Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 85)

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.

REPLY

REPORT

Yes. I could barely function. My doctor didn't believe me either. It was horrible. I was making an appointment a week to complain to him about the anxiety, the depression, the fact that I didn't feel "present", out-of-body, scared, sad etc. He gave xanax and Zoloft. The Zoloft didn't help (how ironic that an antidepressant will prevent you from feeling sexual pleasure, one of the best things you can feel). I got off the Zoloft after a week. However after feeling so guilty for taking the xanax I feel it saved my life at first. I could go to work and function. I was still severely depressed and sleep deprived but at least I could work through it.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Danny,
I have noticed this "fear" when trying to nap. I take elavil at night to sleep and do not have the same problem.

It is more than anxiety; it is fear, that I feel and it happens every time.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Danny- how long did you take xanax for my doctor has been hesitant to give me that because the risk of addiction. Which I am ok with because he is being careful which is great cuz my first cardiologist messed me up by giving me 200mg of this poison we are all dealing with

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

One last thing Danny,

I was on Metoprolol for 20 years.

Did you experience nausea off and on.

I have quit caffeine and drink decaf green tea. I have also cut down on dairy products.

How long before you really felt normal again?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

matt. i think i know what your feeling. i used to call it fear at first. like an impending doom. as if the world will end or you will cease to exist. i now just call it anxiety. and after going off M i was feeling that almost every moment of the day and overlapping with depression. Sometimes it would go away. And then, like clock work, every time i try to either nap or sleep that rush of fear would hit me. and it was a sort of deep dark sensation in your chest. at least it was for me. almost like youre falling? and the more you would give in the deeper it would go and you'd ask yourself how much deeper into this abyss can i go?? then you either don't get any sleep at all or you wouldn't notice when you did fall asleep, or you would crash after a couple days.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

JR, i was on xanax for a year, consistently, then i tapered my self off for about 6 months. i have some still for emergency and maybe have used it once a month. since our bodies are so much more sensitive now it's good to have it there. i have strong will (i think) so i try not take. i went through xanax withdrawals but they were mild compared to M. i started at .25mg twice a day. and 1mg before bed when i felt my body was getting used to it i would go off it for a week and just suck up the anxiety because i didn't want to up my dose.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Matt,

I never felt nausea. I follow a bodybuilding diet and exercise regime. I'm very fit at 31yrs. During the first year of withdrawals I was on this message board and researching nonstop. At least the research and boards keep you somewhat distracted from the feelings. The drug is in our organs, cells even, so I did many cleanses and took and continue to take supplements. Whether they work or not may not matter cuz it was the only thing I could control so I would encourage you to cleanse, detox and supplement. I can tell you exactly what I took if you want.

I felt that at around 10 months I could see a light at the end of this tunnel. I could feel my body trying to normalize. I wanted to help it as much as I could so I tried to think positively and tell myself my body is a warrior it wants to be right, it wants to be normal, it's fighting. I accepted that the fear anxiety depression, light sensitivity, numbness were part of the healing. So when they came, I welcomed them instead of dreading them. My body has to go through this because it's fighting to be normal and fighting is painful! So before the tenth month, I told myself, if I have to live like this for a while, I now know why people take their lives because suicide crossed my mind.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Danny-thanks for the feedback . I might have to talk to my doctor about it because lexapro worked i may have gotten off too soon . I know xanax works different it's more like a sedative which I can see why people may get used to it but I am sure it kills the anxiety if you use it .

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

JR

There are a number of benzodiazepenes: valium is for muscle spasms, lorazepam (Ativan)is for muscle relaxation and anxiety, xanax is for all around anxiety, and clonazepam (klonopin) is supposedly the strongest for for anxiety, but everyone is different.

I had been using 1 mg of lorazepam for back problems, sciatica (nothing else, not even the narcotics worked for me after three operations at L-4, L-5).

They upped my lorazepam to 3 mg a day with the metoprolol withdrawal.

They are all addictive and if you take them for a while, you must titrate off them slowly or you may have seizures.

As with Danny's xanax, the lorazepam helps me function, although I am retired and do not have a stressful job or schedule, but the anxiety I felt on Metoprolol, when it turned on me ( the paradoxical effect) was just too much to handle so I stopped it. Anxiety continues but it has been manageable most of the time after 7-8 months.

Exercise always helped me with anxiety and stress. I need my knees replaced before I can get back to that rigorous routine I used almost every day.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Thanks Danny,

Unfortunately I am 70 and about the same time I had metoprolol withdrawal (after being on it 20 years) , I developed arthritis in my knees. I was working out on an elliptical for an hour a day, but I cannot even walk too far without developing pain and inflammation, which continues 24x7. I already have an artificial right hip and am contemplating a right knee replacement...the problem being that you cannot mix benzodiazepenes and pain killers, which are a deadly combination.

I can feel the difference between when I first got off M on 6/30/16 and today, but there are some really bad periods and I keep thinking it is something else, especially the nausea. Then there are days that I almost feel normal, except for the knee pain.

I have had periods of anxiety/depression in my life, but nothing compares to this.
And since coming off M, I am sensitive to all new drugs.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Danny and matt- thanks for the feedback. And I am trying to change my mentality because your right I think i am fighting the anxiety vs accepting it in which makes it harder and wears you out. I am 32 and some times feel 45. I am doing horrible in my eating and excersise. I need to get on track to feel better

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

I'm a 46 yr old female. I was prescribed metoprolol tartrate 25 mg a year ago. Started noticing I was out of breath and tired quickly. So about 3 months ago I started weaning myself off the meds. Went from 12.5 mg once a day to 1/4 once a day. I went to my dr. and talked with her about weaning myself off. She told me to take 1/4 a pill once a day for two weeks. And then 1/4 of a pill once every three days for two weeks, but I've noticed a spike in my bp? Is this normal? If so, how long till my bp gets back to normal?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

It's definitely still the M. The nausea might be something else or also a consequence of the M. How long have you been off? Even after a year I still felt waves of withdrawals that would come and go. I thought it was something else too but looking back I know it wasn't.
You are also on other meds which I'm sure are doing something else to your body.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Terry your Bp will spike. Were you taking M for BP? Has it always been high?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Reason I was placed on metoprol.was because I had a rapid heart rate. My blood pressure was never high. Now that im trying to wean off of it. My blood pressure and heart rate are high. I feel like my whole body hurts. And I have lost my appetite. Are these normal withdrawals? If so, how long will it last?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Has anyone had luck with their body not being sensitive to every medication anymore? Can our bodies heal after all this? I am a year off and trying to take meds for Crohns but have severe sensitivity to meds now so its kinda a dilemma.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Terry, those are classic withdrawal symptoms.

I had a high HR for a few weeks which later comes on and off in waves.
Rebound high blood pressure.
Nausea in the first few weeks after quitting.
Headaches, dizziness (especially after some activity).
I also had pain in abdomen, as if I was lifting weights or something for too much (which I haven't). It would hurt all day long for a few weeks. Also, I had some kind of a strange pain in lungs (my guess is that since we had lower HR and our breathing was slower, our lungs have also atrophied to some extent, and now when you quit drugs, they are "growing" and getting back to old levels. It may hurt, it seems).
Remember: your body and it's mechanisms are now trying to get into it's original shape, which were altered a lot by these drugs.

Also, remember 2 strange phenomenons:
Good and bad days will come randomly, but you will have more and more good days as the time will go by.
For example: 5 bad days, 1 good day, 5 bad days, 2 good days, 3 bad days, 3 good days, 5 bad days again, 4 good days, 3 bad days, 3 good days, 2 bad days, 5 good days, 3 bad days, 5 good days, 1 bad day, 6 good days etc
Bad days will return randomly even after 2-3-4-6 Months, but they will be weaker and weaker and more rare over time.

The 2nd thing is that the symptoms won't kick you in the same time.
For example:
Week 1 when you quit: high HR, high BP, pain in abdomen, nausea, feeling sick
Week 2: the same
Week 3: HR gets better, BP also. Nausea also. But now you suddenly have dizziness and headaches.
Week 4: Dizziness still
Week 5 and later: huge anxiety

Anxiety sometimes kicks later, and for a lot of people, other symptoms will pass after a few weeks (Heart rate, blood pressure, nausea, dizziness, random pain) but anxiety stays for 3-6 or 12 Months in a lot of cases.

A lot of people here reported problems with anxiety on bad days even after 6 or 12 Months after quitting.

Good luck

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

I have been taking metoprolol for about 2 yrs for HBO and heart fib 50mg 2in the morning. 1 at night I notice my face is getting bigger could. the. pill cause it

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Thank you Bob... I am trying hard to wean myself off the metoprolol tar. But, the rapid heart rate and high blood pressure honestly is scary. I can't hardly sleep at night. I'm awaken with my heart beating out of my chest. What i dont understand is why? Why do these Drs prescribe these meds knowing that it's hard to wean off? I mean i have never done drugs. I dont smoke cigarettes or drink. I barely take Tylenol. And here I am "addicted" to this? How is this fair? Is there no such thing as patient's rights? I mean really, do we not have a say when it pertains to our well being? This is all confusing for me. I just want to feel normal again.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 2

Terry, the thing is that these drugs are good for probably 8 out of 10 people. So, majority of people don't have side effects and it is a wonder drug for them. Also, when trying to quit a drug, some people also don't have any problems. My doc said that she used one Beta Blocker for one year and didn't have any side effects. Then she stopped using it later and had zero withdrawal problems.

Then, when I came and said that I have 10s of side effects, she didn't believe me too much or at least she thought that I am exaggerating. When I tried to quit and ended at ER due to heart rate 160 which didn't want to go down, she again said: you either have anxiety or you need Beta blockers for your original disease (the original disease caused this high HR).

I don't know, maybe really only some of us have problems, or maybe other people are not reporting their problems to their docs.
Or maybe a majority of people when they quit Beta blockers get a high heart rate, but then they think that it's their original disease and not a withdrawal symptoms.

Also, I have been to a few docs and all of them said that a withdrawal should be gone after 2 weeks. I really don't know what is the right answer. Whether docs are lying, or drug companies are giving false results and aren't telling too much about side effects and a withdrawal, or people don't report their side effects and a withdrawal too often (so it may seem that only some of us have problems, which is not true), or people think that their main disease is causing all these problems.

But still, as you can see, there are 100s of people with bad side effects and horrible withdrawal symptoms which last for Months, and not only 2 weeks.

Good luck

REPLY

Was this helpful? 4

My Dr. told me I can just quit the metoprolol, my heart rate sometimes dips into low 40's for a few seconds at night...

3 REPLIES

So I was prescribed Metoprolol for high BP and have taken it for a total of about 8 years. It was horrible in the beginn...

20 REPLIES

My son had a terrible experience on wyvance. He has phyciatic systems to include halluciations. The doctor took him off ...

428 REPLIES

I have been in pain management for years, lost my doctor along with other patients, and primary won't fill or says s...

299 REPLIES

I have been on kolonopin 1 mg daily for 14 months now I am depressed and very anxious most of the time I want to get off...

292 REPLIES

How long before muscle aches and weakness subside after discontinuing Lipitor ## Had been on 10mg for 4 years. recently ...

204 REPLIES

I have been taking 200 mg. a day for about 4 years. I thought it was a coincidence that I've lost 50% of my hair dur...

165 REPLIES

I have been on Vyvanse for 4 weeks and I am now tapering off. I was going to quit cold turkey , but I wke up this mornin...

159 REPLIES

I started Metoprolol this Monday after the cardiologist prescribed it because of being in the ER with extremely fast hea...

103 REPLIES

I have been on stelaine for 25 years with short breaks but I am trying to stop it and getting nasty withdrawal effects. ...

87 REPLIES