Metoprolol

CAUTION:
Do not discontinue taking metoprolol without informing your doctor. Suddenly stopping metoprolol may cause chest pain or heart attack. Your doctor will probably decrease your dose slowly.

General Information and Indications:

Metoprolol is used alone or in combination with other medications to treat high blood pressure. It also is used to prevent angina (chest pain) and to treat heart attacks. Extended-release (long-acting) metoprolol also is used in combination with other drugs to treat heart failure. Metoprolol is in a class of medications called beta blockers. It works by slowing the heart rate and relaxing the blood vessels so the heart does not have to pump as hard.
 

Information For Users:

Metoprolol comes as a tablet and an extended-release tablet to take by mouth. The regular tablet is usually taken once or twice a day with meals or immediately after meals. The extended-release tablet is usually taken once a day. To help you remember to take metoprolol, take it around the same time every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label, ask your doctor or pharmacist If you have any questions. Take metoprolol exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your health care provider.
The long-acting tablet may be split. Swallow the whole or half tablets whole; do not chew or crush them.

Your doctor might start you on a low dose of metoprolol and slowly increase your dose.

Metoprolol controls high blood pressure and angina but does not cure them. Extended-release metoprolol controls heart failure but does not cure it. It may take a few weeks before you feel the full benefit of metoprolol. Continue taking metoprolol even if you feel well.
Other uses for this medicine

Metoprolol is also used sometimes to prevent migraine headaches and to treat irregular heartbeat and movement disorders caused by medications for mental illness. Talk to your doctor about the possible risks of using this medication for your condition.

special precautions:

o Inform your doctor or pharmacist if you have allergy to metoprolol or any other medications.
o Inform your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking. Be sure to mention any of the following: fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem); paroxetine (Paxil); propafenone (Rythmol); quinidine (Quinidex); and reserpine (Serpalan, Serpasil, Serpatab). Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects.
o inform your doctor if you are breast-feeding asthma or other lung disease; a slow heart rate; heart or liver disease; diabetes; or an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism).
o Inform your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. If you become pregnant while taking metoprolol, call your doctor.
o if you are having surgery, including dental surgery, Inform your doctor or dentist that you are taking metoprolol.
o you should know that metoprolol may make you drowsy. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this medication affects you.
o remember that alcohol can add to the drowsiness caused by this medication.
o you should know that if you have allergic reactions to different substances, your reactions may be worse while you are using metoprolol, and your allergic reactions may not respond to the usual doses of injectable epinephrine.

Possible Adverse Effects:

Metoprolol may cause adverse effects. Inform your doctor if any of the following symptoms are severe or do not go away:

o lightheadedness or dizziness
o tiredness
o depression
o upset stomach
o dry mouth
o stomach pain
o gas or bloating
o heartburn
o constipation
o skin rash or itching
o cold hands and feet

Some adverse effects could be serious. The following symptoms are uncommon, but if you experience any of them, call your doctor without delay:

o shortness of breath
o wheezing
o swelling of the hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
o unusual weight gain
o fainting
o rapid, pounding, or irregular heartbeat

Possible Symptoms of Overdose:

o dizziness
o fainting
o difficulty swallowing or breathing
o swelling of the hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs

Brand Name(s):

o Lopressor®
o Lopressor® HCT
o Toprol XL®