Toprol Side Effects

[CNickels77]

I'm a 27 y/o healthy female who has been on 25 mg of toprol for a week and a half now.  Also, I had an AVNRT ablation done on August 6th which has produced some side effects like increased heart rate, dizziness and lightheadedness.  The doctors put me on toprol to mitigate some of those issues.  In any case, I am extremely fatigued to the point that my head feels like it weighs 50 pounds, I have weak spells, lightheadedness and all of that is creating some anxiety.  I've been wondering if this is somehow anxiety but my heart rate isn't racing which is usually a sign of anxiety.  When I am feeling lethargic my heart rate is pretty slow so I am thinking maybe it is the toprol.  

Has anyone had any of these issues?  I'm having trouble focusing and problem solving at work because I am so tired.  Unfortunately I wasn't feeling too hot before the toperol so it is hard to tell what is going on.

Thanks.

[rr2465]

Hey C,  I did not notice that much of a difference in my heart rate.  I was able to exercise, but I found that at the end of a 2 hr bike ride I was really, really tired - I was a vegetable the rest of the day.  I felt like any drive I had to do things was gone.  And I had the same problem falling asleep and lack of concentration at work.  The beta blockers just weren't for me if I wanted to function normally.  I do recall the Dr. telling me that I should take the slow-release beta blocker.  At 25 mg/day (which doesn't seem like that much) I was surprised at the sleepiness factor it had on me.  I know some say that it takes a few weeks for your system to adjust to the beta blockers, but honestly after 1.5 months I didn't feel that I had adjusted to it and i was still having breakthrough SVT's.

[Chriswpw]

Hey Everyone

I hear you on the side effects. I am on Metoprelol, which is the generic of toprol. The first couple of days I was falling a sleep at work. Not a good thing. I called the doc and switched from 50 - 25mg and I now take it in the evening. much better.......

[CNickels77]

Hey there,

Thanks for the info, I switched to taking it at night versus the morning to see if it helped but I think I am even getting more tired as the days go by.  I will have been on the toprol two weeks on Thursday and am not sure if I want to keep up with it.  I'm so tired that I am having trouble concentrating at work and problem solving.  I am still working out 5 days a week but it isn't helping my energy levels much.  I will say that during my workouts it is really keeping my heart rate down.  I took a spin class this weekend and was 20 beats below where I normally would have been.  It hasn't been so dramatic with my resting heart rate.

Did you notice that it really held your heart rate back?  By the way I am 5'4 and 140 lbs so it is good to hear that someone a little larger had a similar reaction.

[rr2465]

Hey C,

I was on 25 mg of metoprolol per day, which did make me very sleepy.  I would take it at night and I would zonk out after about 15 minutes.  As a middle-age athlete (6'0 160 lbs thin), I found that the beta blockers did make me sleepy and dizzy during the day - even as little as 25 mg/day.  To make matters worse, they were not stopping the SVT.  I know its not toprol, but the effects of a beta blocker really did hit me.

[Jerry_NJ]

Toprol is a standard for slowing the HR, but it has the side effects you note, but I doubt a low dose like 25 mg would do that.  I take 100 mg twice a day myself and if forces my blood pressure low enough to require I rise from a sitting position slowly.  When I was taking 50 mg per day I didn't have any side effects that I was aware of.  I am a large person 6'6" and 240 pounds, so I my body may be able to handle larger doses.  Still it does in the amount I'm taking make my have to be careful not to make sudden physical changes.

[rbeans]

It takes your body a few weeks to get used to this drug. I felt the same way the first 2 weeks and now after almost 3 months I have no side affects just the usual tired feeling I get around 3pm. I am on 50mg. Try to see it through.