox of a tiny amount still entails backlash like this. It's SO HARD to fight the fear and anxiety this produces. I had a few pretty good days last week after the proverbial days three and four after final dose, but gees, now I'm paying for them. I'm scared today. :'(

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Sandra and Lauren, so sorry to hear that the two of you are struggling with this stuff. Perhaps Bee could pipe in with some thoughts about supplements, for they really seem to help some people. For anxiety, I found that L-Theanine helped some.....not great, but it did help to take the edge off a bit. I'm not sure what to say about weaning, but it was about a six-week process for me followed by a month of hell during the withdrawal period. But I got through it, as many of us finally managed to do. It's a tough ride......no doubt. I feel for you, and I sincerely hope the two of you can get beyond it.

Terry, I'm pretty familiar with aspartame and the harmful effects it can cause. However, I've been avoiding it for years, so I highly doubt that it's causing any palpitation issues for me. Still, this is good advice for those who are continuing to have issues with Metoprolol, for it certainly can't be of any help in any way.

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Reading thru all the posts again has been once again so helpful. Day 7 completely off, I see now that the Day 6 Kick was grabbing me yesterday. I slammed a ton of water and rode thru it and felt a bit better by late afternoon. Today I am slightly 'buzzy' but no where near where I was yesterday. From all the posts I guess I can anticipate more fun times as I get farther out from last dose. Hopefully I will shed most of this completely at the one month marker. I did look up the Tapping, boy does THAT look interesting! I tried some last night and it did seem to quickly tamp down anxiety. I will be exploring this further! Before thyrotoxicosis issues and then M poisoning I was the Supplement Queen, but I am down to very little because of my now exaggerated response to EVERYTHING I intake. As I head back towards 'normal' I hope to be able to restore what was a very helpful regimen of supplements. I eat a grain free diet, and very little to no dairy, take Ubiquinol (very helpful with palps), Choline, and Oregano Oil- best thing for avoiding colds and pneumonia I have found. Tart cherry at night. Onwards and forwards one day or hour at a time to good health. Thank you one and all for this wonderful forum of information and support!!!

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Glad to hear you made it, Toonces! That's great news! You're spot-on about this thread, too, for it certainly helped me as well. I wish there were more 'user-friendly' forums available to us, but thankfully this one is here for us.

Hey Tony.......are you out there? If so, it would be great to hear how you're doing!

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No problem. Dissenting opinions always welcome here. I've taken Toprol-XL 200mg QD for < 10 years, no problems. I take it because of my open heart surgery and as an adjunct to other BP meds. Definitely, once someone loses enough eight to experience a significant BP reduction, the doctors nee to do their homework and reduce, or cut down and DC. That's just good medicine, My older bro is a Interventional Cardiologist and when psychiatry started using beta-blockers to mask the signs of anxiety (hand tremors, sweating, etc.), Big Bro took me aside and said, "You do know NEVER to stop Inderal [propranolol —that was the drug of choice] abruptly, don't you, no matter how small the dose." Well, maybe I might not have with small doses if my bro hadn't clued me in. I like to think I know my drugs and I've always been pretty familiar with beta-blockers. Thanks for you input and, of course, no hard feelings.

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Bravo Ed and Jimbo! Well said Sirs! Today is a bad day, vision issues, racing system, wonky head- all this of course equals anxiety! I'm on vacation from work thank goodness. See the doc next week again next Tues. I have also decided to forgo 99% of supplements until at least mid February, I can't seem to take anything without a hyper sensitive reaction. Keep at it all.... we WILL overcome this poisoning!

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Maybe it's because we've discovered that nearly all psych drugs have a withdrawal period and we need to taper, but I'd look closely at beat-blockers before I discontinued them. FYI, Ayerst, (now Wyeth-Ayerst) the developer of INDERAL (propranolol), the first b-blocker, emphasized in their advertising NEVER to stop the med abruptly and always to taper. I remember seeing this in drug ads (in med journals) when I was in college! In the 1970s! I never imagined the problem could be so large and sous. I today directed my physicians to check patient charts for beta-blockers and ensure that what might have been perceived as psych symptoms might actually be withdrawal suggested by a dumb doctor! I learned a lot from your posts. guys, and it brought back my early training. I don't personally review every patient's Hx and although I technically OK all admissions, all of us "Service Chiefs" tend to go along with the decisions made by trusted subordinates. But what if one of my assistants sin't sufficiently knowledgable? This is one of those things thatch easily slip through. I conference-called a few of my counterparts at other hospitals. We had a good talk. All knew of this and some had seen it in patients originally scheduled to be admitted to psych wards. I'm still technically out sick (serous accident followed by Degenerative Disk Disorder)m but I'm still the boss. I rarely issue mandates and try to govern by consensus, but I was very clear in this directive. Review all your patient's charts and he's for beta-blocker use and/or withdrawal. Thank you. Having a couple of doctorates doesn't make me or anyone else "above" learning from our patients. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen!

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