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Stopping Carvedilol (Coreg): When will the effects wear off?
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.
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I phased off the Carvedilol gradually...over several months. I am now on day 12 of being off it totally and I have gone through several side effects, especially anxiety and feeling spacy. Now I am shakey all the time and much hungrier than usual. I need to know if you or anyone has gotten totally off this med and gone through side effects and if these side effects ever went away. I need some hope here.
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1 Reaction@shirleyperkins, I have felt better since I began decreasing the Carvedilol. I tapered it off very slowly. This is how I accomplished it:
First week I skipped the evening dose on Sunday, Second week I skipped the evening dose on both Sunday and Monday, the Third week I skipped the evening dose on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. This took 7 weeks. I did not get another migraine, and my heart rate did rise a bit. Not much as I have Brady, not A-fibs. When I got through with eliminating th evening dose I began again reducing the morning dose the same way.
So it went like this, first week on Sunday I took no Carvedilol. But took the morning dose the other 6 days. Second week took no Carvedilol on Sunday and Monday.
I am now down to the last 3 weeks of this tapering off and my climb up the stairs at work (31 of them to get into the shop where I work) is not as hard to do as my heart rate is not being artificially held down. Sure, I get a slightly out of b reach, but it is only on those last few steps and then my heart rate returns to its slow mode within about 3 to 5 minutes.
It will have taken me about 14 weeks doing it this way, but better slow than in a hurry with weaning off from this medication.
Rest on what I have shared and think for awhile before following join my footsteps. Like @predictableasks, be sure to get your doctor into the loop. It's a really bad medicine you need to give respect to.
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2 Reactions@shirleyperkins, did you phase down your dosage under doctor's orders? If you stopped taking Carvedilol abruptly, I hope you'll call your doctor for advice on how to adjust your current dosage and symptoms to avoid the discomfort and possible injury. Martin
I just came across your post and I was wondering if you ever got to feeling better and how long did it take? I am on day 11 after getting off carvedilol and still feeling awful and scared.
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1 ReactionI’ll let you know. Seeing as how I have Brady, not Afibs it is different.
I also take 25 mg Losartin but that low a dose would not necessarily keep my BP low like it is.
I won’t go any sooner than December
He approved of my weaning off Coreg, probably be I have not really had high BP so much since my Quad bypassWill see him in December s will be off the Coreg by then
@predictable Martin:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences. As I've never taken this particular medicine or had A-fib, my experiences are not quite like yours. I hope that @eileena is helped by these thoughts.
Teresa
Good morning @eileena. I think Teresa @hopeful33250 is on point with her recommendations a couple of hours ago. In the meantime, let me add that, as a Coreg user for a couple of years, I rely on this medication to both stabilize my heart rate and reduce my high blood pressure (I also take a diuretic and Lisinopril for my hypertension).
Your blood pressure levels are interesting in two respects: First, they are at the low levels that I'd prize; I rarely find my BP to be less than 140/88. Second, the variations you report (127-134 systolic and 66-70 diastolic) don't strike me as worrisome or particularly significant; BP often varies that much from hour to hour, from sitting to standing, from resting to walking, from before a meal to after one, from during an a-fib incident to after one. I'm also impressed with the minimum daily dosage of Coreg (6.25mg per day) you have been taking, since mine is 50mg.
As Teresa has advised, your experience with Coreg as you describe it is a basis for a good conversation with your cardiologist about the interaction of your BP, your heart rate, and the medication. Martin
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2 Reactions@eileena Hello Eileena,
This is a question that should be referred to your doctor. Since your appointment is more than a month away, it might be good to call the office or send a message through the patient portal (like My Chart). At Mayo Connect, we are not medical professionals, just fellow patients, like yourself. We cannot advise you regarding your own symptoms and what they mean.
Will you contact your doctor's office and then get back with us and let us know how you are doing? I hope that you get an answer to your concerns. We look forward to hearing from you again.
Teresa
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1 ReactionI do not quite understand something. The Core is supposed to help with blood pressure, is it not? I realize it was supposed to help with my heart and lowering my heart rate. What I don't understand is why is it that now I am weaning off the stuff that my BP readings are lower than when I was on it full time.
I take readings every day around the same time and find the upper number is now usually around 127, whereas prior it was around 134. The bottom number is a little higher now, 70 sometimes, but it was only at 66 usually prior to weaning off.
So I just don't really understand. My dose has never been but the lowest 3.125 twice daily.
I see my Cardiologist in December, however any insight will be helpful.
Eileena