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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 was just suddenly taken off 80mg LA propranolol which was replaced with doxazosin - by an endocrinologist who is suspecting a neuroendocrine tumor due to blood work she did. I expressed my concerns about suddenly stopping since I’ve been on it for many years, but she said it is dangerous to take a beta blocker IF I have this rare tumor. I have felt horrible since the switch. BP lower than normal but very high heart rate all the time(130-140 ish). Of course this was over the weekend so I need to get a message in to them today and hope they do something.
@neeci Very dangerous drug. I don’t even recall who prescribed this drug for me or why. However, I do know that I went from exercising and cutting my own lawn to barely able to walk without intense pain. There is also the ringing the my ears and spiking blood pressure. After six months, I have had enough. I began to wean myself off. I have now been 7- days without this obvious dope, My joints ache and the ring is slowing down, and there is some angina. To me, this drug is more dangerous than Heroin. Why would they market such garbage?
RUN from this garbage. It has me where O can barely walk without leg pain. I stopped taking it seven days ago
@bbonchek : Dangerous Drug: Severe joint pain; chest pain; ringing in the ears, etc. stopped taking it too weeks ago, but still have side effects.
@hair127 : They stay a long time: If you did not have heart issues before taking this drug, you will once you start.
I will tell you like MJ told everyone: It’s “DANGEROUS .”
Once they put you on this mess. You are in serious trouble because you cannot stop taking it. If you didn’t have any heart issues, this drug will fix that, because all types of heart issues will materialize, and your body will begin to hurt as never before. Breathing and blurred vision problems will also become issues. Even AFTER you wean off this stuff, the above-noted issues will still exist. I’ve been off this garbage for two weeks now and my heart still hurts at times, and my joints never stop hurting. I am always cold and my legs constantly burn and feel as if pins and needles are sticking me. This is really a horrible drug.
@kennethpytn, Sorry to hear you have had ongoing issues centered around the time you were prescribed Carvedilol.
Each of us processes and tolerates medications slightly differently including successes and possible side effects. It is important that we share our medical experiences in a way that can help other members ask questions and to have better discussions with their providers. Each of us then must weigh the possible side effects of a medication or treatment course against the risks of not treating or taking medication and what that means for the progression of a diagnosis such as hypertension or heart failure.
Did you have a chance to talk about your experiences with your provider who prescribed Coreg? Were any alternatives discussed or lifestyle changes suggested to help with the original diagnosis?
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2 ReactionsHello - I am trying to connect with others who might be having the same issues I am having on Carvedilol. I have been on Carvedilol for 5 years due to a heart attack and I started having migraines about a year ago. I am also on Losarten. I also have "brain fog" along with the headaches (but throughout the day regardless of the headaches) which might be normal for migraines, not sure. Not sure if Carvedilol has anything to do with the migraines. May just be 2 separate issues. Thank you.
I’m related to all this system symptoms do you gone through I don’t know what to do about it my whole life hatching I’m not myself another saying happy me I don’t see Grace on things I know this and happy meal so many symptoms so many