Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 13)

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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Bee ~ don't know why you started with Betablocker metoprolol ... but maybe if I tell my story and the route I am struggling on it may help a little. My A-fib started soon after I tripped and fell hard and had emergency surgery (April 2014) for broken right femur...so for me it was a double whammy. And I was moving long distance ... alone, after ending an engagement to be married. Anyhow, I was convinced that stress had brought on the A-fib. And within a month of being on the Betablocker, I knew I had to find a way off of such a strong med.
Fast forward to now, October 2014: I went to 3 cardiologists in my new home town trying to find medical partner to be free of the debilitating side effects everyone here talks about. Then, against all expectation of finding an experienced acupuncturist in this small SW city -- remember I am unable to drive and have no friends or family here -- I found one.
Here I must say that on and off over many years I have consulted acupuncturists for various reasons. The first time in London 1973, a time when British MD,s wrere beginning to investigate acupuncture and use it in their practices.
After my last session, I had an interesting experience that along with my pain being reduced in leg and hip, my gas and bloating diminished, appetite improved and I was urinating less often and with less urgency...and my heart calmed. I now know that we are on the right track...and altho I continue I take my daily 12.5 mg...when these kind of results get stable, I will know that I can drop the Metoprolol entirely.
PS i also have been housebound, feeling more dead than alive since May when I started the heart meds. Lately I did not know how much more of it I could take...
I just keep knocking and seeking and following my heart and gut to get the healing and help I need. I also just had an MRI to see if my spine might have been injured with that fall in April...but no one looked at that before...
I find that a combo of western med and eastern experience often works for me.
-luvpunita in my first chat room ever

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Hi Punita..
well my story is that I was put on Meterprolol two years ago for high blood pressure and anxiety from a doctor at a clinic.. It seemed all other drugs did not lower my bp and I wasn't into natural stuff as of yet... Fast forward to last Feb. and I said wow if natural things are lowering my bp then I am getting off this horrible drug. No doctor at the clinic would help me but I had two prescriptions so I figure I will do it myself .. I did manage to see one Naturopath but she also gave me the generic formula one size fits all way to wean off..It didn't work for me so I read a ton of things online about it and found out that some people have a high sensitivity to this drug..So when I cut it from 100 to 75 miligrams I was okay but stayed on that for a few months.. Then when I cut it to 50 omg.. the side effects were horrid.. I had to go back up to 75 again for a few months... Then I managed to get down to 50 again and stayed there until I felt stable again.. All the while not cutting the pill but extending the time I take it ... I managed to get down to 37 miligrams which I am on now but not without so many issues.and that has been for 8 months now... I know about the housebound stuff.. There are days I cant go out of the house due to side effects although I feel they are getting less but yes I feel this drug has stopped my life in some way.... I feel like I tiptoe through life now getting off this drug.. I have done healing waves, rife tones, meditation. I drink all kinds of herbal teas and I take natural supplements and yet this drug, this beast is a tough one.......I am def. going to try acupuncture.............Oh; forgot to add that I went to see another natropath and she was so mean to me and gave me another one size fits all way to wean off and I told her that doesn't work for me.. She then yelled at me and gave me only a two month supply of meds.. Now I have to find my fourth doctor to get more meds to wean off. I am trying to find a way to get the meds online but I have no luck yet since doctors wont help........sorry you are going through this.. hope you are feeling better............

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Punita,
Welcome to the world of chat rooms LOL. Medschat is the first chat room that I have ever tried. It has been a nice experience for me. I hope it will be the same for you. Please do spend some time looking at the other threads. I have found that I've gained lots of information on threads that didn't seem to be related to anything I would be interested in. Except for the 'how to get intercourse' ones, nothing productive there for me LOL.

I take metoprolol and have for about 4 years. The only side effect that I've noticed, is that if I miss a pill, I get the "weirds" going on. I live in a rural area with very limited facilities In the nearest town. My previous doctor was an acupuncturist but wasn't permitted to use his skills at this clinic. I have always thought that it was an option that I would like to explore. Again Welcome.

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My last metoprolol pill was 8/20 and now 10/ I'm still not myself. For short periods I'll believe I'm over it all, but then I'll get a wave of all the symptoms again. Things are better. I don't feel like I'm going to die anymore from them. Which helps me allot. Anxiety is the worst part. ANYONE HAVE TREATMENTFOR ANXIETY? I only took the pills for a month. Hopefully these effects wear off some day. This really changes peoples lives. WE SHOULD ALL BE PAID FOR PAIN AND SUFFERING!!!

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Dorian.. wow you only took them for one month and you are having these problems. I would love to start a group for alternative healing.. This way less trips to the doctors who are giving out meds like candy and they don't even listen to us.
Anyway; That is one reason I am doing this as slow as possible and I still have side effects..............For anxiety you can try Gabba or Camomile tea, google other natural cures. oh; meditation has been helping me along with EFT. emotional freedom technique .. Tapping on certain meridians on the body following a script from utube. .......you can also look into 5 htp or Rhodiola., magnesium.

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Thanks BEE

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Hello folks
I don't know what to do anymore............I have been weaning of this Metoprolol since last Feb...............I know everyone is different but its been a small nightmare .. anyway; I was on 37 miligrams and my heart rate was so low last night I figured okay time to drop the last l/4 pill I take before bed....My last pill was at 8:30 last night.........but when I wake up in the morning at about 11 a.m. resting heart rate or I was just walking from one room to the other was like 80......so I took a l/4 pill at 11:30 am........Not sure how long this will last...........I might have to go back up to 37 miligrams........someone told me to stay on each milligram until you feel stable and that is what I have been doing... also have some new side effects when I go down. headaches, anxiety, overall not feeling well, stomach issues, pain in body, bad shakes..etc.etc......... so frustrated right now and I cannot find a doctor who will listen to me let alone believe anything I say.

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I'm really sorry BEE. It's been a hard road for me too. Eventually stopping all together is what's gotta happen. Hopefully a good Dr. can help you with it...

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thanks Dorian.
How long have you been trying to get off........................I feel like its me and most people and doctors think this is all in my head.........I can barely go out sometimes for fear of these side effects.........some days I am afraid to take a walk...
I need to have a life and I feel my whole life revolves around this drug.

Do you feel like that too??

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Bee -

Thanks for telling more of your story. Doctors, naturopaths, acupuncturists, etc, I just keep on searching until I find a 'fit'... I'm now trying out your tip on spacing out my most recent reduced dose of METOPROLOL :: about 10-12 mg depending how I bite it in half.

I can sense so clearly how any stress (like pain in my hip and leg) drives up the A-fib ... and keep reminding myself that whatever fear comes up, continuing to try to CONTROL the heart is not my answer. I will remain on the blood thinner until I am off Toprol and stable.

... and continue coming closer to solution with acupuncture (japanese) I found locally.

Thanks all for your chats here.

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I don't know how many of you are chronic and don't have much hope of ever being well again, but that's what's going on in my life. I finally accepted that there isn't a cure of my ailments, and have gone about finding as many things to make my life functional as possible. I always look for an easier way to get things accomplished, so that I may have a little energy to do something additional. I check the Mayo Clinic website for new information on what ails me. So far nothing medical, but people do leave "helpful hints" that have actually been helpful for me.
Medschat has also been very helpful. I've been in contact with many people who have very similar problems and have some great ideas to share. I hope you are finding your experience here as nice as I have.

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Dorian, during my 2nd month off the drug, I experienced the same wave of illness. Plus, I got new symptom of very bad fatigue and dizziness. I'm going into my 3rd month off, and happy to report I'm starting to feel normal. I still have issues but noticed I am bouncing back quicker.

Susie, I love your positive attitude, despite the chronic symptoms. Bee, I agree. Go natural if you can.

Punita, don't be surprised if you feel worse once you stop the drug. Things got worse for me for about a month before they got better. My cardiologist said he was not surprised by that. Like you I took it for heart issue and I had no bp problem.

Saw my cardiologist last week. He said if the heart issue ever happens to me again, he wants me to avoid using any type of heart\bp medication. Instead I should try anxiety techniques and anxiety meds first. I noticed he never explicitly says that all my issues right now were caused by metropolol, but he implies it.

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Joyce, you are right. No doctor is going to admit that medicine is what is wrong. After reading all these issues one would know it was the Metoprolol that has caused all the problems. As I have posted before and has been a while. I quit cold turkey. I am sure that was wrong but I hadn't come across this website then. I quit in March of 2013 . I have had nothing but problems sense. I know this is not encouraging to some of you. It could be age. I am sure I am older than most of you but I was very active before and now I can hardly walk across the floor with out my walker. I can't help but blame it on that horrible medicine. I was on it 4 years and looks like it is going to take 4 years to get off. Seems I have had every symptom every one else has had and still have some. No doctor seems to know what to do about it. I feel for the poor people that are taking it now , if they ever try to get off of it.

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Joyce.. When I first wanted to get off the Metoprolol no doctor would help me . One did give me some instructions but she told me to just two weeks for each milligram. Omg. wrong advice for me.. There are certain people I read that are highly sensitive to this stuff and there is not one size fits all.... I was on 100 miligrams and when I cut the pill I experienced horrible side effects.. It was then then I read all the stories and I thank God met a woman on another health board who said to me when you wean off don't cut pills but extend the time you take it even if its for l5 minutes at a time.. so when I was on 100 I was okay down to 75 as I said but when I cut the pill to get to 50 omg. no good for me.. bad side effects so when I read to extend the time for each pill that is what I did and then the woman said when you feel stable cut the pill.. So that meant I was on 75 miligrams for a few months and then 50 for a few months and then I even only went from 50 miligrams to 37 to ease less side effects.. I just went down to 25 miligrams and I am struggling ... This has been since last end of Feb. so that makes 8 months .. Now I am experiencing nightmares and anxiety everytime I go down in miligrams. Also the rapid heart beat, etc.etc.. shortness of breath too. and I did it slow as possible.

And you are right most doctors I spoke with atleast four told me it was all in my head and I knew that it wasn't from so many websites I researched, people who had done this, these chats and reading all about this stuff.. I mean I never had these problems before and they don't come out of the blue..

I couldn't even ride my bike this summer or go out that much as I am so afraid of being somewhere and having side effects.. I have to live around my medication weaning .
Joyce how many miligrams were you on? You just quite cold turkey? I am so sorry you are experiencing this ...
Oh; PS I am 60 years old and have been on this drug for only 2 years and I have these issues..

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You are so right, most doctors aren't going to admit that the medication was the cause of whatever your symptoms or problems are now. Medication that originally was suppose to help one problem totally created another. My heart issues started because I went for a colon diagnostic for preventive health care, oh my goodness. I had a doctor's appointment and heart, lungs, etc. were all great. A week later I had the colon diagnostic, which during the procedure they were having trouble keeping me sedated so they continued to insert medication into my IV. Later in recovery I had a horrible time waking up.

Several weeks later I had a physical preformed by a Disability Doctor who wanted to know why my heart issues weren't listed on the paperwork. What heart issues? He sent me from there directly to my doctor's office, then the whole chain of events of EKG, cardiologist, tread mill heart tests, ect ect. Now I'm on Metoprolol. Every doctor I see, asks why did they continue to give me so much sedative at the colon procedure, I don't know, that's a question that should be directed to the clinic who does the colon procedures. I was semi asleep and was trusting them to do what is correct. Off the record doctors will say that the clinic is at fault, but on the record, no way.

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Hi Everyone
Wow I thought I was ready to go down to 25 miligrams from 37 mgs. but when I only lasted two days on that. Aweful side effects and don't know what happened??. So I will try 31 miligrams for now and see what happens. I did it last night and I was okay..
I cannot believe how fast the doctors think we can come off this drug and think its not the drug giving all kinds of side effects. What Is wrong with them.. If I didn't listen to a friend who was weaning off and my own body God knows .. I don't care about how long it takes to get off but the way doctors treat the whole thing is insane. I would love to start a crusade against these drugs. I now take natural things and they wont kill me I don't think.
We really have to warn people about this drug.............My neighbor takes it and I told her to wean off of it but of course she wont unless her doctors tells her too. by the way this drug didn't lower her bp either. Maybe a few points but her pressure is still high. I told her to use magnesium and things but I am not sure she will listen to me.
this might be my new purpose in life.



okay rant over for now

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Bee,
The FDA has a website that you can report these problems to. Start at FDA.gov and click on the make a report by a customer. If they don't know there's a problem, they can't make the manufacturers fix it. If nothing else the warning could be adjusted to let people know about these problems before they take the med.

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Does anyone here felt body aches after stop taking metoprolol? I've been off for 2 month now and experience body ache at back up to neck.

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I have been totally off of Toprol for 2 months now.I started with a little chest pain and palpitations,.That slowly diminished , replaced with a weird pain in back of the neck and left ear. Each day I feel less and less anxious and feel certain that I made the right decision to wean off a drug that I was on for 10 years.

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Hi, how long were you on the pills and what was your dosage?? And we're you on metoprlol for high blood pressure?

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