Rythmol symptoms and conditions

After being on Lotrel for several years and doctors adding a pill for every side effect I got (14 prescription pills a day), I had to retire from construction at 47 yrs old due to muscle damage and weakness. After witting lotrel and getting on a different blood pressure pill I've been able to quit 10 other pills including arrhythmia pills for my heart! I'm 53 now and can't sit upright, stand, or walk comfortably for more than 1/2 an hour. I wish I had figured it out sooner. I used to b e able to lift 300 lbs and now can't lift more than 20 :

My side effects: slow but severe muscle loss, lethargy, severe coughing particularly at night to the point of separating ribs, muscle cramps, difficulty swallowing/choking, severe tachyarrhythmia. It is a dangerous drug, fortunately I figured it out before it killed me! I was on it for eight years and and my health deteriorated. I had to quit working 4/2003. I had gotten so bad that I qualified for Social Security 6/2006. After testing with neurologists and against my doctors recommendation, I quit the Lotrel 9/2005. I appear to have permanent muscle damage, but my energy level has increased with some increased strength, coughing/choking stopped, arrythmia is almost completely gone (was able to quit two dosages per day of Rythmol for arrhythmia, muscle relaxants, pain killers), and the swallowing/choking problem is completely gone. The side effects came along over a period of 8 years and have devastated my health. Doctors kept prescribing pills for every side effect not realizing they were caused by Lotrel. I was at a point where I spent at least 20 hours a day laying down or asleep. Now, although I have lost 90% of muscle strength, I am fairly active most of the day.

diagnosed w atrial fibrillation last jan 2009, prescribed coumadin,2.5 to start per day, now may 2009,leveled off to 10 mg 5days per wk,adn5mg 2days. also since feb prescribed rythmol, coreg & crestor. **but since late March have experienced weigh gain, mostly stomach weight & some upper body. also seemed tired earlier at night, have leg pains which the cardio dr.claims is from the crestor...but this weight gain is crazy.gained at least 5 lbs since mid to late march.

I'm a 30 yr old healthy male. I went to the ER, and then the Dr., about 4 weeks ago after waking up with intense pain in the veins of my right arm and having pounding palps. I had just been told some extremely stressful news the night before, so I was pretty sure this was blood pressure & stress related. ... EKG showed Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome, so that's what the Dr's assumed was the problem. I never knew what it was called, but I've had my heart race due to WPW many times since I was a young child .. this did not seem to be related. This was just pounding.

The cardiologist put me on 50mg of Toprol XL daily to control the WPW - even though that wasn't acting up. I left confused. Pharmacy issued generic Metoprolol Succinate mfg. by Sandoz.

I didn't want to be on meds, so I didn't take it for the first few days, hoping that I would return to normal. After all, I just woke up with this all of the sudden.. I had been fine the day before. Palps continued, though, so eventually I relented and started taking the meds.

The first two or three weeks were filled with ups and downs. Exhaustion, palpitations and anxiety would come and go.

This past weekend things got really bad. I began having anxiety attacks -- I think that's what it was, I'd never had one before -- and my vision was totally screwed up. I couldn't focus on anything and was sensitive to some lighting. Black text on a bright white screen (lcd monitor) was especially hard to read. I was completely in a dazed & confused state. Loud noises and crowds were bothering me... which was awful, considering it was my best friend's wedding. Also had headaches, lightheadedness & loss of appetite. These side effects came and went on Friday & Saturday and were pretty constant on Sunday & Monday.

I decided to quit Toprol cold-turkey on Sunday. I have been 2 days without. I have used L-Theamine to reduce stress and keep my blood pressure steady. It seems to be working. I also began taking CoQ10 today after reading some good things about it here.

My vision & mental focus is beginning to improve after 3 days of disabilitating problems. Anxiety has also improved. I even attempted to "get back to normal" at work today, but had to leave after only an hour of strenuous exercise in the heat. Vision problems returned, anxiety set in. It's like riding a really freaking scary roller coaster, except with a legitimate fear that this thing might kill you.

I will update this as time goes by, to let you all know how things worked out for me. I'm really hoping to be mostly back to normal in another day or two, since I haven't been on for very long. Hopefully this will be of help to someone in the future. Damn, I Wish I had never gotten on this stuff.

My question is: Does anyone knows if Propranolol is a good substitute for Toprol-XL?
I read that there isn't any weight gain reported with Propranolol.
I'd love to hear your experiences with it.

57 years old healthy white male. Exercise 6 or 7 times per week, excellent diet, lots of neutricuticals. I gt occasional (once per month) bouts of lone atrial fib, requiring 2 to 3 doses of rythmol to regain sinus rythmn. I use metoprolol when I sense an impending atrial arythmn, usually once or twice a week. My only side effect is an inability to exercise strenuously while on the drug - just can't obtain a high enough heart rate.

I am attempting to electrically reprogram my sympathetic nervous system. I am using rythmol and metoprolol proactively before an attack, soon as I feel one coming on. I have extended the intervals between episodes to about 5 weeks with this method. I would appreciate input from anyone with similar symptoms.

Bruce

I AM A 63 YEAR OLD FEMALE WITH A GENETIC IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT. OVER A YEAR AGO I TOOK LIPITOR FOR ABOUT 2 MONTHS. THE LEFT SIDE OF MY BODY - FACE, ARM, HAND, LEG, AND FOOT, STARTED TINGLING AND GOING NUMB. ONLY THE LEFT SIDE, AND IT WOULD LAST SECONDS, MINUTES, OR TWO HOURS AT A TIME. I COULDN'T RELATE IT TO ANY PARTICULAR ACTIVITY OR MOVEMENT. MY CARDIOLOGIST INSISTED IT WASN'T CAUSED BY AN INTERACTION WITH MY HEART MEDICATIONS (TOPROL AND RYTHMOL) AND REFERRED ME TO A NEUROLOGIST.
THE FIRST MRI SHOWED WHAT APPEARED TO BE A CYST IN THE THIRD VENTRICLE OF MY BRAIN. VERY SCARY. SO I
INSISTED ON A SECOND MRI. THERE WAS NO CYST AND I LEFT THE NEUROLOGIST WITHOUT ANY DIAGNOSIS AND A HUGE BILL. MY HUSBAND TOLD FAMILY I HAD "MAD COW'S DISEASE" WHEN I WAS UNABLE TO WALK PROPERLY DURING AN EPISODE.
DESPITE THE CARDIOLOGIST'S OPINION I STOPPED TAKING
LIPITOR AND WITHIN A WEEK THE SYMPTOMS DISAPPEARED.
A FEW MONTHS LATER I EXPERIENCED VERTIGO EPISODES,
EVEN WHILE TURNING OVER IN BED, BUT IT ONLY LASTED A WEEK, AND IS PROBABLY UNRELATED - WHO KNOWS - THE CARDIOLOGIST STILL WON'T BELIEVE THE LIPITOR CAUSED
ME A PROBLEM. I TOLD HIM I KNOW MILLIONS OF PEOPLE TAKE IT SUCCESSFULLY, BUT I'M HIS ONE IN A MILLION THAT CANNOT TAKE IT. NO MORE PRESCRIPTIONS!