Anxiety and Propanolol - I’m feeling nervous.

[ThornAmongstRoses]

I’ve had a rough 18 months with my health which has now led to me having a diagnosis of anxiety.

I was prescribed Propanolol last week and I still haven’t mustered up the courage to take my first dose.

I’m anxious to take something that may help my anxiety. It’s nonsensical.

I guess I’m scared of side effects, or maybe I’m scared that it won’t make any difference.

Part of me is scared that I need medication for anxiety just to function normally.

Anyone else been in the same boat?

What made you take the leap and take that first tablet?

How are you feeling @Kir5tyTwiggy I've got a doctors telephone appointment on monday I'm going to ask for citalopram as I've had an okish week but my daughter who works on the covid ward at the local hospital has gone back to work after annual leave and my anxiety has gone through the roof again
The propranolol definitely kept a full attack at bay but every other thought and feeling are very much present

OP my biggest side effect was cold hands and feet but the fact snow covered everywhere could also play a part of that I take 20mg morning and night and have done since boxing day I was a bit light headed the 1st couple of days after starting the tablet but tahy soon went away I do find its helping message me anytime

Well done for making the decision @ThornAmongstRoses I felt relief once I'd done that. Day 11 of sertraline here and the nausea has eased, more headachey than usual but I can live with that for a bit.

@ThornAmongstRoses did you take your tablet?
Hope everyone is well

Couldn’t take it last night for various reasons, but I’ve just taken my first one.

I’m feeling a bit nervous and panicky about it

Well done youve made the biggest step
Try not to panic and think about it just relax (hard I know) x

I took it and felt so panicked - I kept thinking it was going to affect my heart, I was going to faint, I had feeling of fear thatI had done something that was going to kill me (this is how my health anxiety presents) and my hands were sweating, I was shaking and I felt really hot. It was awful.

And then about 10-15 minutes later the feelings just suddenly stopped. All the fear simply went away and I felt so calm. It was insane.

I feel like a different person.

It’s like my body won’t let me anxious.

It feels amazing.

So pleased to hear you are feeling good after taking your first tablet.
I take propranolol, one tablet a day and I think it's 120mg modified release? It has been a huge help.

Just checked, it's actually 80mg

I’m only on 10mg twice a day which I guess seems pretty low then for one tablet to actually make a difference?

Maybe it has a placebo effect?

It does work like that, quite quickly!
I will add that for me they stop me sleeping though, if taken too close to bedtime. No idea why! I feel tired, but not able to sleep.

@ThornAmongstRoses I wouldn't say a placebo, more that as yours isn't a modified release you will feel the benefit quite quickly.

Mine is more low level but absolutely constant anxiety with very few anxiety/panic attacks. So this dosage and release works quite well for me at the moment. My advice would be to see how you get on with the dosage you're on and keep checking in with the doctor.
Please don't be afraid to ask for an increase in dosage if you feel it's needed. Just see how you get on

I’m on medication for a chronic condition I have and the worse side effect they give me is insomnia. It’s very, very rare that I fall asleep before midnight no matter how tired I feel. Hopefully these tablets won’t make things even worse on that front

I started taking this yesterday for health anxiety reasons and other anxieties. Am on 40mg a day. Used to take ADs but found they made me very nauseous and twitchy. Will see.

And how are you finding it Monkey? I know it’s early days but did you feel ok after the first dose?

@Monkeytennis97 I'm on 40mg a day I've been prescribed 80mg but seem to be ok at the moment its doesnt take my anxiety away it just stops the effects of the panic attacks depending on what kind of day I've had is to weather I sleep at night or not I've been like this since the beginning of December its becoming a nightmare to deal with I'm thinking to ask the doctor for ADs but after a bad reaction to sertraline I'm so unsure

Felt really chilled out and relaxed for about 4 hours after taking it yesterday but then health anxiety came back sadly after that and then today felt not such a great relief within 30 minutes but generally a little calmer today (still pretty anxious though).

Does the drug work with a cumulative effect and the more often you take it, the more it is in your system and so control the anxiety at a constantly stable level?

Or is the kind of drug where you take it, it does it’s job for a short while and then completely leaves your system taking all the therapeutic effects with it?

@ThornAmongstRoses

Does the drug work with a cumulative effect and the more often you take it, the more it is in your system and so control the anxiety at a constantly stable level?

Or is the kind of drug where you take it, it does it’s job for a short while and then completely leaves your system taking all the therapeutic effects with it?

I was wondering this too.

I honestly have no idea
I've been taking it since boxing day so just over 3 weeks I still get a couple of bad days a week but before the propranolol is was every single day along with 3 or 4 panic attacks a day aswell
I reacted bad to sertraline that's what started all my anxiety off after a few weeks of acute stress
I didnt think i suffered with health anxiety but sadly that's what I seem to of developed through all of this

So. I’ve always thought I had good control of my anxiety but recently it’s become obvious that I don’t. Does something like Prop just stop the anxiety feeling or does it go the other way and make you all gung ho and care free?

I did feel quite care free this evening - it’s so hard to explain.

I even tried to force myself to think about things that would normally make me anxious (just to see if I still would after the tablet) but those thoughts didn’t even bother me. They came to me quickly and left me just as quickly.

Thank you for starting this thread! Well done for taking them, I'm so pleased you've had a good first experience. My dd(17) has been offered propranolol for panic attacks and anxiety but is too scared to take them - sound familiar?! I'm going to let her know she's not alone and see if she'd like to give them a go. Panic attacks are horrible
Good luck!

glee - I’m a 37 year old nurse and it took me about three weeks to build up the courage to take one so it comes as no surprise that a 17 year old would be fearful

Tell her she’s not alone. I won’t tell her not to be scared as I know that won’t make any difference (speaking from experience) to how she feels, but just knowing others are going through the same thing may be of some comfort to her

Thank you xx

For me, the panic attacks were not a daily occurrence but the constant anxiety around simple everyday things was.
Since taking the propranolol I have had very few proper panic attacks (I can think of two occasions in as many years) and although I do still have anxiety it is much reduced

This is a huge improvement compared to where I was a couple of years ago. I know different people get on with different medication but for me it's made a big difference to my life.