Doctor Offered Anti-Anxiety Medication (Propranolol) — Any Experiences?

[GamesB2]

Went to the GP again today to try and hurry some referrals along.

Had a helpful doctor who offered me anti-anxiety meds, sleeping tablets or antidepressants.

Decided I'd take the anti-anxiety prescription and decide whether I want them later.

I've been offered Propranolol 40mg.

Anyone have any experience with this or other anti anxiety meds and can share if it helped at all?

 

[Drone Draper]

Have them, they didn't do much for me, I just took the single daily dose when required. Maybe I should've upped the dose, lol.

 

[Jack Straw]

I was taking them for non-anxiety reasons around a similar dose.

They made my tinnitus change / new tone, but this would go away every time after a day or so. Regardless of this, I still take it when needed because the change in tinnitus has only been temporary.

Propranolol is a blood pressure medication, which has an indirect effect on anxiety. It slows down the heart rate to stop it from racing and also has an effect on glutamate receptors in the brain, which most likely causes the anti-anxiety effect.

Please remember everyone is different and what might effect me may not have an effect on you. If you doctor has prescribed it to you I would suggest you try it and see what happens. Worse comes to worse you stop taking it and the symptoms will most likely stop as well.

 

[spedgas]

I was also given a prescription 20 mg propranolol for anxiety. I work at a job where being on benzos would potentially get me fired. It was offered to me when I was at the GP to talk about tinnitus and they took my vitals. I had a normal blood pressure but my pulse was 105. It's normally in the upper 60s. I would go into these fight or flight phases where my pulse would race due the anxiety. I only took it twice, I can't say it did anything for me. I remember thinking it made my tinnitus louder, but it was probably the anxiety of taking a new med and wondering if it was going to make the tinnitus worse.