Taking propranolol first time

Hiya James, I don't know if this reply is too late for you but hey ho anyway... I cannot comment on the sertraline (apart from SSRI's make My anxiety worse, but obviously everyone is different) but I can share my recent experience of taking propranalol for the 1st time, which is actually for migraines BUT I do suffer with anxiety, panic and random adrenaline rushes too and was prescribed beta blockers inthe past and was too scared to take them! Also I can't really advise you as I'm not a doc but maybe sharing with you what happened will help... btw it is a good result.

For years I have been terrified of taking new meds because I have taken a few that have had very scary side effects and had me in the ER thinking I was dying - although never anything serious and was prob a mix of the drugs I took not quite agreeing with me and my terrible fear and anxiety! Anyway - I was at my wits end about 9 weeks ago with my migraines, they made me so ill - long story short I have had 3 months off work with them - a week per month ish. They were also very frightening because of the intense pain and sickness.

I was soooo scared to take the beta blockers (I'd been prescribed 80mg per day for migraine), I got my boyfriend to drive me to the hospital car park where I was going to take half a tablet, 5mg. The deal was, I take the tablet in the car and THEN he will drive to the hosp. I made him talk to me all the way about something i was really looking forward to, my favourite things in life etc really positive things. We ended up in Macdonalds where I asked if we could stay for an hour or two (because I thought, any bad reaction is going to happen in that time and they only stay in your system for a few hours).

Well, NOTHING happened. I am thinking that if you panicked after taking them that is your anxiety (and I get that too, look at my extremes to avoid it!) and certainly before the drug REALLY started working because the most AMAZING thing I have found with taking them is that the have stopped 99% of the adrenaline rushes I had and panic. They block the adrenalin to the brain so your heart rate wont increase and you wont get all the horrible other symtoms of panic attacks, jelly legs, shakes, needin the loo, feeling sick which are all part of the fight or flight response. These drugs are not reactive drugs where you will feel a rush of something taking over your body (which is what I expected) - they are so subtle and do the opposite of reacting and exciting your body- they calm you - that is why they are given to people with heart problems, it helps keep their body calm. So the panic you felt after taking them I reckon was before the drugs actually started working.

As I increased the dose, which I did like this - 5mg for 3 days, 10mg for 3 days, 15mg 3 days and by the time I got to 20 mg I started to have side effects such as a very mild pscychosis. I didn't feel myself and it was unnerving - was it me? Was I going mad? Is it just anxiety? Who knows, but because I was enjoying sleeping through the night for the first time in 2 years (I used to wake EVERY night with heart racing and never slept through, now I do its a miracle) - I decided to cut down the dose again. I wanted to give up but I was scared of my migraines coming back, I took 5mg - yes just half a tablet - for a couple of days whilst I decided what to do. I knew that my body was taking time to adjust. In those couple of days I felt fine again on such a tiny dose, a REALLY tiny dose and I can't believe it myself, but even 5mg a day is helping me have a much more normal life again, it has given me confidence to go out and do things where I was scared before, because now I can do them without the adrenalin pumping around my body!

So I can't advise you what to do, but maybe start of on small doses until you get confident and stick at a dose that suits you. Also there are different types of beta blockers. Propranalol is one of the safest available and has been around for many many years, you can read up about this on the net. Also there are types that pass into the brain (propranalol being one of them) which may cause some depresssion and psychosis, and there are other ones that don't. Speak to your doctor about this if you have concerns. I have to take the ones that cross into the brain because it is for migraines. Whether or not this small dose will help with my migraines I don't know yet, but fingers crossed.

Sorry this is a long reply! I really hope it helps. I am a total phobic freak but these REALLY have helped me. I hope my story helps put your mind at rest a bit. x

Hi there x. Ive just taken my first approx 5mg of propanolol, first time ever with any meds and i worked myself up into a frenzy over it. After about 15 mins i made myself sick (disgusting i know) but i didnt see the tablet there. Im not sure if i absorbed it or not, i still have head pressure but i feel calm?? Do you have any indication of how long it takes to enter your system? I keep getting random bouts of panic/head & ear pressure, but i "feel" different if that makes sense?

So terrifie right now xx

The way I tell whether my Beta-blocker is working is literally by ear, if my ears are pulsing (Tinitus wise) it's not working but alternatively if my ears are rumbling it is working. 5 mg of Propanolol isn't anything much, if you've been sick maybe take another as even 10 mg is a tiny dose...

Is it rude to ask what you take it for and how much do you take? X

I've taken Propranolol in the past for Anxiety, I can't remember how much, loads, now I take 5 mg Bisoprolol for Coronary Heart Disease. It doesn't sound much (5 mg) I know but it's very effective

Okay ... Now i feel like a total wimp for whinging about some head pressure and acting like a barbie doll over 5mg of something that could help me & your dealing with that!!

Takesmyselfofftobedforagoodtalktomyselfandaslap :p

Thanks for taking the time to pull my nappy up tonight. Your no nonsense humour stopped the inevitable panic attack from kicking in 😚. Much appreciated x

Don't worry about it, it ain't nuffin'