Metoprolol Withdrawal (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.

REPLY

REPORT

Does anyone know how long side effects last after coming off Metoprolol 12.5 with gradual weaning to 6. for a week and to every other day for a couple of days?I had almost every side effect listed and some have disappeared, but shortness of breath is still prevalent and anxiety after waking at 4:30 am to almost having panic attact happened last night. I have been competely off about 4 or 5 days.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 69

I understand how everyone is feeling, I am currently on 50mg of Metopropol. Started out on 25 mg and gave me horrible depression, went away in about a week and a half, 3 days later my doctor bumped me up to 50 mg. depression came back for another week. I have been on the med for over a month now and feel OK with the expetion of anxiety and mild panic attacks, Cardiologist prescribed Zoloft for my anxiety and it has helped a bit. All this started out about a month and a half ago when I went into Atrial Fibrillation (rapid heartbeat), since that day my heart has not been the same, I have not been the same. My heart feels weak, I feel weak, I get palpitations, PVC’s, high blood pressure, anxiety/panic attacks, I cant bring my heart rate over 100 BPM because I start getting skipped beats which take the wind out of my chest and freak me out. This whole situation just makes me sad and I only wish I can turn back time about 2 months where I felt none of these things and my biggest worry was catching a cold.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 53

I have been on metoporol for 3 days and blood pressure meds for about a month..my doc told me to stop the metoporol completely due to side effects...my question is I have been on this particular med for 3 days, is that enough tome to warrant side effects

REPLY

Was this helpful? 63

I have been taking 100mg of Metropolol since 2000 - thats right TWELVE YEARS and after reading this blog I am convinced that I have almost every symntom discussed. Two days ago I came off cold turkey - been rough two days but my shortness of breath and dizziness is already100% improved. This medication should be removed from the market.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 45

I've been on25mgms of metoprolol at night for hypertension for about 4 years .two days agoit was stopped by my cardiologist because myBP was ranging from 180/90to 80/40 .now I am feeling dizzy , weak ,and totally spaced out . BP is more stable . Could this be a form of withdrawal?Any help would be so appreciated.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 43

After taking Metoprolol for ten years (as a prophylaxis for migraine), and tolerating it well (no side effects) I suddenly began having frequent and severe bouts of lightheadness seizures lasting a few seconds. I was extremely tired and had no energy and my fingers tingled. Initially, a month ago, my doctor instructed me to cut the dosage in half and then took me off the medication ten days ago. I am now feeling much better, the symptoms I described above have disappeared. My heart rate had been down in the high 30s and is now in the high 60s. I am wondering why my body tolerated this medication for so many years.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 30

Mike, similar to you, I've been on toprol for 10 years and experisnecing dizziness & lightheadiness when rising from stooping and my heart rate has dropped to 50 BPM. I'd like to withdraw from toprol, so, if I cut my toprol in half like you did, how long did you stay on 1/2 tab before you stopped altogether. As my circumstances is so similar to yours, I think whatever you did would work for me, to totally withdraw from toprol. Any info on withdrawal procedures would be appreciated. Thanks.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 38

it went away after a week or so. i feel great now, and my BP and heart rate have risen slightly, but thats the reason we stopped it.

i've lost enough weight, and exercising, my BP was down 80/50 several times. i feel better now that its up 110/60 and my heart rate is up to the 70s rather than in the 50's.

the only thing is my feet are still cold and tingly. but i also have sciatica problems, so that may be the reason for that...

thanks!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 26

I have been taking Metoprolol/hctz for a number of years now and lately I have been having numbness and stiffness with pain in my hands, my chest muscles , legs and feet at times. It is really like labored breathing in my chest because I have to keep still and breath deeply and slowly to get a complete breath in.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 23

After 10 months on Metropolol following a Lone Afib I had a Lipid profile done and my Triglycerides went from always in the 80's to 355.That was one year ago and two profiles since,201 and recently 316.Is anyone familiar with any negative impact on blood fats by taking Metropolol?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 22

I was metoprolol 10 years ago and for last 5 years due to contracting asmur have been trying to get off this drug with may I say not help from medical profession.I was told by some doctors just to stop and go cold turkey which led to umpteen trips to A and E the side affects where horrid ,160 hr, the shakes,sweating,high bp,hot flushes I felt like I was going to die I also tried umteen times to wean off slowly but my body had become dependent on this drug and I thought I would have to take this drug forever.Then one of the doctors at the hospital put me on a new drug called ivebradine and weaned me slowly of metoprolol over 3 weeks. It's early days but I've been of metoprolol for two weeks and had no side affects from the ivebradine I hope this helps.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 22

I just wished I was never put on this drug it's been a real blight on my life I even lost two good jobs, it seems to me if your withdrawing from coke or heroin theirs plenty of help out their yet to me beta blocker withdraw is just as difficult to get off for meny people.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 23

I went from 50mg to 25mg to 12.5mg to 6.25mg, but can't go off this stuff. This has taken 10 months. 6.25 is a negligible amount, but I get terrible flu-like effects if I don't take the 6.5 mg. Doctor says my body must need it, but I don't see how that is true. I found the last amounts are the most difficult. I'm wondering if you finally got off.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 28

Due to legs constantly feeling very heavy my doctor eight days ago halved my daily metopropol dose from 100 mgs to 50 mgs. Legs still heavy and blood pressue only changed slightly. However I am concerned over constant aching feeling in my chest which started four days after reducing dosage. Is this to be expected and will it go away in time or is it masking something previously contained by higher dosage ? Thanks for any advice.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 33

i had suffered a heart attack back in oct of 09 i was given 150 mg of metoprolol and i was also diagnosed as a diabetic and have neuropaty pain i found when i took this drug some of my pains dissapeared my blood pressure as of recent has been out of control my doctor just told me to stop and switched me to corig 12.5 2 x a day all of a sudden all my joints are hurting me is that a side affect of metoprolol withdrawal is it possible that when on it my body wasnt in pain and when off im aching all over?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 23

I am experiencing the same thing and I am tapering off of the metoprolol. I have only been on for a couple of months and now the withdrawal is just as bad. I am down to 12.5 mg two times a day. It is tough.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 23

Yes, your doctor may not be aware, but it is actually not recommended that you suddenly stop taking Metoprolol.

You can experience withdrawal effects anytime your body is used to your ingesting any substance, even medications that have only been used as prescribed.

In addition, this one can cause rebound effects, such as elevated blood pressure and increased heart rate, suddenly withdrawal has caused some serious medical emergencies.

https:/­/­rxchat.com/­wiki/­Metoprolol/­

Are there any questions?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 19

Hi,

I have never written in a forum before but after having such huge dramas with getting off this drug I feel really passionate about it and about sharing my experience. I'm only 30yrs old and very fit and healthy (I'm a personal trainer) but have experienced bad anxiety and panic attacks since I was a kid. A symptom of this is that I can feel heart palpitations and be very aware of a strong heart beat which freaks me out. I've been to cardiologists and there's nothing wrong with my heart, it's just the anxiety.

So my GP put me on metoprolo about 2/2.5yrs ago. WHAT A MISTAKE. Especially as I'm usually quite OCD about what I put into my body and usually do better research.

I was initially put on 50mg per day, 25mg morning and night, and my heart rate dropped really low, I was exhausted and quite depressed. So we dropped it to 12.5mg twice daily, 25mg per day. I did this with no side effects that I was aware of and stay happily on this for about a year.

I was feeling quite good and had been putting things into place to better manage my anxiety so I decided to come off them. My doc cooly told me to drop to 12.5mg once per day instead of the twice, for 1wk then just come off them.

At night I struggles a little with heart rate rises but it was bearable. The first day I was off them was a NIGHTMARE. My heart rate sitting down was around 120bpm and raised to about 140bpm just standing up. I only last a few hours and had to go back on and talk to my doctor.

My doctor gave me the crappest response. "well you must need them then." Uuuuuuh NO! I have a healthy heart, I did not go on these for heart reasons, so no. I don't need to be on them. Obviously this is a side effect. So - I sat in the car, cried, and realised I would have to do this as a very slow process which I have.

Over the last 8-10month I have cut down. I got a pill cutter an stayed on 12.5mg twice daily for a while. Then went to half that. 6.25mg twice daily (a sliver) and stayed on that for months. Then I even started breaking those into smaller peices for about 1 - 2 months. For about a week I started spacing them a little further apart until 8 dyas ago I had my last tablet.

Well, it went better than the first time but I won't lie it's not been fun.

My BP seems to be quite fine which I'm happy about but my resting heart rate can still sit around 100bpm. I feel fine though and I have read this is definitely a withdrawal symptom however I haven't been able to find any information on when that should go back to normal.

My first few days I had some real racing heart periods and some bad anxiety moments but I just had to ride it all out. I'm determined.

The things I've learned along the way. A pharmacist told me that we all have a natural Beta response and the younger and fitter we are, the stronger this response is. So basically the younger and fitter you are, the worse your withdrawal symptoms will be. YAY?

Also what many people don't realise is that Beta blockers actually stop the affects of adrenalin on your body which is why they work for me for anxiety, so for the time you're on them, your body isn't having to deal with adrenalin. It's still producing it, but it's blocked from actually doing anything, so if you've been on them for years then your heart hasn't reacted to adrenalin for that time. In my head, it makes sense that your heart rate will increase coming off them as it's now getting affected by adrenalin again and will take some time to get used to that being the norm again.

I really really feel for everyone here. I seriously have been so down about this - I feel like I have this healthy heart and could have been taking something that would give me heart problems.

Please don't accept it when doctors fob you off by saying "You must need it". It's just easier for them to say that. We can all do this but I think it's just about weaning off as slowly and as gradually as you can and then perseverance.

As I said I'm still dealing with raised heart rate but I'm hoping that will settle down soon. It stresses me and makes me really scared and anxious but I just have to have faith that my body is doing what it needs to do.

My best wishes to everyone on here - I sincerely empathise and hope everyone can get to a really happy healthy place.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 12

I just got home from the hospital after being taken off metoprolol 7 days. The side effects seem to have finally subsided. I was taken off metoprolol last Thursday abruptly after taking this medication for 2 months. My heart rate was so rapid I could not sleep on Friday night. I kept the phone next to me, in case I needed to call 911. I woke up Saturday morning, my short term memory was not working right. In conversation, I would forget what I said before the other person could answer, and they would have to tell me what I had said. Very frustrating. I was feeling better by the afternoon. Rapid pounding heart rate seemed to be improving, but still not able to sleep. I did call my Dr. on Monday, and she told me to continue on my meds. On Tuesday, I went on a short walk. My heart started pounding. I had shortness of breath and lots of pressure in my chest. Needless to say, I got am ambulance ride to the hospital, a nitro pill and aspirin. I spent 2 days in the hospital while they ran tests, but the rapid heart rate went away, and all my tests were normal. I am feeling fine now and hoping the symptoms are over after a lousy 7 days!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 11

I want to offer some hope to people who have been dealing with Metoprolol withdrawal. I've noticed many boards don't have any of the stories of people who have made it through! I was on it for 6 months and 1 week. It was torture from day 1! I had all of the typical symptoms while on it - extreme fatigue, headaches, muscle and joint pain, nausea, shortness of breath, and freezing cold hands and feet. When I started tapering off the drug I added a burning sensation and tingling from head to toe. It was so bad I couldn't sleep for several days. I saw a neurologist - she ruled out MS and other neurological disorders. I saw a rheumatologist - he ruled out lupus, arthritis and other autoimmune disorders. My PCP thinks it is all in my head and keeps trying to prescribe me Xanax. I am happy to report that after almost 8 weeks off of the medication the majority of my symptoms have faded. I still have some of the burning sensations in the joints in my legs, but it comes and goes, and the shortness of breath pops up every once in awhile. An ER doctor explained to me that metoprolol stores up in the liver and can take quite some time to fully flush out. I feel like I am slowly getting back to normal for the first time in quite some time. I hope others have the same experience!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 10

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