Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 40) (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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Anita,

I went through the same nightmare you did for a whole year .. I couldn't exercise or even walk some days a few yards before I got dizzy or heart rate would go bonkers or I felt like I was going to pass out, vomit and a host of things.....It was awful......I think my body suffered from no exercise and now I am trying to repair it... I think I might have some damage to not getting enough oxygen for a whole year. the most I could manage was walking around in a store and that was after I was weaning down from the (M).. I had horrific side effects.......and God knows how bonkers my bp went and all... but I am glad I am off that stuff. I was off since last March.. A whole year of my life lost but I am not looking back..............Now I am doing as much as I can to keep my heart and bp in check.. I can now walk and exercise and hike too... with no issues.. but I did a hike last week and my heart rate did not want to come down to resting so for that I ground myself. walk barefoot outside on the grass or keep my feet planted in the grass or ground for awhile.. its called earthing...........You could also buy a grounding blankets or sheets....anyway; I also now for prevention take Magnesium, COQ10, Hawthorn, L Argenine and some other things.. I don't want any more meds.............I am also very resistant and meds don't work on me either. I too am highly sensitive to drugs......so I will find any other alternative than western medicine if possible.

Well hang in there and take one day at a time. some days I had to take one minute at a time. Take care

Hang in there and take one day at a time.......I know its brutal but if you stick it out and monitor yourself and add some supplements it will be okay.

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Tony, when you throw that party, I wouldn't mind being there to celebrate with you.......LOL. Seriously, though, the people posting on this thread have meant a great deal to me. When the doctors didn't know what in the hell was going on - not to mention the notion of prescribing even more drugs - I decided to go online to see if I could find some folks who were having the same issues, and I found that here. One way or another I probably would've found a way to get off the drug, but there's no doubt in my mind that it was you and everyone else here that gave me the strength and incentive to get off the drug properly. All I can really say is "thank you!" Although, a good party might be a good way to put some kind of closure on it once and for all.......haha.

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Thank you jimbo for the kind words. We were going through a lot close to the same time and u helped me a lot too. You showed tremendous courage. This stuff with the heart is terrifying.

I just finished my daily run. I run 1.7 miles, then let my heart fall to 110 beats n then do my jumping jacks. Then I rest till 100 bps before I go inside so I don't cool down too fast in air conditioner. Then I wait an hour then check my Bp again.

Excercise does more for lowering Bp than any one thing other than weight loss. If I don't exercise my Bp creeps up. But as long as I do and keep losing weight, I'm good.

You can decrease your odds of a heart attack by 50% for every 10 pounds lost of actual fat. I'm lowered my heart attack risk by 87.5%. That's huge. My pants are getting looser by the day.

My sleep apnea is gone. My sugar is 86 or so. My body feels tons better. My libido has increased. My skin from 3 months of vitamin D sunlight looks better than ever. I can push my mower n not get winded which is nice. Yesterday I did 232 jumping jacks me when I started, 20 was nearly too much to do.

My last real obstacle, at least presently, is lorazepam. This stuff is really nasty to get off of. It makes metoprolol look like a breath mint.

Jimbo, I'm n SC. Not sure if u r near but we should go have lunch one day.

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It's hard to say Jane . Your body is obviously having trouble adjusting to life without it. It's certainly not in your system anymore.

The real question is, are you on absolutely any other medications at all? Other than the natural supplements.

If not, then it might just take time. But I would certainly follow up with your doctor and discuss your issues in case you have any underlying issues.

Are your side effects improving at all? I know you said they happen but is it decreasing in intensity at all over time?

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Hi Tony: Can I ask how do you know when your apnea is gone? I've lost 100 pounds...should I have another sleep study done to see if I still need a cpap?

I have a doctor's appointment this Friday and I'm going to ask about weaning down more on the metoporol and Lisinopril. I've tolerated going from the 50mg down to 25 on the M for the past 2 weeks, but I'm concerned about going from 25 to 12.5 next. I've also had the blurred vision, extreme fatigue...lots of fatigue, here and there anxiety. My blood pressure did rebound after a couple of days off of M...but it had dropped down to a daily read of 95/65, which is how I started doing research online about the possibility of going off of meds in the first place. That's when I stumbled onto this forum and started seeing everyone else talking about all of the symptoms that I had for years. I just assumed all of these problems were from aging. I'll be 51 next week. ...So, my Bp jumped up to about 115/70 for a few days after cutting the M in half, but then dropped and settled at about 101-110/65-70. My pulse varies, but it's usually 65ish to at most 70. ...so Bp-wise, i think that it would be safe to keep weaning, but I'm afraid of more side effects again. I have to say that this is difficult, but easier than getting off of Paxil.

Again, I am so grateful for this forum. Just to be validated by what all of you post on here truly helps keep me from going off the deep end and keeping straight what's a withdrawl vs. Am I losing my mind?

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Hi Jane: I do theanine and magnesium and omega 3's as well as vitamins. Can I ask how you like the taurine and I haven't heard about the olive leaf before. What does the olive leaf do?

I'm with you on the anxiety...I hope once the M is completely out of our systems, it will go away.

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Further to my previous message I am not on any medications whatsoever.
Side effects decreasing slowly but still a bit annoying especially when it happens when trying to get to sleep.

Olive leaf is good for blood pressure, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and disease-fighting characteristics.

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Hi toonces. Most cardiologists are concerned about sleep apnea because there is a definite link between that and a greater risk of heart problems and can add to high blood pressure. Before I started dieting n exercising , I use to stop breathing when sleeping and catch myself and start back again. It was like my throat would close and stop me for a second and of course I would have a reflex trying to recatch my breath.

Well if you read dr Atkins new diet revolution, he touches on this. After being on a low carb diet, combined with excercise and nutritional supplementation, it just resolved itself. I no longer stop or pause when I'm breathing while I sleep. I rarely snore anymore when I use to snore a lot.

But let me clarify. When I say low carb, I'm more on a high fat low protein and very low carb diet. I take in less than ten carbs a day most days. But when I say high fat, I'm really meaning percentage wise. I eat 80% fat, 20% protein. This forces your body to burn it's stored fat through ketosis. Most people don't go that strict and it's safer if you don't unless u are very resistant to losing any other way. For me it works. But I of course watch my potassium level very closely.


The point is, an effective diet and weight loss can generally cure those sleep issues . It may take some effort and time but you can resolve it.

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Hi Jane. If you are not on any other medications , I would assume it's your body still adjusting, especially if you are seeing improvement. But of course this is just a guess. I'm not qualified to diagnose.

If it were me, I'd listen to my body and use good judgement as to whether I'd worry. If I felt like it was too scarey, I'd ask a doctors advice on what I was feeling. Otherwise, I'd give myself more time.

I can totally understand your frustration . Anytime my heart does anything, it demands my attention and I have to remind myself to relax. It certainly can be very stressful. So I really sympathize.

I think you are Gonna have to rely on your instincts here. But go get looked at if its too concerning.

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I'm not sure if my sleep experience is related to the sleep apnea discussion or not, but I did have insomnia of some sort when coming off the Metoprolol. It seemed to be more of an anxiety issue more than anything but, for whatever reason, I went through a spell where I couldn't sleep for anymore than about three hours a night. It really wore on me after a while. The longer I was off the 'M', though, it felt as though my body started begging me to get eight or more hours of sleep. Now I've settled into my average of about seven hours a night. There's no doubt that the Metoprolol had a profound effect on my sleep patterns during my weaning and withdrawal periods.

Toonces.......man, losing 100 pounds is a huge accomplishment! Congrats! I can only imagine what that did to your blood pressure. I'm 6'2" and dropped from about 215 pounds to 185 last spring, and that 30 pounds was enough to drop my pulse rate and blood pressure into some dangerous territory. It was also the primary reason I needed to get off of the 'M.' I'm also exercising regularly these days - mostly cycling - but thankfully my BP and PR are right where I've been wanting them to be.

Tony, I'm in WI, so my guess is that lunch or a party is out of the question. But hey, one never knows. I get down your way every once in a while, so I'll be sure to let you know if I get that way again.

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Im going through something similar too. i was on memetoprolol for a year and a half. Just a small dose is all I could tolerate. I would stop it for a week and try to get off it then end up getting back on it. Really messed my body up. A month ago I got off it. I still have an adrenaline rush a couple times a day but the biggest annoyance is the fast heart rate when im walking or trying to clean the house. Does that seem normal for the "adjustment" period? Im not sure if ill ever be normal again. Im really losing hope.

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Hi Jane: thanks for lead on olive leaf. I'll pick some up for my next level, lower dosing of M. I knew you were still off of M, but since you still have withdrawals, I mentioned the M eventually being gone from our systems. I'm just hopeful that once I'm completely off of M that eventually I won't feel any withdrawals, even if I still feel them for awhile because possibly it takes them awhile to leave the liver, etc? I'm so afraid that I won't get my life back, and I'm not even completely off of them yet.

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Hi Tony: I have been on a cpap for over 10 years. I guess I would have to have another sleep study done. I live alone, so I don't know if I'm snoring without the cpap. Thanks for the info on the link to heart and Bp with apnea...I didn't know.

I'm on a low fat, low carb diet...boat loads of raw fruits and vegetables with turkey, fish, eggs, nuts, cottage cheese. I have done Atkins in the past...I remember reading about his patients improving heart numbers whilst on steaks, etc. Can I ask what kinds of fats make up the 80% of your diet.

Thanks again

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Hey Toonces, I think I went through about a two-week period during withdrawal when I didn't sleep well. I knew it was the Metoprolol still at work, for it gave me a feeling of being on the edge all the time. It felt like I had been drinking three or four cups of coffee when in fact I had none. It was sort of like being on the verge of an anxiety attack all day and all night, if that makes any sense. It eventually went away, but it was followed with the feeling of not having enough sleep, probably from sleep deprivation. After a few days of that I finally settled into my normal sleep routine of about seven hours per night.

Anita, you're almost there! If you're anything like me, you'll have just a few more days to go when the good days will start becoming more consistent. That's when you know you've made it, even if you still get little twinges every now and then. My worst withdrawal issues lasted for about three weeks, and then I had some rebound effects for a few days after a week's vacation. I'm still not sure if the rebound thing was due to flying or drinking alcohol or perhaps both, but it was short-lived. Now I avoid caffeine and alcohol, for I really think they can act as triggers to my system.

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Hi Anita: thanks for your post...you're encouraging me to go to the next level of weaning. I'm so sorry any of us were put on this stuff...thanks again for sharing your experience.

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Does a month off the metoprolol and still having effects from it seem likely? I was on for a year and a half. Worst year and a half of my life. I quit cold turkey but was only on literally dust by the time I got off because I couldn't tolerate more. I am mainly just having fast heart rate when up moving around or cleaning etc. Blood pressure goes up when heart rate does. Just still feel like crap. I was put on it for tachycardia which they thought was from anxiety but they never really found the cause. The heart rate came about after a 2 month sinus infection. I feel pretty decent otherwise but this stupid heart rate won't go down. Has anyone here suffered longer than a month OFF this crap??

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Anita P., how long were you on the beta blocker? I was on for a year and a half. Small doses but enough to affect me.

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Hi Jane: I researched all of the attributes of olive leaf extract. I ordered it on Thursday. Thanks so much for the heads up.

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Hi Anita: thanks for the encouragement. I had a 6 month meds check/blood work appointment on Friday. I have been tracking my blood pressure every day(sometimes I forget, but usually every day at the same time so I can look for patterns and changes). I just took it before writing this and it's 98/62 with pulse of 60. This is average for the past months...but at the doctor's office, they were training a nurse and her first reading was 135/89...I never even felt the cuff tighten around my arm. I mentioned that that was odd and high, so she said, "we'll wait 10 minutes and take it again." So the 2nd time it came up as 115/68. What if I never said anything? That 1st reading would be in my record, and I don't even think the trainee even took it properly. I mean...we all have to be our own advocates...jeeeeez. So, thankfully, I truly like my current doctor. I've been going to her for over a year. She is not the one who put me on all of my meds. She said our next step is to go from the now 25 of M to 12.5 for a few weeks and I should monitor my Bp readings and let her know. She listens, spends time and explains anything I ask about. ...I'll keep you posted on how the next level of weaning goes. I'm stil on 20 mg of lisinopril...that was halved back in February...I eventually want off of that too, but I like the idea of 1 at a time so, like you, I can keep track of what causes what. So far, I have only had 1 quick bout of chest tightness for a few seconds, a few weeks ago. It did scare me, but it passed and hasn't happened since.
Thank you again for positive, move forward posts! It truly helps!

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Hi Anita: me again...my last doctor put me on lisinopril and metoporol about 10 years ago for barely borderline hypertension. Had I known all of the havoc these meds have caused, I would have just tossed the script. I remember taking the lisinopril first and my Bp did not change. Then the metotoporil was added and my Bp actually went up. I never in my wildest dreams thought that the meds were what pushed it up. I just panicked and thought, " oh no...it's getting worse...I really need these meds." My doc at the time said we need to increase the M to get it down, so that's what we did...but looking back...the meds are what pushed borderline Bp up...what a racket. Ugh...and we're all left to pick up the pieces of the mess these meds have done to the rest of our bodies. I used to come home from work and lay down...I would be so exhausted and I felt like I was walking in cement all the time, blurred vision and gained 50 pounds, lowered libido, depression... In conclusion, I would have been better off staying in a borderline hypertension state. I've subjected my poor body to 10 years of this stuff and there's nothing I can do about it...very sad.

Again...thanks for your posts...it truly helps to know I'm not alone...there is comfort in numbers.

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