Under dosage of Metoprolol

[HeartyHealthy]

After I had a mild heart attack I had a stent put in and was put on several medications. One of them was Metoprolol.
I was prescribed 50mg once a day by my doctor; but the pharmacy gave me 25mg by mistake. By the time I realized the mistake a month went by. My question is did this under-dosage affect my health in any way and what is my recourse with the pharmacy? Do I have grounds to sue them? Thank you for your guidance.

[Bromley]

OK well I must admit I have not taken this drug with real consistency. It could be that I would acclimate to it if I took it everyday.  I do not  take it everyday.  Also, there are good reasons for doing a lawsuit too; I dont mean to dog anyone who needs to use the legal system to protect themselves or their families.

If you want to read a legal horror story about   the heart rythmn business, you can read Collateral Damage by Dan Walter. I am not on one side of the fence or the other on this particular book, and am sad for what happened. It presents another view point, and is something that we should be aware of.

[tom_h]

Interesting, Bromely.  As I mentioned, I take 75mg. per day and feel nothing.  It takes a little longer for my heart rate to get up to speed when I work out, but that's about it.  My current heart rate is 68.  I DID feel like "S" when I was on 200mg per day.  I felt like a zombie.  That dose level didn't last too long, fortunately.  Before my ablation, 100mg. per day seemed perfectly tolerable to me.  I guess it affects us differently.

[Bromley]

Oh. I find 25 mg of metoprolol to have an overwhelming affect on me. Heart rate drops and i feel absolutely miserable. This might just be my own peculiarity. Or since I dont take it with any consistency, if i ever do take it as prescribed, may be I would start small and acclimate to it for a while. (God I hate that stuff).

[Bromley]

These days the grounds for a law suit seem endless. Hopefully, the basic premise though is that there is some evidence of negligence, and damage. And before this even, a good reason to want to sue someone. As a christian, I try to forgive people for understandable mistakes, and I put more burden on myself to check things. For instance, I make a point to question my diagnoses, even in the face of disagreement with board certified physicians. To me this makes sense, and I would have it no other way. But along with this, I would not dream of suing someone. I want multiple opinions, and like having the flexibility of ensuring the integrity of my information via a process of my own making. If I screw up, I own it.

[tom_h]

Metoprolol comes in two formulations, Metoprolol Tartrate and Metoprolol Succinate.  If you were prescribed the Tartrate variety, 50mg, once a day as you stated, then you were on a beta blocker roller coaster with a steep peak followed by a deep valley.  Metoprolol has a rather short half life of approximately 6 hours, so in 24 hours, 50mg is nearly completely metabolized.  This type should be taken twice a day.  If you took the Tartrate version once a day, then the hills a valleys are smoothed out, so you have a reasonably even dosage in you system throughout the day.  

I can't offer you any legal advice, except "S" happens.  Personally, if you a male of typical size, 50mg of Metoprolol is a rather low dose anyway, so I wouldn't sweat it.  I'm on 75mg as a prophylaxis to cardiac arrhythmia and hypertension and have been as high as 200mg.  Perhaps a "friendly chat" with the pharmacy head would bring about a peace offering of some sort.