Why am I having this reaction again?

HI everyone,

   I swear, I have the weirdest body around.   This is the second time that I am trying to wean off my Toprol.  It's a beta blocker.  I've been on it for over 5 years, and my BP is fine and I want to get off it, to see if it's causing me alot of my thinking problems, and fatigue.

   But dang.......just by shaving a small portion of the side of the tablet off, I'm having horrible symptoms again.  I tried this awhile back, and the exact same thing happened.  I know if I told my doc, he'd just smile and shrug his shoulders.

    I have a horrible flare-up of my IBS.   I swell up like a balloon if I eat anything, and I burp and burp and burp.  I feel like there's constant activity in my upper GI tract/chest.  The worst symptom is that I feel so incredibly full in my chest and neck, that I feel like I'm suffocating.

   This is the second time it's happened, when trying to come down on my beta blocker.  It happened exactly on the 5th day after decreasing the dose.

    This just doesn't make sense to me.   I've been doing alot of internet searches, and it looks like there are beta-adrenergic receptors in our pancreas and in our GI tracks.......so maybe these receptors are just coming back to life.   It's driving me crazy.  It's a horrible feeling.  And my stools have turned light yellow.  Something is going crazy in there.

   I bought some digestive enzymes today.  I doubt they will help, but I'll give them a try.  I also bought some ginger.    I really want to work through this, and not be scared into going back on the beta blocker.  

I have the feeling that no one else on earth would have this reaction.  Why me???

   Any suggestions?  Thanks.

Hi Keriamon,
You've come up with a good possibility! I've had my gallbladder checked in the past (ultrasound). I don't know why docs can't except that you can have a functional problem there without stones....

I'm planning on having DH check my BP tonight when he gets home. I really doubt that it's up. It was normal a week ago......but I'll check again. I plan on checking it all throughout my weaning off the Toprol.
I really think you're right in that the beta blocker has been treating something I didn't even know I had a problem with. It's so weird.......I was doing fine on the beta blocker. I just felt it was time to see if I didn't need it anymore.........but after 4 days of just shaving about 1/6th of the pill off, I have this horrible GI problem, feelings of hypoglycemia, feelings of faintness, and a few others. All of this symptoms I had before the beta blocker, but went away with it.
I hate to think that I might always need this medicine......but it's nice to know there's something that can help. But it's the fatigue and brainlessness that are side-effects of the beta blocker that I could do without.
sometimes I wonder if I get a huge reaction in my GI tract that causes some swelling, that maybe presses on some blood vessels or some lymph vessels.....and maybe that's what gives me this horrible feeling in my upper chest and neck.??
Here's an idea........maybe I have too many beta-adrenergic receptors all through my body, in wrong places, and they've been put to sleep on the Toprol.........and now they're all waking up and screaming!!
ACK! I better get a better deal in my next life!!
Thanks Keriamon!

THanks Keriamon!

Hi, I am on a beta blocker and it is basically for irregular heart beat. I have never thought of going off of it. But you should ask you doctor about the affects you might expect when going off of it. Because of the beta blocker I no longer have heart palpitations which I never realized could result in death. Ask your doctor for the risks of going off of it.