Beta Blockers
MetoprololMetoprolol Succinate/Tartrate
Metoprolol is a beta blocker used for high blood pressure, angina, heart failure and after a heart attack. It comes as two different products, metoprolol tartrate (immediate release) and metoprolol succinate (extended release), which are not interchangeable at the pharmacy.
This page is general information about a medication and how cash prices for it are set. It is not medical advice and does not replace the label, your prescriber or your pharmacist. How we handle medical information
Both salts are generic. Check that the pharmacy dispensed the salt written on the prescription.
About Metoprolol
Metoprolol slows the heart rate and reduces the force of each beat by blocking the effect of adrenaline on beta-1 receptors in the heart. That lowers blood pressure, reduces the heart’s oxygen demand in angina, and in heart failure reduces the harmful long-term effects of an overactive stress response.
The two salts matter. Metoprolol tartrate (Lopressor and generics) is immediate release, usually taken twice a day, and is the form used for blood pressure, angina and after a heart attack. Metoprolol succinate (Toprol-XL and generics) is a once-daily extended-release tablet and is the form with evidence in heart failure. The same milligram number of the two products is not the same treatment, and a pharmacy will not switch between them without a new prescription.
Beta blockers should not be stopped suddenly after long-term use because rebound fast heart rate and angina can occur. Fatigue, cold hands and slowed heart rate are the common side effects. People with asthma are usually monitored carefully because even a heart-selective beta blocker can affect the airways at higher doses.
Why the cash price for Metoprolol differs from pharmacy to pharmacy
Metoprolol tartrate is a very cheap generic, and its cash price is almost all dispensing fee and margin. Metoprolol succinate costs pharmacies more to buy, and its price has been more volatile because fewer manufacturers make the extended-release tablets; a pharmacy with one supplier will pass on cost swings that a pharmacy with several will not.
Because the two salts are priced so differently, a prescription written for succinate when tartrate would have served the same purpose can cost noticeably more month after month. Only the prescriber can decide which is appropriate, but it is a reasonable question to ask.
Ways to pay less for Metoprolol without insurance
- Ask your prescriber whether the succinate or tartrate form is clinically required for you; for some indications either works and the tartrate form is usually cheaper.
- Ask for a ninety-day prescription once your dose is stable.
- Ask the pharmacy which manufacturer’s succinate tablets it stocks and whether it can order an alternative if the price is high.
- Compare independent and mail-order pharmacies for the extended-release form in particular.
- Upload your prescription to Script Unlock so licensed pharmacies can quote their cash price for the exact salt and strength. You pay the pharmacy directly.
How Script Unlock gets you a cash price for Metoprolol
Prices on this site come from pharmacies responding to a real prescription. We do not publish estimated, average or "typical" prices, because none of those would be your price.
- 1You upload your prescription
A photo of your Metoprolol prescription is enough. Nothing is sold on the site; you are asking pharmacies to quote.
- 2Licensed pharmacies respond
Pharmacies that Script Unlock has verified see the request and each can reply with its own cash price for your exact drug, strength and quantity.
- 3You choose and pay the pharmacy
You compare the responses, pick a pharmacy, and pay that pharmacy directly when you collect. Script Unlock never takes a patient payment and never sets the price.
Questions to ask your pharmacist about Metoprolol
- 1.Is this the tartrate or the succinate form, and is that what my prescription says?
- 2.Can extended-release tablets be split?
- 3.What should I do if my pulse is very slow?
- 4.What happens if I miss a dose or run out?
- 5.Should I take it with food?
Related medications
Sources
Script Unlock is a marketplace that lets licensed pharmacies quote a cash price on your prescription. It does not prescribe, dispense or sell medication, does not process patient payments, and does not give medical advice. Always follow the instructions of your prescriber and pharmacist and read the medication guide supplied with your medicine.