Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 98)

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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Eleanor (# 1928) --

How are you doing now? I was on Metoprolol for 6 weeks and have been off it now for 3 and a half months and still feel awful, but better the past couple weeks than prior to that. This drug, at least for me, has been terrible!

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Peggy (# 1925) --

How long did it take you to heal from withdrawal? I was on Metoprolol for 6 weeks and have been off it now for 3 and a half months now and still feel awful, but better the past couple weeks than prior to that. This drug, at least for me, has been terrible!

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Re: Steven (# 11)

You sound like me. Had one AFib event due to over medication for thyroid and everything has changed for this 45 year old active person. I hate taking metoprolol and I hate taking blood thinners. Since starting meds in a July I have been depressed crying etc don’t know if it’s meds or situation or both. I hate this whole thing I wish I can turn back time too. I want to be healthy and free and not anxious! We have to have faith that we will get through this it is not a death sentence. I know people who are in constant AFib and have to be on meds. I have lost weight close to 50 lbs some stress but I’m eating rig he. I used to go to ER at least 4 times a month now I’m learning and listening to my heart and body. I have been through some sh@$ and this will not take me down. I am healthy and I will get through it! And you will too!

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Whomever told u to stop a drug like that cold is a moron and should not be licensed- lest u missed the instructions. I did not take it long after my heart attack as the side effects were bad for me. Even though I took it perhaps but a month, I still tapered.

This is a late reply I believe and useless I am guessing but that should be always tapered. That drug class is a touch dangerous and any type of BP med needs to be handled carefully. Good luck. Ur issues are far from odd. U r lucky u did not have worse problems coming off a beta blocker. Always be ur own doc in some degree. Research interactions and so on but do it on legit websites and focus on .edu, .Gov, .org (getting weaker tho) vs .com sites.

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Re: Steven (# 11)

This has been years ago since u wrote this n I just wanna giv u hug bc this is wat I am going thru. The last thing u wrote is exactly how I feel. I just wanna go bak to normal as it was a few months ago. All I had to worry about was a cold...:( how did it go for u I’m curious to know. Hope ur in good health

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Re: Mike (# 7)

how long did it take for the symptoms to stop after stoping the medication

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Re: Judy (# 19)

how long did it take for the symptoms to stop after stoping the medication im about 10 days off and my head gets full like its hanging up side down and slight dizzyness the symptoms where much worse before

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Re: Chocolate (# 1947)

I was only on Metoprolol for 6 weeks for a heart rhythm issue & felt awful for 6 months after withdrawing from it. Hopefully, your withdrawal symptoms will subside much faster than mine did.

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I don’t know if anyone still reads this and reply’s but reading this thread has been so helpful. I was on metoprolol for about a month and weaned off in basically three days via drs recommendation. I’m now on day 11 of taking no meds and thought I was feeling better and today on day 11 I woke up with waves of what feels like adrenaline rushes and weird feelings and then as that got better during the day, I then became super light headed and dizzy. Is this normal for 11 days off? I’m trying to truck through after reading this whole board but it sure doesn’t help with the stress of it all. I was put on M for a case of tachycardia that I’ve never had before. Went to ER and everything checked out so they were puzzled over the higher HR. Was sent home on 12.5mgs in the morning and again in evening. Two days being home from hospital I had an episode which now I think was side effects from the pill ( tingles, weird feelings, heart rate up etc) and they upped the dose to one 25mg pill in morning and one at night. Did that for about a week or more and was having more and more side effects. They then switched to cardizem and I took that once and was like HELL NO. I felt worse and had more side effects. Which after reading this board maybe was just the withdrawal from no beta blocker. Called dr next day and he said I could go back to M and I just did one dose of 12.5 mgs at night. Did this for the next week and a half or so but was still feeling funky, some dizzy, waves of the nervous feelings etc. at about a month I asked if I could wean since I was on a month long holter and he said yes. He told me to do 1/4 pill one night, 1/5 pill the next and then stop. The first night I did the 1/4 pill I got super dizzy and ended up in the Er. Everything was fine and they gave me fluids and the remainder missing dose of M to equal what I was taking Before. Called dr next day and he sis does obvious you’re having side effects with M so let’s try Carvedilol. I ended up just not filling the prescription and just weaned like he said. The first days were rough and it seems day 5 was particularly bad. Fast forward to day 11 today and while I’ve been feeling generally better, I’m still just feeling very off and today was bad with the washes of nervous energy and dizziness. Is this normal? I hoping time will heal and I’ll they will subside but dang this sucks. Right now dr thinks I have inappropriate sinus tachycardia but I still have two more weeks on the holter. I’m trying not to stress but I’ve never had any of these symptoms before and it’s hard not to worry. I was feeling absolutely normal until that episode in the middle of the night ( which I’m not too sure wasn’t a panic attack) that sent me to the ER. Now I just want to feel normal and rewind the clock 6 weeks.

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Re: Txcandy1 (# 1949)

Hello. I was diagnosed with a mild myocardial bridge last May & although all my tests save for my 1st stress test were normal, I was prescribed Metoprolol. Like you, this medication did not agree with my body chemistry & made me incredibly anxious & sick (i.e. dizziness, fatigue, panic attacks). Anyway, I learned that my body doesn’t properly absorb Metoprolol or Propanolol & that, for me, these medications need to be avoided. Beta blockers like Metoprolol cross the blood brain barrier & if not absorbed correctly, well, they can impact other parts of the nervous system. So my doc put me on Atenolol, which doesn’t cross the blood brain barrier, or at least it’s FAR less likely to, & I have been better ever since. I’ve now had 3 stress tests (only the 1st stress test indicated reduced blood flow in my heart), a heart catheterization, wore a Holter monitor for 30 days, had 3 different CT scans, bloodwork, & a chest MRI. All of which were normal save for the detection of a mild myocardial bridge. My best advice would be to try your best not to worry about something you cannot control & perhaps try a different medication for your heart. Everyone is different, but Atenolol has been very mild for me. Or your doctor might prescribe you a non beta blocker to help. Just remember that there are many different heart medications because each of us is a little different, & sometimes you unfortunately need to try 2 or 3 before you find what helps best. Good luck to you.

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Re: Uberchap (# 1950)

Thank you for response. I appreciate it. Did you withdrawal from M? Is it normal for day 11 to still be experiencing the dizziness and waves of adrenaline feelings etc? I feel like I feel a little more normal than day 1 but still having lots of dizziness and waves of what I think is adrenaline.

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Re: Txcandy1 (# 1951)

I think recovery varies from person to person, but I felt awful even 60 days after withdrawing. I was only on Metoprolol for 6 weeks, too. Honestly though, I think a mix of the Metoprolol not agreeing with my nerves & me being diagnosed with a heart condition that I’d been blissfully unaware of my entire life was a bit too much on my system. Once I had the chest MRI however, which showed that other than the one anomaly that isn’t life threatening, I was fine. Metoprolol can have some nasty side effects, no doubt, but in my case worrying made it much worse. And I’ve found no research anywhere that indicates any of the side effects of Metoprolol are permanent, so just know that they will go away in time. Good luck to you.

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Re: Txcandy1 (# 1951)

it took me about 2 months for symptoms from Metoprolol to finally be gone. I had awful symptoms of head pressure fullness tingling in my head, spaced out feeling migraine headaches, insomnia,
it caused my BP to be higher and my heart would race at times, anxiety, night sweats. i thought I had a brain tumor it was awful I was only on the medication for about 6 weeks low dose I stopped it and symptoms slowly went away. Good luck this medication was a nightmare for me (My cardiologist actually tried to increase my medication when I told her about the symptoms I no longer see her as my cardiologist)

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Re: chocolate (# 1953)

Yes I was put on it at the hospital Because I woke up with the sweats and a racing heart rate one night and it freaked me out so I went to the ER ( not too sure it wasn’t a panic attack but I’ve never really had one) all the tests came out normal etc. I think the reaction to the drugs was giving me spikes of higher HR too. They think I have inappropriate sinus tachycardia but the longer I am off the drug the lower my heart is getting each day. I’m wearing a 30 day holter and the first two weeks I was on M and getting off. Today is day 12 off M and 2 weeks on holter so dr is like I’m still seeing the same patterns of elevated HR. But I was withdrawing. I’m hoping these last two weeks shows a better picture of my heart OFF of the drugs. Today my hr is not that high compared to the first few days off of M. My resting heart rate at night sleeping is in the 60s. We shall see. I do feel like it’s getting better little by little than the first week. That first week was hell and I thought the same as you. All sorts of things were wrong with me. This is so very frustrating to say the least. But I’m comforted knowing these are normal reactions coming off of M and it doesn’t just go away right away when you stop taking the pill

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Re: Txcandy1 (# 1954)

It’s true. You just never know how you’ll react to a drug until you try it, for better or worse. I have a pal who gets sick to death anytime she touches an antibiotic, whereas those have never bothered me. & my own brother takes Metoprolol & it’s like nothing to him, whereas it made me crazy ill. Anyway, good luck to you!

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Re: Uberchap (# 1955)

Yeah I don’t have a problem with antibiotics but I do with prednisone! I can’t take that either, makes me feel so weird! But at least there isn’t any lasting side effects with that. Once you stop it’s over.

I just had bloodwork results back in for thyroid electrolytes etc and all was normal. I went to my GP at 5 days off M because the dizziness was worrying me. But today at day 12 I had slight dizziness but much improved so I feel like it’s just the M and it’s slowly going away.

Can’t believe this medication has such bad side effects on some people. So thankful I found this board because I thought it was me and something horribly wrong.

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Re: Txcandy1 (# 1956)

I, too, am thankful for this message board. It was a relief to see that others overcame their issues with Metoprolol. It’s always a bit of a gamble with medication, I guess. But Metoprolol is one of only 2 medications I’ve ever been prescribed that made me feel terrible. Thankfully, it’s nothing permanent & you’ll get better by & by.

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Re: Uberchap (# 1957)

Yes ugh, I was feeling so good today and then tonight just got hit by waves of the nervous sensations and dizzy ????

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Re: Txcandy1 (# 1958)

When I was getting over the withdrawal symptoms, I usually felt my worst when waking up in the morning (adrenaline surge/burning chest & hands, & lightheadedness) & at night (adrenaline surge & heart palpitations), either right before bedtime or in the middle of the night. As I recall, the nighttime symptoms went away first. I did ok with the lightheadedness but the burning chest & hands drove me nuts. I never did find anything that helped with that. But thankfully, it went away on its own.

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Re: Uberchap (# 1959)

Yes I’m on day 13 today and that’s exactly how I feel. Right after I get up and right before bed seems to be when I feel the worst and side effects happen. Morning, it seems to be nausea and some jitteriness ( prob adrenaline) and that goes away sometimes after I eat breakfast. Mid day I feel the best and usually don’t get much maybe a teeny bit dizzy but it goes away quick. At night is when I seem to get the most which last night I think it was adrenaline rushes and dizzy ??????

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