Has anyone successfully taken beta blockers for anxiety?

[WellObviouslyLeonard]

I have awful phases when my anxiety takes over and I spiral over the course of days and sometimes weeks. My heart thuds and thuds, I'm so sick I can't eat, my bowels get very loose, I pace, I hyperventilate, etc. Very hard to manage and I tend to lose a lot of weight (which I don't want to do). Considering beta blockers as I'm at the start of such a phase. Has anyone had any luck with these for something similar? TIA

They’ve worked wonders for me.
Either taking them 3 times a day or as a crisis dose but a major anxiety attack hits.
No side effects either.

Yes I take long acting propranolol every day and have done for the past 4 or 5 years. It's made a huge difference to my anxiety. Mine was always more physical than mental if you know what I mean, I'd get all the physical symptoms while not really worrying about anything in particular. The beta blocker has stopped all that. I'd definitely recommend them ;)

Thank you @Shadow01 and @IWantToBeNynaeve. This has really heartened me, and I'm making an appointment for today. I'm generally very, very reticent about psychiatric drugs, but this one seems a bit different as it's targeting something specific (which happens to be my main set of issues).
Thanks again.

It really really helped me a few years ago.

It totally removed the physical sensations of anxiety- racing heart, churning in pit of stomach, hand quivers all gone.

This in turn helped enormously with calming and quietening my thoughts.

Your GP will advise but I'd not class this drug as a psychiatric drug (as per your post). It's actually a drug used to help control blood pressure, but one of the side effects is that it can address the physical symptoms of anxiety. Millions upon millions of people take it for their raised blood pressure.....

I had a boyfriend at university who was an incredibly talented musician but started getting increasingly anxious when playing in front of large audiences, his hands would shake and pounding heart and hyperventilating etc which would then interfere with his playing which obviously made him even more anxious that it would happen again. He was prescribed beta blockers to help with the physical symptoms and it was transformative, he could play again.

He was supposed to have some talking therapy to get to the root of what was making him anxious all of a sudden when he never had been before but he never ended up going, to be honest just being able to play again made him more confident and then with practice and some little mantras and habits before going on stage his anxiety lessened and he could stop taking them after a while.

The beta blockers were like a splint or a plaster to help him get rid of the physical symptoms and get him out of that negative spiral of anxiety, it really was amazing to see.

Yes propranolol. It helps a lot for the physical symptoms.

Could it be hyperthyroidism?

They sound wonderful as I have high bp as well as anxiety but heard that slow down your heart beat and my G P said mine is low already.

Yes long lasting ones daily were wonderful. Some cbt on top helped too.

I think I also like them as I'm hypermobile and apparently it can help even out the extra adrenaline that I sometimes have to pump out to get through the day even if nothing anxiety related.

I found they helped me sleep and gave me more energy for some reason.

Yes maybe check thyroid first. They're a common treatment for hyperthyroidism so it's worth ruling it out first!

Propranolol worked wonders for me. Citalopram helped my brain but I struggled with the physical symptoms until I got on propranolol.

Propanolol works pretty quickly. I used to take them as and when needed. For more constant anxiety it's better to take them continually to avoid an up and down effect. There's no withdrawal etc.

*@NeurotrashWarrior

I think I also like them as I'm hypermobile and apparently it can help even out the extra adrenaline that I sometimes have to pump out to get through the day even if nothing anxiety related.*

Can I ask what you mean by this?

I did have to up my dose of thyroxine a tiny bit when taking long term. (By 12.5 a week)

Sorry each day, extra 25 every other day.

Not technical but I've read in a few places that hypermobility has a tendency to anxiety as often you have to be on go fast to keep going if that makes sense? Because there's extra effort needed to keep up with daily life. Possibly! Apparently a lot of people with hyper mobility find beta blockers helpful / are a bit on the anxious side.

I did about 10 years ago they worked brilliant ly really changed my life when I was going through a difficult time I preferred them to anti depressants, speak to your Dr because it's hellish dealing with the physical symptoms.

I'm not making much sense there but I believe there's a link.

It was explained in this and I've seen it mentioned on the hypermobility charity website

www.dynainc.org/docs/hypermobility.pdf

You are making sense when people are anxious or have problems like hypermobility the days can be harder the adrenalin pumps and your anxiety rises and you get the fight or flight response.beta blockers help calm all that down.

Yes that's exactly how it's explained in the link.

Extra highs and lows of adrenaline stimulate the flight or flight pathways.

Then it's a viscous circle!

This also helped a lot; was "prescribed" by a counsellor I was seeing via the nhs.

www.amazon.co.uk/Overcoming-Anxiety-Books-Prescription-Title/dp/1849018782

Just prescribed these today. Really glad to have found something to help with performance anxiety though i'm yet to try them.