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I'm a 30 yr old healthy male. I went to the ER, and then the Dr....

Posted at 2:21 PM on Jun 24, 2008 by bnm, #31719
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.
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Reply 3 months ago on Jun 25, 2008 by ltggats, #9506

I have been on metoprolol for about 5 months because of high blood pressure. I am a 42 year old male who has always been active. I had been taking Mavik 4mg before but asked for a more economical option since my insurance would not cover the medicine. I followed the Doctors orders and was tested every 3 weeks in which my blood pressure was always high. I am extremely nervous at the Doctors office and off course the BP is high but they would not take it after I had time to cool off a bit. Every visit they would weigh me in and check my blood pressure within the first minute of the visit. My dosage was increased from 10mg to 50mg then to 100mg during this time frame. Last month I started to experience dizziness, head aches, depression, leg weakness, sinus issues and waking up freezing in the morning. I had become very isolated and withdrawn from my family who I love very much. 3 weeks ago I experienced an anxiety attack. I have never had one before and had several after. One led me to the ER because I thought I was having a heart attack or stroke. I became very dizzy and my heart was racing. At the ER my BP was elevated but not dangerously 140/95. The people were treating my like I was crazy and after laying in a bed for 4 hours before a doctor would treat me, was given a sedative for a panic attack. I found this site and put 2 and 2 together and realized that the medicine had been causing my problems for more than 5 months. I told my doctor that I wanted off the med and we started a weaning process in which my dosage is reduced incrementally. It is my last day at 50mg , tomorrow I will start 25mg then 5 days later I will be off. The dizzy fog that I have been in is starting to lift and I am able to laugh again. My BP has been 110/70 all day. Get off the stuff !!! There has to be other options out there besides this crap that was put on the market in 1978.

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Reply 3 months ago on Jun 29, 2008 by harmonytx, #9637

Good grief, after reading your story I'm having flashbacks of all that I have and still am going through. I've been on it for three years and because I get so sick when I try to cut back (really bad chest pains from the rebound effect) I am forced to keep taking it. I wish I had quit in the very beginning.
I agree with you about never getting on it, this medication does many, many people more harm than good.

I called AstraZeneca's 1-800 number I got off their website and they transferred my call to someone who supposedly documents problems. I told them all the problems I have had. I don't know if it helped a bit but I hope more and more people find time to call them and let them know this medication is bad news for way too many people.

Good luck to you.

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