Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 42) (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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I have been on metoporol for 2 years, 100 mg. Just got cut to 50mg. I.feel ok

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Sandra... I am sorry but taking a smudge does not sound good except there is nothing wrong with back tracking but after there months.. Gee I don't know.. I did back track early on .. went from 75 down to 50 and felt aweful so I went back up to 75 a bit longer. I remained on each low dose for months until I felt more stable.. Took me a year to get off and I still had the aweful horrific side effects. I cant stress this enough...........People are just too anxious to get off way too fast and then have too many issues..................What is the rush.... Take time and get off as slowly as possible.. Listen to your body .. the body knows what to do... Getting off slow and easy wins the race. Who cares how long it takes.. its not a race...................its better to wean off very slowly and have the least amount of side effects.. To give myself more insurance I even had to lengthen the time I took each dose so if I took a dose at 9 am I kept lengthening the time I took it in order for my body to adjust to not having the drug in my system even if it was a crumb at a time.

Please keep reading the posts about what others used naturally to replace the anxiety.. Magnesium, L theanine, camomille tea.. there are others that I forget now..

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I've been off for 50 days. My pulse is fine. My BP is normal. Im still having occasional chest twinges, the kind I had when I was "adjusting" to the metoprolol and also when "weaning" off. I'm wondering if it caused some sort of nerve damage in the heart region. It's not pain, more like a burning sensation in my chest. I've been to the ER frequently over the past 6 months due to this medication and my ekg is always normal. Anyone else having this sort of thing after 2 months off?

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Hi Anita. I'm sorry to hear that you are still having difficulties due to metoprolol. I'm not sure what the twinges are. Do they feel more like a twinge rather than a flutter? Do they have a mild tickle sensation or perhaps a slight pause in your beating rythm? If so, I'd say maybe it's a pvc... I know it's difficult to say for sure but is it possible the next time you get one to describe it just a tad more accurately? I know that isn't easy to do since sometimes it can be so brief.

And the burning you are feeling... Is it located right near the heart or more toward the shoulder? I seem to recall some similar feeling when I was on metoprolol. I'm trying to recall.

Are you on any bp medication right now Anita?

You know, I know some people have asked if there could be any metoprolol left in their bodies after 2 or 3 months being off and I'd have to say no. Now I can't say for absolute certainty this is true but I'd say it's very doubtful. But of course, that doesn't mean that some people who were on it for a while are not still having to adjust with life without it. People respond so differently that it's hard to say.

But... If your bp is good and your ekg is good, then let me ask the stupid question. How stressed have you been? I mean from a scale of 1-10, obviously you are worried.

The other day, I got so stressed my bp was 236/110. And I couldn't believe it. And I got some discomfort between my shoulder and my chest, right in that soft area. I'm not sure why it spiked so high. But I felt that discomfort for like three days after. My bp has been doing pretty well, that spike concerned me. So I decided to try amlodipine again and it seemed to cause me anxiety, but my doc didn't believe it the last time I tried it. But sure enough, the fourth day on it, I got extreme anxiety. So I stopped for 3 days and it went away. So it definitely caused it.

Or it at least magnified it. Still... It's important to look at every single thing you have been consuming lately when trying to sort out an issue for sure. And the other thing is accepting that you will be ok so u can get your tension/ stress down. Anxiety can certainly make anything far worse. I certainly believe what you are feeling is real, I'm just trying to figure what is medication related and what is being generated by your body itself.

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Hi Tony,
Thank you for your concern. The sensation isn't really "pain" but more of a constant ache, like a sore muscle with an occasional twinge. Yes, I have been very stressed. My husband had a heart attach last week and just came home from the ICU. He is making a major lifestyle change and of course, this whole thing has been terrifying. He almost died. My 10 mg of lisinopril seems to be handling the added stress, which is a good thing. Maybe this is just constant low grade anxiety? Thank you again.

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It does sound like u r under tremendous stress. So I certainly wouldn't discount it. It is possible that's all it is. Or could be lisinipril. Of course it's hard to know. I'm not saying to change bp Meds because they all have some sort of side effect of it is. It's a matter of tolerance.

I couldn't handle lisinipril but some people can. I would assume the ache is harmless but obviously bothersome. I know it doesn't feel normal for u.

I know this has to be a very scary time for you and your husband. I am so sry it's so awful. Just try and convince yourself that things will be fine. Because panic will only amplify things. Of course, that's really hard to do considering what you guys are going through.

If you have been to the ER and gotten cleared , I would just assume it's nothing too ominous.

I know when I get really stressed , I go for a walk in the sun and try and refocus. I sincerely hope you guys have brighter days ahead.

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Thanks Tony. I'm going to carry on and if it worsens, I'll go back to the er and get cleared again. We have had The added strain of the California wildfires being in our community...close to our home and devastating to us all. Yes to say I've been stressed is an understatement. Thank you for your patient and kind support.

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Steven, My story sounds exactly like what you have experienced. It has been going on for six years now. My afib was brought on by hyperthyroidism and I got my thyroid ablated. I have still continued to have tachycardia and was recently diagnosed with SVT. Are you doing better now? Maybe you have SVT, mine is triggered when my heart rate exceeds 100 bpm sometimes

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It's been pretty quiet around here lately. Hopefully everyone is doing ok...... : )

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Ty jimbo, I hope u r doing great too my friend. I been doing ok. I had to get back on bp medication. It's been good but I get occasional spikes that I believe is lorazepam withdrawal. But I have to be cautious, so I take some. I'm down to .125mg lorazepam daily. I'm almost off it. But it's a pain to get off of.

I think it got quiet on here because one of our guests irritated people. I hope everyone is doing great and all of you have a wonderful Halloween this month.

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Hey Tony! Sorry to hear that you had to go back on the BP meds, but hopefully you can avoid the beta blockers. Hopefully you can get off the lorazepam soon, too. I also agree that a certain guest sort of shifted the focus a bit here, but I guess it is what it is.

I've been doing pretty well. I still get a heart palp on occasion along with some very slight chest discomfort but, for the most part, I'm pretty much back to feeling normal. Odd thing is, my BP has been a bit lower than normal for the past six weeks or so. It doesn't seem as though I'm having any issues with that, but it's something I need to keep an eye on. I would suppose that continual exercise along with keeping my weight down are contributing factors, so I'm hoping that's a good thing. All in all, though, life has been good! Getting off the Metoprolol was perhaps the worst thing I've ever experienced, but it feels damn good to be off of it. I would never wish that horrid experience on to anybody.

Wishing everybody the very best........ : )

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Hi Tony:

I'm sorry you had to go back on, but I hope it won't be for long. Good luck with the lorazepam. I'm recently off of Xanax...it was a struggle.

I agree with the comments about the guest...was he ever even on bp meds?

Good to hear from you

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Hi Jimbo:

Glad to hear you're doing well. Can I ask what range your bp goes? Mine is on the low side, but will spike up here and there. ...but I've weaned off of metoporol, Lisinopril and Xanax, so I guess I need to give my body a chance to reset and settle into the new routine.

So good to hear from you.

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Hi Anita:

How are you doing and how is your husband? I've been off for 6 weeks now. I just want to thank you again for sharing your story. I could relate and you helped me stick with staying off of M during the worst of the withdrawl. I still have some ups and downs with bp, but overall, I think it's ok. Reading everyone's posts on here keep me going. And I'll come on here and even read old posts for a "boost."

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Hi everyone. I too am making good progress getting off the metoprolol. I think the worst is over. I get the occasional heart palpitation but nothing too extreme. I'm still taking lisinopril 10 mg which keeps my BP in the 115/75-130/80 range. It does give be funky side effects occasionally (dizzy, mild chest pains) but it seems to be working for the BP. I wonder how high it would go if I didn't take anything but I'm afraid to test it. I thank god that I didn't take the Atavan my Metoprolol pushing doctor tried to give me, and I feel for you trying to wean off these highly addictive drugs.

My husband had a heart attack last week, making a long story short he has a very normal low pulse and low BP. They kept talking about beta blockers in the hospital but didn't give them to him because his pulse was so low. At his follow up with the cardiologist he was very nervous as well as on a high dose nicotine patch. His pulse was elevated and what do you think the doctors advice was? "Im going to put you on metoprolol". My husband and I looked at each other with terror on our faces and asked why he needed it? The doctor blew up and left the room. At home I read the back of the box from the nicotine patches and fast pulse and high BP are signs of nicotine poisoning !!! The doctor didn't even think of that. He stopped the patch, his pulse and BP were back down within hours. Went to a new cardiologist who said he didn't need a beta blocker! If I hadn't just gone through what I went through, there is no way he would have ever gotten off the metoprolol as a person who had a heart attack! It Would have been too dangerous. Many of these doctors are just reckless with their prescriptions.. More more more and don't stop and think about the patient. You all were a large part of getting me through this.

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I'm a fan of yours Anita. Nice post.

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Well I have not been able to sleep well. Not horrible but just not resting. I have decided to not take my bp Meds YET. Not sure if that's smart but I'm doing it anyway. I was only on it a few days so I should b ok. I've given it tons of thought. Been checking it regularly. My bp now is 129/78.

My gut feeling is lorazepam caused my spikes in bp when I was withdrawing and weening it. I read a great deal on Benicar hct. It seems to work ok but it does have an intestinal side effect and increased history of sudden death by a good margin versus placebo. I know they all have side effects and anytime you take them it's a risk versus reward but I decided to do two things first before taking more of it.

I decided to wait and see if I get anymore spikes of bp after two weeks of being off lorazepam to see if that was the reason and to finish my weight loss before I start committing to bp Meds again.

My current weight is 222. I need to get to 200. The US ARMY has my ideal weight at 196. I figure 200 is close enough. I figure with continued exercise, weight loss and no lorazepam, I might not see a need to take the bp med. but it's hard to know. If I get too much bp elevation, I can always take the stupid pill but I'm trying to exhaust my options first.

I figure this is the smart play. And if I do take the Benicar, I'm going to drop the hct since I think with my diet and running, hydro diuretic would be stupid.

It's effective but since I already diet to keep my sugar in line, getting 3500-4000mg of potassium in my food is hard enough, I certainly don't need a diuretic putting me in danger. As it is, less than 2% of Americans get 3500 mg of potassium daily according to the US GOVT. Food choices do matter.

Also, please don't try and use potassium pills to reach your goal if you have low potassium. They all come in 99mg pills pretty much OTC. The reason for this is because nearly all potassium is absorbed from food into the intestines. And if it's from a natural food source, it's safe. But concentrated pill form can cause harm if it's from too many pills in a large quantity.

Most times food sits in the small intestine for about 3.5 hrs and is stored in the large intestine for hours. Only about 10% of total absorption is done in these two places. The other 90% is done in the small intestine and food is only there a short time. So if you need potassium, eat a healthy meal and you can reasonably see a difference in a few hours.

But of course, always consult a doctor if you have any concerns or have questions. I'm no doctor.

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There was a typo. I was trying to say food sits in the stomach for roughly 3.5 hrs. Most absorption is done in the small intestine. My apology.

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Tony, for what it's worth, I was at about 215 pounds when my doctor first prescribed Metoprolol, and I was at borderline pre-hypertension levels at the time. Needless to say, it would've been better to avoid the BP meds altogether, but there's no need to go into that now. Long story short, my troubles began last April when my weight dropped below 190. That was when I realized that I needed to get off the meds since my BP and HR dropped way too low. We all know how it went with getting off the meds - horrible experience - but keeping the weight off has kept my BP at very stable levels. If anything, it's actually been a little lower than normal but certainly not into dangerous levels like it was. I guess my point is simply that the 25+ pounds I lost along with a change in diet has made an incredibly huge difference in my BP levels. I know it isn't easy to lose weight, but I've since become a firm believer that the amount of excess weight we carry around is quite significant when it comes to blood pressure, even if it's only a matter of losing a few pounds. Funny thing is, I'm 6'2", and when I was at 215 lbs., none of my doctors ever considered that losing a little weight might actually help matters.

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Hi guys. I'm n the hospital . My heart took damage. I have elevated enzymes. Not sure what happened . I had an interruption in oxygen somehow. I'm scared but I can't do anymore. Pray for me.

I love u guys.

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