Toprol-XL and wean

60 yr old/young female: I started generic toprol (metoprolol 50mg xr) yesterday (11/22/07). Took about 3:00 PM. The next morning around 6:00 AM, I had a hot flash that equated to one you would have if you had taken niacin. Body was burning and I was sweating. Looked in the mirror to see if I was flushed, because of the severity of the hot flash I thought my body would be totally red. It wasn't. I called my pharmacist to report this event. He researched and found no evidence of such. He did say that it did not rule out the possibility that it was caused by the Toprol. Asked me to keep him posted as his customers were the ones that helped him be able to report side effects to other. Well I found this site and low and behold I have read of the hot flashes and all of the other problems. I will not be taking this medication. I am not a pro medication person anyway and related that to my dr, but at some point you feel you have to have trust in someone. I don't trust medications. I know at some point in my life I will probably have to take something, but not Toprol. Sounds as though it will cause more problems than it will cure. Thanks so much for your input. It will prevent me from having to wean myself off this mess. Oh yeah, I was also feeling the depressed, anxiety mentioned. Not at a high level , but just knew I wasn't myself. That was after just one dose. I can't imagine how it would have progress. I feel very blessed.

An update to my post from yesterday - went to my Doc. and she wants me to take 4-7 days to wean from the Toprol, before I start the Diovan 80 -- she is concerned about the rebound and withdraw effects.

My Asthma Doctor wants me off Toprol ASAP - he thinks that it is making my asthma worse. Said to go to my Primary Care Physician and switch to Diovan - said that immediately switching to Diovan means that I do not have to wean off the Toprol - does anyone know if this is true? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I take 50 mg of Toprol daily for HBP.

was on 200mg of Toprol for 7 years. I had all kinds of side effects it was awful till I did some reading on the internet about this drug. I decided to wean myself off this awful drug cut pill in 1/2 took 100 mg for 10 days, cut pill in 1/2 again took 50mg for 10 days, cut pill in 1/2 took 25mg for 10days cut pill in 1/2 took 12.5mg for 10 days stopped pills for 1 week heart started racing took 12.5mg stopped racing heart went another week with no pills racing heart again took 12.5mg stopped racing heart. Am now trying to go as long as possible without pill I am listening to my body and if I need 12.5 mg I take it. This stuff stays in your system for up to 30 days so you need to go at least 30 days with no pills to see if you still have side effects. Don't start this drug you will be sorry. Doctors know if they get you on this stuff they will have a patient for life. I refuse to take any more perscription drugs too many side effects that no one tells you about.

I have been on 50mg Toprol for 9 months now (on 25mg for 3 years before that for HBP) - tried to wean myself and got very sick. Can anyone tell me how long it takes to wean and how to get through it? Thank you

well i'm not one to NOT TRUST my doctor... but he prescribed me toprol yesterday for hypertension HBP..30 yr old male/chef.. cant believe the comments on this site... couldn't be able to deal with one of these side effects never mind all of them...!!! i appreciate everyone honesty and hope weaning off wasn't an issue for you all. anxiety has never been a problem in my life.. nor weight gain.. deep breathes it is!!!!!!! peace out

Hi, I'm a 51 y/o female nurse that started taking Toprol-XL for high blood pressure. I don't like taking meds because of side effects (other blood pressure meds have caused my hair to fall out, fatigue, depression, etc.) so I started out only taking half of the 50 mg tab. I recently upped it up to the whole tab to get my blood pressure a little lower and immediately started having severe headaches and joint pains. I'm going back down to a half tab and wean myself off this crap. I'm taking Magnesium, potassium, and L-Arginine, which all help relax the blood vessels. I was taking a higher dose of magnesium, which causes some diarrhea, when I decided to lower it and increase the dose of Toprol-XL to see how that worked. I'd rather have the diarrhea from the magnesium! At least then I wasn't crying from depression, having bad headaches and hurting all over! I'm losing weight on Weight Watchers, so hopefully I'll get this blood pressure under control. My blood pressure was pretty well under control with the lower dose of Toprol-XL, higher dose of magnesium, and the L-Arginine and potassium. I'm going back to what was working before. I'm also going to talk to my Health and Wellness doctor about a safer replacement for the Toprol-XL.

Male 46 I have been on Toprol - XL for about 1-1/2 years now. I was taking 25mg and I have had all the major side effects listed on this site. depression being the worst. About two months ago without my doctors premission I started cutting the pills in half. Three days ago I stopped taking the pills altogether, I have had some of the worst headaches in my life!! I figure this is just withdrawals from the Toprol. Everyones circumstances are different, however if your doctor is not helping you go find one who will listen! If anyone else has just come off this stuff please let me know you syptoms.

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

PEOPLE, PLEASE DO NOT DISCONTINUE THIS MEDICATION SUDDENLY, IT CAN BE DANGEROUS!!!

I have been reading about this medication here for some time, and I feel concerned when I read about someone deciding to just quit taking it suddenly. I personally intend to quit as soon as I find a doctor with enough knowledge to help me wean off of it in a safe manner. I've been on it for two years, and the side effects have grown worse than my original health problem, so I understand wanting to just up and quit taking it, but after learning the hard way, I've found out it's not so easy.

Do your homework, read and learn about the potential 'rebound effect' and by all means, talk to your doctor before doing something that may cause you to be in danger ( as in having a heart attack)...if you don't believe me, learn for yourself, the information is easily researched.

Blessings, and good luck...

I have been taking toprol xl for approximately 9 mos. It was givien to me for rapid heart beat. My dosage has been doubled twice so that I am on 50 mg. I hate this medicine. I still have some rapid heart beat, I wake up every two hours at night, my legs hurt, and I have gained 20 lbs. I also wonder if it is this medicine that makes me sweat profusely. When I am doing yard work, or anything else in the summer heat, the water just pours off of me. I have never been a heavy sweater and I am out of doors all of the time. I want to get off of this stuff. Can I wean myself off by lowering the dosage a week at a time?

I have had episodes of arrythmia for the past 20 years. I had my second cardio conversion about 10 weeks ago. My doctor prescribed Toprol to control the arrythmia before (25mg) and after my cardio conversion (12.5mg). For the past six weeks I've been experiencing extreme discomfort in my chest from what I though was heartburn or some form of GERD. After reading these posts, I'm convinced it was caused by the Toprol. I've been taking it in the morning and strangely this was when the heartburn was the worst. Reading these posts allowed to put two and two together. Today I skipped the Toprol--and no more heartburn today. I've had no problems with the arrythmia since my cardio conversion. (I also take a low dose (50mg) of flecainide daily.)

I've been on Toprol XL 100 mg for about 18 months with great results as far as lowering my blood pressure. Until the past couple of weeks I didn't realize that the symptoms of major depression, horrible nightmares, memory loss and chronic fatigue along with sleeping day and night were more than likely due to the medicine itself. After along discussion with my doctor, he has started me on a schedule to wean me off this class of drug while watching my blood pressure closely for rebound side effects. And get this.....I've been a nurse for 30 years......please ask questions when your doctor orders a new drug!!!

Sy husband started on Toprol 2 months ago. He is 72 & has had high BP for many years. When the cardiologist thought that he may be having heart problems he immediately changed him from Micardis, which was working fine, to Toprol 25mg. At first it seemed to help his high BP remain more stable, but now he is having other problems. His heart rate is usually in the 50's, he's very tired all the time now & has much more trouble remembering things than before. He's also begun having very vivid nightmares. Three days ago he started having diarrhea too. Also for the first time in 30 years we were unable to make love. He also loved working in the yard in the summer but now the heat is just too much for him. He directly attributes these effects to the toprol since that's the only new medication he has been prescribed in the last year. After reading other posts on this site he has decided to wean himself off of it & go back to his previous BP medication. Thanks to all of you who have posted because now he feels more secure in his idea that these problems are from the Toprol.

Hello to you all. I have been on Toprol XL for 8-10 months. I have "palpitations" which is why I was placed on this med. Also a diagnosis of Mitral Valve Prolapse. My doctor told me that the MVP can trigger the palpitations and that Toprol is the drug of choice. It helped for a few days. I felt like a new person at first. Then the palpitations gradually started to come back. I have gained 10 lbs. I am 50 years old and assumed that my wt gain was menopause. Now I think that is NOT the answer. I am an RN and I intend to wean myself off of the Toprol after reading the messages here! Why do I need to keep taking a medicine that is causing me to get fat and is NOT controlling my symptoms? Good luck to you all.

I have Grave's disease which effects your thyroid. I got radiation therapy for my hyperthyoidism.My numbers are still hyper and I'm taking Topral. I take 25 MG in the morning and 25 Mg at night. I have gained 8 lb's in 3 wk's.If you are familar with hyperthyroid, I should be losing weight.My face and ankles are puffy and my legs are crampy. I'm going to ck into other beta blockers until my thyroid gets regulated.

Let me just say, if you are thinking of starting Toprol then you need to consider this. It works great at lowering your heart rate, but it also with make you gain weight, have anxiety attacks, severe shortness of breath, insomnia, and a low libido. Your doctor's are not going to tell you this and will blame all the side effects on other things. At least that was my experience and what seems to be many other experiences according to this site. I was put on Toprol due to an elevated heart rate (186 beats per minute) that was caused by being severly anemic. Now other than being anemic, I was a completely healthy and fit 29 year-old female without any other heart problems. After being on 100 mg of Toprol for 4 days I would periodically feel a dull pain in my chest and would get extremely pale. On the 6th day, the pain was so bad I went to the emergency room, they told me that it was just an anxiety attack. Up until this point in my life, I had never experienced any sort of anxiety or depression and could not think of anything that would cause it (no stress in life, great marriage, etc.) After the visit to the ER, I decided to reduce my Toprol down to 50 mg a day to see if that helped my problem any. After reducing my meds, I felt 85% better. No chest pains. Well, I'm not one to take medication for long periods of time (I think in the long run they can sometimes cause more harm than help) and since I was only to take the Toprol until my anemia was under control, I decided recently to start to wean myself off (without doctor's consent.) I am currently down to 25 mg a day, which hasn't been easy. I've tried to move down to 12.5 a day, but have trouble sleeping and feel very anxious. I've been on Toprol for 2 months and I have gained 10 pounds (eat like I always have...fruits, veggies, whole wheat and lean meat) and have a low sex drive (never a problem before). I'm too young for this crap.

Off of Toprol
Re: Nov 26th entry: I visited my primary doctor after my cardiologist said my thryoid med was too high and that was the cause of my high BP. My cardio had put me on Toprol and I had some ugly side effects from it. Well, I gave my primary doc the hospital test results of my thyroid and he said, "But this is in the normal range. There's nothing wrong with your thyroid level." Ugh. Makes me question the cardiologist. I told my primary doc about the Toprol for heart palps, etc., and he took me off of it and onto Triamertine (sp?) which is not a beta blocker but a diurectic for high BP. I took 50 MG for a week, and visited my primary doc again. My BP was down to 100/something small. Can't remember. So he cut my dose of BP med in half. I'm still taking the lower dose of thyroid med until my primary doc can retest and get a handle on my true condition. Thyroid med takes up to 6 weeks to take affect, so it's too soon to test.
So now I don't really know what sent me to the ER with the high BP and arythmia - possibly a panic or anxiety attack. I have Xanax now for that, but have only taken it a couple of times. When I tried it, it pretty much made me sleep great, but don't want to become hooked on it.

So, I'm glad I'm off Toprol. I did not like it. I have a feeling my doc will eventually wean me off BP meds, as I'm losing weight, exercising, etc., to that end.

Oh, you definitely don't want to go off Toprol cold turkey. It can cause a heart attack, etc., is what I've read. I'm not a doctor!

I have been on Toprol for BP for the last 3 months, and have noticed regular weight gain despite lots of exercise. I too am going to wean myself off of this Rx and see what happens.

Severe and constant pain, numbness and weakness in my left arm and tingly sensation in my left hands and fingers. Neck and shoulder pain on left side as well.

PCP recommended all sorts of expensive tests MRI, CatScan, Nerve conductance...everything is normal. Decided to take matters into my own hands and I found all this information about Toprol side-effects that sound familiar to my own.

I'm confused as to why my PCP wasn't aware of these side-effects and ordered up all the expensive tests instead of first lessening the dosage???

I decided to slowly wean myself off Toprol 50 to 25 and yesterday was my last day, today the side-effects are much less severe and much less frequent.

If the pain and numbness disappear totally after a few weeks off the Toprol I am going to change PCP's.

Oh well, I guess I have to spend more time exersizing.

I am taking 50mg of toprol every day. Besides the terrible leg cramps I have developed, I am up at least 5 or 6 times a night to go to the bathroom. I am going to wean myself off of them. I need more sleep than i'm getting since I started taking this medicine.

I have been on Toprol XL (25mg) for about a month and a half. It was perscribed because I was getting more frequent bouts of rapid heartbeat from mitral valve prolapse. After taking this drug, the immediate first effect was tiredness. Then after about a week I had more pain in the right calf area of my leg. I had some pain in the leg previous to this, so I didn't think much of it. But it got rapidly worse within a couple weeks. In addition, I started to develop severe pelvic/hip/buttock pain on the right side. I was having trouble getting up from a sitting position, getting in and out of cars, and trouble standing on my feet for more than 5-10 minutes. When I asked the cardiologist about it, saying that these symptoms seemed to coincide with the beginning of taking Toprol, he told me that it sounded like sciatica and had no correlation to the medicine. So I went to a different doctor who perscribed anti-inflamatories and physical therapy. But none of it helped, and, in fact, the symptoms got worse. After about a month and a half of all of this, essentially alot of pain and not being able to walk, I decided to wean myself off of this drug (a week of 1/2 dosages). The pain is virtually gone and I can now stand on my feet and walk again (all within the span of a couple days).

Took 100mg for several years. Began to workout program to drop weight. BP dropped, I began taking 50mg. Lost more weight, BP dropped, I gradually weaned myself off. Day two - off the med, heart rate went from normal 70 to 110 resting. I also developed a bad rash and pimples on my back during the last part of the process. I am back taking 25mg, trying to wean myself off again.

I have gained 15 pounds on 50 mg per day of toprol xl. I exercise very heavily, swim 1 mile 3 to 4 times per week. Hike 3 times per week. It is the only medication I am on and my weight this week alone went up 6 pounds. I am dieting also with no success at all. I am going down to 25 mg per day tomorrow and my dr. is going to wean me off to see if weight goes back down