Need advice on stopping toprol - High & Low Blood Pressure Message Board

hilery79 · 08-24-2004, 02:19 PM

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

jtu91952 · 08-24-2004, 02:35 PM

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?

hilery79 · 08-24-2004, 07:25 PM

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.

jtu91952 · 08-25-2004, 08:59 AM

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.

hilery79 · 09-02-2004, 10:13 AM

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?