Hi,
I've been taking Toprol xl for about a year now due to tachycardia. I started out on 100mg...then went down to 50 and I've been taking 25mg for about 2 weeks. Since taking this med I have had extreme fatigue, muscle weakness, and low bp. My Dr. convinced me I needed to keep taking it because it slowed down my HR a little. A couple weeks ago a different Dr. told me it was fine to stop taking it cold turkey. I was hesitant to do this, but I did drop down to 25mg. I did ok for the first week, but now my hr is back up to 110 most of the time. I had planned on going down to 12.5 mg in a few days, but now I'm not sure if I should. Has anyone else had problems weening off Toprol? Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance- Hilery

I took toprol xl for many yrs, like you, 100 mgs. I did not know i had to wean until i discovered this board. I just abruptly stopped taking it and my bp shot up from 113/70 to 225/106. My dr and my endo was very angry with me. But my reasoning was this, I told them about the severe back ache, muscle weakness and intolernce for exercise. They refused to help me wean, so I just stopped taking it.

It sounds like you did every thing right. Perhaps you might need to continue taking a small dose if you hr is increased. Have you spoken to your dr?

Thanks for your reply. :)

That's interesting that you mentioned back pain...I've had ongoing lower and upper back pain for several weeks now. I never thought about it being related to toprol, but now I wonder. Other symptoms I've had since taking toprol include: arm/hand numbness, can never get enough sleep, dizziness/head pressure, and shortness of breath. My Dr. said these symptoms were due to anxiety. Have you heard of any of these symptoms being side effects of toprol? It would be a miracle if these symptoms stopped once I'm completly off this med. I guess I'll find out. :)

I went to the nih.gov website and it gave a list of side effects. My gp tried to force me to stay on the toprol xl, but like you, i had shortness of breathe, severe bachache and headache. It was so bad i had to go to a neurologist. She actually pulled fluids from my spine.

If you check the nih.gov website, you will see that your symptoms are the ones listed there. Good luck.

I have been completly off toprol for 5 days now and I am very short of breath. My bp is normal and my heart rate is fast, but not too bad. I thought my shortness of breath was caused by toprol, but it's gotten even worse since I stopped taking it. I'm assuming it might be a withdrawal symptom, but how long will this last? jtu...did you get this when you stopped taking toprol?

posted in error

Hilery,

How high was your pulse rate after stopping Toprol? Did your pulse rate return to normal? If so, how long did it take? I just recently stopped taking Toprol per doctor's instructions due to extreme fatigue. I was on 50 mg and tapered to 25mg, then stopped it all together. I had no bad reactions until 15 days later when my pulse increased to the 90s. It had always been in the 70s and low 80s prior to ceasing use. My BP remained normal. Has anyone else had this experience? If so, what did you do to decrease your pulse rate?

Yes Hilery, i did suffer with the shortness of breathe. It lasted quite awhile, about a month or so. I have been off toprol xl for the last and finally time. My dr kept insisting i needed this med, but im now doing just fine without it.Basically, i have stopped all bp med except, verapamil 240mg and hctz 12.5 mgs. I also take an asprin 325mg ecotrin. I am very active and toprol discourage activity.