Trouble with Toprol XL

[stars13]

First of all let me say how much i value the advice i read on this board. I am so glad i found this site.

I am not as educated about all the different bp meds as you all seem to be. I realize now i should be.

I am 57, 5'7",and weigh about 183. I have been fighting bp for about 8 years now. I have problems it seems with most meds. I have been on so many i can't remember them all. started out on acupril which gave me a cough. have been on hyzaar and diovan which after a while gave me horrible chest and left arm pains. Also have had problems with lipitor and zocor.

I had been on benicar hct 40/25 and dynacirc 5mg and lescol xl 80mg for about 1 1/2 years when i started again to have problems. Lower back, legs, feet and ankle pain. I could hardly walk. And also anxiety which i never had till last summer. He first took me off of the lescol. didn't help. took me off the dynacirc also. felt relief almost immediatly but in a few weeks bp went up . he put me back on dynacirc. problems started again. so about a month ago he gave me toprel xl 25 which i was very afraid to try. but when my bp kept rising i finally did take it. I felt fine for a few weeks, then bp started spiking again. 210/110 He then raised the torpol to50mg. i was doing well. Went to see him last Tuesday, felt fine, bp was 140/80 in office which is good for me. He told me to come back in 6 months. Fine. Then on Thursday, bang, i felt soooooo tired and out of it. My back has started to slightly ache again. bp spiked to 177/99 in mid am. I just drug myself around all day finally taking a xanax, but even after bp came down by noon i felt lousy all day. couldn't wait to go to bed. Same thing happened yesterday. I walked around like an anxious zombie. It was awful. So today i took the benicar and since i have 25mg toprel tabs i took 1 and a half tabs. It's only 9:50 but so far i feel somewhat better. Still not tip top, a little queasy, but maybe that's nerves, i don't know. I don't like to take xanax every day.

What do yu think? wouldnt you think that if i was going to get so tired from this med it would have happened right away, not weeks later. The paper i have that came with toprel said that tiredness would leave in a few days after initally takeing it{ or words to that effect]. Do you think taking 1/4 less could make me feel this much better, at least i can think today. i don't feel so catatonic.

I'm so tired of fighting with these meds. I don't know anyone else who has trouble like this in my cirle of friends and family. I think they all think i'm nuts. sometimes so do i.

I'm sorry this is sooo long. I would appreciate any input, as i said before, i truly value your advise and help.

[lane413]

My mom took toprol xl for about three or four yrs along with 3 other bp meds. She often complained about being tired and bad dreams. Toprol xl is a bet blocker. My mom also had severe lower back pain. she also actually lost sight in her left eye.

once she stopped the toprol xl her eyes were better. toprol xl can't be stopped abruptly, it must be weaned.

I hope somebody on this board can post a reply for you that will help.

[stars13]

Thanks lane for your reply. I know others have had problems with this drug, i've read about some on the board. I didn't know anything about damaging your eyesight. is that why they took your mom off of it. I just don't know whether to call my dr on monday and say i want another change or give it awhile and see if the tiredness goes away. I really can't function like this.

[stars13]

I think i'm becoming obsessed with blood pressure. The first thing i think of when i awake is taking the meds and already worrying about how they will make me feel.

It's terrible, i worry about what to eat, drink, and when to do it. I'm driving myself crazy. I'm nauseated half of the day. I'm so full of anxiety over all of this plus other aspects of life but i'm afraid to become addicted to anxiety pills. I have xanax .25 mg and have been taking 1/2 the last few days.

When my dr. gave me the toprel i told him i heard awful stories about this drug and anxiety/depression and he told me not to worry. That in fact this drug is used for anxiety .

Although i'm sure the back pain, tiredness, dull neck pain and kind of a funny feeling in my face is all from the toprel, i'm wondering if the anxiety is causing other things like pounding heart sometimes, and shortness of breath sometimes . And i'm also wondering if this will go away in say a week or two. Anyone have this happen?

As i said, yesterday i cut the dosage by 1/4 and felt somewhat better. i took the same dosage today. bp was pretty good all day. Always highest in mid morning which was 146/92. by 11:30 it was down to 125/78. That's takeing it the way Lenin said to do it by taking 3 readings and eliminating the high and low numbers.

I have read on the board where many people take xanax regularly for bp. My question is when do you take it? At the same time as you take bp meds or later? Does it really make a difference ?

Does anyone ever feel normal again after bp meds?

one last thing, today i ate a piece of bread before takeing pills. i thought that might help with the queasiness. i usually took them on an empty stomach. i'll try anything.

[Lenin]

stars,

Yes, Toprol can be exhausting weeks after it's started.

LEt's go back to Square ONE and try nothing except hydrochlorothiazide 50 mg. THat's what your doctor should have started with but the profit return to the pharmaceutcal companies is tiny and it's discouraged.

What are you taking now, if anything, for cholesterol control since you stopped the Leschol and Lipitor?