How did you wean off Metoprolol?

Two years ago I did some CrossFit and my shoulder started hurting, I eventually stopped CrossFit due to the pain. I went to PT for six months but as time went on, all my joints started hurting, knees, elbows, other shoulder etc. the whole time I think I’m getting early arthritis or something. Never once did I even consider my blood pressure medicine until my sister said could it be that? I look up the side effects for the first time and sure enough it was on the list. We change me to another bp pill (Toporol) in December and all my joint pain is gone. I only wish it was in my head. Now the pain in my side started within a month of taking the Toporol. My doctor does two CT scans and nothing can be found so I’m thinking, omg could it be a side effect?? Not once had I considered that until the CT ruled out other things. I thought it was a kidney stone based on location. I was asking if anyone had that side effect cause I’m in disbelief that I’m so sensitive to these meds. I’m also allergic to penicillin but that’s probably in my head too. I’ve been off Toporol now for a couple of weeks but the pain is still there so maybe it is something else the doctor can’t find. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Yes. I have along with about twenty other side effects

Hi.

I've been off of metoprolol Tartrate 25mg for ten days because of the long list of side effects that were effecting me including destroying my GI tract. Still feeling some side effects including tachycardia heart rate keeps bouncing between low 50s to mid 80s. I've lost 22 pounds in the past eight weeks due to the stomach problems and still getting the palpitations. Constantly feeling cold and have chills. I will continue to monitor. If it doesn't level out I will contact cardiologist. I hate this drug

Although one cannot rule-out that these pains and side effects weren't caused by medications, people that take Placebos, i.e. Sugar Pills that the patient think is medication, causes some patients to experience side effect when, in fact, there is nothing in the Placebo to cause it. I'm taking a ton of medication, seizures, Afib, Cholesterol, Blood Pressure (I lost weight, the pressure is down, but the diuretic effect reduces the volume of retained fluids, so I elected, with the Doctor's approval, to remain on it), etc. If I read the side effects, I'm sure I could correlate something I experience to the medication. But it doesn't mean it's actually from the medication.

Placebo Contrasted Side Effects is a good way to determine the side effects of a drug, yet I cannot find a handy example. But when a Drug compared to Placebo trials are done, it's interesting the things that people taking the Placebo report. Say 12% of the Drug Group experiences knee pain and 10% of the Placebo Group does as well. It's not likely that 12% of the eventual patients to receive Metoprolol will experience knee pain, maybe 2%, but even that is generalization since the Placebo Group didn't receive anything to cause it, just that 10% of the Placebo Group noted knee pain.

I'd always look for a wider variance in Drug to Placebo Groups to start to seriously believe that the effects may actually be caused by the Drug. If the Drug Group reported something at 15%, and the Placebo Group reported it at 7%, there's a good chance the Drug is causing the effect. Periodically, sometimes the Drug Group reports a lower percentage of Side Effects than the Placebo Group.

And there are Pre-Market and Post-Market Studies. Once released, Side Effects are reported, and sometimes, they are ludicrously silly, something that most people cannot possibly see a correlation between the Medication and the Effect, but they are, nevertheless, recorded as Side Effects.

At some point, many of us need to decide if the Side Effect or higher blood pressure, racing heart, tension, etc., is worse. Sometimes clearly the Side Effect must go, other times, one learns to live with it. In all cases, talk to your Doctor and consult your Pharmacist, sometimes the Pharmacist knows much more than the Doctor on the Medication.

I have had a really tough time trying to find a blood pressure pill without side effects. First I developed a cough from Lisinopril, then he put me on Losartan then Olmesartan, etc. After two years on those, my joints were in excruciating pain. My sister said to look at side effects when I told her the Orthopedics couldn't really find a cause. Sure enough, on not as common side effects was joint pain. He changes me to Toporol XL (same as generic Metoprolol), and within a month, all the joint pain is gone. After being on Toporol for a couple of months, I start getting this really bad pain in my side. They did CT scans and there is no reason I should have this pain. Then I look up side effects and there it is, on rare side effects or less common was "side pain". I'm just beside myself! So I go back to the Doctor and he has now changed me to a Thiazide diuretic (Maxzide) while weaning me off Toporol, but my blood pressure is now really high. Although I did sometimes have heart fluttering at rest (usually middle of the night), the Toporol did help with that. After reading this group, I wish I had never been on the Toporol because I have since found that going off can cause your BP to spike higher than before. What used to be 135/85 HBP with no medication is now 150/100 on the diuretic. He is now adding a calcium blocker and I'm worried that has it's own set of problems. I'm only 58 and I'm just wondering if any of you had any of these same problems with the pain in the side. Or has anyone been on the calcium blockers and any problems I should be aware of. I think I'm just overly sensitive to medication and am working on my weight (220) so maybe one day I won't have this problem.

I also take the Metropolol and I am weaning myself off of it slowly. I now take 1/2 of the 25 mg pill in morning and 1/2 of the 25 mg pill in the evening.

Hello @nancynana4,

I am sorry to hear that you are having so many problems with the Metorporlol. Have you talked with your doctor about your desire to change meds? It is very important not to go off a med without first consulting your prescribing doctor.

I had problems with Metorporlol as well several years ago. Not quite the same as your side effects, however, when I called my cardiologist he substituted an older beta blocker called Atenolol. It works quite well without the side effects.

Will you call your doctor today?

Could you list a link to an article about Metoprolol being the worst beta blocker on the market, I simply don't see that. My Cardiologist doesn't prefer it, at least the Succinate Version, but I'm fine on it, succinate and all. The hospital put me on it and my family doctor keeps me on it. But I had taken Inderal LA for years, and when I went into afib was on Acebutolol (rather than Inderal, which later was switched to Atenolol, then switched to Acebutolol, this over a period of many years) in a large dose, but I didn't notice any problems with Metoprolol Succinate, save before they raised the dose high enough. I left the hospital on 200 mg Tartrate, I asked my family doctor to prescribe the Succinate, and technically, my Cardiologist told me to take 400 mg Succinate as 200 mg in the morning, and 200 mg in the evening. But I take, with my family doctors guidance, 200 mg Metoprolol Succinate in the morning, 25 mg Metoprolol Tartrate at 2:00 PM, it gets me through the afternoon more smoothly, and the pharmacy spoke with the doctor, most people don't take most forms. I then take 150 mg Metoprolol Succinate in the evening.

I take 200 mg Metoprolol Succinate in the morning, 25 mg of Metoprolol Tartrate at 2:00 PM, and 150 mg of Metoprolol Succinate in the evening. That's a total of 350 mg Metoprolol Succinate AND 25 mg Metoprolol Tartrate. Plus I take Coumadin, Phenytoin, Zocor, and Singulair, and that's the short list.

Beta Blockers are known to calm people down, they've been safely used where people experience effects of Adrenaline, such as performers might have before going on stage. I'm not dismissing the symptoms you have, medications can produce idiosyncratic reactions in a small number of patients, but if you were prescribed Metoprolol to tame a fast heart rate, you likely will need to be taking something. My heart, I feel every irregularity in the rhythm, well, practically every one, but many people don't feel anything, despite how fast, or irregular, their heart rate is.

Your doctor, and you, must make decisions on what medication you should be taking. Don't rely on Forum Discussions, they can help, but you need to tell your doctor the problems you're having, and if necessary, try something else under his guidance.

Hi, so how are you now without metoprolol? Did everything work out fine?