Toprol-XL and toprol

Hello everyone. I am a 40 year old female and have been on Toprol XL 50 mg. for about 6 years now. In the beginning I was taking Toprol, then because my prescription plan wanted to switch I am on Metoprolol. I was prescribed this after a stress test because my heart rate did not go down as quickly as the cardiologist wanted it. If only I knew what I did now, I would never have started it. HELLO!! I weighed 200 lbs. at the time and was a couch potato. What did he expect? Of course my heart rate wasn't going to go down being so out of shape. I am so angry that I was prescribed this drug for such a stupid reason. I am also on meds to lower my blood sugar and high blood pressure. I know that all of my problems are due to my weight and so I've made a decision to seriously change my diet so I can get off of all of this crap. I currently weigh 217 lbs. But as you all know, being on Toprol, it's so hard to lose weight. I want off of this crap as soon as possible. Can any one of you guys who has gotten themselves off of this medication please send me some information as to how you got off of Toprol XL? My doctor is a real moron who works solely for pharmaceutical companies so I refuse to go to him. I will be changing doctors soon.

I was reading your post and had to reply to it!! I have been on toprol xl for about 10 years or a lil longer! Started out at 100mg a day now take 200 mg a day. Am a 37 year old female,feeling like a 90 year old female! For the past 3 years or so experiencing numbness started in my toes, now my left foot to right below my knee is completely numb,right foot and leg getting that way!My hands stay real tingly also! When they are not numb they hurt me so bad. I just couldn't believe your post when I read it! Been to neuro telling me I have severe nerve damage in arms legs and feet? I am like from what? Had all kinds of tests and MRI, nothing.... Thank you for your post,printing it out and taking it to my doc! Maybe we have finally got a diagnosis!!! Sounds like it is the meds to me,Not to mention I am also on 3 other bp meds! Just scared me saying I might have M.S. More like toprol xl huh? How is your numbness now? Was wondering if u experience pain w/ the numbness? Thanx T.

My doctor has upped me from 50 mg to 75 mg Toprol and i swear I am getting fatter by the day. Up until i was 55 i weighed 125 lbs now 5 years later i am 138 and cannot for the life of me shift it even 1 pound. Not only do i eat 6 to 9 fruits and vegetables a day, fish 4 times a week and chicken, no sugar in anything and do the 10,000 steps a day or treadmill. I probably eat and drink less and exercise more than i ever did and have never been so fat. Just out of interest I plugged in Toprol and found this site. I am going to go back to my doctor and ask her to change my medication.

I have been on toprol for sometime now, and what I have found is, I have no sex drive at all which is causing problems in my marriage. I am always tired, can't remember anything short term that is and my shoulders are always hurting as if I have been lifting weights. I am also noticing bruises if any kind of pressure is applied to my skin which is weird. I also get swollen ankles and lots of hair loss. My vision is giving me lots of problems. I now wear glasses that are so thick you would think I borrowed them from the bottom of a Pepsi bottle. I just don't know what to do anymore. I have expressed most of my symptoms to my doctor, but my cries have gone unheard. I am afraid to stop taking the medication in fear of having a heat attack.. I have taken my daughter through a specialized school until she was able to manage herself but today I cannot remember how to do math or just simply write and essay which I think is weird. I am also having a hard time with spelling and reading long passages due to my lack of energy and concentration. Does anyone have advice that is helpful?

I take 25mg of Toprol XL for mitral valve prolapse. The only thing is I feel tired like I could fall asleep all the time. Is this common with this medicine on such a small dose. My doctor said this small dose shouldn't bother me. Anyone else take this dose and feel tired?

I started off taking Tenormin 50 mg 1 x a day and Lanoxin 25 mg 1 x a day about 21 years ago. I continued to have constant palps and skipped beats even though I was on these meds. I wound up developing vertigo after about 5 years that got so bad I had it daily. I ended up with severe sinus problems and was given a cortisone packet of pills (the kind that decrease each day you take them) to take. The vertigo left for 6 months, coming back again with a vengeance. I begged the docs to put me back on cortisone pills again, once more helping to stop the vertigo. However, at the same time I also stopped the Lanoxin. ??? I totally believe that Lanoxin was part of the problem causing the vertigo. I now only have it from time to time, maybe only a few times a year. I still blame the Toprol that I now take for the left-over vertigo. I was taken off of the Tenormin after about 10 years of taking it and put on the Toprol at that time and have been on the Toprol xl for the last 11 years. The docs said that I needed to be on Toprol XL, as it was an extended release and would help me much more around the clock. I did not notice much difference throughout the switch, but looking back I do believe that a lot of the things that I have been dealing with through the years are side-effects of the medicines. I have had irritable bowel syndrome, told I have fybromyalgia, then told I did not have fybromyalgia, hip and back pain, skin problems on one of my hands that started with the Toprol, headaches, tiredness, horrible weight-gain (without overeating!! Honestly.), I have averaged 5 lbs. a year and the docs never even listen to me when I voice my concerns, I have been diagnosed with anxiety, joints ache, ankels, feet, face and hands swell, stomach bloats something terrible, acid reflux, hiatial hernia, and I had a tumor removed that could have been a problem off my rectum (who knows what caused it), I have had CTs and MRIs of my head, twice, for the vertigo and what I was told was probably psuedo-tumor cerbri (because of months of severe headaches), told by my eye doctor that he wonders if I have beginning MS, everything came back fine and things seem to resolve and go into something else. I have been passed from my general physician, to a cardiologist, to a ENT, and a neurologist. No one can ever find anything physically wrong, but they did conclude that I definitely had benign positional vertigo. LOL, that means they could not tell me why I had it. I put a stop to testing when they wanted to do the spinal taps.

Now I am experiencing tightness around my lower rib-cage and feel as though I am sucking for breath, I have a terrible time falling asleep at night, I wake up gasping and swearing that I am dying. My rib-cage is numb around my right side, not so much the left side when I lay down to go to sleep at night. After a few bouts of this I finally fall asleep and sleep all night most times. My blood pressure is now on the rise 150/99 at the highest. I have been working out lately with a few positive effects, more energy, more endurance, less aches and pains, muscles are starting to tone up, however, no weight loss. I thought my bp was starting to lower, but found out it was actually up. I went to my family doc and she listened to me really good, realized at last that I was not shedding the weight despite the efforts I was making. She cut my toprol to 25 mg 1 x a day and put me on lisinopril, I did not tolerate the lisinopril so she switched me to dyazide, lowest dose 1 x a day. I have great positives ...no more swelling, weight loss, lower bp, HOWEVER, I am now having jitters, anxiety (somewhat), no appetite at all, a few muscle spasms in my arms and legs, nothing painful or severe, dizziness, slight headache that comes and goes especially through my eyes. I am also experiencing coughing, and raspiness...but I am also coming out of a bout of bronchitis, which got really bad with the lisinopril. I believe it is partly due to the meds.

I called my doc today to tell her about the twitching and buzzing feeling and to ask about the dyazide. My feelings are that I am experiencing a lot of different things, first the bronchitis, and all the meds I was taking for that...albuterol, musinex, tylenol w/codeine, and biaxin, then the decrease of my toprol xl, the bad effects of lisinopril (coughing and raspiness), and now starting the new drug dyazide (generic form). I really want this to all settle down and work out for the best, but it is getting to me now (after 2 weeks). Last Saturday I would up in the ER with shooting pains through my chest that left me very pale and lightheaded when it happened as well as very tight throug my chest and sucking for air. The ER did chest xray, chest CT w/contrast, bloodtests, urine test, bp's sitting, standing and lying down (it is highest while sitting), everything came back good. No heart attacks, no blood clots, no bronchitis anymore, nothing. Blood work was good, urine was good. I am beginning to think that perhaps my body is reacting to cutting the Toprol xl in half. Sort of a withdrawal. There is really nothing else it can be and I really don't think that the dyazide is that bad of a drug and probably not causing all of my problems now, maybe just a part. Which are the tingling, dizziness, anxiety, twitching, and coughing. I have only had 3 of the dyazide medication. But have read that withdrawal symptoms of Toprol can cause these problems for a while. I am also thinking that the shooting chest pains last week were also withdrawal of the Toprol as it had been 1 week at that point that it had been cut in half.

Any opinions, if anyone can make heads or tails of anything that I have wrote. Sorry for the length and if it is confusing.

i started taking toprol about 2 years ago. my doctor started to notice a trace of blood and a small amount of protein in my urine. after a few more urine test over the span of 2 years, the traces of blood would come and go, but the protein levels were rising. eventually i was sent to a kidney specialist. he immediately took me off the toprol. he believes that the toprol may have damaged a filter that goes to both kidneys.he also said that if proteins are getting through the filter there other stuff is getting through too. , which can cause problems in the future.i have an appointment to see him again in 2 months. hopefully not being on this drug anymore, there will be a chance that this filter will heal. if not we are talking biopsies, and kidney drugs. my entire life the only medical problem was my blood pressure, now because of doctors and drugs i may be the sickest i've ever been. somebody said thts why doctors call it a practice, there only practicing

I've been weaning off Toprol for about a week and it's been terrible. I'm shaky, feel hungry all the time, can't concentrate and want to jump out of my skin. Is this normal? How long will it last??

I am a 56 year old female & have been on toprol for 7 or 8 years. I was a small business owner & under a lot of stress. I had couple of times where my heart would race & pound & I felt really strange. I went to the ER where they of course checked my blood pressure. It was a little high, but I was stressed out! After the second time this happened they put me on 50mg of toprol. I have since weaned myself down to 25 mg. I think I was having a panic attack, which I had never had before. I regret the day I ever started taking this poison. I have had such shortness of breath that I can hardly walk to my mailbox & back. I feel like I can never get enough air in my lungs. I feel a tightness in my chest all the time, sometimes my heart feels like it is beating abnormally. I am always aware of my heart beat which I never was before this med. I have gained about 20 to 30 lbs, which is very hard to lose when you feel like you are dying if you exercise. I have pain in my left shoulder, which I don't know if it is from the med or not. I do not sleep well at night & am so tired all the time it is hard to get through the day. I just overall feel like crap! It seems doctors are no help they just want to try you on other meds, I have tried that too. They are all poison I felt even worse on some of the others. I don't want to go through the rest of my life like this. Has anyone successfully gotten off this stuff? I would love to hear from you. Thanks, K. L.

I have had a cough for 4 mos.nothing shows in a breathing test,cat scan & blood work.I have no mucas coming up .Occasionally ,small
amounts of water like substances which is thick comes up.I take avapro 300mg & Toprol xl , could either one of these meds be the cause of my problem? I really do need an answer I am exhausted.
I have coughed so much that my head hurts as well as my throat when have the coughing episodes.

I have been on Toprol since Dec. 2005, I take 400mg a day, 2 pills 100mg each in the morning and at night, due to heart problems. I have palpitations constantly, extremely cold all the time even when my house is 80 degrees, fatigue, cant sleep. When I tell my doctors all they due is prescribe more medication that doesn't help or solve the problem just add more side effects to it.

I'm 48, wm, very healthy>
Thirty five days ago, I went to a doctor
for anxiety. I told him I felt as though I had
an over-active adrenal gland, and too much
adrenaline was surging through my body
causing me to be really nervous, especially
in public places.
I said I took Inderal 20 years ago for two days, and it made me feel weird.
He said the new generation Beta Blockers
are far better, and that most golfers take them so they won't shake during an important putt.
He said he'd put me on the lowest dosage (25mg/day) and said the side effects were minimal. (HA!)
After one week, all went pretty well, except I noticed my previously strong sex drive had diminished. I used to masturbate 3 times per day, and then it was maybe once per week.
I thought the trade off to be calm vs. constant erections due to the adrenaline levels would be fine.
Then the nightmares...
I was in Africa and being shot by Ninja warriors with their AK 47's and feeling the bullets tear into my liver, and abdomen- or falling off cliffs to my impending death, only to wake up at 1am and not being able to go back to sleep for hours.
Then, at the two week mark, I noticed also
I couldn't recall things as quickly as I used to.
At the three week mark, it was becoming clear that the Toprol was making me slow, tired, flacid, fuzzy in my thinking, and giving me constant nightly dreams that were
terrifying.
Finally, I drove to LA from SF, and a song came on the radio. I knew who it was, but just couldn't grasp in my mind who it really was! (Stevie Wonder)
I started to feel really bizarre, kinda like LSD, or mushrooms, and was worried I was going to go insane!
I knew it was the Toprol, but didn't know if I stopped taking it if I would recover.
I just wanted to be like I was before I started this taking this truly awful compound!
Three days ago I stopped (cold turkey) and
flushed my body out with water, and a lot of soup.
Only this morning- after three days without
taking those terrible pills do I feel normal again. I'm not 100% yet, but I know I will be soon.
The lesson here, is I should have read more about this drug before taking it.
I have never taken pharmaceutical drugs before- not even aspirin. This is one more reason to stay clear from quack doctors
who think taking heart drugs/BP drugs are an easy cure for anxiety.
I really feel sorry for all those people out there taking dangerous medications like Toprol.
This drug should have never been approved by the FDA, and the only reason anyone should take this drug, is to understand how it feels to lose your mind, have your sex drive removed, and have dreams every night where all you do is end up dead!
TOPROL should be schedule I, and be banned- or only used by our military on known terrorists...

I have been taking 12.5 mg Metoprolol for my palpitation and occasional racing heart. Few days ago I got a rapid heart rate again and I increased the dose to 25 my as original prescribed. Now I have chills, cold hand and feet, insomnia, shortness of breath, chest pain, etc. I have cut back to 12.5 mg. The problem is that even with 25 mg my heart races once in a while but I can't tolerate increasing this drug. I want to wean off of it. What is the best way to stop this drug?

I was prescribed Toprol for an irregular heart rhythm (eventually diagnosed as premature ventricular contractions) that developed suddenly when I was 54, despite an active lifestyle, low-normal weight (110), low stress levels, and low blood pressure (100/60). I felt as though my heart was skipping beats, and the "catch-up" beat was so strong my entire chest seemed to vibrate. The Toprol stopped 98 percent of the PACs virtually immediately. But within days I noticed occasional numbness in my legs, and my hands and feet turn icy cold for no obvious reason. I'm also quite tired till late afternoon (I take the Toprol around 10 p.m.), and I just feel "blah." No suicidal, but generally unmotivated. I am often sleepy--at least until around 1 or 2 p.m, when the Toprol starts to wear off. I'm not ready to stop taking it yet--though these reports are sobering--because the PACs made a normal life impossible. But I'm going to be cautious, and if other side effects appear, look for other options.

I have been on Toprol 25mg XL for over three years now and I personally think it's a great drug. My doctor prescribed it to reduce my heart work load after I had a quadruple heart bypass at 47yrs old - not over weight. Initially, I felt tired, lacked motivation to do anything, dizziness when I abruptly stand up - still do, weird dreams, lack of sex drive including less rigid erection and less intense ejaculation, depression and also gained over fifteen pounds. Anyway, things have improved since, I started working out every day and quickly lost the excess weight. All the side effects have gone except for the occasional dizziness and the sex part. I can feel my heart go out of wack if I don't take the med. Stay away from the generic that you have to take twice a day - not as effective.

I have been on 50 mg. of Toprol xl for 5 years I find it so hard to breathe. Like I have to make myself breathe or I'll just stop breathing. I can't sleep because my breathing gets worse even with my head elevated. I'm getting terrific migraines, ready to tear my head off. I'm short of breath, can't hardly do anything and I feel I ran ten miles.. I have heart failure and low blood pressure. He's giving me this for now and then palpitations. I think this pill is causing all my troubles including anxiety. HELP!!

I am a 21 year old female. I have been on 25mg Toprol (twice a day) for over a year now. I was having intense heart palpitations from scary panic attacks... this drug basically cured my heart irregularity. When I first started taking Toprol I experienced some muscle cramps but that lasted less than a week. Overall I have NOT experienced ANY negative side effects from this drug. It is one of the best things I have ever done for myself. I was so scared before due to having at least 5 ‘episodes’ a day with my heart… now I may only have 2 – 3 per week. Such a wonderful improvement! It has really changed my life for the better.

I wrote on my side affects on sept. 7th on this site. I have been off topral xl for about 2 months, and my heart beats normal now, my legs are not swollen, no headaches, long story short, most my symptoms gone. I can think so much clearer. My blood pressure now goes from 160/90 to 117/84 which last weekend I did try Diovan hct, a new blood pressure med. and Sat. and Sun. were a nightmare. I do know how dangerous it is to have high bp. for my brother-in-law passed a year ago nov. 2nd and my aunt Bev 3 years ago. But I am happy with my decision to continue the Peptace and Celery seed extract and monitor my bp. closely. My son went to Doctor for his bp. and Doctor said that they get some kind of a kick back from meds. like topral so maybe thats why they push it along with other meds. True or not, I still can't figure out why they kept me on it when I asked them to take me off cause I felt so bad. It sure did take a toll on my whole body. Good luck to ya all and listen and feel what your body is telling you. I know whats good for one is not good for all.

Okay folks, I've been taking metoprolol for nearly two months and It sucks big time. Came to this site because of feeling dizzy and I find that's a big problem. I keep feeling dizzier, more tired and I'm a zippy old gal, not overweight, none of that, but dang I just feel like crap and tend to drink more coffee and stuff just to keep zipping. I will take a half dose tonight and call the doc in the morning. Also have gastric problems. Heck, I would rather die of heart attack or brain aneurysm (sp, I know) than live life dizzy.

Graves Disease patient going in remission.
I have experienced all the same symptoms as every one else
leg cramps, exhaustion, loss of sex drive, anxiety/panic attacks,weight gain, hair loss, horrible terrible rash on feet and palms of hands I could go on.
My concern is my doctor taking me off PTU and has not mentioned the Toprol. I understand that stopping increases your risk of a heart attack so what's next?

Back in July I was experiencing rapid heart beats and shortness of breath. I'm a 43 white female with a high stress job. I went to the doctor expecting him to prescribe a sedative. He hooked me up to an EKG which showed I had a left bundle branch block. He then ordered blood work, chest x-rays, an ultra sound, and a nuclear stress test. All test came back fine, but my stress test showed a heart attack, which apparently is common with the left bundle block. I then wore a 24 hour Holter moniter which indicated tachycardia. That's when the doctor prescribed 50 mg Metoprolol. My BP and heart rate are now almost normal and the shortness of breath has gone away. I still experience a mild heaviness in my chest, but that is only when I allow my self to be stressed. I have gained over 5 pounds in less than 2 months and my dreams are more vivid than usual. One side effect that was listed on my drug info sheet that I haven't read about on this site described a cough, which I have had for over a month. I mentioned the cough to my doctor and he said it was prob post nasal drip so he prescribed 180 mg Fexofenadine and told me to cut the Metoprolol in half so I would be taking 25 mg. The Fexofenadine has helped with sneezing that I have always experienced, but the cough is still there. The cough is not always severe, but it has interrupted my sleep twice and my job once. The last bad coughing episode lasted 90 mins during the night. Has anyone else experienced the coughing side effect of Metoprolol?

I've been taking 25mg toprol-xl since December 07, Went to Dr one day for something not heart related and he told me I have a heart murmur, after several test I found out my tricuspid valve was regurgitating. My BP has been a little high but nothing out of control. I have gained over 20lbs since Dec, I ve been extremely tired, swelling in hands and feet. Aches and pains in joints and muscles. I just recently stopped taking zocor thinking that was the culprit and probably was, but now I think it could be the combination of the two. I am going to take myself off of the toprol (monitoring my BP of course) and was wondering how. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I am a 56 year old that had an aortic valve replacement 51/2 years ago, I have been on toprol only 12 mg a day for around 4 years I have had minor side effects, cold feet, cold hands, optical migraine headaches (once in a while). I was on the real toprol for years and then the folks at walgreens offered a generic and I excepted, things were fine and I was rolling along until they chaned generic brands from SANDOZ to ETHEX, I seemed fine on the SANDOZ it even looked the same as the real thing, but when walgreens gave me ETHEX (which is a round pill about twice as large as the other) I began to feel sensations in the middle of my chest and sometimes while taking my pulse it felt like my Heart stopped or skipped a beat, this scared the shit out of me! I took about 22 days worth of EHTEX and the symptoms kept getting worse, I finally called the Cardio folks and they suggested that I wear a Holter monitor for 24 hours, which I did and felt that I had a few Heart stopping moments along with a odd heart burn sensation in the middle of my chest. Two nights ago I found some of the SANDOZ that I had saved for vacations and began taking 12 mg of that instead of the ETHEX today for the first time in nearly 3 weeks I had NO Heartburn problems and NO Heart stopping experience, mind you this was only day one! Looking forward to day 2 and now that I have read all of the side effects from all the good folks on this site, that are not listed when you purchase the drugs, my opinion is that all GENERIC drugs that are suppose to be IDENTICAL to the real thing is a huge lie! What the hell is the FDA doing? Are they trying to let the GENERIC FOOLS poison all of the good folks that actually need these drugs without doing or maybe reading the test results? Or maybe the drug company's have so much clout that they can grease a few palms and get there GENERIC shit to market. To think that these drugs are suppose to be IDENTICAL and then to receive a pill that looks NOTHING like the real thing and when you bust it in half it's a different frickin color (ETHEX)!!!! What was I thinking taking this GENERIC piece of garbage! The GENERIC buttheads along with the real manufacturers should be required by LAW to list ALL ingredients on the label so all of the good folks can read and compare to see what there swallowing and putting into there bodes! I hope to get off of thos drug soon but if I don't rest asure that I will seek out the real thing. I was so freaked out by the side effects that the Cardio Doctor scheduled an ECHO for this Friday, I think the valve is fine but we will find out! Good luck all!

TWO PIECES OF ADVICE:
DO NOT DRINK alcohol within 6 hrs and EAT right before taking Toprol. This should help with all mentioned side effects!
I have noticed that if I drink ANY alcohol within six hours of taking Toprol (before or after), my HR skyrockets to 190+BPM. I thought this might help others. Also, I MUST eat at least 2 slices of bread each time I take it. Otherwise, I will feel very dizzy, faint and have bad dreams.
If I eat, I have no side effects.
Also, there have been a couple times where I missed a dose or took it late and each time, I feel my heart starting to race and the PVC's coming back.

I have been on 25 mg of Toprol for 6months due to PVC's and rapid/ racing HR (160+)/ palps and BP spikes. My 24hr Holter (six months ago) showed 370 PVC's in one day, so I was put on Toprol. All other heart tests were normal. Anyway, it has worked wonders for me. I had another Holter done last week and there were NO PVC's and steady HR and BP. Since being on Toprol HR is 65, BP is 105/60 or so.

Am in my second month of taking Metoprolol to control atrial fibrillation. Have been increasingly dealing with disturbingly vivid dream, headaches, slight nausea, abdominal discomfort and overall achiness. What is an alternative med to treat atrial fibrillation? I have glaucoma and a cardiac pacemaker for complete heart block. All suggestions welcomed. I'd like to dump the Metroprolol but appreciate that since starting to take it, I've had no problems with fibrillation (which my pacemaker isn't designed to control).

I suddenly had high blood pressure. I was put on a heart monitor for 21 days because I was experiencing frequent palpitations. I was given 25 mg Metoprolol ER the genic for Toprol XL on June 6, 2008. I had the usual symptoms extreme fatigue, headache, constipation,swelling, weight gain for the first month. I am 59 yrs. old.
The second month I started to have horrible nightmares, and headaches that would not go away. On Aug.12 while driving home I started to hear voices, had blurred vision and hallucinations. I was driving fast and screaming to make the voices stop.. I ended up in a parking lot. I was crying and for a minute I had a bit of reality. I called the cardiologist office and told the nurse what was going on. She said to immediately stop the meds because I was having a rare serious side effect. I sat crying for awhile and was able to call a friend to pick me up. I stayed at home for 4 days. The entire time my hands shook and my headache was horrible. It was one week before I was able to function properly.
I called my pharmacist and she told me that this drug affects the central nervous system. 2 % of 100,000 people have this side effect. I told her that it was not written on my paper with the prescription. She said that because it is so rare they do not have put it on. She printed out the side effects for me from her web site. A site that is only accessible to pharmacists or Dr.'s. My Dr. wants me to try Cardizeim now and I do not want to because I am afraid. I told him that the BP was down to normal but he still wanted to because of the palpitations. I was given the option of the Cardiziem or seeing and Electrical Man at the Cardiology office. As of yet I have not taken the Cardiziem. This is the first time I have read this web site and I hope that this information may help someone. I finally feel good again except for the rapid heart beat and glad to be alive.

I am a 37 year old female that went to the ER 3 days ago for chest tightness & extremely high blood sugar. I have had high blood pressure in the past years but as of a year ago when I was diagnosed as being diabetic my blood pressure has been normal about 117/75 so I go to the ER and they give me 2 EKG's and a heart monitor for 24hrs and put me through a stress test,they also give me this little pill and say it will help me, well not feeling well and wanting to feel good again I take the pill no questions asked. I have never felt so tired in my life. I thought well chest pains will do that to you so I dismissed it. I know they were making sure I do not have a heart attack but, my blood pressure seems to be going lower and lower and I am more tired by the minute, they released me from the hospital and gave me a million RX's including toprol and lisinopril both of whch lower blod pressure ??? do they want me to pass out? so yesterday I took the toprol only and felt like I was sinking , my thinking seemed foggy and my legs felt rubbery. I am sooooo glad I found this site because I will not take this drug ever again I already suffer weight issues being diabetic I don't need anything else. I would prefer to be interested in sex and be able too function this drug seems like it is more negative than it is worth. I think I will stick with the lisinopril, and why would they give me two blood pressure meds when my blood pressure is already normal??? If anyone has a comment please let me know I am very scared about this whole thing

I am a 36 year old African American Female. I have been on Toprol for 4 years. I take 25mg a day. At one point a dr. recommended I take 50mg a day. That was horrible. All of my side effects were worse. I decided to break the pills and stay at 25mg. The lower dosage is better. At 36, I look like I am in my early 20's! Most people guess my age at about 24. I don't feel like it at all. I am always tired, I don't have orgasms ( which is bad when you have boyfriends in their early 20's all the time) and I have anxiety and depression. I love to have fun but toprol keeps me depressed, uninterested and I cry for no reason at all. I just feel severely sad for no reason at all and cry. It is horrible. I was prescribed toprol for rapid heartbeat and mildly high bp. That it works for, but the side effects are gruesome! I tried another med for a month and I thought my heart was gonna jump out of my chest. I have 2 sons: 10 and 16, I can't be depressed and crazy all the time. I am very attractive and I want to enjoy life now that my kids are older. I'm getting off toprol!

I am a 39 year old white male that had aortic valve replacement surgery five years ago. About three months after the surgery (which went off without a hitch) I had a tremendous spike in my BP that went on for a few days (200/100 - enough so I could see my heartbeat in my eyes!). My Dr started me on Toprol XL 75 and while it brought my BP down some, it didn't bring it down a lot. He moved me to 200 mg a day and now my BP is around 105/55 with a resting pulse around 50.

While I experienced many of the side effects listed here (feeling groggy, confused, etc) they only lasted a few months. I must admit that I did pack on about 20 lbs over six months. However, unlike so many who choose to blame drugs (or lack thereof) for their problems, I took it upon myself to start exercising and guess what?!? The weight comes off! I now weigh less than when I graduated high school, I am in better shape than any time in my life and I believe that exercise helps me sleep better at night. All of this even though I still take 200mg a day. Given that some of you say that you're practically dead at taking 25, I should be 6 feet under or weigh 400 lbs.

I guess what I want to say is that perhaps instead of jumping on the bandwagon here that Toprol causes all of your problems, perhaps you want to take your own health into your hands and begin to eat a little better and exercise (and don't give me "but my ankles are swollen!" excuse - there is something called water aerobics). I don't deny that it can cause some side effects, but it can work wonders with your BP. You just have to DO SOMETHING to help keep the weight off (which then help with the sleep problems, mental clarity, etc).

I am a 45 year old black female. After the death of my father, I started experiencing blood pressure problems and headaches. I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea 2 years ago. Not having bought a CPAP yet has contributed to a lot of the blood pressure and headache problems. But, my GP put me on Toprol in June '08. I am having difficulty sleeping.Every time I eat, I have severe gas and my chest is hurting off and on. There has got to be a better solution. I started exercising and using Isagenix (******). It is simply wonderful - I have lost weight and toxins. When I go to my doctor on tomorrow, I am going to ask him if I can get off of Toprol. I do not like the way this medication makes me feel.

Hello all,
I'm a 45-yr old Air Force Major (Male) recently diagnosed with asymptomatic chronic Atrial Fibrillation (As in I have it and was walking around not knowing it). When I went to see the cardiologist, my B.P. was only 120 / 74 (Which, until they changed the rules, used to be normal)and he puts me on Diovan 80mg once a day plus Coumadin 5mg. Well the Diovan almost made me faint and I had numbness in both arms, plus a funky rash, kind of like chicken pox showing up on my arms and thighs.
I went online and read horror stories of Diovan so I stopped taking it immediately (I had only taken four doses and never had any horrible symptoms until after I took the meds!). Then the Dr. put me on an Event Monitor and it showed I was indeed in A-fib all the time, plus at night, my heart was racing briefly to 200 a minute while I was sound asleep. So he puts me on Toprol XL 100mg once a day.
Immediately I had trouble sleeping (Which I never had before, ever!) with crazy dreams and tossing/turning. My B.P. dropped to 88/65 and my fibrillating heart rate was 64!!! I was so mad because I actually felt better before the meds. I found this site and saw what everyone was posting and immediately took myself off the Toprol XL.
The day after stopping the Toprol I had slight chest pains (Like angina or gas bubble) but they went away on their own. I slept fine the next night.
I'm having an Electro-Cardiversion done on the 21st July to see if I can stop the A-fib and get in normal rhythm. I know the Dr. is going to be mad at me for stopping the Diovan and Toprol, but I'm sorry, I'm convinced there is a better way to beat all this (Namely exercise and eating right). Being in the service means you have to be Mr. Physical and Mental "perfect" all the time. I cannot afford to be diagnosed with depression in my line of work! Thanks to all on this website and I wish you the best.
PS. for those who think I'm being ignorant of my medication, I have a nice fat insurance policy and Power of attorney for my wife and kid in the event I keel over!!! I may be medication intolerant but at least I took care of my family.

My doctor took me off metopolol (genericToprol), and my last dosage was a week ago. I suffered weight gain, tiredness, and muscle fatigue during my 18 months on the drug.

I have 2 questions - how long will the drug remain in my system, and has anyone who experienced weight gain while on Toprol or the generic, lost any weight after stopping it?

Thanks, Tony

Weight gain, swollen middle,ankles,and feet. Tired and eat every little and exercise by walking most days. Can't walk too fast because I experience shortness of breath. I take 150 mg a day.

OK FOLKS -HERE'S A GOOD ONE FOR YA- Just over a year ago I was on a heart transplant list. Today my heart function is normal and I am off ALL HEART MEDS. Even after finding out my heart function level was normal I was still living a nightmare for some unexplained reason. After MONTHS of tests and everyone telling me I was nuts a neurologist finally found out I was having seizure activity. Funny how my "seizure activity" feels EXACTLY how I felt when they increased my beta blocker dosage. I'm telling all of you.. This beta blocker helps some but they are burying their mistakes. I now know all of my ER trips, only to have them laugh and have them send me back home, were do to seizures caused by beta blockers while I had heart failure. I'm lucky to be alive.... and now that my heart function is good I have to fight this seizure BS. *REMEMBER THIS - Only YOU know what your body is telling you.. LISTEN TO IT! But do be careful.. You can't just stop taking a beta blocker.. Good luck all cuz we sure need it!

I've booen on 100 mmg of toprol for over ten years. Have all the side effects including tinnitus and impotence. Last week for chest pain spent the night at the er , three blood tests, three ekgs, a stellar stress test and echo. All normal and still the sense of doom and the pain under the breastbone... This has been ruining my life. I'm furious after reading all this testimonies . Olease someone give me advise. ******

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.

I started taking Toprol 4 months after having my baby. I never had High Blood Pressure until I was 2 months pregnant and It continued throughout my pregnancy. Four months after giving birth my BP kept creeping up so I went to my doctor and she prescribed 25mg of Toprol. I have been taking Toprol for a year and a half, I have gained over 20 pounds, I have felt like I have been walking in a fog, loss of concentration, been diagnosed with depression, I have slept at night but not feeling rested. I went off the meds for an allergy test and immediately realized that I was sleeping better and feeling rested, so I was monitoring my BP and It has been okay so I have stayed off the meds. I never realized that my problems could have been linked to this med until I went off the Toprol. My question is how long before the weight will come off. I was working out 5 days a week and watching what I ate for over 2 months while on the Toprol and no change. I am hoping that since I am off of Toprol I will start dropping a few pounds soon.

I decided a long time ago, Doctor's are not the best listeners!! I am a nurse, I know!! Read my post today June 18th. I have been praying for an answer to all my symptoms, especially the profuse sweating I have been having for the past year!!! I believe I have found my answer at this site. Thank God I found it. All because I was looking up info about Toprol because after the doctor increased my dosage yesterday , today my ankles and feet swelled up like balloons!!!!! Now I have pitting edema!!!
I have gone to a # of doctor's in the past year and a half and I think they believe it is all " in my head"!!! I have been so depressed. My husband has even threatened to leave me. NO interest in much of anything. I don't know what it is like to sleep anymore :-( My husband says " just close your eyes and sleep like a normal person". Maybe after he reads the posts at this site he will begin to understand that everything I have been going through is "REAL". I am calling my Dr. in the morning and she will WEAN me off this awful drug!!! My BP has been going up since I have been on Toprol instead of going down. I have wondered why the Dr. didn't just change the med. It really makes one wonder. DO the Dr's ever hear what we are saying???? I would be happy to share stories with anyone on this site. How many of you have experienced profuse sweating???? The doctor will WEAN me off this drug!!! :-)
God bless everyone!! I pray you all get off this drug!! It needs to be pulled by the FDA!!!
Joyce47oh ;-)

WOW, I am so happy to find this site. I am a 56 yr old female. I too am on Toprol. I was on 75 mg 2 x's a day for HPB and mitral valve prolapse pain. Then yesterday the Dr. increased my dose to 100 mg 2x's a day .Today my ankles and feet blew up like balloons. I have been having profuse sweating and was cold and clammy for the past year and no Dr could tell me why!! NO sex drive , depression,sleep apnea, severe insomnia, brain fog, short term memory issues, moody, irritable, my husband has threatened to leave me. NO appetite!! Floaters in my eyes started a few months ago, I have so many symptoms that I have read in all your posts. No quality of life for the past year. I have felt like I was losing my mind, gained 35 lbs in past 2 years without changing my eating habits. I gained the weight after I had lost 50 lbs. Been on Toprol about 2 1/2 years ( I think ) Every symptom I have experienced I have read in your posts!! I have type 2 diabetes and am on glucophage, I also take 10 other scripts. I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, RSD in my left arm, muscle pain and joint pain. Pain in my right upper qaudrant. Nausea/ some vomiting, NO ENERGY, Loss of interest in most of life. So now after reading all your posts I have to ask myself, are all my symptoms linked to the Toprol and not syndromes or illnesses? I am calling my doctor in the morning and getting off this med!! They will just have to put me on something else!!!
So how do I post to receive replies?
Joyce47oh

55 year old female
I have been on Toprol 5 years. 50mg. it works for me but since it went generic,I wonder...I am on 10mg lexapro and December started the vivelle-dot for my hotflashes. It is now June and the last 4 weeks my hair is falling out big time.
It is so thin I have to wear a scarf as not to scare small children at work.!! :)
I have talked to a couple of hairdressers and they have told me many of they're clients with thinning hair were on Toprol.
Anyone heard of this? Please help me figure this out.

I was on it for 6 months and the Dr. decided to change my medications. Toprol wasn't keeping my blood pressure down. I had bad chest pains and severe sweating so after 2 weeks he put me back on the Toprol. Bad mistake every time I took the Toprol My heart felt like it was skipping a beat and I would black out. Now I can't take it either. I'm on lisinopril now. Which is fine, it's keeping my blood pressure down. But still felt like my heart is skipping beats, ended up in the E.R.
they did pick up the skipped beats on an ecg and decided it was prob because the toprol is still in my system. My heart feels like it is racing all the time, and I'm having anxiety and shaking. I wish this stuff would get out of my system. good luck to everyone.
sabrina

I have taken toprol for seven years. I never had any bad side effects and it controlled my blood pressure most of the time. However, I suffer from anxiety and depression and was recently put on Lexapro. My heart rate dropped into the 40's and I was exhausted all the time. Turns out Lexapro interacts with Toprol in that the drug (Toprol) does not break down in your system and keeps building up! Because the Lexapro was helping my anxiety I decided to lower the Toprol dosage. Down to 12.5 mg and still extremely low heart rate and fatigue. Decided to go off the Toprol and monitor my blood pressure, which has been amazingly good so far. Went off completely six days ago and it has been rough. Anxiety, insomnia, pounding heart, heart palpitations. This stuff is a real B*tch to get off from. Have talked to both the pharmacist and my doctor and both said to NOT start taking it again. There are plenty of newer medications out there. I also experienced weight gain when I first started taking it...I think because it slows your metabolism down. So now I am on xanax to counteract the Toprol until the Lexapro kicks in more. It it isn't one thing, it's another.

I started to use toprol the generic type 3 weeks ago, I have the worst panic attacks, anxiety and depression ever, I never had depression in my life before, this medication took my pleasure of life away from me. I am getting off this horrible medication, started with 50, now I am on 25 (symptoms better), in two days I will be down to 12.5, then seven and is bye, bye. I read is not good to go cold turkey on this medication.

I am 36 and take 100 mg of generic Toprol a day. I was put on it due to many ( I mean 30 to 40) palps a day. I had been on Atenolol for about 5 years and the doctors told me it had simply quit working. I had an echo and a 24 hour holtor monitor and both came back negative, yet I felt like I was dying daily. My palps have diminished with the medicine, with a change in diet and running 5 or 6 days a week for about 3 miles. Caffeine and alcholol have almost been excluded. I do have cold hands and feet and have had much trouble losing weight. Stomach cramps and an upper right side cramps have been an issue. After reading your posts I think we need to get off this stuff

My BP had been slightly elevated for over a year and my doctor felt it was time for medication. He started me on 25mgs and continued to increase it till I reached 100mgs. I started having anxiety attacks, lightheadedness, dizziness and finally ended up so sick that I was in bed for three days. It was the toprol. I was only on toprol for 3months but found out that trying to come off the drug was the hardest thing I have done. I never had BP spikes before but at the end of the first 24 hrs. without Toprol my BP was hitting 200/104. I went to ER. Matter of fact, the spikes continued and I was in and out of ER until I was finally admitted for tests. The spikes were also accompanied by flushing, rapid pulse(122 beats per minute), lightheadedness and diarrhea.Many times I thought I was having a heart attack. I have seen two cardiologists, an internist and now an endocrinologist for these "BP spikes". All tests come back normal. No matter what the new medication is, nor how low my BP might stay for up to three days....the episodes still happen. My BP can go from a normal range too 200 systolic in a matter of less than 1/2 hr..........Has anyone else had spikes in their BP when coming off toprol. It has been 11 months since stopping this awful drug and I still I no answers....but I have a pile of medical bills.

I started Metoprolol 6 months ago while in the ER. I was weak with a virus and every time I got up and did anything, my heart would race and would feel weaker. I have white coat syndrome so while I was in the ER my BP went up to 227/110. They gave me 25 mg of Toprol and a prescription for 12.5 mg a day. I have gained 17 lbs in 6 months, have zero energy, tired all the time, insomnia, and am depressed for the first time in my life,ad I know it has to be from the Metoprolol. I tried to quit it and 3 days later my heart was racing so bad and my blood pressure was real high. I want to try to quit it but am afraid to. Any suggestions on how to quit it?

I have been on generic Toprol since 2005 to control my high blood pressure. I have many of the symptoms you all experience, tiredness, occasional dizziness, some weight gain. However, the most debilitating side effect I am suffering is neck flushing and anxiety attacks, my chest and neck turn bright red practically whenever people talk to me and I've never had this problem prior to taking this drug, I am shy but not that shy. Now I feel like I have to wear turtlenecks all the time or people will ask me what is wrong with you, are you allergic, etc... I can't even have a regular conversation with my co-workers without my neck turning red and breathing hard. It's ridiculous and I want to know if anyone else has this problem or if I'm just mental.

Thanks.

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!

Hi my history started from last couple months when I realize my bp went up very high(160/100) so I started metoprolol succinate 25mg,for couple days i felt fine and my bp went down but I noticed some pain in my right side so i thought maybe is the liver problem and i started to get off.After a week i was suffered from withdrawal(first week i decreased dose to 12,5mg)then my bp was very high so i called doctor and he prescribed metoprolol 100 mg and lisinopril 25(i never used this one)and hydloxiazyde 12,5 and i felt better for couple weeks then I started to get heart palpitation and very low bp so I quit hydroxiazyde and now I'm on toprol xl (oryginal brand) and still have chest tightness (i switch metoprolol to toprol one day ago)and how you guys divide the tablets to get exact amount its hard

Hi,
I just found this site and was wondering how long it takes this horrible drug to leave your system. I have been taking it for a year and have suffered the WORST depression and anxiety attacks from it. I have been lucky enough to have never suffered from any of these symptoms in my entire life and my heart goes ou to those who live with it every day
So far I have lost my job, any chance of sleep, and I can barely get out of the house in the morning. Its having a direct affect on my marriage, I have lost all intest in my hobbies, unable to concentrate, I'm just a wreck. I just saw my Dr. last week and she made my dose smaller (25 MG) for the past week and I feel worse. Is there any ending to this?