Propranolol withdrawal - fast heart rate with minimal exertion?

Hi Tricia, thanks for answering! Sorry to hear you're still experiencing symptoms after 3 weeks, I hope things get better for you. Did you ever experience diaphragm spasms/flutters or esopheageal/throat spasms? Also, has your heart rate calmed down? I seem to have some good days and then it all hits me again like a brick.

i have good and bad days too. i never had diaphragm or throat spasms, but did have tightness in my chest. that has gotten better. still have some racing heart. its definitely calmed down overall, but i still feel it sometimes. there are times i still can't stay standing up too long to do something, but other times i seem okay again. i was getting these hot and cold sensations and sweating too. i mostly only get that lying down now. its awful, but i'm finding all of it more tolerable now especially because it hasn't hurt me and it all seems to be improving with time.

I seem to be doing better in the latter half of the days lately.Still not doing well in the mornings. Have you felt that way at all? also have you taken your blood pressure? mine drops when i stand up.

Yes I feel worse in the mornings and during hot weather, my heart races as soon as I get up in the morning between 120-150bpm and usually slightly settles by the evening. I hope this goes away for us both soon. It has been 7 days for me now. I am still experiencing spasms in my throat/neck, blurry vision in my left eye when I wake up as well as chest pain and breathlessness. It feels like I have a million different health issues!

I know. I feel the same way. I really believe it will all go away though. i'm just not sure how much longer it will take. another problem is that i wasn't eating well at all on the propranolol. I have low iron now and probably other deficiencies as well, which i'm sure is not helping. i've started taking iron, magnesium, and a multi every day. you may want to get checked.

Same here, I lost 7 pounds of weight in a couple of weeks whilst on propranolol. Completely lost my appetite but I am getting better now. I had blood tests on Friday so hopefully I get the results back soon. Glad we're keeping in touch, it keeps me sane knowing there is someone else going through the same thing!

I'm glad we're keeping in touch also. I had my first really good day today! I actually felt like a normal, functional person again. i'm not sure if it's because I'm at the 3 week mark or if it's the supplements, but it was a big change- basically overnight. i was able to stay standing without my heart racing and actually get stuff done. Did you get your blood test results back? I think the iron supplements might be starting to help me. Also I added coq10 and fish oil to what i'm taking daily. hopefully the better days continue! Anyway, I was on a higher dose of propranolol than you were, so you may start to feel better again even sooner. hang in there... it actually gets better ❣

I'm so glad to hear that you're feeling better. I'd say I'm about 80% better too, I still get a racing heart when doing things and diaphragm spasms but I personally think that might be because I'm stressed out from all these symptoms too. Hopefully it goes away soon. I'm still waiting on my test results, I think it takes about a week.

sadly today was not as good and palpitations and flushing were back in the first half of the day. i really don't get it. hopefully you are continuing to feel better.

I had a bad day yesterday too. After dinner my entire body was aching, weak and tingling and my heart was racing 150bpm just from walking up the stairs. My diaphragm spasms are restricting my breathing and causing me to become wheezy. It's day 9 now and I just want to know when this will get better for the both of us.

this is a nightmare. the reactions that we are both having are known withdrawal effects from stopping beta blockers, but doctors don't seem aware that this can happen after stopping low dose propranolol for a short period of time. it obviously can. i just hope we both fully recover soon.

how are you doing today?

not good. i'm getting really worried again. my heart is not racing as much during the day, but it is still racing while i'm sleeping. And I don't feel well when I stand because my blood pressure drops when I stand. it's been over 3 weeks now. if you have a way to take your blood pressure, do it sitting and then again immediately after while standing. The drop in bp can cause increased heart rate, but it's not normal.

how are you feeling today? better i hope.

seems like i'm finally starting to see big improvements at the 4 week mark. still some more mild symptoms, but overall the last few days have been much better. how are you?

Hey Tricia, I'm so glad to hear you're doing better!! Sorry I've been inactive as I haven't been doing very well. Has your heart racing improved? What other symptoms did you have that have gone away?

really sorry that you're not feeling well.

i had 3 good days in a row and then today not so great again. starting to feel like maybe i shouldn't post when i improve.

anyway, I seem to go days now without much racing heart. seems largely better during the night too. i was sweating a lot the first couple of weeks. this has also largely stopped/improved. i'm still getting some flushing and the bp changes.

i had a normal ekg yesterday and had more bloodwork done. did you get your results?

oh also had scary tightness in chest in the beginning which has gone away.

Really hope you're starting to feel a little better! Post when you can.

Hey Tricia, still the same. Heart racing doesn't seem to be settling. How are things for you? How many weeks has it been?

It’s been almost 5 weeks for me. Hang in there. It will improve. It takes a while. Also try the salt water (1 gram sodium chloride dissolved in water 2-3x per day) as long as your bp is not high. Sip it when your heart is racing. I find it helps. You can buy the tablets in the pharmacy.

thanks. has the heart racing improved for you? today it seems to just race with any movement, even moving on the sofa. I spoke to some people on a fb group that said it took around 6 weeks for theirs to settle. I had a 24 hour heart monitor so will see if there is any underlying issue. hopefully you get better soon as you are almost at 6 weeks.

Hi Yazmin. Yes, the heart racing has improved. the first few weeks are the hardest. good to know about the 6 week mark. ❤

i'm glad to hear that. It just feels like it'll never go away for me sometimes, also still experiencing head tremors and muscle spasms which are so annoying. I feel like it's caused breathing difficulties too.

how long has it been for you now? i still feel like I am much too tired.

sorry to hear. It's been 3 weeks for me now x

hi yazmin. have the heart racing and other symptoms improved at all yet? it will just take time. you will definitely improve. hopefully you are not left with this ridiculous level of fatigue that I have these days. did you get your blood test results?

no, my heart still racing with even the tiniest movement such as changing positions or standing up. walking up stairs is the worst. my blood test results showed a mild folate deficiency and nothing else. hope you're doing better, sorry about the fatigue.

oh no! i'm so sorry to hear that. maybe the folate deficiency is contributing to the terrible withdrawal symptoms? I think low iron has made my withdrawal much worse. try to keep a positive attitude... I know it must be hard, but you will improve.

I notice my muscle cramps improve when I take the supplements, so probably. My GP has given me steroid inhalers for my breathing issues as they suspect my childhood asthma may have come back, and I suspect propranolol played a part in this as people with asthma aren't supposed to take it. Hope you're doing better!

yeah i had some wheezing on it too. i read that folate deficits can cause breathlessness, so maybe the combination of low folate and the propranolol withdrawal was a bad combo. lets hope the supplements fix everything. what a nightmare. hopefully we're both on the mend.

hope you are doing better today.

thanks! doing a lot better than 6 weeks ago, but still have some issues. you?

Hi Tricia, seem to have good days and bad days. I was doing ok before I got my period but now everything seems to have got a lot worse and my heart rate is higher than before. How are you doing?

you know I think my overall condition got worse again after my period too.i don't think watching my heart rate on the watch is helping me.

same here. does your HR stay elevated when walking or does it settle?

It stays elevated and actually gets worse if I stay still.

how are you?

not great. suffering a lot with health anxiety in particular. going to stay off this site as it is not helping. hope you get well soon, take care.

i'm sorry yazmin. i hope you get well. i really wish we coukd stay in touch, but i understand.

Sorry to chime in but I am also weaning off propranolol and have some similar withdrawal effects like you guys. I have been taking it for more than 3 months now. GP prescribe it to me for heart palpitations ( i was having insomnia and stomach problem at that time ). Like yazmin my hr in the morning is also elevated. It is fine when i first wake up(around 75-80) and open my eyes, but as soon as i turn to get out of bed it when up to 95-100. My hr even went up to 120-130 when i brushing my teeth which kind of make no sense. It will calm down since I will take 10mg of propranolol afterward. For the past 3 months 10mg in the morning is enough for me. My hr not too high in the day and naturally low in the evening. In the beginning of this week, i started to wean off it by taking half dose which is 5mg in the morning. My hr in the afternoon and evening are higher than normal. The resting heart rate from my Fitbit watch increase to 76-78 when my normal are 71-74. During the day, I also experience heavy head feeling. It not like you are totally dizzy but your head feel not clear (like you are on the verge of being dizzy if you can understand). Just want to share my experience and hopefully learn some from you guys too.

p/s: sorry if my English is not that great

Felix

Hi Felix. Unfortunately the way you are in the morning is the way I am all the time now. Yazmin is too. We both stopped propranolol a few months ago. I no longer come on this site very often. I hope you have better luck than we did when you completely stop the drug.