Scared! New to metoprolol Succinate/ side effects
Posted , 10 users are following.
i was in the ER Wednesday for fast heart rate that wouldnt slow down, i was dianosed with AVNRT a form of SVT. they prescribed me 25m a day of metoprolol succinate. i had first dose in hospital and felt fine until thursday morning, i felt slightly light headed and dizzy and just out of it mentally (like derealization), appetite wasnt the same and didnt sleep well during the night, friday felt the exact same, and now this morning woke up really nauseous and trying not to get sick, along with the out of it and not sleeping and stuff i have been having. are these common side effects that will go away and my body just needs to adjust or will they just continue to get worse? im afraid to keep taking them but also afraid to stop them.
0 likes, 25 replies
jx41870 Mickey626
Posted
Yeah, beta blockers are weird things.
25mg sounds like a minimal dose.
How's your heart rate doing?
I take a different beta blocker, atenolol, and anything more than 1/4 of the lowest standard dose, knocks me silly.
You're supposed to taper off beta blockers, not just stop them, but from such a small dose I suppose you might be able to stop.
Of course talk to your doctor about this, but I'd suggest that a good plan might be to cut the tablets in half, try a half dose for a day or two, and as long as your heart rate is still OK then try stopping entirely. But keep the full tablets, or the cut ones, around in case your symptoms return. That's not a standard way to use beta blockers, but it works for me.
Mickey626 jx41870
Posted
thanks! my heart rates been fine, that was the first big episode i ever had, i had heart palpitations in the past but usually go away after a few min, wednesdays episode lasted hours. i hate these side effects but i wont mind if its normal and eventually goes away but if its gonna keep like this or get worse i cant do it lol. i heard atenolol is better since is doesnt cross the blood brain barrier. did u have any side effects on yours?
jx41870 Mickey626
Posted
Been pretty happy with atenolol - at that tiny dosage (12.5mg/day). In some cases I've had to go twice a day - but "normal" dosage is still 50mg/day! Mostly I've been able to go without it, recently, but it comes and goes.
Does make you dream!
Interferes with your body's response to exercise, keeps the heart rate low when you'd want and expect it to start to rise, but still OK to do moderate exercise on it, they tell me.
Can also raise your blood glucose, if you're watching that, but that's probably true of all beta blockers.
Mickey626 jx41870
Posted
alright thanks! i called my pharmacist and she said i could just stop for now until i can call my doctor monday. so maybe ill see if i can try those ones.
jx41870 Mickey626
Posted
If you want to try another beta blocker that has minimal side effects - try dark chocolate!
Get some 72% to 95% dark, should have no milk products in it which block or delay beta blocker effects.
About 1 ounce (28 grams) of the 95% stuff is a "dose", a little more for the 72%. Have a little extra for good luck! I've found it works, but of course that's a lot of calories to keep using.
annie78444 jx41870
Posted
this is a great idea, but warning to anyone trying this - do not do this if you are a migraine or rosacea sufferer without trying a tiny amount first.....sadly for me, these conditions got worse
Mickey626 jx41870
Posted
interesting! dark chocolate is my fav so ill def try that out! lol thanks!
jamie2727 Mickey626
Posted
I tried Metoprolol for my SVT as well. I took it for about a month and a half, then asked my EP doctor to switch to something else. For me, it dropped my HR and BP to low and I felt tired, light headed, and weak. It also made my PVC's worse. I started at 25mg then dropped to 12.5 but still same results. I wasn't scared because I didn't believe it would kill me, it just made me feel like crap. Every one tolerates medication differently. Some are able to tolerate it after a while, some are not, but one thing you should do is give your body time to adjust to the mediation. For many, after a month or so the initial symptoms go away. It took over a month for my body to adjust to my new beta blocker, which so far isn't as bad as the metoprolol was for me. I know a lot of people who tolerate metoprolol very well and it helps them greatly. If you are thinking about stopping, talk to your doctor before you do and wean off them, just to be safe. Also, talk to your doctor about trying a different beta blocker, or even a calcium channel blocker. There are dozens and dozens of different beta blockers on the market. Its just trial and error to see which one works best for you.
Mickey626 jamie2727
Posted
im just afraid this feeling with be permanent, i can deal with it if it eventually passes. im gonna ask my doctor and see what they say about switching or not. thanks for the reply!
Mickey626 jamie2727
Posted
also which beta blocker did you switch to? and how were those side effects? i called my pharmacist and she said not to take the metropolol anymore and talk to my dr monday about switching. i only took it for 3 days so she said stopping would be fine, hope shes right lol. i heard atenolol is pretty good so may ask to try that.
jamie2727 Mickey626
Posted
I am currently taking Bystolic 2.5 mg 2xs a day. Much better then the metoprolol very little side effects. They say Bystolic is more tolerable to the body. It still drops my BP but I don't feel as bad as I did on the Metoprolol and it doesn't make my PVCs worse...so far lol.
peter01729 Mickey626
Posted
I had the same symptoms from the similar Beta Blocker, Bisoprolol, soon as I took them I described feeling like a drunk zombie, turned me into an old man overnight.
I was only on them for a few weeks, that was two years ago, for me, the symptoms never got better, they have done some sort of permanent damage to my nervous system.
Mickey626 peter01729
Posted
oh wow, thats scary. sorry to hear that. you never received any help for the feeling? now im afraid im going to permanently be like this
peter01729 Mickey626
Posted
Firstly, don't worry, if you look through the various beta blocker forums here, you will find your symptoms quite common indeed, you will be had pushed to find many who have been permanently effected though, so very little chance you will be one of them.
I have done a genetic test which shows I am a slow metaboliser of various drugs including beta blockers, this means when I take the next days dosage, I still had the previous days, so I became overdosed, I also have multiple genes for neurological disorders such as MS. My theory is that I have a delicate Autonomic Nervous System that I never had any trouble with, but beta blockers disrupt the ANS, and mine wasn't strong enough to recover from.
No help from the NHS, a lot of fobbing off, things like, "its anxiety from a bad childhood", quite why I can work without any problem for decades and then the act of taking beta blockers triggers childhood anxiety is quite beyond me, but I guess it saves them money.
Mickey626 peter01729
Posted
thank you, i hope you feel better!
annie78444 peter01729
Posted
Hi, not sure this could be helpful, but i seem to have become more prone to falls since using beta blockers, this factor has not been linked to bbs in hospital discussion, but i am being advised re balance issues which are put down to a type of vestibular migraine. i have been advised to tke CoQ10 and magnesium. i have started the CoQ10. I have been researching online and it appears that betablockers lower CoQ10 in some people. Migraines may be related to the ANS, wondered if you had tried CoQ10 supplements?
annie78444
Posted
cont ..(sent too soon)....for your ANS problems. I am hoping they help me, as i am still very tired, and it seems, looking online, that this effect if known about, and that CoQ10 might help, it seems to have, strangely, lowered my pulse at present and i have cut my beta blocker dose a little.
tracy49491 annie78444
Posted
I do take coq10 when i remember. And i do feel a little better when i remember. I am off the beta blockers all together, but i guess my bp is higher now. anything was better than the beta blocker! I also take tumeric when i remember. should be better about taking my meds, but kitchen is being redone and i have slipped up, and am feeling it
annie78444 tracy49491
Posted
Hi, Tracy, i am finding that CoQ10 seems to have lowere my pulse a little, and i have cut my beta blocker a bit. I dont like it my betablocker, i never have, but after reading one of your posts i looked back at a note i had written to my GP some years ago, when i started bbs, i had forgotten how i got acid reflux and other gastric symptoms , nothing would shake and i was on Zantac, then i stopped and in a month or two i was off Zantac. I've tried ACE and ARB in the meantime, and these caused reflux also, tho much less so re ACE, so i did not make the connection when, last yr, i had to start bbs again, and now i am back being prescribed zantac. My GP has never commented, and i had temp forgotten, thanks for your post reminding me.