propranolol withdrawal

I. Have been takeing propanolol for three weeks now some days will skip a day becsuse it makes me tired .. i noticed i been really crabby the last few days and tired irritable and depressed is this with draws or a bad reation to the drug

how do you feel now? how was the withdrawal?

I was on 80 mg 1x a day for at least 10 yrs. for migraine & HBP. I started weaning myself off them due to losing medical insurance &

my job. I've been so weak, tired, light headed & horrible stomach pains. I feel like a junkie going thru withdrawals. It's been 2wks. I hope this ends soon & I get my energy back. Best of luck to all going thru this.

Yes I thought I was going crazy I hate this and I am irritated all day to and cry and tired does any one no how long this last I stoped taking it yesterday

well I was on propranolol for 2 months. Every time I lowered the dosage I had withdrawal symptoms and every time after  2 weeks not straight away. I was scared as I didn’t know what is going on. Then I read other stories so it hit me. So I decided to stop the last dosage 40mg as a cold turkey. I had hard 2 weeks every withdrawal symptom you name it I had it. Oh there wasn't one I didn't have any a panic attacks which was weird as I had panic disorder lol. but after 2 weeks I started to feel much better. but it is individual as every person is different. It took me about 2 months to get back to normal. Maybe because I was on really high dosage 40mg 3x per day.

Hi cyn45703... I was on propranolol 120mg a day for 8 months for migraine and they actually worked but I was told to come off them due to several near fainting episodes. Since coming off them I've had the worst few months of my life, extreme anxiety, shaking, heart racing, dizziness, unsteadiness etc. Did your withdrawal symptoms go away in the end? I tapered propranolol down gradually over 6 weeks and have been fully off them for 3 weeks.

Would be great to hear whether the withdrawal goes away!

currently having the same withdrawal symptoms. Extreme dizziness! i always think ill pass out but i never do. I was placed on Propranolol for palpitations which i now tend to think was caused by anxiety. the side effects were terrible.

I went to a&e after one near fainting episode and the doctor told me to quit cold turkey. I visited my gp who advised i wean off gradually. i dropped immediately from 60mg to 20mg daily. Taking one day at a time and hoping this madness ends soon. im trying to supplement with chelated magnesium

Hey Cyn, I know it's been a while, but did experience your heart pounding when you first stopped Propranolol? Like when you stood up or moved around too much? I quit last week and am experiencing a lot of side effects - just wanted some reassurance that it went away for you! Thanks 😃

how are you now? same problem

I am completely recovered now and back to normal now - don't worry about it, it just takes time. 😃

I have been on 80mg for the same things. how did you taper/how long did it take? i am assuming you had the capsules and not tablets like i have -- no way to cut them!

dear martha

i feel for you as i had/having similar problems. i stupidly came off 80mg almost cold turkey. i have had and continue having muscle aches and pains three weeks on. i was very paranoid but thats gotten better after 3 weeks. my head felt as if it had a mind of its own. it felt like tinnitus but slowly thats getting better. i would suggest some magnesium tablets. just hang in there and with time this should get better

Hi i know its been awhile I was taking propanolol at 40 mg daily for a month I stopped it cold turkey ........ im 2 months off it but still feel a little not normal .... how did you recover?

any advise on how to cope with the symptoms? i have been off propranolol for 4 days now my doctor told me to stop taking them as they lowered my heart rate, i have read everywhere that you shouldn't just stop taking them. i was on 80mg 2x daily then lowered to 40mg 3x daily due to HR being at 49bpm. i am really anxious. i am shaking,i feel cold,sick,tired and just worn out. so i'm just looking for tips on how to control these feelings

i stopped it cold turkey and had bad anxiety insomia and panic attacks would wake up at night from adrenaline waves no appetite but soon it got better it took me 3 weeks but after that i developed a low mood feeling going in 2 months i can say i feel better but not quite still

did you feel cold and shaky? i feel a little anxious but that could be the fact i'm constantly thinking about the symptoms? its driving me insane, i know theres no time limit on anxiety/mental health but surely theres some sort of break? i also take 45mg mirtazpine at night-

Sarah, how are you feeling now?

hi,

How are you feeling now it's been some time? Did the withdrawals stop? After how long.

I was only on 40mg twice a day for a month for panic attacks but the side affects we're awful so I stopped taking them. Didn't think the withdrawals would be this bad after only being on them a month but they are awful, I can't function and I'm off work which I only started 6 weeks ago so worried about that too. I had a panic attack last night, managed to calm down with breathing techniques but I'm off my food, got shakes and high heart rate along with other symptoms. Any advice welcome, and if anyone is out the other side with a positive story after withdrawals I'd really like to hear it.

Thanks xx

Dear eleri61377

i was on 160mg of Propranalol by my consultant who should have tried it himself before. I went in as i had concerns about my health and i asked many questions which he found hard to answer and he decided i had anxiety. I have never questioned doctors previously and i blindly took these tablets. A huge mistake. From the moment i took them i had every side effect from muscle twitches, paranoia, sleeplessness ... i reduced down to 80mg pretty much overnight and then after a few weeks went cold Turkey which probably wasn't a wise decision. From being well grounded individual i almost became a junkie and everyone was suggesting CBT therapy. I can understand the symptoms that you are going through and all i can say is that it does get better. It took me the best part of 3 months and i started feeling better and a good 2 months after that and i now feel 95% normal but the first 6 weeks were the hardest and i am not sure what i would suggest to make it easier but just hang in there

hi,

Thank you, nice to know I am not alone. I spoke to the GP today and she didn't think it was withdrawals she thought it was my anxiety in overdrive. She did say that perhaps the dosage was just too high especially as I'd been ok on the one dose of 40mg at the beginning. So she's suggested I cut it down to 10 - 20mg as and when needed which sounds like a good idea so I'm willing to give that a go.

The days aren't too bad I guess, other than lack of appetite and raised heart rate at the slightest movement it's the night times that I struggle and have panic attacks, always has been. I am going to try some magnesium supplements and some Lavender oil to see if natural remedies help.

Eleri61377

It really peeved me off as when i went back to the doctors they said the same thing that it was just anxiety as if i am a raving lunatic and that i was imagining something. This drug on certain people does side effects and they are very real but i am absolutely sure the GPs aren't aware of it. The other thing that happened, you may want to look up is something called "brain zap" which i had lots of.

Its easier for doctors to use a catch all phrase such as anxiety. If you look up brain zap propranalol withdrawals you may find more out and you aren't going crazy. Similar to you the nights were the worst but i do assure you that you will get better.

Thanks. I'll look it up.

I'm a bit torn really because while I believe the GP may have been right and the lower dose of 10mg as and when needed may indeed help or indeed work. I'm now on day 4 of these horrible withdrawals so the other half of me feels like if I start taking any however small a dose I'll be back at square one if you know what I mean?

These past 4 days have been so bad that I'm not sure I want to do that again so I think I'm going to try and continue without them and hope for the best but know that I have the lower dose there if it gets too much. Perhaps because I took the full 80mg dose everyday for a few days is why I feel this way and if I did take 10mg as and when needed I wouldn't have the same affects, I don't know.

I'm having this symptom right now, it's really hard as I try not to get my Heart rate too up or it will stay 80-95 bpm till I fall asleep. I can't exercise for longer than 15 minutes, I can't walk around too much as all these would cause my heart to pound. It's really annoying, this started 3 days after stopping propranolol, was on them for 4 months. It's been a week now and I still get elevated heart rate when I stand up or walk around too much. I know it will pass as I see other people had this symptom too. I will update on how long it took.

Hi Martha,

I know this is an old post, but hoping I may get a reply..

I have felt exactly the same as you after a week of being on 10mg 3x a day. Have cut down to 2 a day and hoping to speak to my dr tomorrow. The depression and nausea comes in waves its horrible and the insomnia too. How long did your withdrawal last? and how did you cut down your dose? 10mg once a day or 5mg twice? and for how long? Many thanks

Hi Celena,

I was put on 20mg twice a day to prevent monthly migraines I started to get about a year ago and after 6 weeks I realized it was causing too many side effects and not really helping. The first two weeks I was so tired I could barely stay awake. But at night I coukdn't stay asleep. I lost motivation and had no energy and when I managed to exercised it was really an effort. I started retaining fluids and gained 5 lbs and started feeling anxiety. My dr said I'd have to weigh the options. So three days ago I decided I would wean off it and am now taking 1 pill a day. After a week I will take 1 pill every other day and so forth till I finish the pills I have.

I have noticed an increase in energy just after the second day and I'm sleeping better. I'm hoping to be back to normal in a few months. Did anyone start getting pimples? I've never had more than an occasional pimple during that time of the month but lately I seem to get whiteheads in different parts of my face. Yeah, this drug is definitely not for me and the cons outweigh the pros.

I hope you are feeling better and were able to get off them without serious symptoms.

Hey how long did the symptoms last?

I was on 10mg propranalol for 1 month. Doctor told me to stop taking it as it lowered my blood pressure. I have stopped taking it four days before. I am experiencing increased heart rate above 100 and shaking of body.

How was your experience?

i know this is an old post, but i am the same as you. was taking 40 mg for about a month, then stopped cold. its been almost 2 weeks and my withdrawal is terrible. my PCP says its not normal and i need to see a cardiologist. my heart races and i feel short of breath. did you have similar symptoms?

did you have heart racing with movement? how long did it take to go away?

how long did it take to recover?

are you ok now?

Hi Eleri

How are you doing now?

How are you doing now? Did the heart rate ever go back to normal? I just took one pill but had vaginal bleeding for two days and increased heart rate (higher than 100) like you. Please respond if you see this message. Been very anxious about this. Thanks so much!