Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 53) (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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Hello Guys my name is Monique I'm new to the forum I am now day 24 off M I took for 1 1/2 month doc put me on it ,had high heart rate after not getting any sleep the night before to find out I had sleep apnea,did echo,ekg,halter everything normal,but this has been the hardest 2 months of my life,the ANXIETY which spikes it's seems for the most part whenever it wants,shakyness,palpitations, racing heart I'm so scared this will never go away,I've been doing one a days,magnesium 200,I Theanine at times,nobody understands me when I tell them what's going on in my family they all say well the medicine should be out of u by now,but I don't think so,I'm so tired of being depressed and crying everyday

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A quick 800 mg of magnesium will settle that heart rate down, keep some with you at all times. I missed Christmas completely last year, it's been a real struggle. Definitely read thru all the posts here. Others will chime in over the next few days . Chin up!

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Hey Monique,

Hang in there, the first 3 months are the worst but like Lauren said you WILL get better. I am almost 6 months off and still get hit with symptoms but they are very slowly getting weaker when they do hit. My good weeks are getting longer which is what you have to look forward too! How are u JR? Prayers for all

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Thanks ,yeah it's on and off today my limbs feel weak,I'm trying to stay strong, and yes I'm praying for us all on here!!

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Hello Norma yes ur right in waves,thanks for the response,and I do feel so much better when I read this forum and speak with people who truly understand

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I took metroprolol for a year and a half. 25mg for a year and the dosage was increased to 50mg for 6 months. After losing 70lbs with diet and exercise I started experiencing dizziness when standing. I was also sweating excessively when working out. After expressing my concerns to my doctor, he told me to cut back to 25mg again. I did so for a week while monitoring my blood pressure and heart rate. With improved numbers I was told I could stop taking the drug. Since coming off I have felt extremely fatigued and experience headaches daily. I did not have any adverse reactions while taking the drug, on the contrary I believe it helped my anxiety, it lowered my blood pressure and heart rate and I didn't experience headaches nearly as often as I had previously. After reading most of the posts on this blog, I am hoping that I will not have to wait months or even years to stop feeling so tired.

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One day, one hour at a time. The good stretches get better and last longer, and the bad stretches go away faster as you go along. The bad will ALWAYS surprise you after feeling better for awhile. I have found potassium citrate to be a godsend for twitchiness and tingling etc. I take 400-500 mg at a time every 6 hrs or so, and an extra dose when that weirdness starts, it really helps. I also start the day with 2 cans of lo sodium V8 which gives me @,1400 mg . Daily minimum is 4K mg, most of us get no where NEAR that amount. Keep the Faith Folks!

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Monique me too everything checks out but I feel wired also I find my self checking the signs multiple times a day I feel nuts thanks for the imput. How are you doing? Any better?

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Hi Sandra, Monique, everyone. I had a horrible Sunday trying to spend the day with the grandchildren on the boardwalk, had anxiety, short of breath it was terrible, but had about four days of feeling ok. I'm almost two months off, heart rate and pressure have been up and down, but I'm crossing my fingers for some more good days! Hope you are all well

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Been off this for 3 months did have a blood pressure spike a few days ago, could it be from the metoprolol ? Also after the doc put me on benicar , caused alot iof problems with my digestive system , have an appt with gastro doc. Severe back pain so bad I could hardly walk, severe stomach pain etc never again will I take anything without researching first! Not on any meds now and my blood pressure is perfect ! Doctors too quick to prescribe medications!

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Hello! I am having more better days but still have a couple days a week of being light headed. Does anyone still have shortness of breath after 6-7 mo off?

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Hi cjj88 i am getting better and your right the good stretches start to last longer. I dont think i am at 3 weeks at a time yet bet its better . I actually played with my nephews the other ( soccer ) i was dying but just because i couldn't keep up lol. But its starting to come around. I think it will get better just longer than we thought

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Hey Sandra and yes I do mainly in the morning just ordered Tranquelene total calm on line go read the reviews,it helps put body back in normal levels,I think because the beta suppressed everything for so long,things are still off,we have to take supplements to get back in order,or at least quicker

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20 years of metoprolol and whadaya get, another day of nausea, feeling like s***. St. Peter don't ya call me, cause I can't go, my heart is racing so I must rest my soul. With apologies to Tennessee Ernie.

The drug companies do a great job of training doctors on how to wean someone onto their drugs, but weaning off and caring for them through withdrawal from addictive drugs gets token attention and support.

The drug companies ought to be forced to train some of their staff to help people like us get off these addictive drugs by the FDA.

It is all about the $$$$$....day 23, just like day 1, hell on earth.

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Yes I have, especially in the morning time. I take it 3 to 4 times a day. It may shoot up because we are stressed but I was told to do an average of what it is through the day.

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Hope everyone stays positive. I know this is one heck of a ride we will all be going thru but this chat is very helpful. There was lots of times i would freak out and start reading this chat and it helped me alot. Especially jimbo, he is very helpful and he always has great feedback. I have been off 8 months and still have bad days but lots of better days.

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Well, I'd just like to say "you're welcome" for all the thanks here, but there was a time when I was pretty freaked out about my situation without knowing where to turn. It literally felt like hell on earth. If you look back to May of 2015, you'll see what I'm talking about. This was the only active website I found where I could find some realistic answers to my ailments, and I'm more than thankful to those along the way who gave me the help and support I received when I needed it the most. They're the ones that deserve all the credit, in my honest opinion. I still do, however, like to check in here on occasion just to see how everyone is doing, for if I can give anybody any help or advice or whatever, I'm more than happy to do so.

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I am a little over 7 months off. Having more bad days than good now. I'm almost constantly light headedness and have been recently having heart palpitations. My sensitivity to any medicine is now so severe that I can't even take a vitamin. The beta blocker messed up my body. Bad. I am slipping into a deep depression and in denial that after all these months it's still the beta blocker. Every day I think I'm going to die and that there's somethinges very wrong with me. So frustrated.

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Ok and yes I'm doing hormones next with gyni I get flashes and chills

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Matt, about anxiety on Beta Blockers, I know what are you talking about. I never had anxiety in my life (I am in 30's). When I started to take BB's, at first I started for 3-4 Months with Nebivolol, and I didn't have anxiety, but did have some bad side effects. Then my doc switched me to Bisoprolol, and then bang: anxiety all the time (it lasted all 7 Months on Bisoprolol). I was scared/nervous most of the days for no reason, I didn't know what is happening and why I am not calm and why I am not a normal self anymore (also I never had problems with summer and high temperatures in my life. Suddenly, the first summer with Beta Blockers, and I started to feel as my body is having insane problems when it's hot outside, I needed to be at home under colder temperatures all the time. Very strange. As if BB's also altered our natural system of how to adjust to different temperatures. Something was "broken" inside of me).

Also, about the part where you say that you didn't like Atenolol, imo, I experienced the same when switching from Nebivolol to Bisoprolol. You see, from my experience, since I tried 4 different BBs in the last 2 years (Nebivolol, Bisoprolol, Metoprolol, Atenolol) and switched forth and back a few times, from my experience: all BBs are the same (let's say 80% the same), but each of them has it's own mechanisms, some minor difference in actions and in strength of some side effects and it seems (at least to me) as each of them affects slightly different receptors in your body.

Something like (my estimation): imagine that you are taking Metoprolol for some time. And Metoprolol blocks 50 out 100 receptors in your heart and brain. And your body adjusts to that way of working. And now you start to take a different BB. The 2nd BB will also block 50 out of 100 receptors in your heart and brain, but IMO, not exactly the same 50 receptors as the first one did. So, you'll switch to Atenolol, it will block let's say 25 same receptors which Metoprolol was blocking. But also, Atenolol will block some others, 25 new receptors which Metoprolol wasn't blocking (which were "free" back then), and also, Atenolol won't block 25 receptors which Metoprolol was actually blocking (this receptors will now be "free" suddenly).

So, over time, they do block equal amount of receptors in our body and they will do the same effect over 2-3-6 Months. But you see, when you switch from one BB to another, you can experience some minor withdrawal effect (my opinion), at least this is what happened to me when I was switching BBs. Each time I needed some time to readjust to slightly different mechanism of a new BB.

So, about how you felt bad on Atenolol, maybe it wasn't Atenolol (I am not saying that you should go back to Atenolol, since it is a crap also), it was just that your brain wasn't protected anymore by Metoprolol (since Propranolol, Metoprolol and Nebivolol enter into our brains, while Bisoprolol only enters to a 50%, and Atenolol doesn't enter at all). So, you see, it seems that Metoprolol affects both our heart, blood pressure and brains, while some others (Atenolol 0% and Bisoprolol 50%) affect mostly heart adn blood pressure.

So, while you were on Metoprolol, BB was doing something to your brain. And when you stopped taking it, since Atenolol can't cross a brain-blood barrier, your brain wasn't protected anymore and you had withdrawal symptoms. Again, I had the similar problems with anxiety and strange feelings when I switched from Nebivolol (affects brain 100%) to Bisoprolol (affects brain only 50%). So, when switching BBs, it is hard to tell which symptoms are new side effects, and which symptoms are actually a withdrawal from the previous, slightly different Beta Blocker.

Further, Matt, if you have "only" problems with heart pressure, and you don't have some tachycardias/arrhytmias (not now, but your general illness, or a reason why you started BBs), I think that there are tons of combinations of drugs which should lower your BP, without BBs.

My dad is taking 4-5 different drugs, he has high BP for 30-ish years. He takes only 1,25 Mg of Nebivolol and tons of other, different class of drugs. He doesn't have any side effects, even though he takes tons of medicines. So strange...

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