Experiences of low-dose propranolol for panic attacks and health anxiety

[MamaB12]

propranolol?? talk to me people,
good or bad? been prescribed it today only the low dose.
daily panic attacks, i suffer really bad with health anxiety and diagnosing myself every day so it’s been a constant battle for me. also lanzoprazole for acid reflux which decided to start on the weekend apparently my anxiety has caused this? which iv never had reflux before.

Effective, quick acting, very well tolerated (same goes for both drugs actually).

Completely ineffective for me. Works slightly for DH.

Different drugs work differently for different people so the only way to know is try it.

i find it very effective for panic attacks

Works well for DD.

have you taken lanzoprazole before?
i took my first tablet earlier and could feel the relief in my stomach immediately 😂 i could feel it travelling down
it’s been constant reflux in my throat and back

Sorry, should have said that that both were in my experience only. Lanzoprazole was just blissful!

Omeprazole (v similar to lansoprozole) highly effective.

I don't take propranolol but I have various friends and relatives who think it's the bees knees.

I take propanolol for anxiety. Its very good for me. I can actually leave the house

My husband tried it and it made him really nauseous all the time.

Lanzaprozole is highly effective for acid.

i Initially took it for migraines but with the added bonus of helping anxiety. I did have to switch to the slow release version as I found I was waking early hours and having vivid dreams.
once I switched it was great!

I was prescribed the slow release tablet at the start of my treatment for anxiety. It was wonderful 😊 Then the chemists couldn't source the slow release so I have the 'normal' tablets now. 3 a day to begin with, but I felt they made little to no difference.
Then I read about people saying how wonderful it is and a 'game changer,.....
Not for me unfortunately. I was hoping to go on holiday abroad this year but that won't be happening now.

Not sure, I’m on sertraline 50 mg as well so don’t know if good days are because of this. I only take it as needed though not 3 times a day

Reflux can absolutely be caused by anxiety - mine certainly was. And once my anxiety was addressed my reflux reduced - so much so that now coming off omeprazole after 6 months on either that or lansoprazole.

I take propranolol for anxiety and panic attacks. It's great, especially for a racing heart, the shakes, and twitching. It's gotten me through so many stressful times and I'm so so grateful it exists ♥️.

@Vanillalatte01 Can I ask what dosage you take ? And if you take it every day or just when needed ?
Thank you

I have propranolol on prescription too. It was prescribed when I was going through a particularly awful time in my life and I used to take it religiously every day twice a day (or sometimes doubled up on a really bad day)

I have found it really useful and a complete relief. It says that it mainly eases the physical symptoms but I found that by the physical symptoms being eased by it, it made my mind so much better too. Much calmer and able to get through each day without the impending sense of dread and debilitating anxiety which leaves you feeling unable to focus on or enjoy anything .

Maybe it depends on what your symptoms are as they are different for everyone. My main ones were the panic and that awful anxious pit of stomach feeling that stays with you all day. Less catastrophising. It was brilliant for that.

Now life has been less stressful I can get through most days without it but I always have some on hand just in case.

Same, it did nothing for me either. I wish it had.

I really want to go on propranolol for anxiety but I have quite low blood pressure and resting heart rate so not sure if it’d be allowed? Need to discuss with GP!

Proprananol here too - although I miss the 80mg slow release which had me completely fine - now costs too much for the pharmacy to get. So I have to go to 40mg which just about covers the worst of the migraines and means I can go out once a day, which is far better than when I had full blown panic attacks just thinking about leaving the house. I do have to rest when I get in from a long walk though and the heat still plays a part in how far I can go but overall so much better and usually works within 20mins.

I also have low bp but had high heart rate - was fine on the 80mg but now on 40mg goes over 130BPM maybe 4 times a day when I just sit and do nothing. Worth checking and trying a low dose as you can feel so much better if you have the physical side effects and you can take it before a flight or stressful situation rather than being on it all the time.

i started taking it thursday.. i’d say that i can tell a slight difference in my heart rate and panic attacks.. my body physically doesn’t go into panic mode but i can’t stop my thoughts.
also vivid dreams, wow. i mean iv just woken up from a pretty scary dream and my heart was beating out of its chest.. might be a coincidence either the tablet or because im in my 2WW (ttc)😂

If it's low dose and not timed release it will have a half life of about 4 hours so hopefully shouldn't have any dream based side effects unless you take it late in the day.

It's only ever going to have a physical effect but for some people that means that they then have the mental capacity to try and deal with the thoughts, when if you're experiencing physical panic too it can be even more difficult.

Can you still get timed release? I was told by my pharmacy they couldn't get it as the price went up so much and have gone back to very limited daily function on the 40mg instant. I wonder if I asked for a different amount if they would have the slow release and I could take 4 tablets of 20mg or something? Sorry, should ask Dr prob but wondered if other people still have access to it?

I think you should be able to:

https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/propranolol-hydrochloride/medicinal-forms/#modified-release-capsule

If you go down to modified release on here (if I am lucky the link will take you straight there), you can see there are 2 80mg called Bedranol, does look like the original off brand is available but the 80mg are only £5 a box so it shouldn't be a price issue, same on the 160mg.

Then if you look further it looks like there's a manufacturing/import issue with them but that resupply is expected in the next couple of months:

https://cpe.org.uk/our-news/supply-of-unlicensed-propranolol-modified-release-capsules/

It definitely shouldn't be a money issue though.

I would also be tempted to speak to a prescriber/the pharmacist to look into if there was an alternative beta blocker where you could get timed release if you find that more effective for you, but Propranolol is non-selective so that might not be totally straightforward.

This has an alert option for updates:

https://mediwatch.co.uk/shortages/medicine/propranolol

Thank you so much, very helpful information - it is hard to process it all when they suddenly tell you you can't have it, ironically without having a panic attack! I will have a read through, thanks.