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How long will the insomnia last?

Posted , 4 users are following.

lisa24576
lisa24576

Hi Everyone,

I was perscribed 40mg of Propranolol yesterday for anxiety and told I could take up to 3 tablets a day. To be honest, my anxiety symptoms are fairly mild at this point (although are causing issues) and linked to potential hormonal problems and vitamin deficiencies (I believe anyway).

While I am utterly greatful for something to help me function and take the edge off, I do feel the GP has just given me a plaster and sent me packing... whole other rant though!!

Anyway, I feel like my anxiety isn't bad enough to warrent taking more than one tablet a day and I took my first one at around 4pm yesterday. Didn't experience any problems until i tired to go to sleep... it's now midday of the following day and I haven't had even 5 minutes of sleep. Safe to say, I have the insomnia side effect and i'm wondering who else has experienced this and how long it lasts?

The only good thing is the tablet seems to make me feel quite chilled out about the whole experience so thats a plus haha! Of course, I can't really function on no sleep so i've taken 1/2 a tablet this morning (20mg) and hoping someone can advise on when this wears off? Hoping that it's just an initial shock to the system and will wear off in a few days? 

Any feedback much appreciated.

L 

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • aimee03420
    aimee03420 lisa24576

    Posted

    Hi Lisa,

    Insomnia is the worst! I started taking 40mg of P a day about 2 months ago for anxiety and migraines. It has helped enormously. I have some insomnia too, but I recommend taking some excercise. This helps me so much. Also, cutting down on anything like caffeine helps too. I'm a massive coffee drinker so that was hard for me. Also, getting some counselling really helps too. If you have worries, you could even call Samaritans to talk it through, if a counsellor is not an option. I hope you start to feel better soon.

    Kind regards

    Aimee

  • Pam143
    Pam143 lisa24576

    Posted

    Propranolol doses wear off around 4 hours after taking it.  Trouble is, taking it more than 4 hrs before bedtime doesn't always solve the insomnia problem.  It seems, at least with me, that being on it at all, however small the dose, tends to cause insomnia in some people.  Watch out for gastric upsets, too!  Oh, the joys of propranolol!

    Would advise coping on the smallest doses you can.  40mg 3x a day is a very high dose, it seems to be too high a dose for you.  Why not discuss the dose with your GP and ask him or her to prescribe 10mg tablets, then you can take them in much smaller doses without cutting tablets.

    good luck, I hope this settles soon.

  • lisa24576
    lisa24576

    Posted

    Thank you both so much for your replies, I hope you're both doing well and I really appreciate the support!!

    I took your advice Aimee and sacrificed my cups of tea from about 5pm onwards and made a milk & honey drink before bed.

    It seemed that taking 20mg in the morning didn't cause any problems and I managed to sleep fairly well last night. I'm trying 10mg in the morning and 10mg in the afternoon today to see what effect that has tonight. At least I know if the insomnia hits again I have to limit taking it to the morning. 

    Pam, that first night I did had the lovely addition of gastric fun! Doesn't help that I suffer from that anyway even though it's controlled by tablets but safe to say, no sleep threw my digestive body clock right off! 

    I'm so glad I didn't end up taking more than that one 40mg pill though! I'm a bit frustrated that the doctor didn't start me off lower but then again she looked the medication up in her book and perscribed me the standard anxiety dose, even though I told her it was more of a bubbling under the surface symptom. I tend to find pharmacists way more useful than doctors these days. 

     

  • lisa24576
    lisa24576

    Posted

    Just thought i'd update again incase this becomes of use to someone else.. (and Pam143... looks like you were right again!)

    Day 3 of taking P - I took 10mg in the morning and another 10mg at 2pm. By 8pm stomach issues started and at 4am I was still awake but eventually managed to sleep.

    The unfortunate thing is I feel like I would benifit more from taking my dose in the afternoon rather than the morning but my body thinks other wise.

    Worth noting that I take 30mg of lanzaprazole for gastritis daily (have done for quite a few years) and P is massivley upsetting things. I'm going to not take anything today and go speak to the pharmasist because my anxiety is actually a side effect of hormonal/gastritis flare up's so i'm not entirley sure it's right for me but we will see.

     

    • Pam143
      Pam143 lisa24576

      Posted

      It never ceases to amaze me that we all react differently to particular drugs and the doctors seem to think we should all react the same!  In other words, we have to experiment to find what is right for us.  All you are saying rings bells with me.  See what your pharmacist advises but it sounds like you would be better off without the propranolol, if you can manage without it, that is!

      thanks for your update, it is always good to hear how things are turning out!

      Pam

  • ashleigh2488
    ashleigh2488 lisa24576

    Posted

    Hi, I was on Propranolol a few years ago. which caused insomnia. GP has put me on 30mg a day, i had 4 hours sleep last night, couldn't sleep at all today as i was having panic attack symptoms, i am usually ready to sleep by this time 8pm as i take other medication and i dont feel tired at all. Has this issue resolved for you yet?

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