Stopping Carvedilol (Coreg): When will the effects wear off?

Posted by teatime @teatime, Apr 28, 2016

Hi everyone,

I am glad to be a part of this community. Please foregive the long post. I was wondering if anyone has had a hard time while being on and going off Carvedilol (Coreg).

I am an active 45 year old mom of a young child. I have always tried to eat healthily and keep in shape (I do yoga, pilates and, run about 5k 2x per week). My BP has always been pretty good, but since my 40´s it has gone up a bit (heredity factors play a role). My BP and heart rate also "spike" when I get stressed or anxious, but for the most part are pretty level during normal times. I do have anxious moments, but I would not say anxiety has been a major life problem. At my last check (Feb 2016), and after wearing a 24 hour BP monitor, my cardiologist suggested I start Carvedilol 6.25 1x per day (quite a low dose) for the spikes and to keep the heart from getting too excited. I agreed that maybe it was a good idea and started over two months ago. Other than stimulating rapid bowel movements, I did not notice any side effects at first. I would say about three to four weeks into taking the Carvedilol, I began not sleeping well. I also noticed my heart pounding, like a bass drum, slowly and steadily, at times. Then the heart pounding began to wake me up at night (it turns out my HR was down in the high 40s at night). Some nights I even felt my chest muscles vibrate, as if a phone on silence mode was on top of my chest. I started to notice this more and more and then I would have a few normal nights, so I figured I would just talk about this at my next cardio check (booked out in June). I also noticed I was getting more and more anxious. I wasn't too sure why little things were beginning to bother me. I thought it was hormones, PMS, whatever, and started looking for someone like a therapist to talk to.

The previous week was bad. I woke up from a few nightmares and I started to panic in bed, just woken up from sleep. I had three nights of waking up to panic attacks and body shakes. The experiences made me very nervous. At this point I started looking into the side effects of Carvedilol and I was seeing not only chest pounding, but in rare cases reported effects of nightmares, visual disturbances, tremors, anxiety. I also know one does not simply stop a beta blocker, so we talked about tapering down. I tapered down for four days, and then I got in to see another cardiologist on Monday and he said just stop immediately. The effects are rare, but they have been noted. Going off this medication has been frightening. I feel weak and shaky all the time, and I get sporadic periods of pounding and muscle tremors in my legs, anxiety and fuzzy vision. I frequently get so cold I begin to shake. Yesterday I went back to the clinic for an EKG (normal) and some blood tests (including thyroid) and everything was normal. I am just assuming this is my body reacting and readapting itself after being on beta blockers. It has only been five days, but I am wondering if anyone out there has had similar experiences. How long did it take you to feel normal again? I ran a 5k just two weekends ago and yesterday I could hardly take a walk. Thanks for listening.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Heart & Blood Health Support Group.

There is a lot of good advice in the response by "predicable" for all of us dealing with hypertension. I have found that since I changed my primary care doctor, who is more open to discussions, and who suggested I stop taking the Lisinoprol because it made me so dizzy. So now I only take 1 Atenolol 25mg daily. He suggested that under 140/90 is acceptable for a person of my age.

Since then I have been experimenting using pure ginger tea and dried ginger and now have added 2 1/4 tablespoons of pure beet juice (bottled) in the morning during the last couple of days. Yesterday the systolic range was in the 120's most of the day. I don't suggest anyone else try the beet juice and I did a lot of research on the Internet about the latest blind studies results that show positive results in using beet juice for hypertension although there can be some side effects that should be checked out (information on the Internet) before experimenting with beet juice.

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I am having severe dizziness and my cardiac doctor thinks it might be my pills. My BP got done to 55/45 and so I stopped my Valsartan but Monday he told be to also stop my Coreg CR 20 too. In the mornings I get good BP about 100/70 but by bedtime it goes up to (just now) 148/84. Seems like a lot to go up over the day. Based on my Omron BP786N. I'm thinking I need to start again on something to keep it in a good range all day. All suggestions? Not doing the Coreg is helping the dizziness but the higher BP makes me nervous. It's a few months to see him again and I'm wondering if I need to go back for an adjustment sooner.

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@shawn2018

Hi I have been on Coreg for over a year now. Seemed to work better with less side affects then metoprolol.but after about 4 months started getting dizziness and occasionally a very sharp pain under my right rib.Last 2 months dizziness has been almost constant. Switched to toprol xl and then generic coreg(Carvedilol).No change so per doc weaned off ALL meds.I was on low dose of lisinopril. But after 4 days my hands are shaky! So now I called doc and told him via voicemail I’m going bk on. Can’t take the shaking.havent heard bk as of 5 hrs ago but will let you know. Vicious cycle these drugs!,,

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@krj1213, glad to hear that you're going to see an endocrinologist today, and I hope you will consider a longer list of questions than whether to have a benign tumor removed from your adrenal gland. Do I understand that your current medication load includes five different medications for treating high blood pressure -- Coreg (Carvedilol), Clonidine, Hydralazine, Spironolactone, and an unnamed "water pill?" You and I have a lot in common (with this exception): My medical team never suggested that I take more than three antihypertensive medications at one time.

I also have a tumor on one adrenal gland, and the key question for my nephrologist and my endocrinologist was whether the tumor was, in fact, acting as a rogue gland-in-the-wild, producing excess hormones that inflate blood pressure. Lab tests showed that it probably was NOT a rogue gland, but simply a cyst, discovered by accident by an MRI a few years ago. Since then, we check it for any change in size or composition -- so far, no change.

Of the five medications you listed, I have been on all of them at one time or another. Right now, my daily meds include Coreg (25mg x 2), Amiloride (10mg x 2, potassium-sparing water pill), and Lisinopril (40mg x 1, a vasodilator relaxing arteries). In the past, I also took Clonidine (centrally acting with hormones issued from the brain), and Spironolactone, a powerful diuretic (water pill). The fifth med, Hydralazine, is a vasodilator (relaxing arteries) similar in effect to my Lisinopril and, several years ago, to Minoxidil.

Against that background, I know you will understand the importance of a detailed conversation with your medical team about why a half-dozen medications are suitable for treating your personal symptoms. In my case, an endocrinologist was crucial to testing for every conceivable cause of my high blood pressure, but my real angel is the leader of my medical team -- a nephrologist, whose genius and persistence found the source of my problems and eliminated the excess medications I had taken.

Let me know of any questions you have about my experiences or about talking to your own medical team. And remember, one question on your mind when you meet with them might be whom they would recommend to give you a second opinion later this month. Martin

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So are u still off the coreg and how are u?

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@shawn2018

Hi I have been on Coreg for over a year now. Seemed to work better with less side affects then metoprolol.but after about 4 months started getting dizziness and occasionally a very sharp pain under my right rib.Last 2 months dizziness has been almost constant. Switched to toprol xl and then generic coreg(Carvedilol).No change so per doc weaned off ALL meds.I was on low dose of lisinopril. But after 4 days my hands are shaky! So now I called doc and told him via voicemail I’m going bk on. Can’t take the shaking.havent heard bk as of 5 hrs ago but will let you know. Vicious cycle these drugs!,,

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When I got off Coreg my BP readings went up a slight bit. Coreg is a Beta Blocker and it is complicated. My Losartin was increaased in place of the beta blocker. As for your "Johnson", lowering you BP is what causes that drooping of your guy. We need our BP lower, but maybe an adjustment in dosage? My son was found to have one of those incidentalomas on his left adrenal gland and they took the gland and tumor out and due to other health problems was kept in hospital for an overnight. It was benign as we can hope yours is. They are called incidentalomas due to being incidentally found. Don't know what your other meds are for, but have a good discussion with you doc or look up the meds.

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@shawn2018

Hi I have been on Coreg for over a year now. Seemed to work better with less side affects then metoprolol.but after about 4 months started getting dizziness and occasionally a very sharp pain under my right rib.Last 2 months dizziness has been almost constant. Switched to toprol xl and then generic coreg(Carvedilol).No change so per doc weaned off ALL meds.I was on low dose of lisinopril. But after 4 days my hands are shaky! So now I called doc and told him via voicemail I’m going bk on. Can’t take the shaking.havent heard bk as of 5 hrs ago but will let you know. Vicious cycle these drugs!,,

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I have been taken coreg for about 8 months and at first I thought it was bad but my pressure goes down when I take it but I'm having some soDE effects my Johnson won't stay up !!! I'm a young guy and can't have that is anyone having this problem and also I finally got my adrenal glands tested cat skan and found a benign tumor on my left adrenal this may be why my pressure has been out of wack I looked it up and your adrenal glands control mostly everything in your body from hair growth to blood pressure I am going to the ecronoligist today and talk about getting it removed anyone had this problem or should I say these problems ....I'm also on clonidine, hydrolazine, and a water pill and sparalactone ......

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@strmalik

Hi everyone I have a question about Carvedilol I hope someone can help me with. I have taken a 3.125mg pill for about 2 weeks (maybe a little more) and I went out of town for Christmas and forgot the pills at home I was completely fine until the day after Christmas I had the worse anxiety attack i ever had right before going to bed. It was so horrible and it was not due to stress or anything so after reading some post it looks like not taking the pill has caused it. It has been almost a week since my real bad anxiety attack but between them I have had small ones and I can feel it just lingering around. Has anyone else had this happen? If so when will it stop I really thought I had to go to the hospital one night.

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Hello @eileena,

I'm so sorry that you are upset! You are an important part of this community and you contribute to making it welcoming. I can see that very clearly from reading your past posts on your profile page. Please allow me to clear any misunderstanding or confusion, @eileena.

I am absolutely confident that Mentor @predictable was only replying, in detail, to @shawn2018 about the effects of stopping or weaning off from Carvedilol. I acknowledge that @predictable's post had a cautious undertone, but that is because as a Mentor, he recognizes that Connect is about health, first and foremost.
Connect Mentors are knowledgeable, compassionate, active members in the community; they are patients, caregivers and family members who have first-hand experience with a health condition(s). Our community members should feel safe, which is why Moderators and Mentors monitor the conversations and, more importantly, rely on community members like yourself to share insights through your experiences. That is also what Connect is about.

When we consider a medication like Coreg (Carvedilol), how we start is very important. But how we stop is just as important, As you've mentioned in previous posts, it’s so important to taper off gradually, with help from your doctor/healthcare provider, rather than stopping abruptly to avoid any confusing, unpleasant symptoms. However, it is a well-established fact that sometimes people, myself included:( undermine common sense, get impatient with the weaning process, and decide to stop, cold turkey!
Hence, I sincerely believe that @predictable was merely ensuring that @shawn2018 had enough information, as well as emphasizing the importance of "following Dr's orders"– and showing care and concern for a community member.
If you go to the first page of this very conversation, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/hi-everyone-i-am-glad-to-be-a-part-of-this-community/ you will see how perceptive and accurate (and cautious), both you and @predictable have been in sharing your knowledge with community members.

I hope this helps show another side of the situation, @eileena? Please keep talking, and thank you, sincerely for all your support and participation.

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@shawn2018

I got off coreg for 5 days and tremor scared the hell out of me!! 2nd day bk on and shakes have gotten better. Just found out im borderline diabetic and beta blockers apparently block some symptoms of glucose spikes. Im working eith an endocrinologist so we’ll c what happens . I had been having dizzy spells for weeks (bad) so that’s y I wanted to stop beta blockers. My endocrinologist was surped that cardio never checked blood glucose

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Glad we can be helpful in your attempts to be healthy. Every time I see ads on TV for different medications they give warnings for all side effects. Everything had some.

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@shawn2018

I got off coreg for 5 days and tremor scared the hell out of me!! 2nd day bk on and shakes have gotten better. Just found out im borderline diabetic and beta blockers apparently block some symptoms of glucose spikes. Im working eith an endocrinologist so we’ll c what happens . I had been having dizzy spells for weeks (bad) so that’s y I wanted to stop beta blockers. My endocrinologist was surped that cardio never checked blood glucose

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So good to talk to someone who also has to take these drugs for one reason or another. You would think in this day and age they could come up with something that didn’t have all the side affects.

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I got off coreg for 5 days and tremor scared the hell out of me!! 2nd day bk on and shakes have gotten better. Just found out im borderline diabetic and beta blockers apparently block some symptoms of glucose spikes. Im working eith an endocrinologist so we’ll c what happens . I had been having dizzy spells for weeks (bad) so that’s y I wanted to stop beta blockers. My endocrinologist was surped that cardio never checked blood glucose

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