Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 104)

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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Re: Txcandy1 (# 2060)

I feel amazing. Heart rate is around 74. No adrenaline surges, no more medication sensitivity, no more heart rate spikes. For me the CoQ10 was the answer. Hopefully the SVT will go away for you! An ablation is scary. I see my doctor every three weeks. She knows that metoprolol depletes and inhibits CoQ10 and when I told her how amazing I felt after taking it she said good. Hopefully that will be the end of it. And I’m slowly putting weight back on.

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Re: Juliya (# 2061)

Oh that’s great! So happy for you! My cousin had an ablation for AVRNT and my father in law had one as well for something else. Both had no issues and no reoccurrence but I’m hoping maybe never to need treatment. I go back in January for another 3.5 month follow up.

I forgot to ask about the CoQ10. I wonder if I can still get that blood drawn and checked. I wonder if that would help me.

Is 74 your resting HR?

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Re: Txcandy1 (# 2062)

My resting heart rate is anywhere from 68 to 74. And I’m a smoker. Walking is like 80-85.

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Re: Juliya (# 2063)

That’s so so great! I wonder if that would help mine. My resting has been pretty much 66 every might and walking ranges but low and definitely way lower than what’s it’s been.

BUT

UGH! I had an episode at the movies and it felt like it was like The beta blocker coming off and I wonder if my body is freaking out cuz I’m done with the antibiotic.

Last night at 2:30am was my last dose and I think it’s kinda weird that I didnt take the 2:30pm dose
Cuz I’m done and my body reacted tonight.

I had the whole adrenaline rushes, high heart rate, dizzy etc. I just breathed through it at the movies and it eventually settled down. But I think it’s pretty coincidental that I I didn’t take the anti biotic today at 2:30pm when I had been and then at about 8:00pm I had all those same feelings. It makes me wonder :(

I’m back home now and it’s back in the 80s.

I swear I wish I never took that damn beta blocker

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Re: Juliya (# 2056)

Well today marks 6 months off of metoprolol. For the most part i feel good but so have some days where it’s higher HR out of nowhere and I still wonder if it’s residual effects from the Beta blocker.

How have you been? Weight gain back up?

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Hello guys thank you for sharing your experiences it has been really helpful! Special mention to Tony, Jimbo, BEE, DJS, CJ, Anita , Juliya and TX candy 1. Some background i was prescribed this drug 100mg (50 mg twice a day) in july 2020 for hypertension and anxiety! I was overweight by 14 kilos and have managed to lose weight and now my blood pressure is around 120/80 so i started weaning off from september 15 and stopped 2 weeks ago for the first couple of days 4-5 to be precise felt nothing no withdrawal effects at all. But from 6th day onwards i felt unusual while doing nothing and saw my heart rate spike to 150-160 which came back to 80-90 in 5 mins. I have been experiencing this from last 7-8 days once every two days. Went to ER he said anxiety and asked me to take 12.5 mg dose daily for which i said no because this drug made me miserable. Just want to know how common is this and will this go away as time passes? Got ecg and ekg done in july 2020 and all tests came perfectly fine. I hate this drug. Also, I find myself taking deep breaths sometimes which was not the case before starting this medication.

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Re: Txcandy1 (# 2065)

I am. I’m up to 97lbs!!! I’m hoping you have some better days now that you are further off! I’m thinking you will.

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Re: RV (# 2066)

Well hello there RV. It is definitely withdrawal. I have come to find out that Metoprolol increases the gaba in your brain it also changes the density and affinity of your gaba receptors which are all throughout your body. So when you stop there is a chemical imbalance in the brain and the neurotransmitters that were changed need to repair. That’s why people end up with IBS and anxiety. It’s not different at all from benzodiazepine withdrawal. Issues with blood sugars ect.... it’s because benzodiazepines do the same things to the gaba receptors it’s just benzodiazepines work on gaba a receptors and metoprolol acts on gaba b receptors. It’s a vicious cycle.

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Re: Juliya (# 2061)

Hey Juliya thanks for your reply and glad to hear that you are gaining weight and doing good. I can’t understand why would there be sudden spikes out of nowhere and how long will it take for them to go away i am into the third week of withdrawal and honestly this thing has affected my quality of life so badly cannot even describe it here and the doctor says its just anxiety! I feel so helpless at times. When did withdrawal effect subside or went away for you? Also i developed anxiety after i started this horrible drug

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Re: RV (# 2069)

The doctor is right. It is anxiety. It’s just physical anxiety because your body is trying to heal and repair. It depends on how long it will take. It could take anywhere up to 10 years. But it will heal and repair. It varies from person to person. I am still in the process of healing. I still get anxiety and panic attacks. It’s something called waves and windows. Each month that goes by the windows get longer. But the waves that come will vary in intensity. Sometimes people heal in 6 months (didn’t mean to freak you out with the 10 year thing). It’s really relative to the individual and how their body repairs. It will, but in its own time frame. You may notice somethings trigger these anxiety attacks like certain foods, or caffeine.

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Re: RV (# 2069)

Hello! Hello! Welcome to this board :) I know you read my story and the hell I went through! I am now 7.5 months off M and for the most part feel so much better. I still have random bouts of vertigo/dizzy which only last a split second and I was checked out by ENT with a brain scan and auditory canals and all was normal. I never had these sensations before M so I can’t help but wonder if it’s still residual healing.

I have a loop recorder implant to monitor my tachycardia which I believe is from the M because everything so far shows just sinus tachycardia. No other electrical issues. I go back in January for 6 month follow up.

I will say though the last couple weeks my HR has gone down so I’m just wondering if my body is finally healing from all that beta blocker. I still have an episode of tachy here and there but nowhere near what it was at the beginning. I would just get out of bed and it would spike to 135. My dr has ruled out all serious arrhythmias and the loop recorder gives such peace of mind. Because at first when I would have an episode I would freak out. Now I just breathe and it goes away in under a minute. I know people think I’m nuts when I say it could still be my body healing from beta blocker but I really do think it’s what has made this tachy last this long. And It’s possible I might have a small arrhythmia but so far it’s just sinus tachycardia and I feel like those are the episodes I rarely get 30 min after in fall asleep. But I definitely never had standing tachycardia all day like I can sometimes have.

This week it has been great though. Moving around and doing normal things it’s been under 100 ( knock on wood) which before it would stay around 113 and bad days like 125. My resting asleep has always been in the 60s/low 70s

Anyhow, I feel you! I hope you detox this crap out of your system fast and you get back to feeling normal. This crap sent me for a loop this year and I still get funky feelings here and there and am so happy for the Monitor because I know the dr looks at the reports daily.

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Re: Juliya (# 2070)

Yes totally i can understand that each individual is different and each person will take its own sweet time to reach homeostasis but the worst part is i always end up assuming the worst thinking what if its an irregular heart rhythm ? What if i have cardiac arrest? I should now after reading through this entire thread of 2070 replies be in a better position to not let my mind wander off and spoil my entire day this should help me get through this period hopefully.

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RV (# 2071) --

That’s part of the withdrawal too. Metoprolol crosses the blood brain barrier. Depression, suicidal ideation, and health anxiety is all a part of it. Just keep telling yourself it’s just withdrawal. If need be get a 7 day holter monitor. It can’t hurt anything. It is possible for people to have irregular heart rhythm in withdrawal so if it is something that is worrying you, contact your doctor. What’s the worst that could happen? He can tell you, you’re doing just fine and ease that health anxiety. Or maybe pick up on something that actually needs to be treated. I look at it as a win/win. ??

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Juliya (# 2066) --

Tell me about it! I had suicidal ideation for 1-2 weeks after starting metoprolol which subsided and went away. 3-4 days ago when i went to a normal physician he listened through his stethoscope he said everything is normal and didn’t even order an ecg and asked me to take 12.5 mg dose which he said can be taken life long without side effects and also wrote in Rx “assurance” basically calling it anxiety . I am due for a 3 month follow up with my cardiologist in 2 weeks. But what scares me the most is how will i be able to go through these two weeks. Hopefully health anxiety has vanished for you now. Do you have to ask for a holter monitor or they do it on their own? My resting heart rate is around 60 but those sudden spikes out of nowhere spoil my day! Also frequent sighing and getting the urge to take a deep breath makes me more anxious! This is a never ending loop i feel.

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Re: RV (# 2074)

The breathing thing is part of the withdrawal too. I have moments where I feel like my body isn’t breathing. But it is, it just slows down. There are gaba receptors in your lungs too. I told my cardiologist about the random rate flutters with PVCs and high spikes and she ordered a two week holter monitor. So it will be up to your cardiologist. If you tell him /her you are having those random flutters and high heart rates they will most likely order a holter to rule out A-Fib.

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Re: RV (# 2074)

I replied to your post down below but it took forever to get approved. Not sure if you saw it. But I am currently dealing with all those heart spikes. I did the 7 day live monitoring and then the 30 day monitor and now have the loop recorder implant:

All major arrhythmias have been ruled out but I know it’s hard not to stress when you get the HR spikes. I’ve gotten much better at not stressing when it spikes and breathe through it: just know you will be ok, and nothing bad is happening to your heart. But for peace of mind I would just ask for the holter. It doesn’t hurt to get it checked out. M is such a nasty drug and I still believe my body is healing from it. I hope these symptoms will go away all on their own some day. I will say this week has been so much better in terms of standing HR so I’m
Happy for that

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Re: Juliya (# 2068)

About breathing part thats exactly how you said it is like i feel i have suddenly forgotten how to breathe or i think i am not breathing some drug this is. I have the series 3 apple watch and i think it checks for afib once in a while which was clear for me nevertheless i’ll ask my cardiologist once i see him what can we do about holter monitor! Sorry for asking this but how did you find out about PVC?

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Re: Txcandy1 (# 2076)

Same i replied to your earlier post almost 16 hours ago but it hasn’t been cleared by the moderator i guess. Yes it doesn't hurt to get a holter monitor to be on the safer side. Sorry to ask this but if your holter monitor was clear why did you the device implanted (loop recorder) its great to hear that you are having a good week! Since i have completed all 2100 odd replies on this post i was re-reading what you and Juliya went through in july 2020 which helps me remain sane.

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Re: RV (# 2077)

I felt them. Quite often. Some people call them palpitations some people describe them as feeling like your heart slips a beat. Some people are sensitive to them and can feel everyone of them even if they are light. Some people can not feel them happening at all.

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Re: RV (# 2078)

We decided on the implant becuase I was still having the HR spikes and he wanted to monitor over time to make sure he wasn’t missing anything but at the 3 month follow up he was like there’s zero major arrhythmias going on. I also was coming off of M so the HR spikes were higher at the beginning and I would freak out. It’s all sinus tachycardia. So I’ll check back in January for 6 month follow up. But it gives peace of mind because they check the reports the implant sends in everyday and if they see anything they’ll call you ASAP. Thankfully I’ve never gotten a call. I am happy this week has been for the most part below 100 while walking around. It’s seeks to be getting lower with time. At the begging of weaning it was so bad.

Last night I experienced some PVCs which Julia describes above and I was actually able to catch one on my Apple Watch ECG. Those seem newer to me, and I’ll def ask him about those in January. Those can be stress induced though and yesterday we found out a good friend tested positive for Covid so maybe that brought on the PVCs.

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