Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 85) (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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Yes you're right Bob they look at you as though your crazy or sum it all up to anxiety,my latest element is gastro issues,still spikes of anxiety,and the feeling of something is stuck in my throat certain times of the day

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Monique, did the endocrinologist test you and help you with any symptoms?

I am not sure they will do much do me but it will give more insight into what is really going on.

Bob,

You are correct, my nausea was really bad during the first month, better now thanks to decaf green tea, no coffee or soda. There are some bad days when stressed, but they are better. Sleeping is difficult with such a high HR in the AM.

With a high BP, that scares me but I think that has to do with lack of vigorous exercise and withdrawal, so I am keeping it calm exercise for a while.

What was really funny was the shrink told me it was not a good idea to get back surgery for pain, just weakness in the legs....well I had both and he was only 20 years too late. Lots of help there. If these people move away from the specialty, they know nothing...and even within their specialties they are incompetent.

No more ERs for me....just anti-anxiety pills for me. I find any new medication has bad side effects, so I do not want to change the landscape. It is a difficult withdrawal, because it effects mind and body.

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Monique, about anxiety, I have the same problem.

Before BBs I was somewhat scared about Spvt episodes, but I never had anxiety. Now after BBs, it seems that I am 10x times more scared about everything. But it is getting better each new week, though.

About anxiety and feeling that you have something in your throat, I have figured out that I have three spots where I feel anxiety the most:

No1 is in the throat, the same as majority of people, feeling as if you have some huge ball or something in the throat. Or in some hours, as if someone is trying to strangle you with an invisible hand. Or sometimes I have a feeling that it is very hot inside of my throat. But not a heartburn-like, a different feeling.

No2 spot is in the middle of the abdomen, roughly in the middle between heart/lungs and a belly button. On that spot, I have similar pain/anxiety problems as in the throat. Again, not like heartburn-related problems, since I had those problems a few years ago. This kind of pain/hotness, from with BB's withdrawal feels much different.

No3 spot is a few inches lower than a belly button. I feel hotness, flushes and as if someone is strangling me also.

On days when I feel the worst and when anxiety in killing me, I have pains and adrenaline rushes on all 3 of these spots. On days when I am better, I have adrenaline rushes and pains only in 1 out of these 3 spots, usually in the throat or around belly button. On good days, I don't have pains/rushes on any of these spots.

Also, about anxiety, from time to time, you get a feeling as if someone injected a bottle of adrenaline in your blood and for no reason, you feel as if you have too much energy, you are suddenly scared, nervous, your heart starts beating slightly too fast for no reason (for hours) etc. Typical adrenaline rushes, but for no reason.

Monique and Matt, once again, BBs were blocking adrenaline in our body, so our heart and brains were exposed to only like 80-90% of total adrenaline. Now when we stopped taking BBs, heart and brains are exposed to 100% of adrenaline and our body is in a shock.

A feeling is probably the same as when a normal person takes some illegal drugs like "xtc", speed and similar on which you have more adrenaline. Those illegal drugs have effects for a few hours, but we have those effects for 2-3-4 Months.

About your case, Matt, I really don't understand how can doctors tell you that your heart will be fine after 2-3 weeks, when it was beating only at 80% of it's strength for 20 years? It will need a lot of time to strengthen and to readjust to new requirements. The same as our hormones and brains, because BBs blocked our adrenaline and now we exposed to a regular levels of adrenaline in our body. Again, I don't see how a person can simply readjust to new levels of adrenaline in only 2-3 weeks (especially someone who was taking BBs for 1-2-5-10-20 years). I mean, after a regular flu, you will need a few days to get back to normal and to feel completely fine. So, for a flu which lasted 4-5 days, you will need 5-7 days to get back to normal levels of energy and strength, while after taking BBs for 20 years, you should be fine after 14-21 days? That's just totally insane, sorry.

Docs know a lot, but I am not sure that they know everything about side effects and withdrawal of these very, very strong drugs.

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I never would've have made it through my withdrawals and rebounds with my Xanax. Everyone's different and chose or not to, to start another drug on top of getting off of one but I can actually function on the Xanax. It made me tired at first but it affects your whole central nervous system, so it literally (and quickly) calms your whole body down. They tried me on Prozac and Zoloft prior but they didn't help much but the Xanax got me through much easier. Especially waking up to a pounding heart early morning, I would sit up and take my normal dose and sometimes an extra half of i felt nessecary and in 30 min or so, I would be back to sleep and with a "normal" heart rate. It certainly wouldn't be pounding out of my chest anymore.

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That was supposed to say without** my Xanax. Not with. It really helped so much.

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Hey Matt not at this time because they're running the different test to see what could be causing it,I don't think I have a tumor I just think the adrenals were off in my case if I have I high cortisol there are supplements I read online you can take to lower them,depending on how bad they are depends on the length of time it takes to repair,but they are definitely repairable,but I'm currently waiting on the results of the ct scan,my heart rate when I stand in the am still fluctuates a little high but quickly resets itself to normal,and I was told that's when the cortisol hormone releases between 6am to 10am so if we have to much in our body that' would make your heart faster then normal trying to keep up with the flight or fight thing,I will say the Tranquiline pills I've been taking for the last month has helped me a bunch,it says two a day I've only done one,helps with anxiety and it has all the b vitamins that's needed for the body to reset itself,because guys that's all we have is an imbalance from this pill we took nothing's wrong with the heart,it's reacts on how we feel and what's going on in the body

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Like laying here typing this message to you I just checked my heart rate Its 85,so I don't even know what's normal anymore for me

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Thinking way back to when I first started taking metoprolol after a heart attack in 1995, I was very tired and sluggish the first few weeks. I had difficulty sleeping because they took me off an anti-depressant, which means at low dosages was used for headaches due to bruxism, grinding of my teeth at night and when I was unaware of the stress I was under at work during the day. I am thinking now that may have been due to getting on to the metoprolol.

After a triple bypass a few years ago, they raised my metoprolol to 100 mg and I started getting faint, so they quickly reduced it to 50 mg over time. I had unusual spikes of anxiety during that period, some of them debilitating and I really never paid much attention to the fact it might have been the movements up and down in the dosages. I thought it was anxiety over my heart problems. I was also very depressed in the hospital after the bypass with my blood pressure extremely low in the ICU where I was so anxious. That had to be the metoprolol.

I never was a calm person, because I am a type A, but I never felt the calming effect of the beta blocker that most people feel.

For that matter I used to get so wired on narcotics that I refused them on most major operations, even my triple bypass or I got off them as quickly as possible.

Maybe a trip to the Mayo clinic would help, because there they take up anomalies like the people on this board who are paradoxes to the norm, those who get anxious on a medicine that is supposed to be calming.

I have also been waking up anxious while on metoprolol over the last few years, and did not understand why. Metoprolol, maybe?

So many unexplained things seem to be popping up as I have read this board that can be answered by the side effects and withdrawal effects of metoprolol.

Now, how much longer can I stay strong and fight the army of doctors who cannot believe anything that is not memorizable.

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Thanks to all of you,

It is my blood pressure that I really worry about because it is high, except in the AM when I take my losartan....it rises to 160-180/90 in the PM.

I tried using a calcium channel blocker for a while and it did not improve my blood pressure. It started to depress me. So what is causing that?

My nausea went away for a while; it comes back, is around for part of the day.

They gave me Zofran, which I stopped because it really did not help that much except to constipate me. Green tea has helped. It was much worse while weaning and the first few weeks, but it can come back vigorously on occasion, other times mildly.

I am glad you are back, Tabitha. It is nice to hear success stories.

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Bob I have been keeping a journal since Day 42, especially of my BP and HR because it is accurate, my readings at the cardiologists are always much lower and
inaccurate, taken by the nurse. THe readings in the ER two days ago confirmed I was correct.

The nausea can feel as bad as dry heaving or just lurking back there.

I have Type 2 diabetes and that might play a role.

As for your warm spots, Bob, mine are facial, specifically the forehead to the top of my head. They were awful when I first switched from metoprolol to atenolol, and they are still around now. This "flushing" (a feeling similar to a mild sunburn or blushing without turning the skin pink/red) seems to have weakened in intensity but it is still there most of the time, especially when I lay down.

Most people on the board have low blood pressures; otherwise my symptoms are pretty consistent with most others' here with the exception of chest pain, which has not been a problem for me, so far.

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Matt, ok, if you are doing a journal, do you think that things are slowly progressing in your case?

I see that you still have some huge problems, but then, on the other hand, lately you can walk on some days, you have been able to sit for longer on your computer etc.
I guess that nausea is weaker and that HR is slightly lower (or that episodes of elevated HR are shorter than in the past, right?)

HR will slowly get better.
Nausea will be gone.
Anxiety will last for long, sadly.
Random pain in your body will be weaker over time.
You will be able to walk more and more.
You will be able to do more and more "regular" stuff around a house in upcoming weeks.

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Bob,

Very, very slowly progressing, but not enough for me to feel a major difference. I notice that a new drug introduced, a calcium channel blocker Cardizem, causes depression. Sleeping is very difficult still.

It is hard to get excited about improvement, but I carry on.

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Tabitha,

Thanks for that information....When your doctor told you that one of the adrenal tumors symptoms was high blood pressure, how high was she talking about?

My systolic has been high in the PM, sometimes 160-180, but lower in the AM.

I was tested for a carcinoid tumor, which can be found anywhere in the endocrine system..it was a two day nuclear test and it proved negative. The U/A test I took was negative also, but it was not a 24 hour test and it tests for serotonin, not catecholamine..... And a carcinoid tumor is different than an adrenal tumor. They are usually found in the small intestine, but they can appear in the lungs, anywhere in the GI system, or the brain. I was scanned from the waist to the head for that nuclear test. The symptoms of nausea, high heart rate and sweating were similar to the symptoms for beta blocker withdrawal, thus the test to rule out a carcinoid tumor....that was scary.

I have an anomaly, a horseshoe kidney, tied together at the bottom. The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys. During my craziness while on atenolol, I also had two kidney stones pass from the kidney into the ureter...a first for me. Since they were very large, they had to be lasered so they could pass through my system. They compare the pain of passing a kidney stone to the pain of child birth....I can only vouch for the former.

That is done; but the withdrawal symptoms from M continue 4 months later.

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Matt,

She didn't say how high because we didn't get much into the conversation since I have low blood pressure, but I'm assuming anything above normal and what's normally considered high blood pressure. Did you open the link at the bottom of the post about the Catecholamine U/A I put on there? It has all the information about it there like how it works and symptoms and stuff. They are super rare but someone has to have them. You know? I would read that link if you haven't and then bring it up to your dr. Also, this might be a stupid question but have you had a CT done for any blood clots? Blood clots will cause fluctuation of heart rate and blood pressure (which anytime your HR goes up, it causes your BP to follow) for example I have never had high blood pressure in my life (my normal is like 94/59 but when my HR would get over 120 my BP would go up to like 129/85 or so and the higher the HR, the higher the BP but it would be normal any other time. Id watch for that and see if yours is the same or if it's constant.

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Tabitha,

I read the link...my BP and HR seem to move in opposite directions...an inverse relationship...as my BP rises through the day, my HR drops, at rest.

I do not have blood clots.....but I do have chronic pain, which is usually good for 20 points up on the systolic, where my problem is.

Day 79, looking for some sign of relief.

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My Dr took me off metprolol and on cardizim next day. My rate did go up to 103 at one point took a few hours for it to get in the 80's

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I went for an MRI on a knee today and to renew my license (CT now puts a sales tax on renewing your license) and I was exhausted just standing up for that long a time. My back felt great lying under the MRI on a flat surface, though.

What are your thoughts on a the fact that I had a triple bypass two years ago? So the heart that has been dealing with metoprolol is not exactly the same heart that has been pumping away for the other eighteen years. New compressor bloodlines but the old compressor itself.

Day 82, so much worse than the withdrawal from nicotine, but then I was 27. What I really miss is the feeling of those endorphins kicking in after an hour on my elliptical. I wish I could bottle some of those hormones, the best pain medicine made by man.

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Bob,

How are you doing with your weaning process. Do you expect to have no withdrawal symptoms once off the Bystolic?

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Hi, Matt

When I tried to quit BBs (it was Bisoprolol the first time), one year ago, I didn't manage to make it through. Conversion table says that 1.25 Mg of Bisoprolol/Nebivolol is equal to 25 Mg of Metoprolol. I weaned from 1.25 Mg to 0,90, then 0.60, and then after 0.30 I have stopped weaning and stopped taking that drug. After around 60 days of high HR and anxiety, I had to go back. So, I didn't manage to make the final step from 6 Mg to 0 Mg (in Metoprolol's dosage).

Then I switched to Bystolic (Nebivolol) after that, I was taking it this year, but the side effects are very similar on all BBs which I have tried (Bisoprolol, Nebivolol/Bystolic, Atenolol and Metoprolol), so I tried to wean off for a way longer period this time, in my 2nd attempt. I was taking only 0.60 Mg of Bystolic this year which equals 12.5 Mg of Metoprolol. Since May of this year, I started to lower my dose from 0.60 Mg to 0.50 Mg (or 10 Mg in Metoprolol's dosage), then 0.40, then 0.30, then 0.20 etc. In July I was at 0.20 Mg and I was feeling somewhat ok. Then I lowered the dose to 0.10 Mg (or from 4 Mg to 2 Mg in Metoprolol's dosage) and I needed 8-9 weeks to recover from that "drop". I think that I am feeling better in the last 2 weeks, I can finally walk for 10-ish minutes without too much problems (with a nice pace), which I wasn't able to do in these 8 weeks.

So, since I tried to wean off in both ways (faster and way slower), my experience is that it hurts both way. But this way (when you go slower), it hurts less. In numbers, when you quit cold turkey or from a higher dose to 0.0 Mg, you will have a pain with strength let's say 100% for 2-3 Months. If you go slower, you will have pain which will hurt like 30-40%, but you will have that pain for 5-6 Months since you will wean off that long.

So, you can have: insane pain which will last shorter, but which can be more or less deadly in some cases, or you will have to go back to BBs because of a painful withdrawal. Or you can feel the lesser pain for longer period of time.

If I will (for some reason) have to go back on BBs one day, and if I will try to wean off for the 3rd time, I think that I will again pick the 2nd option. It is a less horrible experience in my opinion.

Anyway, since I am on 2 Mgs of Metoprolol (or 0.10 of Bystolic) currently, I am slightly tired of weaning off for already 4-5 Months, and I think that I will stay on this dose for some time. I am tired of that feeling of new anxiety (each time when you lower the dose), elevated HR all the time and weaning off all the time. Currently I would like to relax a little and try to live on this small dosage for a few weeks and get my physical strength back and to kick out anxiety from my head/body. Then I will slowly try to lower the dose to 1.5 Mg, and 1.0 Mg etc...

I was walking for the past few days, and while walking, I was thinking: wow, this is so weird. For the first time in 2 years, I don't feel any pain while walking. I can walk and I can breathe very deep and without any problems. My lungs are not ruined by BBs anymore. Or, I can walk, and I am not feeling (that) dizzy anymore, like on BBs. Or, I am walking and I am not dead tired, out of breath and out of energy after 5 minutes of walking.

I was feeling like my old, normal self, how I used to feel while walking two years ago. It was so strange. I was so happy, and said to myself: I don't need anything else in my life. I am just happy to be able to walk and do normal things again.

And I don't have mental strength in this moment to lower my dose again and experience new 8-10 weeks of elevated HR, new anxiety, inability to walk etc. I want to finally relax and enjoy a little and then, over the next few Months, I will try to lower this tiny dose from 2 Mgs to 1.5, then 1.0, then 0.5 and 0 eventually.

But again, I am totally mentally exhausted of 2 years of this hell on BBs and of Months of weaning off. So, I can't continue currently.

Current dose is only causing some minor dizziness and some "weirdo head" feeling, you know that feeling as if you are not in your body or in your head, or in general, a feeling that a BB is causing some strange mental sensation in your head and you don't feel 100% normal, as if you are slightly slower in thinking, or dumber.

About you Matt, what does your diary say? Are you feeling slightly better? (Oh, my nausea is gone, pain in the abdomen is gone. Or if the pain is here, it lasts only for 1-2 hours instead of 24 hours like in the past. Anxiety is still here, but lower. It is getting better as I am walking every day, going out, talking to people whom I meet while walking etc. So, you see, it can get better. I hope that you will get there also eventually.)

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Bob,

I am lost. My anxiety does not seem to be getting much better. The nausea comes and goes, but is always lurking and I am 12 weeks today. I have cut out caffeine and chocolate.

I get anxious over almost anything, but especially when something different occurs like my sciatic pain escalating over the weekend and my standing in line to get my driver's license renewed. I have not driven since I stopped M... or just any break from my routine.

A shrink they sent to talk to me in the ER last week to get tested for any infections suggested I go back on beta blockers. The doctor that sent me to the ER said absolutely not. He suggested that I have the paradoxical effect where what you take for medicine does exactly the opposite, i.e. Beta blockers are used as surrogates for anti-anxiety pills, but they make me and others on this board anxious.

I do not sleep well and, when I do, it is not restful sleep. I get up tired whether it is a couple of hours or six or seven hours of sleep.

How is everyone else doing?

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