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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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Hello @myra,
I'd like to add my welcome to @predictable's who has given some great insight, and I would encourage you to read these discussions about Carvedilol, too:
1) Side effects of heart medicine carvedilol joint pain and stiffness: http://mayocl.in/2nTvsB6
2) Stopping Carvedilol (Coreg): When will the effects wear off? wear off? http://mayocl.in/28YeSeN (This discussion, (No. 2), includes a reply by a Mayo Clinic pharmacist).
I'd also like to introduce you to @murryone @neeci @sittingscribe1 @momma78 @constanceann @teatime @barnes123 @lola63 @auntdd @incrediblemulk98 @doug_58 @barneythe2nd, as I'm sure they will return to share their experiences with you.
@myra, you may also wish to see this discussion about Metoprolol:
New to Afib, warfarin and metoprolol (beta blocker): http://mayocl.in/2neURa8
@hopeful33250, @kdubois do you have any information to share about your experience with Metoprolol that would help Myra?
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1 ReactionHi @myra. Sorry to hear about your unfortunate symptoms after stopping Metoprolol abruptly and starting on Carvedilol. Your question is interesting -- asking about stopping Metoprolol, but not about starting Carvedilol. I have been on Carvedilol for more than a year, having started at 12.5mg per day (in two doses). I'm now taking 50mg per day in two doses. I can't identify any symptoms from starting Carvedilol.
I was advised from the beginning not to suddenly stop or sharply reduce Carvedilol, which is a beta blocker used to regulate heart rhythms and reduce blood pressure. Since then, I have read several articles by medical professionals giving the same advice on Metoprolol, which is also a beta blocker. Your long reliance (and perhaps dependence) on Metoprolol raises an important question about possible side effects from abrupt halt of the medication. It is so important that you should promptly tell your cardiologist about your symptoms and ask whether the abrupt shift from Metoprolol to Carvedilol could have caused your problems. Ask also whether the two drugs are equivalent in both purpose and effect or whether each is used for a different set of symptoms. If your cardiologist isn't clearly sympathetic and understanding, you should get second opinions from another cardiologist in answer to all of these questions. Your primary concern should be to get a good medical diagnosis of your instability, nightmare, and urination problems.
Good luck in getting this episode behind you. We'd also like to know more about why your cardiologist relied on Metoprolol to treat your hypertension for so long.
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1 Reaction<p>I a new to this group. i hope I'm doing things right. I was put on Carvedilol on March 1 by a cardiologist for HBP. I had been on Metopolol for many years maybe 11 years. with no side effects. He told me to stop Metopolol immediately and to start on Carvedilol. Since that time I have been stumbling almost about to fall when I turn, nightmares and excessive urination. I go back to the doctor tomorrow. Should I have stopped the metoplol suddently?</p>
Hey buddy @predictable - I think I responded earlier, but just wanted to reiterate that my symptoms are exactly that of 'hyperventilation - syndrome', however there must be a root cause for it. My bp was within range when I visited my cardiologist that day... even previous blood work results were like perfect. There is a mental dysfunction switch for any type of situation that could be dangerous imo. Mine at that time - simply turned off - like the no-fear of driving at speed on a crowded freeway. I LOST that confidence, that I had had for more than 40 years. It's a real switch.
I'm not saying that I'm cured, but I am definitely on the watch list, and watching myself. Heh, I will tell you there is a devil on my shoulder shaking his head in disgust saying to me - You're joking about this right?
I'm like - YEP! It is a joke. Unfortunately this has crawled into my head like an alien and I fight it with fake insults. I works though.
Take care and thanks!
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1 ReactionWell @mrsdeecee yeah, that's the scary part for me. When the condition arises, my body knows it and knows its' limitations. I still have the situation creep up in heavy fast traffic from time to time but my brain corrects it rather quickly now. I'm the guy in traffic that aggressive ppl hate, when they are on my ass wanting to do 75 when I'm doing 72, I'm 100 yards behind the other car in front of me with PLENTY of stopping distance ahead. I have a dash cam that I use 24/7, and today I decided to face it backwards because that's where all of the threats are. (But not because I fear them, I just love having driving idiocy on the record - I call it my bash cam instead of a dash cam).
When I first had to deal with this situation last month, it WAS a full blown panic attack and I had no idea what it was! That was why I pulled off and called my son to come get me because I didn't feel safe driving at all. I was hyperventilating walking around a gas station and it was so hard to control. I have been driving in this soup since 1974 (I think).
It is and will always be the craziest thing I have ever dealt with in my life.
This is not something, once it takes control even sub-consciously, is easy to deal with. I thank God I have found a mechanism that helps me cope with it so well! Driving is great again! I am blessed and lucky.
I had a friend like that she would be driving fast and go into a full blown panic attack? Only while driving? Hope you don't have another attack god forbid pull over and calm yourself with deep breathing and try to relax!!
Thank you for all the feedback. It has now been two weeks since I stopped the Carvedilol and I am probably 90 % better in how I feel. I check my bp every AM and it has been around the 120's over 70-80's. (low 80's). Occasionally it's a little higher than I think it should be (130-140's over 70-80's) I also haven't needed to take the lorazepam since 2/12. I have a cardiology appt. set up for 4/3. I'm a little reluctant to even call my gp doctor to tell her I stopped the Carvedilol and the Zoloft. I think she should have probably suggested to me to see a cardiologist to begin with instead prescribing heart meds herself. And I'm somewhat irritated that she thinks all my symptoms were classic of "anxiety" and that's why she prescribed the Zoloft. And not only that, she started me out on a 50mg dose instead of starting lower. I know some meds work with some people, but the Carvedilol and Zoloft just were not the ones for me. They both really messed with my body and my head. I had all the same symptoms @teatime had except I was able to sleep ok d/t the fact that I was taking benadryl and melatonin, until I would wake and then feel the "surge of adrenaline" like feeling run through my body. Also, I did have kidney function tests done which came back normal, however I was found to have a kidney stone. Hopefully this will all be figured out when I see the cardiologist.
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1 ReactionThanks for the link. Holy cow, these ppl are like my condition times 10! Yikes, this is scary stuff!
Well I had no choice. It was like a last resort for me bc I had to drive 60 miles home thru insane traffic. and I'm like FU people I am NOT gonna go hyperventilating out of FEAR of YOU assholes! hahaha. (That's the internal me fighting back). In previous days I would just get angry and ask myself "WTF is going on? This is not ME?!!! I'm angry at myself!". This time I changed the focus of anger from myself to everyone else and rebuilt my manhood on the spot. Yes that's what it was. A very debilitating situation but it is, what it was.
Thanks for the link.
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Thanks for sharing details of your history and recent resurgence of dealing with anxiety pre and post heart issues. Interesting that this manifested itself while driving. @thankful shares a similar story in this post, describing a panic attack that "came out of nowhere one day driving back from the OR coast over the Yaquina bridge of Newport."... Read more here: http://mayocl.in/2k9T8hz
Your method of taking control by talking (yelling 🙂 at the other drivers is truly creative. Whatever it takes to break the pattern, right? Good for you!