Toprol-XL and sensation

I am a female, 55 years old, and have taken Toprol XL 100mg. for the past 5 years for an irregular heartbeat. The symptoms of the premature beats caused an annoying sensation in my chest that I could not tolerate. My cardiologist prescribed several beta blockers before I finally found that Toprol worked the best for me. I have suffered with leg cramps for years....even before taking the Toprol. A nurse who worked for my internist suggested that I try a calcium supplement called "Calcet". This triple calcium supplement is a life saver. I only have to take half of the recommended dosage to have excellent results.....no more being awakened at night by severe leg cramps! The product is sold "over the counter" and can be purchased in any pharmacy or grocery store. As for the side effects of the Toprol; I am sure that I suffer from some adverse reaction as a result of taking the medicine. In any case, as with all medications, the outcome is a trade-off.....one must determine if the harm outweighs the good that the medicine offers.

45 y/o female, nurse, prescribed Toprol XL 50mg daily. Could not take drug at bedtime as suggested by MD. Was not able to sleep. After a few months experienced visual problems, joint and muscle pain, anxiety, gi upset, weight gain as well as sleeplessness and heavy sensation of chest along with shortness of breath. Complained to MD to no avail. Called cardiologist, he suggested brand use as opposed to generic. Apparently, generic drug does not provide continuous steady release. Also, he lowered dose to 25mg daily. Will report subsequent effects but hope to be weaned off the drug entirely. I appreciate all the information that has been posted on this site, especially the beta blocker info. Hope this helps somebody else!

was put on toprol 25mgs. one year ago by my heart doctor, for tachycardia which only happened after stress. soon thereafter i developed a numbness in the toes of both feet. i saw my my intrenist who didnt know what it was from. i left the country and was livinf abroad until aug 07. while ther the paresthesia of my toes got worse and started traveling up my foot and half of my calf. saw my internist and was advised to see a neurolgist. he put me thru a series of blood test and an emg. all came up negative. went back to the internist and asked her to review my records from sept 2006. first thing she noticed was that i had been started on toprol. she told me one of the side effects is paresthesia of the feet and or hands, and advised me to cut the dose in half for a few weeks and then in half again in a effort to wean me off of it. its been only 3 days since i began to cut down and already the numbness is starting to decrease. has any one else experienced this? does it go entirely away? please write. hopefull

I have just weaned myself off toprol but am still feeling bad after a week. I have a constant sensation of being suffocated. My throat is very tight and I have shortness of breath. I'm still having diarrhea. Some mornings it doesn't seem worthwhile to get up and wait for the suffocation to set in. It's been very upsetting emotionally. The hacking cough is finally getting better but I wonder if I'll ever be able to breathe normally again. I too was taken completely by surprise by this awful drug.

Feeling like I can't swallow or a sensation of smothering about 1-2 hours after taking Toprol. I'm only taking 12.5 mg, too. It really scares me. I see someone else here has had the same choking type sensation.

50 mg./ weight gain (10 lbs.), short term memory impairment, decreased sex drive, but fewer migraines and anxiety symptoms, straining sensation in chest gone

When an ophthalmologist friend heard that my PCP prescribed 50 mg/day for PCV, he warned me to watch out for depression. I experienced the typical nightmares during my first weeks on this medication. I allso experienced such tiredness that just the thought of the effort it would take to move from one room to another was practically overwhelming. I asked my PCP for permission to reduce dosage to 25 mg and later to 12.5 mg (lowest available). I understand withdrawal from this drug, like HRT, must be reduced slowly (allow several weeks between changes in dosage). I continue to experience great bouts of sleepiness during the daytime and insomnia at night. Headaches, weight gain, pain shooting from ball of feet into all toes when I walk, giving me the sensation that all toes are on fire (like blisters), wanting to claw at my skin from a sensation of itching, and periodic blurred vision are on my list of complaints. I also thought I'd made it through hot flashes but now I find myself dealing with huge wringing wet series of flashes 24/7. I don't want to forget the shortness of breath that wakes me often during the night and the dizziness that periodically comes out of nowhere when I bend over to pick up something or move too quickly from a sitting position. I can't tell you the number of times I've brought these symptoms to the attention of my PCP and each time I'm given the impression that because I'm female in the final stages of menopause (10 years and counting), it's mostly all in my head. The only other items I knowingly place in my system are B-12 time release 1000/day due to removal of several inches of my ileum (the body's manufacturing source for B-12) which housed the remains of my shattered appendix and a periodic aspirin. Go figure!