Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 7) (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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You are welcome. I wish I could help you more but it's hard to guess sometimes. Everyone is so different. Dizziness and breathing issues with metoprolol range from common side effects to allergic reactions. But since you no longer take it, and you feel relief taking it, I'd say it's adjustment.

But you know, metoprolol, when it's working, it reduces the amount of work the heart has to do to accomplish the same result. I think some people's bodies over time adjust to this. Then when you stop it, your heart suddenly has to do more work than its accustomed to and this is what takes time to readjust to.

It can make it hard on someone who's heart is in less shape too. You know, some walking and very light and gradual excercise might benefit you. Just conditioning your heart a bit extra might alleviate part of what you are feeling. But I'd go slow. Any chest discomfort and I'd rest and just progress gently. No need to hurt yourself. Maybe your heart just needs a little time to get used to doing more. It's hard to know. But if your oxygen level is good and you don't feel faint, no numbness in your extremities, no chest pain or pressure and good bp, then I wouldn't panic for sure.

I know when I was taking losartan potassium , it started to effect my breathing and I had to quit taking it. And I understand that worry you are having. I was also concerned. But it did go back to normal and I'd like to see the same for you. I know the relief I felt when that weight was lifted. Every tiny thing can make you stressed.

Staying calm, as hard as it is, is best. Just the other day, I got down to .375 lorazepam and I had some chest pains . It kinda scared me but I kept telling myself it's the drug, don't panic. And it did go away .

But I tell you, if you get too concerned, go get checked out by a professional. That's always best if it gets too concerning. I admit, I'm one of these people who thinks modern medicine can do a ton of good but I just wish they wouldn't overprescribe so much. Sometimes that just makes life harder and really doesn't help. You can almost tell the great doctors from the bad ones by how quickly they will throw you on a drug without being certain you really need it.

Metoprolol is like that, if you really need it and it works with your body , it can greatly improve your life. Otherwise it's living heck to take it.

After all I have been through, every time I see someone struggling on here, I just want to given a hug a tellem it'll be ok. My heart goes out to them.

Right after my second hospital visit , I at down and made recordings to all my kids telling them how much they r loved just in case things went bad for me. And I really felt they might. I was a wreck. Cried and cried in those tapes. When I go bad and listen to them, I can hardly bear to hear my own words. Fortunately I'm still here and I remind people to stay calm because I myself have lived in some really dark and lonely days. When I was on all these drugs, I was such a mess that I'd just go sit outside in the sun and try and stop crying.

That's when I couldn't help but think of Shawshank Redemption... When he said... Get busy livin or get busy dying. So I put everything I had into improving and getting off these drugs except if they were absolutely necessary.

My doctor the other day said he couldn't believe the changes I've made in my lifestyle and that he wishes everyone would do that.

It's gonna be ok Sandra , just hang in there darlin.

I'm pulling for you, I truly am.

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Hi toonces, hi guys.... I hope all of you are doing really well today and that your Metoprolol weening is going very well.

I wanted to say that I am now off of lorazepam completely too. Every time I stepped down on lorazepam , it was a rough experience for like 2 weeks during the withdrawal . But to my amazement , after I stopped this last bit to zero, I've had very few withdrawals. I'm shocked that when I finally JUMPED, my body held up so well. So when you are weening Meroprolol, and u finally JUMP off altogether, I hope it goes just as smoothly for anyone struggling.

I do want to share one thing. I had been seeing a doctor who I really like and is well aware of my history and how my year has unfolded. He has been great. He knew I didn't want any more beta blockers or channel blockers for bp Meds either and has tried very hard to help me find the right bp med for me to avoid my spikes and I finally found it.. Benicarhct. Excellent bp med. at least for me anyway. Unfortunately my favorite doctor doesnt take insurance so it gets pricy to see him. So... I went to see one that does because I needed to be more frugal. This doctor knew nothing about my struggles. Was young and very rude. He basically told me I needed to get back on lorazepam and Meroprolol and that i just didn't want to take drugs period and that it was all in my head and I might need a psychiatrist. I was shocked. Talk about a leap. Only 15 minutes and boom... Wanted me on several drugs right away.

Well I hate to say it but I flipped out. I failed to keep my cool. I chewed him out for 20 minutes straight. Cancelled my appointments and swore I'd never b back. I told him he was out of his mind. I said.. DOC, do u know how many pains and pvcs that lorazepam caused me? He said no but how do u even know it was a pvc? I said ummm well Doc...I went to the hospital and they said yeah... You got pvcs. Duh!

He was an absolute jerk to me. He even said, I want you back in losartan right now. I said doc, I agree I needed something for these bp spikes but losartan caused my heart to stop twice for a couple seconds and it scared me. He said I don't believe it. I said I don't care what u believe. He said I had been a doctor and a nurse and had years of schooling. I said that might be but I've known my body for 42 years. Anyway, it was quite the argument.

I went back and told my other doc and he just laughed and said no way I needed lorazepam again or metoprolol. He agree the blood pressure had to be controlled because of the spikes but said no way I needed that other stuff. He said my health has improved so much that if everyone tried as hard as I did that we would be way better off. My blood work is all great.

Anyway, sry for my rant. The point is, there are some fine doctors out there but some are out of their minds. Sometimes medication is an absolute necessity but sometimes it can be very dangerous. It's important to be sure. So finding a doctor you trust is key to knowing the difference.

Remember that just because someone is a doctor doesn't mean he is right. Some body had to finish last in their class lol. Find someone who didn't!

Finding a good doctor is like finding your favorite restaurant. Sometimes you got to find a few bad ones before you find the one that makes that perfect steak that's your favorite.

This year has been the scariest in my life. I've have cried more tears than I ever dreamed. I have jogged in the rain while crying. I hurt my heel from so much jogging but I refuse to miss a day jogging to let it heal because I'm afraid my health will drop a bit. I know it won't but it's the fear on losing all the hard work. I give my boys hugs like 10 times a day just in case.

I have tons of medical bills. I just got an extra job to pay those back. It'll take time. I sit on the coach and my resting heart beat is like 52 now from all the running.

If I die tonorrow, at least it won't be because I didn't try my best to survive. I gave it everything I had.

I love u guys... Thanks for the support!

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Im still here too :( I was off the metoprolol for 3 months but the withdrawal got so bad so I took a sliver just to have a couple days of feeling normal. It was great...until it wore off. So a week and 4 days later I took another sliver. When I say sliver I mean "dust". Who would have thought your body can withdrawal from dust. I questioned for a long time if it was even withdrawal but all the nasty symptoms im having goes away when I take it. How much slower and smaller am I going to need to go to get off this stuff?? I cant go smaller. I can make it about a week off then my body freaks out on me. Is there something natural to help me. I seriously feel like an addict.

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Thank you Kerry,

Thanks to all of you! I'm still doing ok. My heart hasn't stopped for a week or more now. I'm hoping that's good news. Maybe it was lorazepam withdrawal causing an issue, not sure. I'm going on four weeks, I think, without it.

I'm still running now. As a matter of fact, I just finished 1.5 miles. Trying to be strong. I am worried a lot but I'm trying to mentally be tougher. My first week after the stents was bad. Emotionally I was a wreck. I think that feeling of death looming can be a little traumatic.

Look, guys. All of you. Thank you for being so kind and asking how I am. You guys are all clearly genuinely good people. I sincerely want to see each of you have a very nice holiday season and a healthy one as well. Love u guys

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Lol I never have been hypertensive. Fortunately for me my PCP realizes how hypersensitive I am to everything and is working with me, not throwing some other toxin at me. THANK YOU all for continuing encouragement. I just went thru about of food poisoning, and after feeling normal yesterday, really normal, I am having M-Zapp today. Pushing thru it. We can't all be wrong! I have basically nixed all my holiday plans because I can't depend on feeling ok yet. There's always next year. ANYTHING to feel better for good. Jimbo I am SO looking forward to THAT day!!!

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Dr. Joey, I don't mean to sound critical of your contributions here, but most people on this forum fully understand what hypertension is and how to deal with it. In my case, I lost enough weight that my blood pressure and heartbeat dropped to dangerous levels. I absolutely needed to get off of the Metroprolol. Other people are on beta blockers for other reasons other than hypertension, too. The fact is, Metroprolol (and beta blockers in general) causes an extreme reaction with serious side effects in some people, and the vast majority of doctors out there have no understanding of why this is occurring. My point is simply that most people here seem to have a pretty solid idea of what they're up against when it comes to knowing what they need to do about hypertension and the drugs they may or may not need to take. For most folks on this forum it's simply about getting off this horrible drug. Joey, unless you've experienced this first-hand, I doubt that you'd understand. Sorry for the mild rant!

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable Christmas......... : )

Frank

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Hi Jimbo:

Thanks for speaking out. I lost over 100 pounds, and when I took my bp at home it would get down to 80/60ish. When I called my doctor, they told me to make sure that I was drinking enough water to keep my pressure high enough. ...And this my current Doctor whom I respect, trust and like. That being said, I knew I had to do my own research to find my own health answers to get off of bp meds or lower dose, etc. little did I know that weaning off of it would cause a slew of physical, mental and emotional side effects. Once all of the side effects started, of course, I wanted to not wean off even with bp that was too low. The positive support from people on here who generously shared personal details of their struggles are what validated and helped me get off of the stuff. I felt support because everyone on here has been through or is currently going through getting off of this stuff. If you aren't trying to get off of it, why would you be on the thread?

I take my bp several times a week and keep a log. My bp is typically 110/75. I agree that people on here understand bp issues, and some aren't even on met for bp issues.

i agree that I wish there were more honest and positive threads like this one for other topics.

Thanks for listening...

Merry Christmas to All :-)

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Danny, of course, I can't be certain if what you're feeling are still side effects from Metroprolol, but if you're highly sensitive to the drug, as many of us are, I wouldn't be surprised if it still had a grasp on your system. I've been off since June 10th, and I still get mild heart palpitations as well as fatigue from time to time. The fatigue is a mystery to me, for it comes and goes without warning, but it'll only last for about three or four days at a time. Thankfully I'm over the anxiety, but I know I'm not 100% yet.

Toonces......I hear ya! In many ways we were in the same boat. I only lost about 35 pounds before going off the M, but it was enough to make a significant difference in my blood pressure.

And, who in the heck signed my last post as "Frank?".......LOL.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Jim

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Sandra.
I can understand what you are going through.. It took me a year to get off of the (M) and It was a nightmare.. I have been off now since last April.. my body was so addicted to this stuff........Anyway; I did it very slowly.. Instead of cutting the pills I would extend the time I took it.. LIke lets say I took 25mgs. at 9 am I would extend that to 10 a.m. and that was a horrible struggle.. I would just let my body tell me what to do.. I kept extending the time I took the 25 mgs. until I felt stable enough to cut down.. that is why it took me a year.. and I still had horrific side effects.. I even had to back track a few times it got so bad.. If I was on 50mgs. and cut back and I was having issues I just went right back up to the 50 until I felt stable.. I don't know what dust is but have you heard of titration.. you have to look It up. I think it means you mix the dust with water but look it up
I also took magnesium, theanine, things for my nerves, I did EFT and even went through videos on utube on how to get clean of drugs..
Hang in there and find ways that work for you.. try a bunch of things and see what works.. I couldn't even walk two feet without my heart pounding.. I was basically in the house for a year and just did some shopping and minor things.. but it was so worth it..
Good Luck

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Sandra, I should probably add one more thing: since I'm basically semi-retired while running my own business as a one-man operation, I also had the luxury of shutting my business down for a few weeks so that I could take the time to get off this drug. I also had the luxury of having a daughter and a son in the area in the event I needed help, so I guess you could say that I had some sense of security while venturing into the weaning and withdrawal process. I honestly don't know how I could've done it if I had to work a regular job on a daily basis, not to mention the additional stress to go along with it. While I am by no means making an attempt to encourage you to go cold turkey, I would encourage you to look at all of the options available to you in order to make life as comfortable as it can possibly be if you're considering the notion of toughing it out. Just know that we're pulling for you........ :)

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Four days of relative normalcy, and today I'm getting zapped. I'm off M for a month now, doc says to give it a few more weeks. She says this drug does NOT like to let go. It IS getting better, but the more real normal days I have, the more disappointing it is to suddenly have an off one. DEFINITELY not as bad as even 2 weeks ago. You DO feel like you are losing your mind, you are NOT, just push on. DRINK water, tons of it, and push Proteins. Bee and Jimbo, you checking in and reiterating things HELP those of is who follow in your footateps! THANK YOU.

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Same here Lauren. I had a great day yesterday. Felt somewhat normal. Today my heart is racing and I have a horrible headache and just feel terrible. I am about a week and a half completly off (third time trying to get off) I think im gonna hang on this time and try to make it.

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DON'T GIVE UP!!! It's WORTH it to reclaim your life. :) Visiting this site daily really helps!!! Tons of water and Protein!

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Thanks jimbo !!! I have been struggling this week but i feel i can't go back . I also went cold turkey . I have some bad hours during the day and then ill do good. The only thing is that it makes it difficult to work out ..my goal.is to get off all meds . I currently take lisinprol/htz in the mornings and amnoldipine at night ..i just want off and be healty again!!!

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I agree Jimbo that he experience will haunt me for the rest of my life but as times goes on I feel so much better that it will just be a distant memory. I am for sure going to have my doc put this down as an allergy for me. I have had many side affects but the one that stands out most for me was the mental changes. Things would happen in my life and I would blow them totally out of proportion in a paranoid way. I guess that was an anxiety type reaction but much deeper. I really felt honestly sure that these things were true because in my head they were. I'm still trying to pull it all together but the relieve I feel makes me cry in a good way. Good tears.....I'm so relieved tears. I wasn't always taking the med faithfully because I would feel anxiety start to happen when I would take it so then I would tuff it out for a month and then give up and stop them but when I would stop my pulse would go high and anxiety still so it felt like damned if I do and damned if I don't. I had no idea what was going on. Long story short. I have been off of it since the end of Nov. and I for sure had withdrawals and heart throbbing feelings but I was better equipt to deal with it because I had more knowledge of what was going on. I would have never guessed that a bp medicine could and does cause withdrawals. When I would get the anxiety and heart racing I would just take off running sometimes because I felt like fight or flight and I decided on flight lollo. I kept telling my heart it's okay your just learning to fight for yourself again. I thank god for this sight and all this info. I do believe I have an allergy to this medicine. I'm getting use to feeling my heart beat again. It was so subdued for so long?. So you have been off of this since last June? Wow....how long for you to normalize so to speak? I will never forget this experience. That last couple of days have been the calmest that I have had internally in a very long time. I feel like have taken a Valium and I haven't. I'm so use to being in fight or flight mode this feels like the old me. I can't believe it has taken me so long to figure this out but then again a lot has been going on in the last eight years that I didn't have time to figure it out. I just feel the need to get on here so that others can be helped from that crazy feeling! Thanks for your input.

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I am feeling the same way sandra but you have to tell yourself that there is a light at the end. I know i am far from it but one day at a time. We will get there !!!! This may be the worst 2-3 months of our lives but we can do it !!

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Sandra don't get too stressed please. It's a drug that seems to have side effects for many. If I were stronger I'd quit taking it myself. I plan to discuss with cardiac and primary docs next visit. I have down days too. My biggest problem is hair loss which I feel is from Metoprolol. My aching joints and muscles may be from it also but I've been attributing it to my age and arthritis. Please take a few deep breaths, realize you're not alone and above all strong enough to overcome. I look at many people around when out and about and see so many worse off with disabilities. I suddenly think I'm lucky in many ways. Good luck. Keep posting. There are many good people here that are very supportive.

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Sandra, I sincerely wish that there was something I could do or say to help, but as others have said, "just hang in there." A day will come when you'll start feeling better again. It just seems to take a little longer for some folks.

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Today and yesterday were not good days at all. Pain in wrist joints and knees all day yesterday. Also my hands hurt. I was always so wired on the metoprolol that I think my body just doesn't know what to do with this low energy. Feeling tired but no pain today. I think I'm still detoxing for sure. I never would of figured a blood pressure medicine would do this. I don't know if this has anything to do with this but my right eye feels as if something is in it like a stray eyelash or something. It was hurting all morning then went away for a few hours and now it's back again watering hurting and all blood shot. My blood pressure is 119/68 with pulse of 75. That's just crazy! My blood pressure is lower than I have seen it in years! The only medicine I'm on right now is my levothyroxine. I am not a neurotic person at all and I just want to share everything that's going on just in case somebody else is going through the same. I've heard people on here talk about faces hurting, ears hurting and so on so maybe somebody understands this eye pain which has subsided again? Thanks everybody for listening and being here. Some good days and now I'm on a few bad days geeez

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Well glad to see that everyone is trying to pull thru . Spoke to my doctor today and she believes i have anxiety and that i should have no more beta blockers withdrawal by now because its more than a month . I was like really .!! The other terrible part of her is that the hydralazine she gave me made feel worse . Aparently that drug almost makes yoy feel like you have lupus !!! Glad that i am switching doctors in 2 weeks

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