Question about Toprol XL

[MaryC]

I am not looking for an excuse but a possible explanation. Has anyone noticed difficulty losing weight while on Toprol XL? I was really motivated a few months ago and had started going back to Weight Watchers, trying to get back to my goal weight. I was doing good (down 14 lbs from pre-op weigh in) and then got to a point where I just couldn't lose beyond - which is still around 10 lbs from my goal. During this time I was steadily being increased on the Toprol from 50 MG to now 200 MG/day. I am hopeful, since I had positive results on my echo in June, my cardio will begin dropping me down. But - I was wondering if this med could be part of my struggle.

PS I do remind myself it sure is nice to be worrying about losing weight as opposed to having heart surgery and the issues I was dealing with from the heart surgery!

 

[Cooker]

Hi Mary,

Are you exercising as much? Toprol will keep your heart rate from increasing. When I was on 150mg I was sluggish. I am back to 25mg and that feeling has gone away. I am not aware that the drug it's self will make it harder to drop pounds.

I tell you the older I get the harder it is to lose. I am starting back on South beach or Atkins (short term) today. I have recently quit nicotine and lets say, well as the say in they south "took my comfort"

Good luck!!!!

Tom

 

[OldManEmu]

Beta Blockers

Beta Blockers

Mary, this is one of my favourite subjects. I found weight gain was extremely easy on beta blockers and weight loss very difficult. I was on Toprol XL with a maximum dose of 97 mg and this I also found interfered with my mental alertness and function. Fortunately I was able to discontinue beta blockers 1 year post surgery on my cardios advice. I would ask my cardio, do I still need to be on this, if the heart rate is OK, can I try decreasing the dosage under the cardio's supervision.

 

[halleyg]

Hi Mary,
I was on Toprol XL for three years prior to my first OHS. I was only taking 25 mg and it had my heart rate so low that the last 6 months or so I was only taking half of that (17.5 mg) which is pretty much nothing. One thing I noticed positive on Toprol is that I never got headaches and I get them all the time since going off. I did not experience any problems with weight gain, but that could be b/c of my low dose. I know it slows your heart rate and can make you tired, so it seems possisle that being more tired could cause less activity, therefore weight gain? Or maybe even slow your metabolism, altough I am no doctor, just bringing up some questions for you that you could ask your doctor.

 

[catwoman]

Mary:

Did you read up on Toprol's side effects at www.costco.com or some other website?

John is also taking 200mg of toprol a day (100mg BID). He's lost weight since his surgery. He weighed about 175 the morning of his surgery and is down to about 153-155. He's been walking 2-4, sometimes 5 miles a day. He works at Tarrant County College Northwest Campus, and walks the track there when it's cool, and if it's too hot, he walks through the halls of the various buildings. He weighs less now than when we married 27 years ago. Woo-hoo!! He's always had a problem with weight, based on his childhood photos.
It is easier for men to lose weight than women, though.

I had put on a few pounds in the last 3 months -- still under my Weight Watchers goal -- and I'm sure it was from stress during/after John's surgery and just not paying attention to my eating habits. I'd like to shed about another 4 pounds, and I'm doing it. I've gone back to riding my Trek bike and also walking with John at night.

Sometimes you have to shake up your dietary habits and exercise/activity level.
If you eat the same thing pretty much week after week, change it. Plan several non-meat meals a week that are interesting for everyone or some meals that can be meat or non-meat. I fix fried rice (brown) with just veggies in a non-stick wok (using canola spray), sometimes with just a tenderloin or 2 of chicken, stir-fried veggies. There's a Central Market store on the way home where I can get small quantities of chicken tenderloins/breast or ground bison (buffalo, about 98% FF).

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Mary,

You could probably get an answer to your question TODAY from your Pharmacist. Pharmacist's are a GREAT source of FREE information when it comes to Drugs and Side Effects.

I 'suspect' that Beta Blockers also slow down your metabolism and that may be what's causing your difficulty with weight loss.

IF you and your Cardiologist decide to reduce your dose, remember to do so GRADUALLY.

When I complained about 'grogginess' from taking Toprol to my Cardio, he had me cut my dose in half for 2 weeks which greatly improved my overall energy level. He then had me cut that dose in half for another 2 weeks. No difference. Finally he had me discontinue but symptoms (arrhythmias) came back after 10 days so I went back on the last dose (25 mg XL) which worked quite well.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[MaryC]

Thanks for the responses. I wish I had the problem Marsha's husband has had - with the weight falling off! I have actually increased my level of exercise from what I was doing before the surgery and have started biking riding up to 20 miles at a time. Maybe Tom's right and it's that thing called middle age creeping up on me. Sluggish is a good description of how I feel on Toprol and the Lisinopril.

 

[Bina]

I take 62mg of Metoprolol/day.
In summer, or if I'm nervous, I stay thin, and have trouble to keep weight on.
In winter, with more sitting around, I do put on a couple of pounds (it's good insulation).

 

[aussigal]

I have had the same happen to me...I was gaining weight even when I was being very strict with exercise and diet. (I take 150mg/day). I "googled" metoprolol/weight-gain and was surprised and relieved to find alot of info that confirmed my suspiscions. Beta-blockers do seem to slow down our metabolism as well...so we have to work doubly hard to keep our weight steady and even harder to shift any excess. It took me 6 months to shift 10lbs and NO cheating ., whereas before it would have taken 5 weeks and much much less effort.