AboutBarbara Judge Expertise Outpatient pharmacy and general health. I have recently completed a Pharmceutical Care Certificate Program offered by Purdue University (Spring 1999 completion). I have personal experience dealing with terminally ill persons and their needs, as well as their families` needs. I graduated in 1984 from Pharmacy School and have been a Licensed Pharmacist since then. I have 18 years retail pharmacy experience. Prior to my pharmacy training I have 3 years hospital experience as a Nurse`s Aide.
Expert: Barbara Judge Date: 2/18/2008 Subject: Toprol-XL
Question Hi Barbara,
I'm not certain if you're the right person to ask about this, but hopefully. I'm writing on behalf of my mother.
Mom, who is 52, survived a heart attack in November of 2006. She was placed on a wide array of medications. For the purpose of this question, I'd like to focus on Toprol-XL, which she takes once a day at 50mg.
Mom says she has been experiencing worsening problems with anxiety (despite being on antidepressants and Ativan), she says she doesn't think clearly, and she has a difficult time getting up in the morning. After doing personal research, she's convinced that the Toprol-XL is causing her problems. She's shown me a message board with hundreds of people experiencing the same thing.
Mom has tried to taper off the Toprol-XL before, with a doctor's guidance, by cutting it to 25mg. Both times, she's experienced extreme anxiety. That's actually how she ended up on the antidepressants and Ativan.
From reading, she has learned that others have had the same withdrawal problems, even months after dropping the pill. Some have even said that, despite having suicidal thoughts, their doctors wouldn't believe it was the medication!
Have you heard anything about Toprol-XL producing these effects? If so, is there any way that she can safely get off of it without the dangerous results? She really wants to just get off of it and recover her life.
Thanks,
Jay
Answer While depression has been reported in about 5% of patients taking Toprol XL, anxiety is not usually considered a side effect of the medication. There is one other major thing to consider, the heart attack itself. Many people suffer from depression and anxiety after having a heart attack no matter what medications they are taking. The shock of being in a life threatening situation for probably the first time in their life is often difficult to adjust to. It is easy to blame a single medication and try to get rid of it as the cure for the problem, when in all reality it may or may not be the problem. I would recommend that your mother have a long serious talk with her primary care physician about all her medications, her state of mind, the possibility of finding a support group or heart attack survivors or some other therapy to help her cope with everything she has been going through.
Your may be able to get off Toprol XL with her physician's help, but it would probably mean replacing it with another medication. Toprol lowers blood pressure and corrects certain heart arrhythmia. Not knowing your mother's complete medical history I don't know why it has been prescribed for her. For her to stop taking it on her own could be life threatening. She really needs to work with both her cardiologist and her primary care physician to address the concerns she is having since her heart attack.
