Metoprolol Withdrawal
I'm a 30-year-old male who has been taking the beta blocker metoprolol for approximately 3-4 years. I recently wanted to stop taking metoprolol and discussed it with my cardiologist. I have been seeing this cardiologist for just as long, and I've had normal EKGs, echocardiograms, and I was on a week-long Holter monitor twice with no findings. I had already attempted to taper off the metoprolol and cut my 25mg pill in half for maybe more than a week. The cardiologist told me that 25mg or 12.5mg of metoprolol is such a minute dose that it shouldn't cause me any issues if I just stop cold turkey. The cardiologist didn't even run an EKG on me since May of last year.
It has been approximately a week since I've stopped taking metoprolol completely. I woke up last night with a heart rate of about 100 beats per minute and slight palpitations. I checked my blood pressure, and everything was normal (123/84). I was unable to get back to sleep due to "sleep starts" or "hypnic jerks." I started taking metoprolol many years ago after I got COVID, before the vaccines were even available, and I was experiencing palpitations and tachycardia. Tonight, I'm still experiencing insomnia and can't sleep.
I feel that my cardiologist is incompetent for not running an EKG on me or even having me taper off the medication that I have been taking for many years. I don't really trust their decision-making. I feel that I'm experiencing withdrawal symptoms, so tonight I took another half of a 25mg pill of metoprolol. I feel very full of energy, as if I have a dump of adrenaline. I researched that abruptly stopping metoprolol, even at a low dose of 25 to 12.5mg, can still cause withdrawal symptoms, which the cardiologist said I’d be fine going cold turkey. It says that it can cause rebound tachycardia, hypertension, and adrenaline dumps that make your body hypersensitive, and can also cause hypnic jerks and insomnia.
Can I get any type of feedback or recommendations? Thank you.
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Heart & Blood Health Support Group.
I believe you need to taper no matter how little you take. It is amazing how much tapering helped me I was again on 12.5 mg 1/2 of a 25 mg pill so I cut them in quarters and slowly tapered and it helped me. And I felt much better you don't even realize how hooked you are on those pills even at low dosage. I can only give you my opinion of what I did I was also told not to worry but I said it can't hurt to taper and it made getting off of it so much easier for me. Bummer I just reverted after the flu so I thank you for bringing this up so I will taper again when I get fixed enough to get off of it again. Thanks for shading very helpful for me!
whoops Sharing not shading!
This is my approach as well...if you think you'd like to taper, just for cheap insurance, then do it. Won't hurt, and shouldn't cost more if you taper with the last five or six pills left in the prescription. There is lots of anecdotal evidence that people have a hard time stopping metoprolol cold, and they're advised to taper. It works for them.