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Propranolol - from devestating anxiety to calm in 1 day

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b1001
b1001

Hi, I am a 36 year old professional male and for the past 3 months I've been suffering with anxiety attacks. I thought the anxiety feelings of panic was actually brought on by low blood sugar but my blood tests came back fine and at that point I realised my issues were linked to anxiety. I am usually a confident person and only ever experienced anxiety when presenting to large groups at work, basically I could feel my heart racing and had an urgent need to leave the room (flight response), I could hold my ground and get through it but it was the worst feeling in the world. Other than presentations I would usually be 100% confident, I go on dates or even interviews with no anxiety but recently I can get the same anxious feelings by just meeting a friend for dinner or taking a phone call. I have had some issues in my personal life which I think have brought these on and also my work has been very quiet lately so I have been pretty isolated - a "big deal" used to be a work presentation and now its just a meeting or even seeing a friend.

My anxiety could range from feeling uncomfortable and uneasy through to a medium panic attack. During a panic attack I can sit there and function but I feel dreadful and its so difficult to articulate myself, I just feel like running out the room. I could spend the weekend with family and my girlfriend and be fine, then head for dinner the same day, with the same people and feel anxious in the restaurant.

My GP prescribed Propranolol, 40mg to take before anxious situations or twice a day, whichever I felt comfortable with. I had been feeling dreadful that week, had a couple of anxiety attacks and had been extreemly restless and unhappy, my sleep was heavily disturbed too and I couldn't eat. I had lost a stone over the past few months, mainly from loss of appetite and from not drinking (due to this making everything worse the following day).

I took a 40mg tab that evening, 2 hours before going out. Within an hour I felt so relaxed, I literally felt like my worries and anxiety was releasing from my body. That evening I had planned to go to the cinema, the building was packed and there was stress getting a ticket. I had felt anxious about this earlier that day (before taking my first Propranolol) but when I arrived I felt in control. I was chatty to the people behind, we got our tickets and I really enjoyed the film - previously I have felt trapped by being in the cinema around lots of people.

I didn't sleep very well that night but the following day I felt fine, I took a tablet with breakfast and headed to work. Certain situations which would cause my anxiety to rise just didn't phase me all day long, I was proactive to try to provoke situations that could cause me to be anxious and nothing happened. I ended up heading to the shops after work and then to visit family at 7pm, by the evening I could feel that the Propranolol was wearing off and I did feel slightly anxious and it was more difficult to talk to family members.

I still need to test the Propranolol during more stressful situations but so far I have been amazed with how effective this drug is. I still feel a little down but my worrying thoughts do not spiral out of control as they used to. When confronted with a tense situation by body just holds its ground like it used to and I seem to be able to get through anything now. I get a little tingling feeling, as if my body is trying to make me feel anxious, but it just gets no momentum and this then gives me confidence to continue. Propranolol is such an amazing drug.

Side effects wise I have had disturbed sleep and a slight aching round by my kidneys. No sweating, sexual disfunction, irritability etc - everything feels fine. I actually didn't take a tablet last night and slept really well but I did feel anxious for an hour this morning until the tablet kicked in. I think I am going to take it twice daily to have some regularity and make sure I take this early enough for it to kick in before my first meeting each day.

I realise that Propranolol isn't fixing the root issue and I plan to have counciling in the next few weeks (GP is sorting that out). I do think that Propranolol has enabled me to get my life back on track, I can go to work, see friends and lead a normal life whereas just a week ago I was thinking I'd have to give up work and possibly move back in with my parents for them to look after me, that seems crazy now looking back.

I would strongly recommend Propranolol to anyone suffering with anxiety, panic attacks or possibly even to help get through tough presentations or interviews.

That's me story, I will come back and add updates - anyone else had similar experiences?

46 likes, 203 replies

203 Replies

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  • Rock2
    Rock2 b1001

    Posted

    I'll throw my two cents in from Canada. I'm a confident male professional, 49 and work in corporate space. In meetings that I'm running I'm fine. I have done stage acting with no nervousness. I have always been a nervous presenter though as I don't like being center of attention, even though I talk a fair amoung ad hoc in meetings. Socially I'm nervous, too. An introvert with social tendencies. But when speaking...after a few minutes it goes away and I'm actually really great. I get asked to speak a lot which I hate. My issues are anxiety leading up to being put on that kind of spot (for weeks even if I know ahead) and the first few minutes. I know my signs show. My voice shakes and I can't speak more than a few words without taking another deep breath and swallowing. A few times in my life I opened my mouth and almost nothing came out and I had to fake a different problem. That was devastating.

    I don't have depressing thoughts other than the paralyzing fear that my nervousness will show. I have tried Xanax and also drinking on the job to calm my nerves. Both just make me dizzy and ineffective. I read online about beta blockers. Ordered some online and my life has changed.

    If anyone has fears of taking this drug they are crazy (unless you have low resting heart rate, asthma, etc). I had no idea there was such an effective drug out there with so few to no side effects. I have no side effects whatsoever. Best way to describe the feeling is that when you panic you can feel your heart rate rising and for me it's like fear radiates throughout my body like electricity eminating from my chest. With this drug, it's like those sensations are literally blocked and my breath remains normal... that's it. I feel no other changes.

    It helps me not only in those situations but also with the problems with anticipation. So now I take it every day just so that I don't have anticipatory panic. My issues are all about the symptoms; my thoughts are otherwie clear. Because I take this drug regularly with no effects I can lead a normal life without anticipation of fear.

    I weigh about 175 lbs which matters when you discuss dosages. I hear people saying they take 10 or 20 mg and it's great. For me, I feel almost nothing at that dose. My dose starts at 40 and can go as high as 80 depending on circumstances. I finally talked to my doc about my panic and he was great. Agreed propranalol was the way to go. Everything else is useless. Prescribed pills in 20mg doses and just told me to take responsibly what I need and monitor my resting heart rate. If I become dizzy or heart rate drops below 50 measured by myself than I need to back off.  Until then be guided by how I feel. Keep in mind that people take this for other reasons in doses over 160mg at a time so there is a large margin for error. This part may sound morbid but I researched overdosing.  Some people try to kill themselves by overdosing on this drug to stop their heart from beating. Turns out it's very hard to do this as your heart won't stop that easily. You will suffer many other symptoms over a fairly lengthy period of time before you seriously damage yourself. Point is, if you make a mistake and take too much you are likely not in danger and will have time to get to a hospital and be administered something else to reverse affects. I'm a very sensible guy without an addictive personality yet I take this drug fairly liberally. It's worth the clear life change.

    One other note. Over the last 10 years I have invested a lot of time and money in meditation, CBT, hypnotherapy and natural supplements. I approached none expecting a miracle, remained positive and understood it could be months before things start to improve. None of these therapies caused even a 2 percent improvement. Useless. Having said that I do believe in some healing effects of meditation so I will remain committed to that. It can help a little with some mild anxieties but I'm sorry...a panic attack is a speeding train that very little can stop, am I right?

    • jules_1234
      jules_1234 Rock2

      Posted

      Thankyou everyone for sharing your stories. I wish I would have seen these posts a long time ago. I have suffered major anxiety, particularly for the last 1.5 years in my new role as a manager in the corporate sector where I need to present and speak to crowds. Up until this time, I managed to hide from any possibility of being the focus of attention. The feeling I would get would be all the classic symptoms, I would feel sick, faint and want to just dissolve before presenting, in fact I would go over the event constantly for weeks prior to the event and following the event I would be so embarrassed and physically exhausted. I would be in such a state during presentations, that I couldn't really recall what I said during it- this was terrifying as I thought ppl would notice that I wasn't up to the job at hand. I felt like I was going mad, my concentration and almost obsessive thinking about the event. I did go to my doctor 8 months ago who also prescribed me propranolol, but I refused to take it and really thought I could beat this anxiety on my own via meditation, positive thinking, etc. last week I took only 1 10mg tablet and I actually enjoyed my day at work for the first time in a long time. I am really sorry I didn't take them a while back as it would have saved a load of my internal emotional turmoil. To be honest, my anxiety seemed to creep up on me over time and spun out of control without me quite noticing it. I finally feel like I can function normally at work and I feel like I do not have to throw the job in, for the first time I feel like I really have hope to do well in this higher level role. I can't tell you how good this feels.
  • mirror20687
    mirror20687 b1001

    Posted

    im using inderal4o msg tabit for  depression my age is 33 years. doctor prescribe fro me     but using these tabits no some effect on my anxiety and depress
  • ThomasBennett
    ThomasBennett b1001

    Posted

    Hi, I'm on propranolol 10 mg 3 times a day, already tried 20mg 3 times a dat but i can't feel it improvements on my tremors or anxiety
  • Leonela
    Leonela b1001

    Posted

    I just got prescribed 10mg of propanolol 3 times a day for anxiety and I start tomorrow. Thank you for sharing, this really gives me some relief.
  • alison49177
    alison49177 b1001

    Posted

    Wow, I could have written this myself. Every single word. Seriously. Every single word.

    Right now I can't get my dose right. I'm having really bad mornings and improving as the day goes on. How are you now? I hope you get this, I know it's been over a year but your words are very conforting as this is my story too. My dose is 10mg three times a day.

    • jenn21695
      jenn21695 alison49177

      Posted

      Allison,

      I too can totally relate to everyone. I have been suffering from dibiltating panic attacks that seem to occur at 1:00-4:00am. My doctors have been trying to cut my klonopin down for years only to leave me short on mess, more depressed than ever, thinking I am crazy!! I have had to go to the ER 3 times in the past month. Feeling like an idiot.. Embarrassed and questioning my own sanity until this last trip to theER the Dr. God bless him suggested I discuss this with my PCP. I just started and cannot thank you all for sharing.. After a sleepless night I was feeling like .. Here we go again. Another med!! For the first time I feel truly hopeful and dare I say "normal". TY again for sharing. I too am not one to join in on these type of things however I can't help but feel angry at the professionals who just wanted me to BREATH!! Best of luck and God bless.

  • thomas95811
    thomas95811 b1001

    Posted

    I would say I'm in a similar situation to you. Being a confident person who's been hit with anxiety like a train. I was really worried about taking the 40mg pill of Propananol that I'd been prescribed but after reading your piece it gave me the guts to do it - I literally just took at 2 minutes ago and I'm writing this waiting for it to kick in. I hope everything went well with you and you're feeling better now, hopefully I will be too. Thanks!
  • lynsey3148
    lynsey3148 b1001

    Posted

    Thank you.... You have described how I feel and have felt for many years now, I was using alcohol to self medicate which obviously escalated the seriousness of the situation, I have just been prescribed the same and have taken my first tablet an hour ago... I already feel like a weight has been lifted and was here to check whether it was just a placebo or I can have faith in the prescription x I am glad you are doing well x
  • steve11997
    steve11997 b1001

    Posted

    I am a 53 year old professional. In my early thirties, whilst under severe financial pressure, I suffered a similar experience. Proprananol was given to me by a GP and worked as well as described here. I only took them for a few weeks then began a process of taking them less and less. I eventually, after several months, stopped using them, but carried them with me for several years "just in case". I did not experience another panic attack for over 20 years but, again due to exceptional circumstances, have experienced one or two recently. I am going to visit my GP

    and get some more (hopefully). A wonder drug in my view.

  • JmeBoo
    JmeBoo b1001

    Posted

    I have been suffering for absolutely years with a crippling anxiety. I work full time, attend college full time online with exceptional grades, and have three wonderful children; aged 7, 6, and 4. I have been married for 9 years. Everything I have on my plate could easily be a reason for the stress levels in my life but my feelings on it is that if I am not putting in the work to achieve my goals I cannot be upset about my life not eventually turn out the way I would like. We have tried so many different treatments that with my previous psych dr whom I haven't seen in about 4 years they even recommended EST (electro shock therapy). I realize that this works for many but I am too worried about side effect. If there is a side effect I absolutely will get it. My psych recently prescribed me with propranolol 10mg 1-2 tabs up to 3 times a day because I also have hypotension. I was feeling fairly defeated until I saw this post. Now I am excited at the possibility of this working much better than I had hoped. I realize not everyone is the same but hearing even one success story make it seems a little more possible. Thank you.
    • davhill
      davhill JmeBoo

      Posted

      Hi,

      Beta blockers have anxiolytic properties because they tone down the fight/fliight response. Whether or not real danger or a perceived threat is the cause, your f/f mechanism floods your system with (amongst other chemicals) adrenaline. This makes your muscles tense up, and your heart beats faster...you're then ready to battle with or flee from whatever is frightening you. This is why chronic inappropriate anxiety is so physically draining.

      Beta blockers therefore don't work like, say, Valium. The effect is subtle and you'll learn that your fear level reduces simply because the flood of adrenaline is moderated.

      All the best, David

    • jules_1234
      jules_1234 JmeBoo

      Posted

      Hi JmeBoo, I also have 2 young family, work and study and suffer what seems like intolerable bouts of anxiety. My anxiety multiplied due to work circumstances forcing me to be in a position of the spotlight- something I have never really been comfortable with but managed to avoid in the past. Hearing others stories and how propranolol has improved the quality of life for others has also given me hope that I will be able to function and get through those tough days, with a view to slowly ween myself off the medication. It's really easy to suffer in silence with anxiety- which is why forums such as this one are so important. I really hope we can keep the conversations going and continue supporting each other, I feel it forms part of my recovery so thank you everyone.
  • Microchip19
    Microchip19 b1001

    Posted

    Hello everyone.

    Im Ron, 28, Asian. I am taking this PROPRANOLOL (Inderal) 10mg for almost 6 months up to date. It was prescribed by my doctor cause i had my BP 170/120 last December 2015, maybe because i am anxious and nervous that time, i had this phobia everytime i see BP tools and evrytime i am at the hospital. Series of Laboratory trst was done to me, ECG, ultrasound, and blood chem. All results are clear, tho my Heart Rate is 103, 3 points above the normal.

    It all started when i was 24, i got nervous when suddenly i hear some bad news like deaths of relatives etc. i am at the office when i decided to go to clinic because i am experiencing palpitation and feeling like my heart pounds too fast. The attending nurse at our clinic got my BP and its too high, cant remeber what it was, all i can remember was what she said "Sir, you are hypertensive" and i cant believe it because i for myself cant accept that because i was 24 back then, too young to have this kind of HB. Thats where it all started. So after that i went to a doctor and still anxious and nervous because of what i am thinking, and because of anticipating worst thing will happen to me like i might have heart attack or stroke or even collapse. When the doctor got my BP, its too high. So he prescribed AMLODIPINE 5mg and other medicine such as med for sleeping because during that time i also experienced troubles in sleeping.. I took those meds for a week and returned to the doctor after, to cut the story short, the doctor prescribe AMLODIPINE 5mg as my maintence, so i took this AMLODIPINE 5mg for almost 4 years..

    Untill i had this severe fear or anxiety last December 2015, i am experiencing palpitations, light headiness, feeling weak, feeling hot at my back to my neck and ears and other extreme physical pains. These affects my personal life, work and even in socialization. It always triggers everytime i hear bad news, thinking negative thoughts, anticipating worst things will happen.. Some sort of psychological, i even consulted to a psychaitrist and give anti depressant and antipsychotic meds. But before i consulted to the psych i already had a conslutation with a new doctor, that was the story how i got into PROPRANOLOL (Inderal)10mg

    The effect of Inderal is good, i was adviced to take it once a day or even twice if its needed, so far i am taking it once a day only. I feel better now. Tho i am still anxious sometimes but controlable this time. What i am not comftable now is when everytime i am alone especially when going to somewhere. But im trying to get back to oroginal me, confident and cant go somewhere alone and doing speach to the public.

    Above all, what made me really well is tru Faith in God. Surrendering and trusting everything to Him tru Jesus Christ, with Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. Reading the bible and other vocational readings.

    As what in Philippians 4:6-7 says:

    6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

    That would be all, thank you for reading my post. Hope it helps.

    God bless! smile

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