Propanol withdrawal symptoms

[Peabody25]

Has anyone had withdrawal symptoms while coming off propranolol?

I've been on 120mg taken in 3 doses a day, since beginning of June, along with 10mg of citalopram and by the middle of August was feeling like 99% normal and back to myself bar the odd panicky moment which I could deal with.

My gp didn't want me to stay on betablockers long term, and said to start to withdraw them. I've been reducing by one a week so that since last Friday I've not taken any at all.

I've found that my anxiety's steadily been getting worse though. I've had tightness in my chest, general feeling of panic, a head ache and the mental side effects are worse as a result.

Is this likely to be withdrawal effects of the propranolol?

No not from such a short period of time. More likely that it's the anxiety that they were controlling, steadily getting worse again.

I was wondering if that was the case but thought it'd only be the physical effects that seemed worse, and the citalopram would control the mental side?

The Propranolol was reducing the symptoms of anxiety, reducing the fight or flight panicky sensations you mention, and reducing the physical symptoms of anxiety (which feed into the emotional and cognitive symptoms of anxiety, and vice versa).

My gut feeling is that you've come off Propranolol too quickly and too soon. You say that you were 99% back to yourself - could be that the Propranolol was helping to facilitate that. Not sure what your doctors reasons are - Propranolol is a fairly innocuous medication that most GPS aren't reluctant to either initially prescribe or continue to prescribe.

If it was me I wouldn't be thinking of reducing the Propranolol unless the conditions which allowed anxiety to manifest and flourished were reduced, be that through the use of talking therapy, increased support structures, reduced environmental stresses etc.

Not with propranalol but Citalopram did for me! Just some shaking and anxiety. Good luck OP

I stopped Propanalol completely in one go when I found out I was pregnant. I didn’t have any withdrawal symptoms.
I would probably agree that the root of your anxiety probably needs to be addressed. The right talk therapy can be amazing and was absolutely what worked for me. The drugs just helped control the physical symptoms whilst the therapy worked on the triggers. I guess I just didn’t need the drugs any more.
Also, I’m not sure why you’ve been advised to stop taking them so soon. As someone said, they’re fairly ‘gentle’ drugs. Maybe go back to your gp and discuss options. Good luck, OP

Thanks all. I've had some counselling through work that helped me put some strategies in place for when I'm feeling anxious, I just don't know why I'm anxious now.

The anxiety started completely out of the blue at the beginning of June, and my gp put it down to a couple of things.

One being due to lots of different medication for vertigo in a short space of time. I'd had vertigo for nearly 3 months so they tried different medications, one after the other, to find the root cause of it, then I went straight onto anxiety medication - diazepam, then beta blockers and citalopram.

The other reason he put down was me being more anxious about my vertigo than I realised as I wear hearing aids, and do worry about anything affecting my head/ ears.

Both those reasons make complete sense, but the vertigo has been gone for a while now and the only medication I'm on is citalopram and beta blockers till last Friday.

I'm doing mindfulness, reading lots, writing positive thoughts, relaxation cds, and still doing everything I would normally, like going to work, going out etc, I just have a panicky/ jittery feeling a lot of the time and occasionally like I'm gasping for breath along with the what ifs like what if I still feel like this tomorrow, what if I'm getting worse etc.

Managed to get a doctors appointment for this morning, and he said to go back on the propranolol for the time being. I'm starting off at one a day again and seeing how I go.

Just to add to the good advice but 10mg of Citalopram is not a therapeutic dose. If you're weaning of propranolol then the other needs to compensate for a time. 20mg is the lowest therapeutic dose unless you are very sensitive to seratonin.

I've been on 80mg slow release, one a day, propanolol capsules for just over three months along with escitalopram.
I haven't had anxiety for a while and want to come off the propanolol because of side effects, always tired, skin trickling, headaches etc.
The doctor suggested I stop them and and take the propanolol tablets, 40mg twice a day but I started with 40mg in the morning and 20mg evening.
First day was fine, second day I felt a bit odd and today I feel a bit down/off and have a headache.
Not sure what to do. The pharmacist told me it should only take a few weeks to get off them completely. He said they don't stop anxiety, they just ease the symptoms so if I felt anxious I may have to stay on them or cut down more slowly.