Messed around unintentionally with propranolol!
Posted , 6 users are following.
Hi all
I am looking for advice/reassurance after what I believe now to have been misuse of propranolol
I was diagnosed with GAD at the beginning of June and along with an AD I was prescribed Propanolol 10mg to be taken x2 twice a day
I did this but felt awful....which on reflection was prob the anxiety...so stopped taking them after a couple of days but remained on my ADs
Since then I have been back on them at my Docs assurance that they would help with my shaking for around 6 weeks at the above dose with no success for the shakes so Doc upped them last Wednesday to 80mg slow release
I took the 80mg Wed Thurs Fri evening but had upset stomache and no sleep and generally felt awful so Sat decided ....probably foolishly .....but lack of sleep clouded my judgement .......to stop taking them full stop!
its now Monday and today I have woken with heightened anxiety and very weak and shakes legs!
I am aware I have brought this on myself but am now worried what I have done is dangerous??
My bp has always been normal as has my heart rate so that's a good point....yes?
Do you think my uncomfortable self induced withdrawal side effects will subside soon......surely it's best just to continue now with the WD?
Sorry for the long post....and for my stupidity but I am very green as far as meds are concerned ....never had anything like this before!
Thank you for reading
any advice would be gratefully received
0 likes, 18 replies
Mary94063 pamela30172
Posted
My experience is only 4 months, dizziness, mental fog, extreme fatigue, waking up in the middle of the night with legs cramping (withdrawal symptoms as drug wore off), extreme quick weight gain, vertigo, nausea, et al. My doctor was bringing me in every 30 days, and was shocked at the weight gain the last month I was on this.
This drug is not for anxiety! There are better drugs for that condition that don't slow your heart down. Off-label uses may be prevalent, but other avenues should be explored. Sometimes it is as simple as limiting sugar or caffeine intake (not saying this is the cause, but I found excess sugar was causing my heart to pound). Also, sometimes amping up exercise can help. It didn't help me at all.
Wez2025 pamela30172
Posted
I was on them and i kept getting a throbbing pain in my wrist so i stopped them all together , A couple days later out of no where i was sat down i felt 2 sharp stabs in my chest and all of a sudden my heart starting rapidly POUNDING out of my chest like i felt it so much then i rushed to my brother and he said i was pale and he phoned ambulance but by the time they got here whatever had happened had calmed down by they got here , When they got here i was just uncontrolably shaking and they was like what do you want us to do then and i explained then i went to the hospital and they said everything was fine i just need to relax but i don't think they under stood the full story of what happened they just claimed it was anxiety and never really listened but it was the scariest thing i have been through in my life for a week after i was just in bed always feeling like my heart was going to rush again , so scary !
Then i went to the doctors and told them what had happened they checked my heart rate and it was 110 just relaxing so stopping the propranolol like i did is what caused it , They put me back on them along with sertraline and i feel better in ways now , I just keep getting a hard thump of the heart beat every so often and its a little scary but you learn to cope
Sorry about the big mess above i rushed the writing
Never stop propranlol right away without lowering the dosage