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Metoprolol. Tapering off. Side effects. Horrible drug!

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Tee19
Tee19

Metoprolol has been the worst medication I've ever been on. After a year of not knowing what was making me sick we found out it's this poison. I have never suffered so much and now after so much I found out it was this medication which I was given for hypertension. I've always ran but high and I believe I in fact have white coast hypertension I have MS so it's hard to know what's wha. Unclearly this drug ruined my life. I was 5"8 145lbs after losing a lot of weight from the pesky steroids I was given initially for MS then this drug in one year (despite healthy eating) packed on 30lbs and gave me a list of horrific side effects to include swelling chest pressure burning in arms sleep disturbances extreme dizziness depression I never thought possible. I'm slowly tapering off as no one warns you how risky stopping this drug is. Into week 2 of taper and it's hard

I have a tough time with MS but was never this sick

Also doctors hand this crap out like nothing despite FDA warnings. Anyone else go through this? I can't wait to be rid of this poison in me. My anxiety is off the charts

I can't believe I agreed to take this Med. I trusted my doctor. Never again. Have been to ER very sick 3 times. Even ER doc said it's not a good Med to treat HTN of any kind

Thank you for your time

14 likes, 576 replies

576 Replies

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  • ann_c.04098
    ann_c.04098 Tee19

    Edited

    Tee i agree, it is a horrible drug with lots of side effects... I take it because I have a fib.. however, I do not bleieve the numbers of 140/90 are the correct numbers for everyone.  I still use 100 + youar age to be correct..  Personally I don't care what the medical profession says as many of them are wrong and the new numbers have been put in place by the drug companies..

    • Tee19
      Tee19 ann_c.04098

      Edited

      Hi and thank you. Would you mind explaining the 100 pls age thing? I would be so grateful. Thank you
    • ann_c.04098
      ann_c.04098 Tee19

      Edited

      Until  a few years ago a system was in place for decades that a persons BP was measured by 100 + adding the persons age.. it was considered normal.. of course now it makes the doctors and drug compaies happy to sell drugs by lowering the number considerably for everyone regardless of age.. Really?  How can they sit there with a straight face and say someone age 20 will have the same blood pressure as an 80 year old.. I don't buy that.. and of course  they will cut us some slack by saying "the new research" says it's ok for elders to have 150/90 bp.. All this research is to make money and often funder by these companies to "research" and make money...

    • Tee19
      Tee19 ann_c.04098

      Edited

      I agree with you lock stock and barrel. Thanks for explaining it. Makes sense to me. All this so-called new research is just nothing more but to pad the pockets of these pharmaceutical companies anything positions it is absolutely sickening what medicine has become
    • FarmasRpoison
      FarmasRpoison ann_c.04098

      Posted

      I'd love to hear from people who posted awhile back, and ask how they're doing now after some time has passed.

      I'm tapering "myself" right now and it would be so helpful to know this was really the cause of most of my symptoms and that it was the best decision to go off and get your self back in the end. (If possible)

      Do you know what I mean?

      I'm not a pill person and the fear of very high BP made me have a lapse in judgement and go on this horrible drug. This started after a very traumatic time in 2020 and probably never needed these drugs. These doctors are clueless and have no idea, or don't care in the least, what they do to you. after countless specialist and tests to try to find out "what's wrong with me?" Nothing coming up on any test made me do my own research and #1 was get the hell off BP medication.

      I take many supplements that help BP and the "so called normal numbers are simply not accurate."

      your BP can go up & down and it can be higher and FINE that way, as you age. The 120/70 is a young healthy persons BP. Not necessarily "too high" for an older person even going to 150/90. I've always, always had LOW blood pressure so seeing high numbers scared me of course, but I still think it was also trauma.

      Anyway, Id really love to hear from those who are off these drugs and how they're doing with none of them.

      Any stories welcome.

      Thanks a lot.

  • mike92384
    mike92384 Tee19

    Edited

    Tee19...Although some people don't believe it, there is a difference between Metropolol and Atenolol even though both are beta blockers.

    A few years back, say about 3...I was taking approx. 50mg Metropolol/daily. During that time, I was experiencing very bad headaches to the point where they scared me. I finally complained to who was my Dr. at the time. He told me to wean off it, which of course is a must. About 2 years ago, he put me on Atenolol 25mg/2xdaily. Atenolol does not give me a headache at all. A pharmacist whom I trust implicitly & who gives me great advice even though I'm not a customer at that pharmacy, told me that Metropolol crosses the blood brain barrier., whereas Atenolol does not, so perhaps this was the difference which was causing the headaches. 

    The Dr. I had..wasn't a good fit for me, & I was very uncomfortable on the journey to see him, while I was waiting my turn, & in his presence. He spent far too much time on the computer & I didn't know if he was listening to me half the time. He also was a young cocky know-it-all, or so it seemed to me. So, I made enquiries, & returned to my previous Dr in whom I have 100000% faith. I asked about taking the Atenolol just 1x daily., rather than splitting the 50mg tablet in two, & taking 1/2 tablet in the morning, then the other half in the afternoon. He said that of course I could do that. I was still ingesting 50mg, no matter how I did it. The pharmacist said exactly the same thing, in fact she said to me..."the Atenolol is meant to be taken just 1x daily", & she couldn't understand why the previous Dr. had me taking 1/2 in the morning, then 1/2 in the afternoon.

    I think what I'm getting at here Tee, is that there are certainly different beta blockers. I did find the Metropolol a threat for whatever reason, most likely because of the horrid headaches I was experiencing while on it. 

    Whatever you do, do NOT suddenly stop taking the Metropolol..it MUST be weaned. Get your Pharmacist to suggest a weaning plan.

    Good luck!!

    • ann_c.04098
      ann_c.04098 mike92384

      Posted

      Definately what Mike92384 says is correct.. I was on Nadalol, another beta blocker, which caused no side effects by not crossing the blood brain barrier, trouble is I was misdiagnosed .. Nadalol is given to folks who have renal failure which I do not.. Fast forward to another doctor and I am now on Metoprolol it does a better job but my concern is it is made in India, a place where water is not fit to drink..
    • Tee19
      Tee19 mike92384

      Edited

      Hello Mike. Thank you. Believe me I'm on a very careful 4-6 week taper. Going into week two. I'll never touch another one of these drugs again. I appreciate all the info. I'm furious as I have been through hell on this drug and I'm going through a lot tapering off but I'll get through it. What the hell is wrong with these doctors. So quick yo throw a pill without looking into it. I should have done my homework and failed but I trusted my doc today's medicine is all fun like a fast food drive through.

      I sincerely appreciate your help

      Looking all the way back in my records previous docs where I used to live I ran a bit high in my BP but they were never worried due to great land and felt I was just anxious even making notes on it in my chart

      I just don't know if I warranted this drug and it hasn't done anything but turn my life upside down

      I'm trying to slowly and safely get through this. My anxiety is high and I hope it goes well

      Trying to remain calm as I can through it

      Thank you again Mike. So kind of you to share your story

    • Tee19
      Tee19 ann_c.04098

      Posted

      Ann. Yes. I've heard of drugs in India making people very ill. Please investigate that. Check and track where your drugs are from. Please be safe. I will never touch this poison again regardless who makes it. I'm going slow on the taper and keeping notes

      The misdiagnosis they made with you is just awful.

      Thanks for your input

    • annora10089
      annora10089 mike92384

      Edited

      wow, my doctor took me off of it without weaning, OMG, what could happen?

    • kent01801
      kent01801 annora10089

      Edited

      a cardiologist took me off metoprolol, 50 mg/day, after I'd been on it 30 years, no tapering. 4 trips to ER, 15 doctor visits later and I'm still messed up severely. been 18 months still not back to normal.

    • drew23580
      drew23580 mike92384

      Edited

      Hi mike, I'm 19 years old and was diagonsed with sinus tachyardia or however you spell it. Anyways, I've been on the metoprolol for about a little over a month and have been dealing with the headaches consistently, maybe I thought it was stress and tension but it's too frequent and was far too often. Anyways my doctor told me to wean myself off i take 25mg a day and he said starting today to take split it in half and take it for

      the next two days, skip wednesday and take it one more time thursday then stop. Is that an appropiate schedule? But I was still getting palpations but rarely on the medication but the headaches was just horrible.

    • D91Tx
      D91Tx drew23580

      Edited

      Im 29. No previous heart problems. Ive been on a low dose of metoprolol for 2 months due to COVID but Im better now. I started having side effects from metoprolol and asked my doctor to help me taper. I take 25mg daily and was told to take half(12.5) daily for 7 days then stop. Im a little worried about withdraw symptoms, how did it go for you?

    • staceymb
      staceymb drew23580

      Edited

      I was diagnosed with tachyardia in November. Was put on metoprolol a few weeks after i had a few spells. 25mg once a day but i feel awful! Gained 15lbs, dizzy all the time, headaches & even depression. How'd you do coming off of it & have you had any spells since?

    • melissa92794
      melissa92794 D91Tx

      Edited

      How are you feeling? My mom was on 1/2 25mg twice a day for 3.5 years and had terrible increasing aide effects with metoprolol. i very gradually have weaned her down to less than 1/4 of a 25mg over a month and she is feeling so much better. if your dr is ok with you weaning off, i think listening to you how your body feels is key. the next step for weaning off is to drop one of the pills to just once a day. There's a great post much further up that discusses weaning off in detail and a slow, cautious way to do it. Hope you are feeling better.

    • karen86868
      karen86868 D91Tx

      Posted

      i was given this after covid too been on it since dec hoping to wean off in the next couple months. how did it go for you?

    • cliff51456
      cliff51456 kent01801

      Posted

      Hi. I am right there now. My cardiologist just took me off Metoprolol ER (200mg / day) after over 12 years on this med and dose. Just switched me to Cardizem CD, and said that there would be no issues with the switch. Just now in week 2, and still waiting to see how it goes.

      -

      I see you post of over a year ago. How did you do with just be told to stop?

    • kent01801
      kent01801 cliff51456

      Posted

      I hit the 3 year mark last week, still not right. I have periods of adrenaline spikes, especially at night and chest pains constantly. I've had every heart test imaginable and they say my heart is fine. Not one doc has explored the beta blocker withdrawal syndrome or rebound effect it causes when you stop abruptly. If you do stop metoprolol suddenly it must be replaced with another beta blocker or else you'll end up like me. Since the symptoms began I also feel every single heartbeat throughout the day. my heart feels like its pounding, but blood pressure is fine. Maybe someday I'll get back to normal, or maybe this is my new normal.

    • lillyz28
      lillyz28 cliff51456

      Posted

      cliff

      My doctor did the same thing to me. I was on a different beta blocker Atenolol. He said I wouldn't have any issues since Cardizem and Atenolol were both rate control drugs. I had a racing heart for 3 days straight starting from the first day of the switch Then it calmed down. If you are in week 2 already with no symptoms you may not get any .

    • lillyz28
      lillyz28 kent01801

      Posted

      Kent

      Have you had your thyroid checked? or any other tests done? I hope you find out why this is happening to you. Feel better soon .

    • kent01801
      kent01801 lillyz28

      Posted

      Yes, it was normal. One small cyst which was, "unremarkable", according to the doc that read the ultrasound.

    • alana1985
      alana1985 D91Tx

      Posted

      Hi, how did this taper schedule work for you?

    • tyt
      tyt karen86868

      Posted

      were you on it for heart palpitations after covid? If so did your palpitations stop?

    • Jesseray
      Jesseray kent01801

      Posted

      OMG! This is so messed up!i can only imagine how youre feeling. im struggling on day 3. My anxiety is through the roof! Heart palpitations, depression, just feel always scared and constant headache! This is the worst feeling ever! How are you doing now?

    • Jesseray
      Jesseray D91Tx

      Posted

      Hi. Im in a similar situation. Was taking 25mg for 1.5 yrs and my anxiety is through the roof! I have the most painful headache almost 24/7. 😦 Im on day 3 or splitting the 25mg pill in half. Heart palpitations, blood pressure spikes, Depression. I feel so scared all the time and i hope this gets better. doc said do this for 1 week then stop completely. Any luck? Is there light at the end of this tunnel?

    • Jesseray
      Jesseray staceymb

      Posted

      OMG! Any luck? Im on day 3 of splitting my 25mg pill in half. I have the worst hedaches almost 24/7. Now palpitations, severe dizziness, anxiety is so bad like on the verge of going to ER almost daily. Depression, i hate this feeling. Does it get better? 😦

    • Jesseray
      Jesseray drew23580

      Posted

      any luck? Im in same boat and same taper off plan. Did you get off completely? im on day 3 of 12.5mg and i cant stand this. I feel like im going crazy. Headaches 24/7, dizzy spells, and mad panic attacks. Any help is greatly appreciated. 😦

    • RodPickens
      RodPickens Jesseray

      Posted

      any update on how you feel. I can't get access to my doctor until monday and I am trying to get off my metoprolol er succinate 25mg.

    • autumn01686
      autumn01686 D91Tx

      Posted

      how are you doing now? Im actually on metroprolol 12.5 due to the booster 😦

    • autumn01686
      autumn01686 karen86868

      Posted

      how are you doing now? im on 12.5 metroprolol due to the booster 😕

    • f66778
      f66778 drew23580

      Edited

      I was on the Metoprolol for 2 months and noticed the severe headaches & depression came from the Metoprolol. I had low appetite, sleep discomfort in the middle of the night and severe headaches about 4 to 6 hours after taking my morning pill. I was on 25mg twice a day. After I complained i was instructed to scale down to 12.5mg twice by cutting the pill in half. My headache was gone. I regained more energy. I explained my experience to my cardiologist, he suggested I do 12.5mg once a day or cut it off completely. As of recently, I am completely off, I feel much better, however, I suspect there's some of it in my system. Lesson for me: Medications shouldn't be seen as a one size fits all. If you experience discomfort speak up fast with your doctor and always seek second opinion from other doctors. Deep breathing exercises and daily prayers morning and nights to sooth any worries and anxiety. 🙏

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