My journey to weaning down from metroprolol. So far not so good

I started weaning down metroprolol to 1x/day from 2x/day 50mg. It's my second day today. I wasn't told by my uncle who is our doctor here to do this since he already went abroad to live there permanently. I decided to do this since I really don't want taking meds in the first place and there are already times when my bp will go down as 93/59. I also have these visual disturbances which I'm so worried about since I can't get it checked out due to financial problems, now I have visual snow but not that bad and my vision becomes jumpy at times. I miss the days when I didn't have anxiety.


But right now I'm having some new and old symptoms back like:

my heart will go fast and slow which I can't seem to control like I did before

sweaty palms and heels

my hands are mildy shaking

now I feel like there's sort of adrenaline surging at my back that kinda feels like it's vibrating inside for a long period of time (this is something new that kinda freaks me out)

my bp also often changes unlike before. Like it will be high and after 15 mins it will be lower, after 15 mins it will be higher again.

my heart rate and bp are unstable.

now my bp averages 119/75 to 133/84 for the past few days. Unlike for the last 3 months it doesn't spike as much and remains low (103/62 to 115/72) that I don't have to check my bp too often anymore.


Are these caused by being anxious about weaning down or is it caused by weaning down itself? Since I have anxiety I produce more adrenaline and now I don't have enough beta blocker inside to manage/block them that makes my anxiety high? I just don't feel good right now and feels like I'm getting worse or something, I feel like I'm back when my anxiety is at its peak. Maybe weaning down is a bad idea? Should I go back to 2x/day? I don't want feeling like this because my wife's bday is coming up and I don't want to be a mess and ruin her day. And I don't have any doctors to seek for help.

Post Edited (Jojanxiety) : 7/10/2013 10:03:51 PM (GMT-6)

Oh Joja,

I am sorry that you are going through this confusing time with your weaning...

However, I can't give you any medical advice, as only a doctor can give you safe advice in what your next move should be.

I can only urge you to either get ahold of your prescribing doctor (your uncle) or to call a get advice from a local medical professional.

I don't know how the weaning of this drug could affect you, so I really hope that you can get in touch with someone who can help you soon.

Keep us posted, okay?

S.C.

Thank you so guys for being there!!! It's hard to contact my uncle cause he seldom goes to the internet, but I'll still try to ask him about it. I'll observe for the next few days how bad it can be then if I can't take it I think I'll just go back to 2x/day (50mg/2x = 100mg/day). I'm just patiently waiting to save enough money to rule out all my other worries by getting myself thoroughly checked up and ask doctors for help. It's hard to put all of my worries aside since I'm not diagnosed with anything yet and still no words from any doctor saying I'm perfectly fine and healthy. This is really the place to be for me because I'm really feeling bad right now then after I read your replies it gave me the relief i needed and made me feel better, calm and comfortable. I don't plan on going "cold turkey" with this because the outcome can be worst. The other day I'm thinking if i'm just going to split my med in half and take it 2x/day but thought that I'll not be able to split 50mg to 25mg evenly/perfectly so I just decided to take it once per day. I know it's bad to act without dr's support but I don't like this med. I'll see how bad it goes from here. Again thanks for all your support!

Wish you well my HW family! Hope you all feel better!

Thanks for the tip Larry! Sleep well! Right now I'm taking it at 12pm so that I'll have protection when I'm awake and anxious. I'll try what you suggested if things don't go well. I'm increasing garlic in my diet, I've heard it helps a lot in blood circulation and pressure.

Fish oil and garlic are both great! If you're looking for benefits from garlic, you need the fresh stuff, from a bulb, not the dried seasoning. You probably already know that, but thought I'd point it out just in case. :)

Yeah, I wouldn't split the pill without knowing for sure that it's okay to do that. Some pills aren't made in a way that they're safe to split.

I wonder if a pharmacist might be able to help you with some of your questions?

I hope you find a way to see a doctor soon!

Joja,

I hope that you are feeling better today, and less anxious about this.

I had a thought...now I still have to recommend talking with a medical professional...but since you are monitoring your BP anyway...

I am wondering if your BP will stabilize on its own after some time of getting used to the new dose of meds.

You are probably in a temorary fluxuating state since you made a change...not to mention anxious and anticipating changes, right?

Keep up with your healthy habits and anxiety coping skills, keep monitoring and talk to a doctor when you can. :)

Keep us updated.

S.C.

Jo,

Great job on calmly observing things. You are being careful to monitor yourself without going into panic mode, and that is good.

I hope that you and your wife had a good day yesterday, and that she enjoyed her birthday celebration.;)

Keep up the good work!

S.C.

Day 10:

I can't stop myself from crying right now. I'm a guy 27 y/o. Now posting an emotional stuff. I can't sleep and my wife's not with me right now she went to her mother's house till Sunday. I want to sleep but my BP is a mess! When it's spiking I can feel my bad tooth ache so bad! When I lie down, my head starts to feel heavy and mildly hurts, bad tooth aches, I can feel the pressure build up, I can feel my inner tremors it's hard to ignore and I can also feel my blood pumping in my back, neck and head, one side of my neck hurts!! when I stand up the heaviness subsides along with the pains. My bp could be 120/81 and after 30mins it will be 140/96 and after 30mins it will be 119/78 and after 30mins again it will be 138/95. I'm tired feeling this way and some people like my mom doesn't understand how hard it is to be dealing with these kind of things. Breathing exercises and making myself calm doesn't help me get sleep and doesn't help get rid of these health symptoms! I hate to have these health issues I'm having and I hate that some new ones arise! It feels like it's not going to end! It's hard to give hope to other people when at this point I'm starting to lose mine. All I say to them will be meaningless.

To tell the truth I hate this negativity I'm having right now and I don't want to give up life's battle but at the same time it feels like life is going to end soon. I don't want to give up in this battle on weaning down on this med by getting back on a higher dosage in a day. I want to exercise without the restriction from this med so I'll be able to lower down and stabilize my bp naturally. It's also hard to smile and have positive emotions under this med. I heard this med can cause you to feel more depressed and emotionally numb.

Joja, put the blood pressure monoter away, you do not need it your blood pressure even when you
think its high is not dangerous, mine runs about 145/85 on a good day, my Mothers was 170/90 most of Her life, she lived to be 88 and didnot die from a stroke or HA. Your obcessing over the readings and its stealing your happiness. God has a plan for you allow yourself to expierence this Love and stop sabotageing your self. "for high blood pressure to cause harm you would need for it to
stay high for more than 30-40 years once you get to exerciseing and eating well your system will adjust. As far as the feelings of heavy head and pulsing I do that all the time, when you take any kind of BP med your valves stay open when you lay down you feel it in your head more when your up you notice the difference, but its not harmful. until you settle down prop up with pillows and sleep! Beneadryl will not hurt you and it will give you rest. 1 or 2 at bed time! Peace
Larry ***