There is an important point that everyone here is missing. I had...

Why is it the docs deny racing heart as a side effect? It galls me that my doc never asked me which one I wanted (generic vs brand), "if" he knew there were problems with the generic brand. I would have paid out of my pocket for the drug. If this is true, that the generic does have problems, I encourage anyone with side effects from the generic to file an online adverse effect report with Medwatch (FDA). You don't have to prove anything....just relay you took the drug and this is what happened.

Well, I agree that it is the generic that is causing the problem, however, when I began having problems shortly after starting the generic my doctor switched me back to Toprol XL. While I had tolerated it just fine for 2 years, I no longer could. The month before the generic incident, I noticed my Toprol XL had changed shape. Didn't think too much about it. The next month when I went to pick up the scrip, the technician said hey we have generic now and it's cheaper. I had always assumed they were same...NOT. He switched me back to the Toprol XL and the pills were identical to the Metoprolol. When I asked my doctor, he told me once the patent wears off, often times the generic maker also makes the brand name. The active ingredients must stay the same, but it seems people are having trouble with the fillers which do NOT have to be the same. The scary thing about this whole mess is that no one seems to know how long these effects last. While most of mine have cleared up, I still have some strange days that never occurred before taking this drug. Prevention magazine, I think the February issue, actually had an article about this very thing. It was about 7 pages and worth reading. (I switched doctors and was actually reading it in the examining room of the new doc I was seeing for a sinus infection. He questioned why I was no longer on Toprol/Metoprolol and I told him what had happened. He looked at me strange and said he doubted the problems stemmed from the med and he had never heard of anything like that before...I was tempted to shove the article at him after going through 6 months of Metoprolol torture and withdrawal) In the article, some people who were switched to generic Welbutrin noticed that they were more depressed or had drastic mood swings which were traced back to the time release part of the pill. The article goes on to say that the generics are not as well tested, if tested at all, because the FDA is short staffed and assume that since the brand name was already tested they don't have to scrutinize the generic as much. I am so feed up, and quite frankly, frightened with medicines, their side effects and the lack of knowledge by doctors and pharmacists who pedal this stuff on us. Bottom line, you know your body and yourself---your are your own advocate!

I have had problems with the generic metoprolol succinate er. My heart is racing and pounding in my chest and i can't sleep and my blood pressure is soaring. I take it for high blood pressure so something is wrong. Icalled pharmacist, he actually got angry with me for implying there could be a problem with the generic. It seems to have a cumulative effect-that is getting worse everytime i take it. I am reporting it to FDA and my doctor is putting me back on brand name.