What is your experience with changing betablockers?

Hi @erodla,
I think you'll be interested in this related discussion where members like @jackj @sue225 @healthytoday @larryg333 and many others share their experiences about tapering off metoprolol.
- How did you wean off Metoprolol? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/weaning-off-metoprolol/

@cblatch001 @predictable and others may have experiences to share about switching medications like metoprolol to atenelol.

Erodia, has your phyician switching medications?

Thank you for your help, yes i asked my doctor for a substitute for Metoprolol, and she told me i could try Atenolol.

Hi @erodla. I started out on Atenolol 20mg several years ago, then switched to Carvedilol 25+25mg on advice from my nephrologist. I don't recall having any reactions to the switch, but that may be from A-fib that is almost asymptomatic. But I'm confident that Carvedilol supresses my blood pressure, and that's positive because of my fundamental problem of hypertension. I am surprised by your heart going "crazy . . .so badly both fysical and physical," not something I have experienced. But I'd suggest a serious conversation with your medical team on whether your reaction was caused by your medication or your heart's dysfunction. Martin

Depending why you were prescribed Metoprolol, evidently it helped your symptom. Trying to get off it can be an issue if the symptom suddenly came back when you reduced it to 12.5. So Metoprolol was helping and your heart quickly reacted to the reduced dosage. I have a highly allergic reaction to the coating holding the pill together. The pharmacist tried to switch me to different companies making Metoprolol and then to different medications snd nothing worked. My reactions to them was worse than what I got from Metoprolol. So I was placed on 25mgs in the morning and my allergic reaction eased up. It was just a minimum maintenance dosage but it started causing inter reactions with other medications. Causing my heart rate to sink to the upper 40’s and my bp was as low as 51/48. I was getting so lightheaded and dizzy, I said the he!! with this and went off all medications. I was off everything for 5 months when my Tachycardia started to kick in and I had to go back on 25mgs of Metoprolol. I didn’t want to but this morning my bp was 116/68 with a heart rate of 67 and I’m feeling good. So you be the judge, why did my heart seem to start working correctly? Especially after 3 heart attacks since 2018? You could try to switch medications but keep a close eye on your numbers, especially if you have a sudden change. Good luck.

Hello @erodla,

I've been reading the posts about Metoprolol and had a similar experience. I tried it for a couple of weeks and the side effects were so bothersome that I called my cardiologist. He prescribed Atenolol and that worked without the side effects from the Metoprolol.

I hope you are able to find an answer. I would enjoy hearing from you again. Will you post again and let me know how you are doing?

Hi, and thank you so much for sharing this with me. I was very surprised myself concerning this side effect of weaning of betablockers, so I Will see a heart spesialist in 2 weeks, so I hope he Will guide me more in details with this kind of medicine. I feel my ordinary doctor doesnt know much about it. So for now I am still on Metoprolol.

Hi and thank you so much for sharing this with me and for the advices! I started on metoprolol cause of high pulse,and fast heartbeating when I got Covid back in february 2022. And was told to keep taking it for a while. For a month ago i took a Holter registration, EKG 24 HOURS ,and it went well, i only had 55 VES during 24 hours, so the doctor told me i could try stop the medicine, because they didnt find anything wrong(mr, Ct, ultrasound etc) so I really hope i can stop taking this medicine, or change to a different kind, also beacuse i get some bad side effects from metoprolol( insomnia, muscletiredness, dizziness and depression)

Hi and thank you so much for sharing with me. I really appreciate it! I Will see a heart spesialist in 2 weeks to discuss a change to Atenolol. My ordinary doctor is not a specialist so I want to discuss it with a specialist. so I am still on metoprolol, but i Will keep in touch if or when I change betablocker.

I’m a Covid long hauler since March 2022 when I caught it the 3rd time. Then I caught a Covid B Variant on May 10th 2022. I had a severe case of it April 20th 2020 for 6 weeks then a mild case December 2021. Yes, I catch everything but money. The first case damaged my brain, kidneys and heart but it took till the 3rd case to become a long hauler. Lost both taste and smell in April 2022 and have never recovered. Still have trouble with my brain, kidneys and heart. So what I’m trying to say is it may not be the medication causing your side affects but left over health issues from the Covid. If you do switch, keep a close eye for any new symptoms. Take care.

My problem is that I have a heart defect that’s a 1 in a million occurrence. Then we found out I have WPW, which is Wolff, Parkinson, White Syndrome causing a number of other heart issues, including 3 heart attacks, spontaneous blackouts, Tachycardia, Bradycardia and A-fib. Right now, both ventricle are all messed up so I’m a walking disaster area but I’m still alive tho. Good luck.