Metoprolol Withdrawal (Page 97)

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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Joni, is the Labetalol really a much higher dose? I'm not familiar with Labetalol, but the reason I ask is because the higher number of milligrams doesn't necessary mean a significant increase in dosage from your Metoprolol 25mg. Different drugs can come with huge differences in weight, but sometimes the actual effective dosage can be very much the same.

I'm also wondering about the blood pressure fluctuations? Something must be causing this to happen, and often times it's caused by the change in a person's weight or even diet. When I first discovered that I was having problems with Metoprolol, I eventually realized that it was the weight I lost that caused my blood pressure to drop below normal levels as well as having elevated spikes. I eventually found that I needed to get off of the beta-blockers once and for all.

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Wanted to say that i'm still ok and it seems that everything is going to be fine. From now on i will be more careful from prescription medications from doctors and will look up side effects before taking anything. I hope everyone is ok and don't give up!!!

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Re: alex (# 1922)

Good news! I am as well. It took a few more months to be completely free of the anxiety

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Re: Peggy (# 1923)

How long did it take for your anxiety to go away?

And do you get small amounts of anxiety here and there?

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Re: alex (# 1922)

That's great news! I'm well but I still get small episodes of anxiety, especially towards the end of the day, or when I'm trying to fall asleep at night.

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Peggy (# 1908) --

You were so right! Anxiety has sneaked upon me from time to time. Metoprolol - what an awful drug...

Thank you Penny for sharing :)

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Re: Thomas (# 1924)

Hi Thomas. Several months. It was awful. Hope yours subsides

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Re: Peggy (# 1920)

Tu for ur response.. Question did u have problems stopping the Metropol and going on a new supposedly same family med. Have had reassurances from both dr and pharmacist! Didn’t have an issue wi bp until first of this year! ??

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Re: Verwon (# 3)

Yes please. What if Dr prescribes medication that is same in the same family. Of course he has never been on Toprol. Asked the Pharmacist and was told the same thing. No prob ur just going on a med that’s in the same family! And so?

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Re: Jimbo (# 1921)

I had blood pressure spikes while on Metoprolol with no change in weight. The spikes were caused entirely by metoprolol. They stopped after I completely had it out of my system but continued while I was switching to another bp med. Once I had all the meds out of my system my blood pressure dropped close to normal and I no longer have any spikes at all.

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Re: Peggy (# 1920)

Tu Peggy. The major concern I have is withdrawal. Possible problems. Had none going on Toprol as others have. Been on about a year and a half. Problems wit bp started in Jan of this year. Did u have any problems going off? Again Tu Joni

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Re: Joni (# 1931)

Yes. Many. If you read the thread you will see the withdrawal for metropolol. It was awful for
Me and I was only on it for 3 months. 25 mg

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I only take a half tablet of Metoprolol a day but have been taking it for years now. My question is, can I take myself off of it and only use my Flecainide for afib? I don't have high blood pressure or angina.

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Good2bhere 51 Male (# 1799) --

Hi, had my heart attack October 16. I had a LAD Stemi, was stented and discharged. Prescribed 80mg atorvastatin. Weird thing is like most here, experienced the side effects, and felt my health getting slowly worse. June 2017 decided to quit my statins, decided to quit cold turkey. Anyway, now feel much, much, better. Some of the things I did, which may help others.

1. Quit smoking (day I had my HA).
2. Quit Drinking - Full stop, No Alcohol at all.
3. QUIT Sugar.
4. Quit Soda's and soft drinks sugary type. NO Diet drinks.
5. Quit Dairy products, will try and avoid as much as possible.
6. Try to avoid processed foods, snacks, bread, cheese, crackers, cookies etc.
7. Changed diet to now 50% meat & 50% green vegetarian. (Minimal Starch).
8. No Vegetable oils, except coconut oil for cooking.
9. Drinks are water/soda water with slight taste flavour added.
10. Exercise, for me about the same. Walk 3 days per week. Other days, I now do fasted Cardio 30min exercycle, with high intensity 30 second burst, every10mins. Also found doing some heavy weight low rep training helps. Hey, I'm over 50, so couple times a week is more than enough.
11. Reduced food intake to a 4 hour meal window per day. Fasting between meals. Desert is fresh fruit.
In addition to quitting statins, I've also quit the beta-blocker (metoprolol), Aspirin, and Plavax Clopedogril.

OK, I'm drug free, though please be careful if you are considering this type of change.

Kind of looking at myself as a type of experiment.

16 months in from quitting, results kind of speak for themselves. I'm happy with the blood results, and will see what results will be in another 3 month time.

To summarise
Blood pressure: Normal 115 / 75 (was about the same while on beta blockers)
Weight: DOWN 18%
LDL (bad cholesterol): UP 45% (always expected this result, after stopping statins, now 3.4 which would be considered upper end of normal)
HDL (good cholesterol): Increased +45%
Triglycerides (fat in the blood): DOWN 53% (lowest level since I started evaluations 10+ years ago)
HbA1C diabetic profile: down to 39 (from 46) (Normal is under 42, 42-52 is pre-diabetic, Diabetic is over 53)

What I'm trying to emphasize here is the key I believe is the change in food, and lifestyle. I literally feel, by continuing on in this manner, I will be healthier and better than I've been since I was a teenager. Drugs have their place, and helped to start with, though they are just such a small part of the overall treatment.

Wishing all here, good health, and success.

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Re: stevebronx (# 5)

Yes I was taking metoprolol succ for more than 3 years now off it 4 months. My whole body aches especially my bones. My joints too. The pain is really bad. I know how you feel, I hope it will quit cause I cannot take much longer. All the best hope you feel better soon. Ellie

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Hi everyone i have been ok since i stopped taking it a long time ago. Yes i had some horrible withdrawals that i had to endure by myself with no help from doctors. If you are planning to withdraw from this be careful. Just remenber that doctors are good at prescribing drugs but they back out when you need to get out of it. They rather that you take it even if you don't need it. Because of this experience i have a hard time trusting the medical community as a whole. If they cannot help me withdraw from a drug why would i take more drugs from them?

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Alex (# 1930) --

You and I are in the same boat. I had a horrible experience with Metoprolol over three years ago now, and I'm just thankful that I was able to get beyond it. I'm glad to hear that you were able to get beyond it as well. Still, the doctors were of no help to me, either. In fact, it wasn't until I found this website that I figured out what to do, for prior to finding this site, I just felt alone and frightened. Needless to say, after my Metoprolol experience as well as having bad experiences with other prescription drugs since then, I have lost almost all faith in the medical community.

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I have been without Metoprolol for 5 days. Could this cause any problems? What should l do?

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Re: michael (# 2)

Put your legs up the wall for five to ten minutes every morning if you can it helps me get rid of numb and tingly I also have high blood pressure and sciatica problems the flow of blood that triggers from this exercise is amazing and simple to do, good luck!

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Alex (# 1929) --

How long did it take for you to heal from withdrawal? 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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