Toprol-XL and difficulty breathing

Hi all! I have recently started to have a very strange feeling and thought I would post here to see if anyone else can elaborate on it.

I switched from private healthcare to the VA system in March 2008 and the MD at the VA immediately switched me from Toprol XL 100mg per day to Norvasc ( Amlodipine Besylate) 5mg, a generic version and from Zetia 10mg to Zocor. This is mainly due to the fact that the VA does not have the Toprol XL or the Zetia in their pharmacy.

I am a very active person, work out 3 times per week, play tournament level racquetball and generally stay very active. I was feeling fine on this medication for almost 3 years with the only side effect being a little light-headed feeling with hard physical activity. Approximately 2-3 weeks after changing meds I started to get this lumpy feeling in my chest and then it started to progress into an air hunger feeling which felt like my breath was being taken away for a split second. I called the MD at the VA and requested to go back on metoprolol tartrate, which is what the VA has in place of the metoprolol succinate (Toprol XL). The air gasp feeling has only gotten worse and with any excertion I become tired now and start to get the gaspy feeling. Very scary. When it started to get real bad one evening I called 911 and went to the emergency room. Tests came back "ridiculously normal" the ER MD stated. Went back to the VA and the same MD, who doesn't listen, says I am under stress and prescribed me Paxil. I am completely lost as to what to do. I am going in to have another EKG and a holter monitor put on as well as a stress test.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I am desperate to get this resolved as fast as I can. Feel terrible lately and the MD doesn't seem to be listening to me.

Help!

I am so glad that I found this site. I was put on Toprol in January and Just recentky i have panic attacks, chest tightness,tingling and numbing sensations in hands and feet, and i am deperessed. I also have some difficulty breathing. My Dr. told me that I am depressed and these side effects are from depression and not the medication so she gave me Zoloft, which I am not taking. I am not crazy i know that my symptoms are from the meds. i am going to wean myself off and pray i can be "normal" again. This is the worst time of my life and I pray that I can do this.

On December 5th, I reported that, after stopping the Metoprolol, I was having some minor withdrawal symptoms. As an update, this week has not been good. I've had tightness in the chest, sleeping poorly and some gastric problems. It is now three weeks since the last dose. How long does it take to become symptom free?????

I'm 50 years old. Have been on beta blockers for at least 10 years. Recently I developed a wheezing and then got the cold from hell. I was referred to a lung specialist who asked me to stop taking Toprol-XL immediately as it was causing me to wheeze and have shortness of breath. I stopped taking Toprol and the wheezing stopped. I'm still coughing though. I hope it goes away soon. I think I'm going to look into natural cures for my hypertension. These meds have too many side effects.

I am a 34-year old women who started 50 mg of Toprol-XL 4 days ago for a rash of panic attacks I experienced earlier this week, after having high blood pressure and occasional panic attacks in the last 3 months. Since then, I've had migranes for the past 2 days, bad allergies, stomach pain, loose bowel movements, slight difficulty breathing, frequent urination, and tiredness/lethargy during the day with trouble sleeping at night. I was already feeling strange my 2nd day on it and called my internal medicine doctor, who, of course, told me to stick with it. At this point, I'm ready for safer, natural alternatives. I'm will call the doctor tomorrow to tell him that my mind is made up and ask for instructions on how to wean off of it safely.

I have been on Toprol 25 mg for almost a year for heart palpitations. I has worked for the palpitations, but the side effects have been a challenge. I have gained about 20 pounds, have the vivid nightmares, lack of energy, etc. One thing that I have noticed recently is the increased severity of allergies and difficulty breathing. Anyone else experiencing this?