Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 57) (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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Re: Shanny (# 1840)

Even after the meds are out of your system your bodies adrenaline needs to readjust. That's what metoprolol does to your body. It blocks your natural adrenaline and now your body does not know how to deal with its own natural levels. That's why you need to wean off the meds very slowly.

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Re: Good2bhere 51 Male (# 1798)

Now off all my meds, blood thinners, beta blockers, statins. I feel great. Everything improved, though took a few months to detox from the meds. A few things that, I feel, really work for me. No Dairy, No vegetable oil (apart from a very little coconut oil for cooking), eating fatty meat (cooked in its own fat), eating lots of vegetables. No supplements or vitamins. Five months in from quitting oil, statins, dairy, and beta blockers, my most recent blood work results kind of speak for themselves. I'm happy with the blood results, and will see what results will be in another 3 months time. To summarize:

Blood pressure: Normal 114 / 70 (was about the same while on meds)
Weight: down 20kg (-25%)
LDL (bad cholesterol): increased +10% (always expected this result, after stopping statins)
HDL (good cholesterol): Increased +16%
Triglycerides (fat in the blood): less (- 40%)
HbA1C diabetic profile: down to 38 (from 46); Normal is less than 42, 42-52 is pre-diabetic, Diabetic is over 53

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Re: Jimbo (# 1848)

I agree completely with your assessment the "doctors don't have a clue." I was prescribed metoprolol after a minor heart incident and within 3 months it had made me so anxious and agitated that I asked to get off. My judgment was getting poor, I was going to make drastic changes in my will, etc. Called the nurse, who consulted the doctor, who said okay--but issued no instructions at all to taper. (The MD did not react to the terrible anxiety.) The nurse commented almost as an aside "you're only on 25 mg so that shouldn't cause any problems with getting off."

What the doctor should have checked from the beginning is the interaction of metoprolol with antidepressants. I take three types and have for years, under the care of a psychopharmacologist. They were all listed in my chart. It seems SSRI antidepressants (my primary) can enhance metoprolol's effects 4-6 times. So why did the cardio not take that into consideration before even prescribing it? Getting off helped my anxiety somewhat but now I am running higher BP than ever--150s and 160s are routine. I feel pretty alarmed. Is this the way meto kills people after they quit it? (PS - I am a
74 yo woman--older women are supposed to be especially vulnerable to meto's effects, I believe).

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It depends on your age. I am 77 and took Metoprolol for two years. It was a hell to stop. For helping myself I took Magnesium Taurate and E-vitamin in high doses. Both helped for a while but then the problems returned, but I continued with the mineral and vitamin regimen. After about 9 months it was better and now after ten months I am almost free from problems. For many on this site it takes about a year so I was lucky. Hope you can find your way. Take it very slowly so your body can adapt. Metoprolol gets out of your body but it is the body which has difficulties to adapt to new circumstances. It is desperately looking for Metoprolol and finds it nowhere. Very dangerous pill. I think the doctor should give you that when your condition is very very dangerous. And also tell you that it has withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking it. Good luck on whatever you do.

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I am also on lexapro and want to start working down towards getting off but it's hard. Anxiety hit me really hard when I got off since I went cold turkey. I need to start working out so I don't have to depend on pills to lower my bp. But i am glad I am off metoprolol

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I was on Metrop for 5 years. This last year has been the very worst. It put my BP up into sroke level. Many visits to ER but all test check out ok. Started to investigate Metrop on my own and found that I had all the side effects PLUS the increase in BP. 5 months ago started to take myself off. WARNING - GO SLOW. I was on 50mg twice a day. I am now totally off, but it is no fun. I think I should have stretch it longer but there is no way I am going back on it. I have kept my doctor informed and thankfully he is very supportive Suffer depression, heart palpitations, chest pains but they are getting less severe The info in this conversation site is great. Very helpful

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Re: LK (# 1868)

Gonna try and taper a bit more. I did 3 weeks of 19mg. Not gonna lie, I'm scared. And sometimes depressed to the point of thinking about suicide. I'm just tired.

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Re: Joyce (# 235)

I have had the same craving since being put on Metoprolol. Prior to being on it, I ate mostly vegetarian with some fish several days a week, for the past few years. I have been craving red meat and eating it daily for the past two weeks. Have only been on Metoprolol for 2 months and thought the side effects were symptoms of illness, didn't realize they were side effects until this weekend. Now trying to taper off and symptoms are much worse. Palpitations, headaches off and on (instead of daily and constant), anxiety, depression and all the things everyone is saying here. My doctor completely dismissed all my complaints about symptoms and basically said I didn't understand how my body would respond to medicines and it takes a while to adjust, etc., blah,blah. I wish I would have realized sooner and started the tapering process much sooner. Seeing a new cardio doc tomorrow and continuing to taper until I'm over this terrible ordeal.

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My last post did not went trough so again: Last night my anxiety was high and i took some l-theanine. Had some rebound high blood pressure, slight increase heart rate. currently taking 6 mg metoprolol. When i tried to wean off on the 1st try I had a rebound tachycardia of 180. It was a sinus tachycardia. I get depressed and sometimes think that my end is coming. I'm always expecting something bad to happen in other words expect the worst and hope for the best. Also taking magnesium ,around 400 mg in the form of pills,broccoli and shakes.

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Re: Peggy (# 1883)

Had some crazy high anxiety the first few days. Now it's normalized/better. I'm gonna wait till the 30th before i stop the 6 mg and see what happens. That would be 2 weeks of 6 mg. Keep in mind that it may be rough the 1st few days when you stop what is left.

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My last post was #1868. I had just come off Metrop and thought things were going to be not bad. Boy was I wrong! This has been the toughest two months and I am wondering if it will ever get better. I was able to solve the heart palps by using CoQ10. Worked like a charm. Have also added Magnesium. My biggest problem is a very sick stomach. Wondering if anyone else has experienced this and any suggestions on what might help. Very debilitating. Suffer greatly from dizziness as well. This site has been of great help and encouragement so just want to thank everyone for their input. This drug is terrible for some of us. I understand that for some it has helped - everyone is different. But many suffer and suffer bad.

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Just wanted to update my post here from 3-21-18 when I was still weaning off metoprolol. I was started on 50 mg extended release, switched to 25mg metoprolol tartrate twice a day, tapered to 12.5 mg twice a day, then 6.25 twice a day then 6.25 once a day then every other day then done. It was horrible being on it (I was only on for about 2 months) and equally bad coming off it, but so worth it. I feel so much better (am now on another BP med and having other side effects but nothing like metoprolol). Just wanted to tell you all to stick with the tapering and you will feel better when you finally get it out of your system. I read a study that showed that day 2 and day 8 are the worst after a taper or when you finally stop it altogether. Sometimes just knowing what to expect helps get you through it. I am now seeing a new doctor and she is making me wait 30 days to repeat bloodwork after completely tapering off the metoprolol. So although it's active effects leave after 24 hours (?) it stays in your cells for 30 days after stopping (no the withdrawal does not last 30 days!). Good luck getting off this drug, you can do it and it is so worth it! I feel 1000 times better already!

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Re: Alex (# 1904)

Dear Alex, thank you so much for your answer, it means a lot! L-theanine sounds very interesting, I'll look into it.

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Re: Kenny (# 1911)

Hi Kenny. I don’t want to give you medical advice. I can just share my experience. I went from 25 mg to 19, 6.5 and 12.5 for 2 weeks. Then 6.5 twice a day for a month. Then 6.5 fir 2 weeks then off. I was only on it for 3 months. I also was not taking another medicine. My withdrawal symptoms weren’t related to high BP. Mostly horrible anxiety, insomnia, heart palpitations. It may take a few days for a dosage to level off. Hope this helps. Ask as many questions as you need to

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Re: Thomas (# 1913)

Well the pill does dilate your arteries so its possible that is can create other problems if a clot travels somewhere else while the arteries are dilated.

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Re: Joni (# 1919)

Hi Joni. I went off metropolis and did not move to another med so I can’t help out here. Hope some others will chime in

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Good2bhere 51 Male (# 1799) --

Hi, had my heart attack October 16. I had a LAD Stemi, was stented and discharged. Prescribed 80mg atorvastatin. Weird thing is like most here, experienced the side effects, and felt my health getting slowly worse. June 2017 decided to quit my statins, decided to quit cold turkey. Anyway, now feel much, much, better. Some of the things I did, which may help others.

1. Quit smoking (day I had my HA).
2. Quit Drinking - Full stop, No Alcohol at all.
3. QUIT Sugar.
4. Quit Soda's and soft drinks sugary type. NO Diet drinks.
5. Quit Dairy products, will try and avoid as much as possible.
6. Try to avoid processed foods, snacks, bread, cheese, crackers, cookies etc.
7. Changed diet to now 50% meat & 50% green vegetarian. (Minimal Starch).
8. No Vegetable oils, except coconut oil for cooking.
9. Drinks are water/soda water with slight taste flavour added.
10. Exercise, for me about the same. Walk 3 days per week. Other days, I now do fasted Cardio 30min exercycle, with high intensity 30 second burst, every10mins. Also found doing some heavy weight low rep training helps. Hey, I'm over 50, so couple times a week is more than enough.
11. Reduced food intake to a 4 hour meal window per day. Fasting between meals. Desert is fresh fruit.
In addition to quitting statins, I've also quit the beta-blocker (metoprolol), Aspirin, and Plavax Clopedogril.

OK, I'm drug free, though please be careful if you are considering this type of change.

Kind of looking at myself as a type of experiment.

16 months in from quitting, results kind of speak for themselves. I'm happy with the blood results, and will see what results will be in another 3 month time.

To summarise
Blood pressure: Normal 115 / 75 (was about the same while on beta blockers)
Weight: DOWN 18%
LDL (bad cholesterol): UP 45% (always expected this result, after stopping statins, now 3.4 which would be considered upper end of normal)
HDL (good cholesterol): Increased +45%
Triglycerides (fat in the blood): DOWN 53% (lowest level since I started evaluations 10+ years ago)
HbA1C diabetic profile: down to 39 (from 46) (Normal is under 42, 42-52 is pre-diabetic, Diabetic is over 53)

What I'm trying to emphasize here is the key I believe is the change in food, and lifestyle. I literally feel, by continuing on in this manner, I will be healthier and better than I've been since I was a teenager. Drugs have their place, and helped to start with, though they are just such a small part of the overall treatment.

Wishing all here, good health, and success.

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Alex (# 1930) --

You and I are in the same boat. I had a horrible experience with Metoprolol over three years ago now, and I'm just thankful that I was able to get beyond it. I'm glad to hear that you were able to get beyond it as well. Still, the doctors were of no help to me, either. In fact, it wasn't until I found this website that I figured out what to do, for prior to finding this site, I just felt alone and frightened. Needless to say, after my Metoprolol experience as well as having bad experiences with other prescription drugs since then, I have lost almost all faith in the medical community.

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I have been without Metoprolol for 5 days. Could this cause any problems? What should l do?

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Also guys there is an illness called Dysautonomia. Dysautonomia, also called autonomic dysfunction or autonomic neuropathy, is relatively common. Dysautonomia happens when the nerves in your ANS don’t communicate as they should. When your ANS doesn’t send messages or receive messages as it should or the message isn’t clear, you experience a variety of symptoms and medical conditions.

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