Metoprolol. Tapering off. Side effects. Horrible drug!

ann c 04098...I think I suggested to you how to cut down the dosage!!! Do a few days at 25 mgs...or even a week. Then go down to 12.5 for a number of days, then 12.5 every other day, then 12.5 every other other day...etc. Then stop. You'll be fine. You didn't say when you started down at 25mg..

anne c 04098...weaning is weaning. I'm sure when you were taking the 50 mgs..you took it 1xdaily...did you not?? I'd say you're quite ok to be taking 25mg 1xdaily...You could do this for a week, then reduce to 12.5/day.

Then go 12.5 every other day, then every other other day...then stop. I got this helpful hint from an extremely reliable Pharmacist/friend of mine. A person cannot stop beta blockers abruptly. Amlodipine is quite another story...one CAN stop abruptly, but we're not talking about Amlodipine.

Thank you again Mike, today is better than yesterday, it seems first days are the roughest.  I'll be glad when this is over especially since I found out metoprolol has a block box warning..

Cutting the pill in half is a good place to start, but it takes time for your body to adjust so be patient and let us know how you are doing...

gloria02816...Unless you have consulted your Dr. about this, I would NOT recommend you reducing the dosage of this medication. 25mg is not a big amount by any stretch. 

A side effect of beta blockers (which Metropolol is) is the fact of lightheadedness, or diziness. If it's extreme, then the matter should be reported to the Dr. If it's very early days since starting the medication, it may just be a matter of the patient having some time to adjust. Some people will stop a medication in a very short period of time, thereby not giving the medication a proper chance to do its job. 

If you are that concerned about the side effects you are experiencing, I cannot recommend strongly enough that you see your Dr. Don't take it upon yourself to be reducing the medicine dosage.

Hi Mike

Hope you are all doing well here on this great site

I'm doing much better since being free of this horrible med

Still dealing with having MS 

Keeping an eye on my BP but as you and others have said...taking your BP everyday can make it go up just from the anxiety of the whole process of wondering what the result will be. I check it here and there and I'm sure if like you said I checked it 10 times a day it would always be different. I've been able to go back on taking my B-12 and Iron Elixir which has helped me in addition to what little medication I use for MS but only as needed. I still need a bit of the anxiety mess but the anxiety stems from things that will take me a bit to get through and under control but I do feel so much better off this horrible beta blocker. I cringe whenever I hear of someone taking this med although I know mess work differently on everyone

There are no words...and no amount of thank you's that I could ever say that would be sufficient to thank you and all the others here that saw me through some rough weeks coming off this horrific medication.

I hope you are well :-)

THANK YOU !

Hi Gloria

I went through a nightmare with this medication. It took me months to get off this drug safely. I didn't rush anything as much as I wanted it OUT of my system I knew I had to take my time and be careful. I made up my own schedule, got it approved by my doctor and started the taper. I actually extended the time I came off it to be on the safe side and with sound advice from some awesome people on this site which trust me..some of these folks would make the best doctors and I'm a Nurse so believe me when I say..most of the docs out here today have NO CLUE......you know your body. You know when something isn't right. Trust your feelings but do always get the approval from a solid physician to ween off this drug. It's dangerous to cold turkey this drug and actually not even advisable to do it in a matter of weeks. I initially had a 6 week taper set up but I extended it out a few months and I'm thankful I did. 

Now that I'm off the poison as I call it....I feel MUCH better. Aside from having MS which is tough to deal with and anxiety which I'm working on..all those pesky side effects from that crap drug that should be a crime to give out to anyone....are gone now. I've lost whatever weight it gave me. I feel somewhat myself again. I monitor my BP here and there and when I went to the doctor it was up a bit ( I swear I have white coat hypertension) but they retook it in a few minutes and it was decent. Nothing that seemed to worry my doc. She knows I get nervous at the doctor appointments. I've been through so much with MS and some other things that it's hard for me to just CHILL OUT but I'm learning too

Ive also made more food adjustments and spent about an hour a day doing some mild excercise, listening to some nice music I enjoy that helps me a lot and I sometimes just sit outside and let the breeze ( when there is one. HA) hit my face and watch the dogs run around and play. 

My hubs is the best support ever. He really helps me. We've both been through so much. Me with an MS diagnosis and him being a combat wounded Marine (Iraq/Afghanistan). We both deployed there so we've been through a ton...but we are getting there

My doc realizes she made an error placing me on that beta blocker. She's a good doctor. She just made a bad call and I failed to really look into the medication because at the time I was overwhelmed with a bunch of stuff. Had I done my homework I would have never started it....

It feels good to be rid of that horrible med

I would say make up a schedule of how you want to take your med for a few weeks, the cut it down slowly till you are down to 1/4 of the med even at 25 mgs. I did it. I literally took this teeny weeny piece of the med in the end :-) but take your time and make sure your doctor is on board and monitoring you.

I faxed in my schedule weekly with my BP readings and such and so they were tracking me as I was doing everything.

I wish you well.

You will get GREAT help here. Annie, Mike and others are very supportive and know their stuff :-)

Hi Tee,

I made it off safely too.. it's been 10 days an I'm ofiicially off this horror show... thanks to you for the encouragement and Mile as well.   You are more forgiving than I am stating that your doctor now realizes she made a mistake..... These are not mistakes and i understand your position fully but I do not forgive doctors.   They know exactly what they are doing and play innocent when they are found out.. eh... can't tand the medical profession... Anyway glad you made it out in one piece....

Tee19....NIce hearing from you, & knowing you, are doing much better. Yes, Metropolol seems to cause problems for a lot of people, but one thing I can't stress strongly enough is the fact that Metropolol isn't the only beta blocker out there. As mentioned previously, I was on it for a while as well...had horrible headaches to the point where it frightened the life out of me. After a while, & was given Atenolol...no problem!!! There is no need for anyone to suffer with medications. If the doctor doesn't want to listen, then put it to him/her that the side effects are interfering with one's life, & nobody should be sick just because of a medication. It's total horsesh*t. 

Some folks make the mistake of doctoring themselves...reducing or stopping medication. Nobody except a physician is qualified to make that decision. If the Dr.says ok..then it's ok...but doing it oneself is like playing Russian roulette. 

Again, very happy to know you're doing much better. Keep up the good work! See...I KNEW you could do it!!!!

Hi Mike. ANNESJ just posted. I will write to her later today but thought I’d reach out to you (the best) to maybe help her with your great way of helping others 

;-). Thank you 🙏 

Mike and Tee

Input please. I've been on M for 3 years now. I was taking 25mg am and pm. Oct I cut back to 12.5 MG am and pm. Got to feeling unwell sick. Unable to focus, foggy headed just plain bad even plain feeling like death. Anyways I went to new cardiologist and he agreed with me that the M had built up in my system and gave me OK to taper. Yes I had a heart attack 3 years ago. The new cardiologist said he only keeps people on M for the 1st year to help the heart recover but not 3 years. He declined switching to another BB as the M has least side effects.

My question. So I began a taper October thru February, from 25mg to 12.5mg. Handled OK. Now remember, I got cardiologist permission to wean. Last 3 days I've done 6.25 am and pm. This adjustment feels like I am seriously going thru wd. Spacey headed. But I will continue dose until my body adjusts. Cardiologist said just decrease pill by half. Never did he say how long I should allow my body to adjust to the new dosage before another cut. Any clue? Thanks

 I don’t mean this to be in a bad way or anything I’m just very concerned for you giving your medical history that you shared with us 

 For people like you they say the reoccurrence of a heart attack is a high risk coming off this medication at least from what I’ve been told and have read 

 Please is there anyway that you can get to an emergency room I see a doctor soon as possible and update us and let us know how you’re feeling I’m very surprised that your cardiologist didn’t carefully monitor the taper of this medication with you 

You are definitely a patient that should’ve been monitored very closely every week as you decrease the dosages even if you were on the same one for several weeks I would think they would want a monitored very closely

Please go and let us know how you’re doing ♥️

Correction:

I’m not comfortable at all trying to give you any advice outside of telling you I think you should go to your doctor ASAP or getting to an ER ASAP 

tee19

i have been off all BB going on 2 yrs now. my cardiologist weaned me off. i was checking in with him every 3 months. after a year off the metro my log of at home bps were great. My cardio was impressed. at 1 yr . said no need to continue any more meds at that time. Sept i go for my annual checkup . which will be 2 yrs since discontinuing the metro.