How did you wean off Metoprolol?

Posted by kenny48 @kenny48, May 11, 2018

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.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Heart Rhythm Conditions Support Group.

AFRobin | @afrobin | May 30, 2019

If you have Afib, without a beta blocker and/or blood thinner, you could be at risk of a blood clot...which can lead to a stroke or heart attack. I just checked and here is a cut and paste from a site on metoprolol:

'Heart rate slowing, depression, diarrhea, skin rash and shortness of breath. Stopping metoprolol (both tartrate and succinate) suddenly can exacerbate angina and may increase the risk of a heart attack.

Maybe with your doctor's guidance you can lower the dose and see if your heart stays steady. But never stop suddenly and be sure to get your doctor's ok.

sue225 | @sue225 | May 30, 2019

In reply to @sanman "I was on metoprolol 200mg .The reason for this high dose was never discussed with me..." + (show)

Good idea to check with family doc. Length of time that you have been on Metoprolol makes a difference. Should find out why it was prescribed. (e.g. arrythmia, high blood pressure).

sanman | @sanman | May 30, 2019

I was on metoprolol 200mg .The reason for this high dose was never discussed with me and I no longer see this Dr .However due to recent episodes of fatigue and sob I thought maybe it could be related to metoprolol so I decided to wean . I started three days ago at 100mg . No side effects except slight headache .Am I weaning to fast ? I have had my heart checked out 3 months ago EKG,ECHO AND CARDIAC CATH,

alwayshope1 | @alwayshope1 | May 30, 2019

In reply to @elland77 "Hi,everyone I'm new to the group,I have being on metropolol for three years now,I have being..." + (show)

Hi @elland77,

First consideration is why and what condition your doctor prescribed Metoprolol. Make sure you consult your doctor because depending on your condition there are other medications a physician can prescribe for your condition.

There are a number of Mayo Clinic bloggers that have experienced the same symptoms and worse including me. You are wise to taper but DO THE REASEARCH ON METOPROLOL so you understand why you feel the way you feel and absolutely can not quit cold turkey.

If you know for sure this drug is making you sick and it's not a combination of other medications or supplements etc. STAND UP TO YOUR DOCTOR no one knows your body better than you do.

I am in a 6 wk taper and by the Grace of God, I can honestly tell you a lot of symptoms are going away or subsiding. Make sure you stay well hydrated and eat a very clean and healthy diet because I know it's what is helping me. God Bless you I hope this helps.

elland77 | @elland77 | May 29, 2019

Hi,everyone I'm new to the group,I have being on metropolol for three years now,I have being tapering the drug for sometime now,I have taken 25mg for two weeks,now I'm taking12.5mg now,it increases my blood Pressure,though after sometime it goes down back to normal,I feel dizzy,pains....my body system has changed......pls if you have had similar effect,share with me, I don't want to go back fully n I'm scared of stopping the drug abruptly.... I consulted my Doctor,he said I should go back to the drug fully......who has similar experience, pls share n advice me,

bhavesh | @bhavesh | May 28, 2019

In reply to @evelyncs "I have been on metoprolol tartrate for quite a few years. I have what they call..." + (show)

I had burning mouth syndrome (~2 months) and I decided to try CBD oil. I had about 90% improvement in 1.5 weeks but I can't confirm if CBD oil was the fix. I had to stop CBD as I got a-fib and I was not sure if CBD could cause A-fib. The doc also put me on metaprolol and now I have BMS fully back. I have stopped metaprolol for a week now and started CBD too. No change in symptoms so far ... it's only getting worse. bhavesh

elizabeth1941 | @elizabeth1941 | May 21, 2019

In reply to @1943 "Does anyone experience shortness of breath with afib? Can,t walk across the room without not being..." + (show)

It can be from either or both. I was put on a beta blocker and had serious shortness of breath and until that time had not had that problem. No longer on meds but have shortness of breath with moderate movement which is from the afib. Will be getting an afib ablation soon which hopefully will take care of that

1943 | @1943 | May 21, 2019

Does anyone experience shortness of breath with afib? Can,t walk across the room without not being able to breathe . Don't know if it's from afi B or side effects from meds? On metoprolol 50 mg twice a day , diltiazem 60mg, twice a day ,digoxin 0.25 mg. Once a day

alwayshope1 | @alwayshope1 | May 13, 2019

In reply to @singitsoft "Hi All, recently went to hospital with very high blood pressure (for me) 168/98 almost fainted..." + (show)

Hi, @singitsoft,@afrobin @soliloquized,@heathytoday et. al, I saw an online seminar today regarding our condition(s) and potassium and magnesium shortage. Has anyone been prescribed magnesium or potassium or tried in their heath care routine? Thanks

alwayshope1 | @alwayshope1 | May 12, 2019

In reply to @rezon8r "Anyone who wants to ween off beta blockers should read my story. I had a heart..." + (show)

@rezon8r

Anyone who wants to ween off beta blockers should read my story.
I had a heart attack July 2015 and was placed on beta blockers (metoprolol). I was on 25mg to start, half a pill in morning and evening. Over a few months my pulse was dropping to 43 bpm and my BP was very low. My doctor recommended cutting the dose to half to see how I did. It helped a bit. (12.5mg) once a day.

About 2 months later - out of the blue, my heart started racing 155 bpm and my blood pressure spiked to 180/100. I had chest pain, difficulty breathing, sweating, dizzy... was positive I was having another heart attack. Off to the ER. They did ecg and trope, X-ray... all was fine and my symptoms abated over a few hours.

The next attack happened about 3 weeks later. Same thing. They gave me a hotter monitor and nothing. This went on for a year. I had several stress tests that said all was good. They prescribed lorazepam and told me it was anxiety attacks.
Sometimes my heart rate was 170+ and bp 225/130.
I was in hell. Doing vagel exercises and holding my breath in a bowl of ice cold water. The attacks started to get worse and more frequent. Sometimes waking me up at 4am. The lorazepam did nothing to abate - but still 4 cardiologists, a heart specialist and maybe 25 different doctors wrote it off to anxiety attacks. Yet, after almost 3 years of this, I had strong suspicion it was a rebound effect from the beta blocker.

I tried to ween off it very slow for 2 years. Once I was off for 3 1/2 weeks and then BAM, massive attack that actually registered a tiny trope test. So I had to go back on.

Finally, my heart specialist said let’s switch beta blockers- that metoprolol is a twice a day drug and I was only taking a small amount once a day. So we switched to bisoprolol 2.5mg (half a pill) once a day. This was in August 2018.

The attacks stopped completely. What was happening, yet nobody will admit, was the metoprolol was wearing off every evening before I took my next dose, or shortly after... my body started to produce adrenaline again, and since I had developed billions more adrenal receptors (from being on beta blockers - bodies reaction to the drug), my body would flip out and I would have a hypertension/tachycardia attack.

2 weeks later on the bishoprolol and I felt like crap. Dizzy, no energy, insomnia... but no attacks. Bp and pulse were low so we cut dose to 1.25mg. Felt like crap for a month... then started to feel a little better.
This January, I had had enough of feeling dizzy and no energy. One night my pulse went down to 40bpm and my BP was 190/110. Off to emergency I went. They did all the tests and nothing. So we decided to cut my dose to ween off. I was told by several doctors to just go off cuz it was such a small amount. But having read so much, I thought I should ween. So .65mg tiny thing.

It has been 2 weeks now and I’ve been to ER with crazy high BP twice - but it always comes back down after a few hours on its own. I keep having these attacks again and I’m 100% sure it’s caused by the beta blocker.

This time I’m going to power through even if it kills me. This is a nightmare drug and after almost 4 years of pure hell - I have had enough.

My understanding is although I may be off the drug for months at some point- there is still the physical manifestations of the extra adrenal receptors that will eventually deteriorate as my chemistry normals.

Couldn’t imagine doing this without God. Good luck everyone who is fighting this battle.

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Hello @rezon8r, I thought I would follow up regarding your post. It was really helpful because this is really tough. I'm in the middle of a withdrawal and with God's grace with my slow taper, I should be off Metoprolol by the beginning of June. How are you doing?

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