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How did you wean off Metoprolol?
Hi,
I've been taking both flecainide and metoprolol now for eight years, as a prophylactic for Afib. I recently moved to North Carolina and have a new Cardiologist. Have had a lot of PVC's this past two months, and had to wear a heart monitor for an entire month. He said that although I had a lot of PVC's I didn't have even one PAC! He also noted that my BPM was low in the low fifties most of the time. He asked why I was taking metropolol. I told him that the only thing my previous doctor had said was " it makes the flecainide, work better". He suggested I stop taking the metoprolol to see how I do without it. Unfortunately I read a lot of information on the internet. I read that it can be very dangerous to stop taking it. I take 25 mg metoprolol succinate, split in half. Once in the morning with my flecainide, and then again in the evening for a second dose. He wants me to take half in the morning and skip the evening dose for two days, then stop entirely. Has anyone else stopped taking this drug in a similar manner? I'm worried that the cut off is too soon.
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@erodla, I moved your question about weaning off metoprolol 25 mg twice daily to this existing discussion:
- How did you wean off Metoprolol? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/weaning-off-metoprolol/
I did this so you can easily connect with fellow members like @becky1024 @markdeegan @dprest56 @mrsilver @dalous @sueinmn and others. Click the link above to read past posts.
@erodla, You're right to ask questions. The FDA warns "Don’t stop taking metoprolol suddenly. If you do, you may experience worse chest pain, a jump in blood pressure, or even have a heart attack. Stopping metoprolol is not recommended. If you need to stop taking the drug, first talk to your doctor. Your dosage should be gradually decreased under a doctor’s supervision."
I suggest you tell your doctor about your concerns. It is possible that because your dosage is low enough, the period you were taking the drug was short enough and your condition is stablized that you are okay to stop. But I think it's worth sharing your concern.
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1 ReactionOh ok I understand now sorry to hear that my cardiologist said is ok to cut them also the nurse said that every doctor is different I know had you had any issue since stopping it ? The pill I m on day 6 of stopping it
My doctor told me that the Metoprolol ER shouldn't be cut in half even though it had the line in it to do so. When I checked with a friend of mine who is a nurse she told me the same thing. She was the one who told me instead of cutting them in half to start taking them every other day for a week then every third day for another week and then stop. But I decided on my own after the first week of every other day to just stop on my own.
I was put on Metoprolol after the heart attack. I was on a ventilator for about the first 10 days in the hospital and was given everything through an IV. After they removed the tube from the ventilator and they deemed that I could swallow I started taking it in pill form.
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1 ReactionWhen I first went to the cardiologist he told me that my heart was strong. My EKG was good. The reason for my diagnosis was because my Troponin was high. He said that he has seen this a hundred times from people with Covid and said he was going to reduce the Metoprolol from 50mg to 25mg then wean me off. My second visit my EKG was good I was walking up to 2 miles a day and when I told him about all the different side effects I was having from the Metoprolol he said he was going to leave me on it because I had a heart attach. Then he said he would see me in 6 months. No explanation of why the change of not weaning me off or any response to the complaints of the side effects. This drug was causing depression so bad that I began to think I would have been better off dead than to feel this way. Within days of being off this drug my mind cleared and the dizziness went away and I felt positive about life again. As I said before I'm going to a Holistic doctor this week to get a second opinion but going off of how I feel, I feel great.
This drug is terrible worse side effects ever when I said I rather have the tachycardia then take this and havent had the tachycardia after stopping it also my heart was really low feel like dying every day I don’t have any heart conditions or any other conditions on my body but I just thought if I was taking it for 2 months 50 mg I thought I have to do like 2 weeks or more of 25 mg before stopping it no just one week is what I thought so maybe it go by the dose and no by how long people are taking this
Oh ok good to know this information for how long did you took 25 mg how many months before you decided to stop completely did your doctor reduced you to cut the 50mg succ in half or to the regular dose of 25 mg metoprolol tartrate? Did the myocardial happened before you was put on metoprolol or after ? did you had any heart conditions previous metoprolol or after I don’t know why the nurse told me to do 6 days of half of 25 mg then stopped but after she said so 3 days like literally trying to make me have a heart attack I did 7 days straight 25 mg half and stopped yes my anxiety get worse because I read before that stopping this too soon can cause a lot problems did you had the myocardial after you stopped taking the metoprolol
Did your cardiologist explain why the decision was reversed? Is she/he aware that you weaned off the medication? I’m just concerned that there may be a heart issue that was left unclarified.
I weaned off Metoprolol one month ago. I was diagnosed with a myocardial infraction when I was in the hospital with Covid. All the imaging done in the hospital showed no concerns with my heart, Size was normal, my heart was filling properly and pumping properly and there was no clots. But they left me on Metoprolol 50mg because of my heart rate was too high. After taking it three months my doctor reduced it to 25mg because my heart rate was in the 40's when resting. My doctor told me to come back in 6 weeks and he would wean me off. Much to my surprise he changed his story and said he was going to leave me on it despite all the side effects I complained about this drug. So I weaned myself off of it. I took one pill every other day for one week and then stopped. After stopping I felt much better. My blood pressure didn't change (113/70) but like you say the anxiety of not knowing is a daily issue. Any little thing becomes a big thing because of the unknown. I decided to go to a Holistic doctor to get another opinion. I have lost faith in my PCP and cardiologist. I feel they just want to keep me in the rotation and they are not concerned with me as a person.
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1 ReactionI just love your attitude, @becky1024! Yes, I'm sure the "beat goes on."
Oh yeah, I’m also a Guinea Pig, actually a scientific lab rat, I mean specimen. You see, my recorder is recording every millisecond of of the day and the battery is good for 5 years. The problem is, I’m almost 79yo with an extremely weak and damaged heart. I may not live long enough to map out the short circuit but I realized something, this recorder will record every electrical pulse my SA node commands, including the very last beat of my heart as it dies. Gee, I don’t think anyone has ever had that event happen, wow, I’ll end up being a teaching tool. Just think, my heart will be dead but “The Beat Goes On!” Just had to do that if you know the oldie song!!!
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