Metoprolol. Tapering off. Side effects. Horrible drug!

This is a worthless drug and you are only going to get more sick on it

len77115...I'm sure you've read a lot of negative comments here in the forum about Metropolol. They are horror stories for sure. About 3 1/2 yrs ago, my then Dr. prescribed Metropolol to be taken 2x/day, for a total of 50mg. Yes, just 50mgs. By 11AM I had such a bad headache, I didn't know where to turn. This went on for a few weeks. It seems my body wouldn't settle down with it. Finally, I came off...My then Dr. prescribed Atenolol 25mg 2x/day. I've had no problem with the Atenolol at all. The pharmacist did question why I was taking the 25mg 2x/day because the med is intended to be taken 1x/day. I left that Dr. (didn't like/trust him at all), my previous Dr. said it was just fine to take the 50mg at once..never mind 25mg in the morning, then 25mg in the afternoon. This is what I do. As I've stated, I have no trouble with the Atenolol at all. Just so you know, Metropolol is fat soluable, whereas the Atenolol is water soluable. There IS a difference, & don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I got this info from 2 trusty friends who are Pharmacists. You're taking 200mg of Metropolol which I think is a lot. You'd be doing yourself a great service by going back to the Dr. or find another one. 

LOL. I meant hit or miss. Sorry 😐 

If you need to find a new doctor I would highly suggest getting off this poison but you must do it under a doctors care if you read my whole post I did it as a slow taper and I faxed a sheet to my doctor every Friday showing her how much I was tapering down over the period of time that I used to get off this poison so she was in constant awareness of what I was doing I absolutely despise this drive with everything in my being I honestly thought I was rid of the residual Damage that this directed to me but now I’m not so sure however I’m glad to be off of it

Months later they handed me an RX for Amlodipine. I refused it.  I think I have white coat hypertension and I’ve always run a bit high nothing that any other doctor was never concerned about and all my cardiac testing comes back normal I do have some  hctz 12.5 But right now I’ve done the best I can with dietary changes and what not but my BP still runs a bit high however it’s always been that way and it changes constantly which is also normal most of the blood pressures that people post here truly aren’t considered hypertension until they came out with that stupid standard that anything over 120/70 is bad

I really hope that you will call your doctor and get off this drug because I’m telling you take my word it’s only gonna get worse the longer you use it

Talk to the heart doctor again call them tomorrow if you can you really didn’t want to keep putting this poison in your system but you cannot ever cold turkey this medication and the advice to go off it for five days is ridiculous that tells me that particular doctor doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing or knows about these medications

Best wishes 

janice12478...As Tee19 wrote you., you cannot stop Metropolol cold turkey. You MUST wean!!! I can tell you most definitely, Tee19 is right. I also am very well aware of this because a few friends of mine are Pharmacists & they have said the same thing. You may not have to wean for a long time considering you've been on it just over 2months, but still & all, you must wean to an extent. If this is what's in your plans, go to a Pharmacist, & they can guide you to the best way to wean off. Drs only know so much about meds. They did take Pharmacology when they were training, only to give them ideas as to what medicines are out there, how they work (to a degree). It's the Pharmacists who are specialists when it comes to drugs.

janice12478..further to my note...If your doctor is practically insisting you take a beta blocker, there is another one called "Atenolol". Be wary of your doctor's comment though. He/she may say.."Metropolol & Atenolol are the same thing".They are NOT. While both are beta blockers, Metropolol is fat soluable, whereas Atenolol is water soluable. One is a selective beta blocker while the other is not. A few years back, I was taking Metropolol too,& had terrible headaches. Once 11AM rolled around, I had a terrible headache..to the point where I was frightened. My then-doctor took me off, thank God...then about 2 1/2 yrs ago, prescribed Atenolol. I have not had a problem with it. My pharmacists friend explained the differences to me. Don't be pushed around...

How are you doing with tapering off?  I’m starting today and I’m so scared after reading all this. 

I was put on 12.5mg of Metoprolol which is half of the smallest dose of 25 mg. I have GAD ( generalized anxiety disorder). But that is not why I was put on it.  I was put on the drug after my heart was racing and my blood pressure was elevated. And to reduce my PVC'S or heart palpitations. It lowered my blood pressure and stopped my heart from racing but it made my heart rate go too low ( in the low 50's and upper forties when I woke up in the morning) and I was getting lite-headed on and off during the day, but I was willing to put up with that rather than my heart racing at 166 bpm while I was lying in bed!  When that had happened  I had called the ambulance and was taken to the closest hospital and they diagnosed me with atrial fibrillation( my heart went back into a normal rhythm after about 30 minutes before they gave me anything)  and later they gave me a needle to inject myself with a blood thinner. They had me stay overnight in the hospital and I refused to stick myself with the next needle the next morning because the 1st injection made me have a very exhausted feeling. A few weeks later I went to my regular heart doctor who is on staff at another hospital and he said at first he didn't think I had an episode of a-fib after going over all the tests from the other hospital, but now he isn't sure and doesn't want to 2nd guess the doctors at the other hospital and my heart doctor's nurse practitioner  also gave me a 30 day holter monitor which my heart doctor  said it looked like two times I had possible a-fib episodes. When I saw him in late May I told him that the 12.5mg of Metoprolol was making my ears hurt and giving me soreness on the roof of my mouth so he told me to go off it for 5 days and see if my side effects go away. I told him ok but after I left the office I was terrified just thinking about going off that stuff because I thought my heart would start racing again and I would have to call the ambulance, so I didn't stop taking it. Then about a week later my heart doctor's nurse called me and said the heart doctor wanted me to stop taking it for 5 days to see if my side effects would go away. I told her I was afraid that my heart would start racing. She said if it starts racing wait 15-20 minutes and if it's still racing after that to call 911. So that night I was scared to death to stop taking it but I did stop taking it and my heart didn't start racing but I remembered the nurse said it is going to take a few days for it to get out of my system so I thought ok my heart didn't start racing after the 1st night of not taking it because it is still in my system. I made it through the next 5 days of not taking it and my heart went up a few times after I had eaten some fruit but it wasn't pounding out of my chest like before. And guess what? My ears are still hurting me( I went to my nurse practitioner for my primary care doctor and she said I had some water in my ears but it wasn't a lot and she checked my throat and said it didn't look inflamed and that was after I had been off Metoprolol for about 2 months.) I have been taking so many supplements I think that the water in my ears and sore throat are due to taking too much EPA and DHA omega 3 fatty acids because I don't have very much omega 6 foods which is supposed to be in a 2:1 ratio of omega 3 to omega 6.  See, I am on a very strict diet so I don't take any vegetable oils which are supposed to be high in omega 6. But I do take some hemp seeds which is in the 2:1 ratio but I do not care for those seeds that much so I don't eat that much of them. Anyway, my advice is don't be afraid to get off the Metoprolol but taper off according to your doctor's instructions. My doctor told me in 20 years of practice he had never heard of ear pain or pain in the roof of your mouth as a side effect to Metoprolol and that some patients are on 200 mg a day!!!!!! And I was afraid to stop the 12.5mg! At a 12.5mg daily dose you don't have to taper the nurse told me but I tried to anyway by cutting that in half, which was already cut in half from the 25 mg!!! And about my heart palpitations the Metoprolol did not lower those at all, but they have gone done since I have lost about 45 lbs and I still have 30 more lbs to go!!! Plus try to lower your stress level. I am taking care of my mom who has dementia and that is tremendously stressful! I will keep you in my prayers, missy!

Missy, this is a a correction from my 1st note I sent you. The correct ratio for the omega 6's and 3's  is...the omega 6 is supposed to be in a 2:1 with the omega 3 so you are to take twice as much omega 6 as omega 3 and the typical American diet is in a ratio of omega 6 to 3 of 20:1 and that can throw off your immune system which might increase the risk of getting cancer. Sorry about the mistake!

I’m on it for anxiety and hart palpitations. But I think it makes my insomnia and dizziness worse. So I want to stop it. The doc said to just stop. 

But I read horrible things about just stopping. So I wanna taper off. Just don’t know what to take cause the doc says to just stop. I’m on 24 mg twice a day now. For the past 5 ish weeks. Any suggestions? 

Thanks in advance 

Thank you for your reply. Both doc and pharmacy said to just stop ( I love in Europe and they’re idiots). So I have to figure it out myself. I was taking 25mg 2 X a day, so now I guess I’ll go to 12,5mg 2 X a day for a week and then half that again? Does that sound good?

so you did half the pill are did you just stop for 5 day

how are you know