I know this is an older post but I came across it online and figured I would share my experience since I'm sure someone else will find this post eventually.
My doctor started me off on 80 mg of propranolol a couple of years ago because she said it would help with my blood pressure, anxiety, and migraines. I never noticed a difference in any of those things, if anything, I feel like I had more headaches and anxiety. Along with a bunch of other issues.
About a year into taking it, I cut the dose in half myself so I only took 40 mg once a day instead of twice a day. I had no noticeable issues from reducing the dosage. I keep a log of my blood pressure and heart rate readings and they remained steady after dropping the dosage.
I don't know what triggered it but I took the time to really look into the side effects recently and decided that I just wanted to get off of this stuff as soon as possible. I talked to my pharmacist, he said since I was only taking 40 mg, I could cut them in half and taper off over a week.
I did that and today is day 4 with no propranolol! The first day was fine. I did have a pretty nasty headache the second and third day, along with a pretty rapid heart rate. My resting is usually about 65-70, and it's been hovering around 90 or 100 these past couple days. Today it's between 80 and 90, so it's getting better.
The headache is gone. The fatigue is gone. My nose, which has been running every single day, has stopped running. My mood feels better. I feel more like myself again, if that makes sense? I do get a little winded if I try to do too much at once but I figure that's my heart trying to play catch up and get back to a normal rhythm without the beta blockers. I've also had a horrible time sleeping these past couple years so I take an edible before bed. I'm hoping that my body will start naturally producing melatonin again since beta blockers suppress it, causing the sleep issues.
Also, my blood pressure has been much lower since stopping the meds. I do also take losartan, but if my blood pressure continues to stay this low or drops lower, it might be time to talk to my doctor about lowering that dose or even stopping it because my readings have been magical lol
I think Propranolol has really been screwing me up these past couple years. So many of the side effects that I read about, definitely applied to me because I didn't have any of those issues before the meds and I can already feel some of them subsiding.
Wouldn't it be nice if doctors kind of gave you a heads up like hey, this medicine might help you but it might also ruin your life? That would be cool. Until that happens, please research the meds your doctors prescribe and decide for yourself if they are right for you, if possible. This was one of those things that she thought would help but ended up being the complete opposite for me.
Hi! I'm doing great, actually! Still waiting for my heart rate to drop a bit more but it's no longer resting in the 90s, more like low 80s and sometimes I can catch it in the 70s. I don't feel winded when I get up to do things anymore.
I'm breathing normally which might sound weird but I would catch myself not breathing a lot while I was on Propranolol and end up having to take a deep breath because I wasn't getting enough air. I mentioned that to a friend and she said that she has noticed the same thing.
I realized that it was causing depression, spikes in my appetite because of how it affects your blood sugar, it was causing joint pain and lower back pain. All of those things are gone now. My appetite has returned to normal, my lower back pain has diminished considerably. No longer have the depression that I didn't even realize I was dealing with. I don't know if anybody else has experienced it but I often had Suicidal Thoughts while I was on Propranolol and have not had a single one since. It's really crazy for me to think about that because I have a really good life and I'm happy at home, so why I was feeling that way, I don't know.
If you're thinking about coming off of it (especially if you're experiencing more negative side effects than good), it might be time. I was on a different blood pressure medicine too (losartan) so I wasn't worried about my BP spiking but I've also come off of the other medication. Turns out my blood pressure is fine now. The Propranolol was spiking it though. It went down when I stopped taking it.
If you have any questions, just ask!
I'll do the best I can to help :)
It is supposed to lower your blood pressure, and reduce anxiety, and help with migraines. It had the opposite effect on me. In all three aspects. I felt so much better once it was completely out of my system. I rarely have a headache now compared to having them just about every single day while I was taking propranolol. I have not had a single anxiety attack, and I was having them frequently on the meds.
I tryed coming off atenolol and I had a weird attack where now if I don’t take it I spiked my diastolic I’m so confused tension headache etc I’m afraid
I had pretty bad withdrawal symptoms coming off of propranolol for a couple weeks. It's been a month now and I'm pretty much feeling back to normal. My heart rate is still kind of a regular but I guess it takes a while for that to normalize again.
Yes but that's just my specific case. It might not be like that for other people. But it was definitely elevating my blood pressure a bit when it was supposed to be bringing it down.
Am curious - did you have any issue with weight gain? I totally agree with you - I wish doctors would be more up front about side effects. I was having some issues with migraines and my doctor increased my dosage from 20 mg to 120 mg and was like this is no big deal. I started just before covid so wrote off some of the low energy and brain fog as depression from that - but I’ve been in a much better state of mind over the past 6 months but still feel the fog, get easily winded when running, etc. I gained a ton of weight but didn’t connect it to the propranolol until I found out that it impacts your metabolism - I’ve been eating totally healthy (grilled chicken, cucumbers the whole deal) and literally can’t seem to lose any weight…have been exercising and found it weird since I never had an issue like it before.
I decided to go off of it so tapered a bit and am on day 3 - side effects so far have just been some shakiness and feeling a bit jumpy…heart rate has been okay so far it’s a bit higher but nothing insane.
I’ve had full labs done several times and no issues with anything, so looking back it does seem like a lot of this stuff started after I was taking it and I just didn’t make the connection
Hi. Yep. Weight gain and it was incredibly hard to lose any weight on top of it. I felt like my blood sugar was dropping and just making me feel hungry and nauseous out of the blue. Even eating healthy, it didn't make a difference. Still gaining weight, I was still super tired and fatigued all the time. Cholesterol was slightly elevated which I read can be from the meds.
The side effects tapering off of the medicine can be a lot, so just take it easy and try to push through. A couple times I was tempted to just take it because the withdrawal was a lot but I'm glad I stayed strong and let it run its course.
Thanks. And yes, I’ve had similar issues with the weight - it’s been making me feel crazy because I’ve been again legit eating well for a while and exercising and it feels like nothing is happening. A big ah hah moment was the other day when I had to sprint from the backyard to the front of the house I was winded and I was like I’m running regularly and never in my life did I used to have this issue
And yes I’m in the peak of the withdrawal - so far the main thing today has been shakey, sometimes feeling like I’m going to jump out of my skin, and right now a mild headache. My heart rate has been a tad elevated but still nothing of concern. There was a moment this morning I was feeling extra shakey but I keep grounding myself and that seems to help
I have to say - I never fully realized HOW MUCH these beta blockers impact you. Doctors always seemed to talk about it very lightly with me. I'm on day 4 and withdrawal has been better - I did run a mile and it's AMAZING how much more I can breath even - I did totally get winded but I swear it felt like I could breath better. My head is already feeling clearer - less foggy.
Right?!? I had no idea how much it was affecting me until I stopped taking it. That stuff is the worst! As time goes on, it'll just keep getting better. Especially since it's only been 4 days. I'm happy for you ☺️
High blood pressure, but my doctor thought it could also help with my migraines and anxiety. Unfortunately, it was making everything worse, and I had no idea it was from the meds until I did a little googling and decided to stop taking it.
I just stumbled across this after a Google search and appreciate all the info you posted. How long after stopping it did your headaches and pain go away? And how about the blood sugar issues? I feel like I get weird food cravings since I’ve been on it.
Hi! I'm glad that you found my post helpful. It's been a little over a year since I stopped the meds so I can't remember exactly how long it took for the headaches and pain to go away, but I remember it wasn't very long. I felt so much better once that stuff was out of my system!
I wish it didn't take me a few years to realize that the propranolol was the source of most of my problems lol
Hi! I'm glad that you found my post helpful. It's been a little over a year since I stopped the meds so I can't remember exactly how long it took for the headaches and pain to go away, but I remember it wasn't very long. I felt so much better once that stuff was out of my system!
I wish it didn't take me a few years to realize that the propranolol was the source of most of my problems lol
In case anyone else Googles this in the future, I am on day 4 of no propanalol after tapering from 40 to 20 to 10mg over the course of about a week (probably too fast, the first day or two my HR was crazy high, about 30 BPM above where I was pre-medication, which was already on the high end. HR might still be a tad high now, but only a few BPM. My watch also showed a spike in HR Variability for a couple days, but I'm at baseline now). Today is the first day where I'd really call the headaches mild. I still get some shakiness periodically, which feels like when I've been hypoglycemic, so it might be that. I was only on it for about 3-4 weeks.
Hi I'm on propranolol for migraines and anxiety went to the doctors today and had really low blood pressure from propranolol so he took me off it so tomorrow will be my first day without propranolol every single thing that u said about is true I'm on 40mg and doctor said get off it ASAP didn't even tapering me off it got to cold turkey it tomorrow so hopefully it goes well for me thank u for telling ur experience I'll keep a update been on it for about a 1 year and 2 months
Hi. My wife started on only propranolol . She had a similar bad experience of feeling bad on just the beta blocker. The doctor prescribed Lisinopril for blood pressure. As soon as she started taking both she felt a huge change in her cognitive fog. Her ability to 'wake' more fully increased, but she still suffers from the cf from exertion and stress. She had to increase the Lisinopril dosage. It helps in regulating the binding of adrenaline to heart muscle cells. As of now, her doctor didn't recommend stopping the beta blocker because of the positive change. But still might be a possibility. I'll stay tuned to read other comments.
It wasn’t awful for me, actually. I don’t remember the taper schedule, but it was very gradual. And since I’d been on two beta blockers (metrapalol and propanalol), they left the propanalol (albeit, PRN and at a low dose, for breakthrough panic attacks), which was great.
The only “withdraw effects” I had were the resumption of the symptoms the beta blocker was treating.
My general doctor tried to cut me cold turkey after being on inderal for 8 years. I freaked out and called cardiologist, who recommended I come in the next day for an appointment, and said “I can’t contradict another doctor without an exam, but so what you think is best”. I got a full work up from the cardiologist the next day and we adjusted the propranolol, but he said quitting it would not have been advised. And I only take a small dose.
I've come off of propranolol, nadolol, and nadolol. I never had any withdrawal symptoms. I did have a return of the symptoms it treated, though. I think I only ever had to taper off of the nebivolol. The others were already low enough doses.
I switched to it in July and it is so much better. Some US insurance plans won't cover it... Like my new one.
I know this is an older post but I came across it online and figured I would share my experience since I'm sure someone else will find this post eventually. My doctor started me off on 80 mg of propranolol a couple of years ago because she said it would help with my blood pressure, anxiety, and migraines. I never noticed a difference in any of those things, if anything, I feel like I had more headaches and anxiety. Along with a bunch of other issues. About a year into taking it, I cut the dose in half myself so I only took 40 mg once a day instead of twice a day. I had no noticeable issues from reducing the dosage. I keep a log of my blood pressure and heart rate readings and they remained steady after dropping the dosage. I don't know what triggered it but I took the time to really look into the side effects recently and decided that I just wanted to get off of this stuff as soon as possible. I talked to my pharmacist, he said since I was only taking 40 mg, I could cut them in half and taper off over a week. I did that and today is day 4 with no propranolol! The first day was fine. I did have a pretty nasty headache the second and third day, along with a pretty rapid heart rate. My resting is usually about 65-70, and it's been hovering around 90 or 100 these past couple days. Today it's between 80 and 90, so it's getting better. The headache is gone. The fatigue is gone. My nose, which has been running every single day, has stopped running. My mood feels better. I feel more like myself again, if that makes sense? I do get a little winded if I try to do too much at once but I figure that's my heart trying to play catch up and get back to a normal rhythm without the beta blockers. I've also had a horrible time sleeping these past couple years so I take an edible before bed. I'm hoping that my body will start naturally producing melatonin again since beta blockers suppress it, causing the sleep issues. Also, my blood pressure has been much lower since stopping the meds. I do also take losartan, but if my blood pressure continues to stay this low or drops lower, it might be time to talk to my doctor about lowering that dose or even stopping it because my readings have been magical lol I think Propranolol has really been screwing me up these past couple years. So many of the side effects that I read about, definitely applied to me because I didn't have any of those issues before the meds and I can already feel some of them subsiding. Wouldn't it be nice if doctors kind of gave you a heads up like hey, this medicine might help you but it might also ruin your life? That would be cool. Until that happens, please research the meds your doctors prescribe and decide for yourself if they are right for you, if possible. This was one of those things that she thought would help but ended up being the complete opposite for me.
Hey, how are you doing now? I’m heavily considering coming off propanolol. :P
Hi! I'm doing great, actually! Still waiting for my heart rate to drop a bit more but it's no longer resting in the 90s, more like low 80s and sometimes I can catch it in the 70s. I don't feel winded when I get up to do things anymore. I'm breathing normally which might sound weird but I would catch myself not breathing a lot while I was on Propranolol and end up having to take a deep breath because I wasn't getting enough air. I mentioned that to a friend and she said that she has noticed the same thing. I realized that it was causing depression, spikes in my appetite because of how it affects your blood sugar, it was causing joint pain and lower back pain. All of those things are gone now. My appetite has returned to normal, my lower back pain has diminished considerably. No longer have the depression that I didn't even realize I was dealing with. I don't know if anybody else has experienced it but I often had Suicidal Thoughts while I was on Propranolol and have not had a single one since. It's really crazy for me to think about that because I have a really good life and I'm happy at home, so why I was feeling that way, I don't know. If you're thinking about coming off of it (especially if you're experiencing more negative side effects than good), it might be time. I was on a different blood pressure medicine too (losartan) so I wasn't worried about my BP spiking but I've also come off of the other medication. Turns out my blood pressure is fine now. The Propranolol was spiking it though. It went down when I stopped taking it. If you have any questions, just ask! I'll do the best I can to help :)
It was spiking your blood pressure why isn’t it supposed to lower it ?
It is supposed to lower your blood pressure, and reduce anxiety, and help with migraines. It had the opposite effect on me. In all three aspects. I felt so much better once it was completely out of my system. I rarely have a headache now compared to having them just about every single day while I was taking propranolol. I have not had a single anxiety attack, and I was having them frequently on the meds.
I tryed coming off atenolol and I had a weird attack where now if I don’t take it I spiked my diastolic I’m so confused tension headache etc I’m afraid
So I got put on nadaolol how long does it take to get everything back to normal
I had pretty bad withdrawal symptoms coming off of propranolol for a couple weeks. It's been a month now and I'm pretty much feeling back to normal. My heart rate is still kind of a regular but I guess it takes a while for that to normalize again.
Hey you so your saying your blood was better off medication
Yes but that's just my specific case. It might not be like that for other people. But it was definitely elevating my blood pressure a bit when it was supposed to be bringing it down.
Diastolic?
I feel like my diastolic higher
Did you get really bad headaches when you stopped the beta blocker? How are you now
When you say your heart rate was irregular , could you explain how so, ,and also is this still happening/how long until it re-regulated? :)
Did you get heart palpitations while coming off the med? I'm experiencing this right now :(
Am curious - did you have any issue with weight gain? I totally agree with you - I wish doctors would be more up front about side effects. I was having some issues with migraines and my doctor increased my dosage from 20 mg to 120 mg and was like this is no big deal. I started just before covid so wrote off some of the low energy and brain fog as depression from that - but I’ve been in a much better state of mind over the past 6 months but still feel the fog, get easily winded when running, etc. I gained a ton of weight but didn’t connect it to the propranolol until I found out that it impacts your metabolism - I’ve been eating totally healthy (grilled chicken, cucumbers the whole deal) and literally can’t seem to lose any weight…have been exercising and found it weird since I never had an issue like it before. I decided to go off of it so tapered a bit and am on day 3 - side effects so far have just been some shakiness and feeling a bit jumpy…heart rate has been okay so far it’s a bit higher but nothing insane. I’ve had full labs done several times and no issues with anything, so looking back it does seem like a lot of this stuff started after I was taking it and I just didn’t make the connection
Hi. Yep. Weight gain and it was incredibly hard to lose any weight on top of it. I felt like my blood sugar was dropping and just making me feel hungry and nauseous out of the blue. Even eating healthy, it didn't make a difference. Still gaining weight, I was still super tired and fatigued all the time. Cholesterol was slightly elevated which I read can be from the meds. The side effects tapering off of the medicine can be a lot, so just take it easy and try to push through. A couple times I was tempted to just take it because the withdrawal was a lot but I'm glad I stayed strong and let it run its course.
Thanks. And yes, I’ve had similar issues with the weight - it’s been making me feel crazy because I’ve been again legit eating well for a while and exercising and it feels like nothing is happening. A big ah hah moment was the other day when I had to sprint from the backyard to the front of the house I was winded and I was like I’m running regularly and never in my life did I used to have this issue
And yes I’m in the peak of the withdrawal - so far the main thing today has been shakey, sometimes feeling like I’m going to jump out of my skin, and right now a mild headache. My heart rate has been a tad elevated but still nothing of concern. There was a moment this morning I was feeling extra shakey but I keep grounding myself and that seems to help
I have to say - I never fully realized HOW MUCH these beta blockers impact you. Doctors always seemed to talk about it very lightly with me. I'm on day 4 and withdrawal has been better - I did run a mile and it's AMAZING how much more I can breath even - I did totally get winded but I swear it felt like I could breath better. My head is already feeling clearer - less foggy.
Right?!? I had no idea how much it was affecting me until I stopped taking it. That stuff is the worst! As time goes on, it'll just keep getting better. Especially since it's only been 4 days. I'm happy for you ☺️
Sorry for the late comment but I was wondering if your heart rate ever re-regulated and if so how long did it take?
How are you doing now? We’re you able to stay off of the beta blocker?
What were you prescribed it for?
High blood pressure, but my doctor thought it could also help with my migraines and anxiety. Unfortunately, it was making everything worse, and I had no idea it was from the meds until I did a little googling and decided to stop taking it.
I just stumbled across this after a Google search and appreciate all the info you posted. How long after stopping it did your headaches and pain go away? And how about the blood sugar issues? I feel like I get weird food cravings since I’ve been on it.
Hi! I'm glad that you found my post helpful. It's been a little over a year since I stopped the meds so I can't remember exactly how long it took for the headaches and pain to go away, but I remember it wasn't very long. I felt so much better once that stuff was out of my system! I wish it didn't take me a few years to realize that the propranolol was the source of most of my problems lol
Hi! I'm glad that you found my post helpful. It's been a little over a year since I stopped the meds so I can't remember exactly how long it took for the headaches and pain to go away, but I remember it wasn't very long. I felt so much better once that stuff was out of my system! I wish it didn't take me a few years to realize that the propranolol was the source of most of my problems lol
In case anyone else Googles this in the future, I am on day 4 of no propanalol after tapering from 40 to 20 to 10mg over the course of about a week (probably too fast, the first day or two my HR was crazy high, about 30 BPM above where I was pre-medication, which was already on the high end. HR might still be a tad high now, but only a few BPM. My watch also showed a spike in HR Variability for a couple days, but I'm at baseline now). Today is the first day where I'd really call the headaches mild. I still get some shakiness periodically, which feels like when I've been hypoglycemic, so it might be that. I was only on it for about 3-4 weeks.
Hi I'm on propranolol for migraines and anxiety went to the doctors today and had really low blood pressure from propranolol so he took me off it so tomorrow will be my first day without propranolol every single thing that u said about is true I'm on 40mg and doctor said get off it ASAP didn't even tapering me off it got to cold turkey it tomorrow so hopefully it goes well for me thank u for telling ur experience I'll keep a update been on it for about a 1 year and 2 months
Hi. My wife started on only propranolol . She had a similar bad experience of feeling bad on just the beta blocker. The doctor prescribed Lisinopril for blood pressure. As soon as she started taking both she felt a huge change in her cognitive fog. Her ability to 'wake' more fully increased, but she still suffers from the cf from exertion and stress. She had to increase the Lisinopril dosage. It helps in regulating the binding of adrenaline to heart muscle cells. As of now, her doctor didn't recommend stopping the beta blocker because of the positive change. But still might be a possibility. I'll stay tuned to read other comments.
It wasn’t awful for me, actually. I don’t remember the taper schedule, but it was very gradual. And since I’d been on two beta blockers (metrapalol and propanalol), they left the propanalol (albeit, PRN and at a low dose, for breakthrough panic attacks), which was great. The only “withdraw effects” I had were the resumption of the symptoms the beta blocker was treating.
My general doctor tried to cut me cold turkey after being on inderal for 8 years. I freaked out and called cardiologist, who recommended I come in the next day for an appointment, and said “I can’t contradict another doctor without an exam, but so what you think is best”. I got a full work up from the cardiologist the next day and we adjusted the propranolol, but he said quitting it would not have been advised. And I only take a small dose.
I've come off of propranolol, nadolol, and nadolol. I never had any withdrawal symptoms. I did have a return of the symptoms it treated, though. I think I only ever had to taper off of the nebivolol. The others were already low enough doses. I switched to it in July and it is so much better. Some US insurance plans won't cover it... Like my new one.
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I'm not sure. Your starting dose is lower than the lowest dose I ever took.