Propranalol - anyone tried?

[Andrew Croxall]

In response to a complaint of anxiety and panic, my doctor offered my anti-depressants or betablockers - a very light dose of either.

I opted for the betablockers (propranolol) but have not yet taken any.

They sound a bit scary, though I'm on the lowest dose (10mg, 3 times a day) and my mother in law took them and said they were very helpful.

Are they dangerous? There's an ominous warning on the front about how you shouldn't stop taking them unless instructed by your doctor. I also hear they can cause nightmares, but again, at this doseage, is that unlikely?

I'm holding out also because I'd love to avoid the meds route. Have others resorted to meds, at least to get some head space while you work out what to do more long term, or do you avoid them?

I'm a veritable minefield of herbal stuff - camomile tile, valerian, hops, you name it - but I guess these are always going to be milder in effect than any meds.

Thanks in advance

[Yanni]

I'd go with the beta blockers personally. Celexa (my SSRI) has worked very well, but beta blockers manage the physical symtpoms of Anxiety so you can deal with the mental ones.
From what I found, they help the shaky hands, pounding head and chest, sweating and tingling so you can think your way out of the anxiety attacks.
at your dosage, it is unlikely that you will have night terrors. I'm on 40mg twice daily and I've had two vivid dreams, not nightmares.
SSRIs and BB in combination is great.

[Buttercup]

People here are probably fed up with me mentioning propranolol! I love the drug, lol. The warning about not stopping it suddenly is more for folk who are taking it for heart problems or blood pressure issues. But as with all drugs it's best to reduce slowly which is what I did. I started on 80mg slow release tabs daily and am now on just 10mg a day. They basically stopped my panic attacks as they reduce the release of adrenaline- no more rapid heart rate, sweating, shaking and so on. Not having the attacks meant I could focus on therapy and getting to the root of my issues and learning how to cope with them. I never had nightmares on them but for the first couple of weeks I did have very strange dreams which i actually quite enjoyed! I am also on an SSRI and I feel that for me the combination of the 2 drugs and therapy has now put me in a position where I am happy with life- I am working, socialising and living my life in a way that when I had anxiety I thought would never be possible.