How did you wean off Metoprolol?

Here in the Netherlands, people live in small homes or apartments that are furnished sparsely and they have as few belongings as possible because first of all there is no space. Secondly, I think it's a carryover from the Protestant Reformation where the Catholic church was noted for its excesses. The Dutch adopted plain, simple, modest clothing and a strict work ethic...like the Amish. The bicycle is king on city streets. There are red painted zones on the roads for bicycles. Cars and pedestrians must yield to cyclists and they do. They ride in bunches of 30 - 40 etc...at top speed! These people are fit and gorgeous which I think comes from good health. They are not raised on junk food and they eat far less than our children do. I am in admiration of these people. I bet they don't have the health problems we do.

I am from Canada. We have a pretty good public transportation system. People leave cars at home and walk, take the bus, subway or commuter train. My daughter lives in the city (Montreal) and she pushes her 1 year old in a stroller for 38 minutes to work/daycare every weekday...often in the snow. People do go for walks. Yesterday my 68 year old husband went for a 35 km walk (maybe 25 miles?) and now he is out for a 12 km walk. We are amazed that in the US there are no people on the streets and that everyone drives. What is especially surprising is that 16 year olds expect a car. NO kids here have their own cars. They may be allowed to borrow Mum and Dad's car to go to soccer practice if they can't walk or bike or take a bus but not own one until they can afford to buy their own usually when they are well over age 20. Different cultures all around the world. Bottom line: move, eat well, ditch consumerism and avoid medications as much as possible and look to lifestyle changes to manage one's health.

Sometimes, no matter how great your lifestyle is, pharmaceutical and medical intervention is required. Lifestyle should be a preventative measure and be combined with the many benefits of modern medicine.

Maybe I'm jaded but I've been around long enough to see the damage done to people whose doctors promote drugs over lifestyle in health management. I see so many health issues on this forum related to side effects...that the suffering people are largely unaware of. The cure is often worse than the disease. So many sicknesses can be eliminated by good nutrition, less food and exercise. Many if not most people seem to prefer to take the easy route and pop a pill. They are playing with fire...

There are so many factors that lead to disease. Genes are a huge determinant. In my own family: grandmother, cancer, grandfather ,cancer, my mother had two different cancers, my sister has breast cancer and my brother has a blood cancer.
My mother was slim and exercised her whole life and believed in healthy eating
Sometimes childhood diseases affect your health in adulthood.
I know someone with post-polio syndrome. Thankfully we have vaccines today.
We live far longer today because of medicine. And this is coming from someone with a deep-seated fear of drugs and doctors!

Hi Sue,
I just read that more than 1 in 3 gets cancer. Although not to be taken lightly, we may live longer and eventually we do have to die of something after all. If we don't die of heart disease, an accident or autoimmune disease or some genetic disease, cancer may be the default disease. I am guessing that if one lives long enough, cancer will develop.
Some diseases are on the increase. Look at autism...1 in 60. Allergies and autoimmune diseases have skyrocketed. Obesity and diabetes are rampant. There are many childhood cancers that are much more common today. Cancers are higher than ever in young adults, too. Then there's infertility. Since the 1950s infertility has doubled and men are much more effeminate. Our environment is poisoning us. We inject our beef cattle with 7 hormones...banned in Europe since 1986. Canada follows the US because Big Pharma has a strong influence on us, too. Then there are vaccines which have their place...in moderation. I am 70 years old. My generation got 6 vaccinations before age 7. Today American babies and young children under the age of 7 get 36! It may be more now because I think they are adding new ones like pneumonia. The adjuvents that are added to the vaccines are neurotoxins. Big Pharma admits this. How much can the brain of a baby take? I could go on but negativity and controversy is not something one wants to read about.

Still feel there must be a more balanced approach to the treatment of disease. Science, research, pharmaceuticals, and physicians (and the Mayo Clinic!) will remain part of health's tool bix.

I agree...caveat: with far less push from Big Pharma and doctors to go the drug route. Borderline high blood pressure, late onset diabetes, smoking related lung diseases, GERD, depression, PCOS, cancer prevention, heart disease can all be improved and even eliminated with lifestyle changes alone.
A case in point: I cured a serious case of AFib. Yes, I took beta blockers, the highest dose possible which was necessary but I was able to get off them with daily exercise.

Interesting story about blood pressure. I've always had normal/low b.p. (i'm 64). For a time about 18 months ago, my pressure was spiking. (I am on metoprolol for my vtach). My cardiologist said normal for my age, this is how it starts, I should monitor at home. Anyway to make a long story less long, around the same time found out at the osteoporosis clinic that my Vit d levels were low. Two to three months of vitd supplementation, and all bp readings
are consistently normal/low. (Except when my white coat syndrome is in play).

Good news! Success story!
My BP is moderate and I do take a medication for it but plan to continue my walking regimen when I get home which does lower it. I have been walking an average of 14,000 steps per day here on holiday in the Netherlands. I will lower salt intake and modify my diet which is high in veggies but it's going to be even higher. No more homemade soups. They need to be salty to taste like anything. I need to reduce portion size, eliminate carbs at each meal, lose weight.. .maybe 30 pounds which I know will lower the BP. My cholesterol is normal. Big Pharma lowered what it deemed 'normal' to such a low number that half of American men 65 - 74 are on statins. It seems that all my friends are on statins.
The documentary on the Nature of Things with Dr. David Suzuki (on YouTube) reveals research by several eminent, Canadian cardiologists that only a man in his forties who has had a heart attack should be on statins. It is especially dangerous for seniors causing muscle weakness and memory loss. Thank God I don't need it but if a doctor told me I did, I would not take it. I just read that 61% of people prescribed statins are non compliant after 3 months.
Pill takers Beware!