Metoprolol. Tapering off. Side effects. Horrible drug!

GRL702...You were put on a beta blocker because of OCCASIONAL hypertension caused by stress???? Are you kidding? I would NEVER consider doing such a thing, & I'd be very inclined to tell the doctor the same. I could see you being given something for anti-anxiety, but not a beta blocker.

I'd be inclined to get to the pharmacist, & ask them for a good safe weaning regime. They are afterall, the professionals when it comes to medications. Doctors know a little, but not a lot. If you ask the pharmacist the questions you posed in this post, they'll say..."you should speak to/see your doctor"., which is true, but I still would be very inclined to be more than a little upset at being given a beta blocker to curb stress.

Thank you a lot for replying. I completely agree with you. I wish I had known before, but like many on this thread I didn't question the doctor's knowledge. I'm hoping I keep getting better and better as the days go by. It's like a roller coaster. Hopefully there's light at the end of the tunnel, it seems hard to believe when I'm feeling the effects still. It's my 4 day off today and it feels like a bad cold. We'll see how it goes.

GLR701...you're very welcome. To help you until you see the Dr., by all means speak with the pharmacist. Tell them what's going on., but they still may tell you to talk to your doctor. If indeed what you're going through is withdrawal, they may suggest a further weaning program for you.

Tee19 has had a lot of experience weaning off Metropolol. I took that drug a few years back..for about a period of 3 weeks, & during that time I was experiencing terrible headaches to the point where it frightened me.

I'd take the medication say at 7.30AM, & by 11AM the headache was there. You could set your watch by it. Finally, I went back to my then-doctor & complained about it. Thankfully, he took me off. About 3 yrs ago, he prescribed Atenolol, & I must say, I have not suffered the horrible headaches with that medication. I take 50mg/day.

Beta blockers CANNOT suddenly be stopped. I cannot stress that strongly enough. If you'd only been on them say for a week or a little more, it may be possible to suddenly stop, but I wouldn't risk it. Beta blockers slow the heart..you don't want to play games with it.

Anxiety makes the heart pump faster, we all know this...& anxiety boosts bp readings..that's a fact too. Calm the anxiety, & very likely the other things will settle. Again, I'm surprised at your doctor for putting you on a beta blocker for "occasional" hypertension. There are other medications & he/she knows it.

Thank you again for replying. I only took them for about 3 weeks but I had so many side effects that I think that's why it's taking longer to get rid of it. I even got dehydrated and ended up in Urgent Care while taking them. It bothers me a lot that my doctor didn't realize I was having a bad reaction to it. I was taking 25mg once a day and cut it to half for about a week and then stopped. I don't know if cutting it more would've helped since Tee19 still went through pretty much the same, but I was told the ER pill could only be cut where it's scored, so my choice was only half. I read all the posts here, Tee19's experience is what is helping me the most to go through it because she went through what I've been going through. I feel better today, I just wish this anxiety would go away. I never felt anxiety before and even though what I feel now is nothing compared to what I went through while on the medication I just wish I could feel normal again. Hopefully is something that will go away when the all of this poison is out of my system. I didn't take anything for the anxiety nor have anything to take since I never had it before; I don't even know how I've gotten through it. Many people say the anxiety lingers a little so we'll see. Again, thanks so much. You have no idea how much you have helped us all.

GLR702...Taking the Metropolol for 3 weeks truly isn't a long period of time, HOWEVER it is a beta-blocker nonetheless..& must be weaned.

Cutting the pill in half is fine..so when you did so, you were taking 12.5mg of the drug. You did that for about 1 week. I would say that after stopping the pill after taking the 12.5 for the 1 week wasn't enough time. While the pill truly is a little difficult to cut further, it can be done. Just because a pill has a 'score' in it, doesn't mean it can't be cut. Just take a very sharp knife, & place it directly into the center of what you want cutting. Cut it fast, or the pill just might crumble. Also, what you could have done was yes, take the 12.5mg...for a week, then start the decline with taking it every-other-day, then every other other day, etc. What you did in actuality (in my opinion) was to stop suddenly even though you were only taking the 12.5mg.

For sure Tee19 is a huge help when it comes to this. She went through a nightmare with it., but also take into consideration the poor woman is suffering other ailments as well.

As for your anxiety, if you feel it coming on..phone a friend..get together for a coffee, or go for a longgg walk. Anything to distract you. Try to get yourself into the mindset that anxiety is not going to control you. You are bigger than it. Don't worry about anything except earthquakes. (good laugh).

Keep in touch. I'm interested in how you get on with this.

Hi Mike,

Wanted to stop by to give an update but was waiting to have more to report. It's my 2 weeks mark today since I stopped the Metoprolol and I'm doing much better. What still lingers is the anxiety/worry/feeling scared but I feel it's getting better, still some days better than others, but hopefully slowly getting better. It's still kind of hard because it's my first time dealing with anxiety or whatever it is, and I'm used to be in control of things, but I have no other choice than to try my best and hope it'll go away. The other symptoms are mostly gone. I'm including a list of the symptoms I had while on the medication and a timeline of my symptoms (or at least the most worrisome ones, since I had so many) on the days after stopping the medication, maybe it'll help someone or give some kind of reassurance or hope.

I totally understand the need for weaning as slow as possible with these meds, but I was having such a hard time while taking them that I decided to not delay too much the process. My withdrawal symptoms were as bad as when I was taking the Beta Blockers but I could feel that I was getting better without them, very slowly but surely, so I didn't want to put it again in my system. Maybe it has made the process harder, but thinking about taking another of those pills feels like a suicide mission.

Thank you again for all your help Mike, I think I missed the peak season for Beta Blockers' withdrawal since not many people are active on this thread anymore 😃, I'm glad, though; hopefully those that commented before are doing good now.

Well, here are the lists. I'll stay in touch, this journey is not done yet 😃

Symptoms while on Propanolol/Metropolol:

✔️Blurred vision

✔️chest pain or discomfort

✔️electrical current feeling in head

✔️tingling, chills on arms, back and head

✔️confusion

✔️palpitations

✔️dizziness, or lightheadedness when getting up suddenly from a lying or sitting position

✔️hair loss

✔️dry mouth

✔️hot flashes/heat intolerance

✔️sweating

✔️insomnia, nightmares

✔️soft stools

✔️difficult or labored breathing

✔️difficulty with speaking

✔️extreme tiredness or weakness

✔️fast, pounding, or racing heartbeat or pulse

✔️high blood pressure

✔️halos around lights

✔️headache

✔️overbright appearance of lights

✔️lose weight

✔️seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there

✔️tightness in the chest

✔️tingling of the hands or feet

✔️troubled breathing

✔️continuing loss of appetite that got to the point when only could eat liquids (got dehydrated-Urgent Care )

✔️continuing abdominal pain

✔️continuing nausea

✔️difficulty with moving

✔️hoarseness

✔️increased frequency of urination

✔️muscle pain

✔️sore throat

✔️flu like symptoms

✔️white tongue

✔️unpleasant breath odor

✔️tremors on hands, sometimes whole body

✔️anxiety

Timeline-days after stopping Metoprolol:

Day 1 Horrible, all symptoms that had while taking the medication

Day 2 Similar than day before but somewhat better, less intensity of symptoms

Day 3 Didn’t sleep during the night, anxiety, lightheaded, palpitations, tachycardia

Day 4 Anxiety, palpitations, lightheaded, tachycardia, earache

Day 5 Somewhat lightheaded, flu like symptoms, palpitations, tachycardia, easily tired, weak -specially morning to afternoon

Day 6 Headache, lightheaded, palpitations, tired without a lot of effort, weak -specially morning to mid afternoon

Day 7 Palpitations, some anxiety, chest tightness, muscle pain (shoulder-underpit front)

Day 8 Didn’t sleep well last night. Some anxiety, palpitations, some chest discomfort

Day 9 somewhat dizzy till mid afternoon, later pretty good, first day that felt as close as normal as possible

Day 10 pretty good, some nervousness

Day 11 nervousness with some palpitations, bruised easily after scratching an itchy leg

Day 12 less anxiety than day before, a few palpitations

Day 13 pretty good, a little bit of anxiety in afternoon with a few palpitations and dizziness that lasted a few seconds

hi I know it's been a long time since your comment. but did you ever feel well after tapering off of beta blocker?

Hi April,

I never did get completely off of one. I saw a new cardiologist though and he switched me over to Bystolic and that has been much better for me. There is no up and down with that medication. Hope that answers your questions and I wish you the best.

Yes it does thank you. like you I had almost all the side effects you listed on metoprolol 12.5mg twice daily. my cardiologist switched me to 12.5mg Atenolol daily. still having some side effects but not as severe. It's only day 4 of the switch and hoping it's just the metoprolol still lingering and the side effects will go away.

Hi April,

I eventually started to feel very close to my old self but it took some time, around 4 months I would say. But of course, I was getting better little by little during that time, I wasn't miserable like before. My doctor agreed with me that I had a bad reaction to the medication and it's now in my allergies list. It's been about 9 months now since I stopped the medication and even though I'm fine I still get some nervousness once in a while, same with a sensation of skipped heart beats in my throat mainly, some kind of drumming in ear, and a weird sharp pain on the left side of my chest when laying on that side. These weird symptoms come very sporadically to the point that I can live with them, but I NEVER had them before taking that medication. I'm still hopeful they will go away with time, as the others did. It does take time, just be patient and look how far you've come instead of what is left. Wish you the best.

thank you that is very helpful. I also wish you the best.