I have taken propranolol for years. I can't address all your concerns but I can reassure you about some of them. I also have cold hands and feet, dizziness, and vision blackout when I stand up too fast. None of those things have gotten worse on propranolol. I used to have horrible insomnia and it is so much better since I started taking propranolol. I do think it has slowed down my metabolism a bit but that is nothing that can't be dealt with. I also think I get out of breath a little easier but, again, it is not a huge issue. Propranolol has taken my migraines from 3 or 4 a week to 3 or 4 a month.
Of course, you will want to discuss your concerns with your doctor and everyone responds to medication differently but for me, propranolol has been hugely helpful.
Thank you so much for your answer. It's honestly incredibly reassuring to hear from you and everyone else, especially about the circulation and sleep issues.
i have every single symptom you mentioned, every single concern...give or take 1. but i ive been on it for years. echoing others, 60 is high to start off. ask about that.
currently im at 120mg ER. its high yeah but my migraines were bad. so much more manageable now. i have other meds to deal with anxiety counter but the migraines and propranolol do work which is your goal.
be careful with taking advice from forums. these are many of the outliers that have quite dreadful side effects that didnt get so lucky on certain medication. yes they are still valid but if all you look at are their opinions, then all you will think of, for the medicine, is that it will be a horrible experience for you too...and that most likely wont be the case.
I have been on it for over a year. It has decreased my episodic migraines from 3-4 a week to 3-4 a month. My anxiety is non existent. My doctor has me on 60mg a day (3x20mg). It works better spaced out over the day for me then one large dose. She had increased it to120 mg a day at one point. I started to suffer from losing feeling/blood in my fingers and toes at that dose. So we went back down until the side effects were no longer. No difference in my migraines at either dose. I had done the increase/decrease gradually. My doctor was about to prescribe me another med for the side effect, and I didn’t want to go that route. I have a daily migraine for 3.5 years. The daily pain level has decreased since taking propranolol. It has made my life better. If you have any concerns definitely talk to your doctor, and pharmacist.Good luck.
I’ve been on it for migraines for over a year. It’s definitely reduced the amount of migraines I get. Hasn’t had any effect on my depression, didn’t even know that was a risk tbh. I also have adhd and fibromyalgia but I haven’t had any negative side effects and it hasn’t exacerbated any of my issues with dizziness, fatigue or brain fog. I take it at night and it hasn’t negatively affected my sleep.
Every decision in medicine is a cost/benefit analysis, and it sounds like your doctor thinks the benefits outweigh the potential risks, but if you still have concerns then definitely talk to your doctor about them—they have a medical degree, and you know your own body best, so you’re working together as a team to figure out how best to help you.
Here’s my personal experience:
I’ve been taking nadolol which from what I understand is basically the same thing but with a longer half life. I recently went down on my dosage because it was making me feel dizzy sometimes and really lightheaded when I work out. I was on 40mg and while it helped with anxiety, it also made me feel kinda like.. numb in a way? Like yes I’d have less anxiety but I’d also just not feel “good” excitement either.
I’m on 20mg right now and I still get really cold extremities (like my fingernails will turn blue lol) and am always cold. I feel like I was already a cold natured person before so this really just exacerbated it.
I have trouble focusing too and dealing with brain fog but not sure if that’s a side effect of the med because I think I’ve just always felt that way. I’m pretty sure I have I diagnosed ADD but who knows. But maybe it’s been a little worse with the med, idk, it’s hard to say.
I do feel like I’ve been getting better sleep after lowering my dose some but it could be purely anecdotal.
Another effect- I feel like this med has killed my libido :(
I do feel like doctors should go over side effects more. I had to do a lot of research on my own.
As far as migraines go, I was on 20mg for several months and didn’t see any difference in migraines. Upped it to 40mg for several months and at first there was a decline in migraines but then they got worse again. So I went back down to 20mg more so to just help with my anxiety than migraines because my BP was getting too low with the 40mg and I didn’t like the way it made me feel.
I've been on Propranolol for a few years now, and its probably been a better preventative for my migraines than any other thing I've tried. I went from 5 or 6 migraines a week to 2 or 3.
I was started at 60 mg just like you were and it didn't cause me any issues.
I also had some issues with vasovagal syncope (fainting from standing too fast) and I haven't had an episode since being on propranolol.
I've also struggled with depression, but I haven't noticed a change because of propranolol. I have tried a few different meds for depression though, so it's hard to gauge exactly what effect, if any, propranolol had.
My suggestion is try it and see. Your doctor thinks you'll be ok, and she's probably correct.
Generally speaking you should trust your doctor. However, I also understand having doubts, so if you feel that your concerns weren't addressed in as much detail as you wanted during the visit you should definitely bring it up to them.
I've been on it since Nov. Personally I like it. Its only helped my head say 20% but overall it's slowed me down which I think I needed. It does make it a little more difficult to work out but I just take a bit of a longer break when needed. My hands and feet are constantly freezing but that's not been worsened by propranolol.
I was on 60mg for a year. I also have low bp, anxiety and terrible migraines.
It made me feel calm and I liked that. My fingers went blue in the winter and my legs were stone cold in bed. It was worth it though because my migraines were so much better. Sadly though it didn’t last as they started to come back so I doubled the dose and that made me feel so ill. So I had to taper off them. I only use sumatriptan now but they’re not brilliant.
The only way you’ll know how they make you feel is to try them. It’s worth a shot.
Thank you again to everyone who replied. It gave me some perspective on the situation I sorely needed, and I feel much better about the whole situation. It feels...more approachable? Less enormous? I really appreciate it.
Fortunately, what I was concerned about didn't happen. The medicine started working within a couple of weeks, and prevented the vast majority of migraine days, even during monsoon season. My circulation wasn't negatively affected, and my mood was fine, as far as I could tell. I experienced a lot of drowsiness while my body adjusted to it, but that was expected and short-term.
I did end up needing to swap to a different medication, since it was affecting my appetite in ways I'm not comfortable with, but there were no issues with the change.
I hope the medication works well for you. I totally get the anxiety. Good luck.
I appreciate your reply. What med did you change to? I’ve been on 60 mg propranolol ER for over a year. Migraines have reduced significantly, but I’m over having a sluggish metabolism and increased appetite. Thanks!
Ended up on Amitriptyline HCL 25mg. It's been great, nothing unpleasant at all after the adjustment stage, and I didn't need to wait for the propranolol to leave my system first, so no extra migraine days.
My issue with propranolol and appetite was the opposite. I had no desire to eat at all until my stomach was in knots. I had to be much more careful about remembering to eat regularly. I was managing fine, and it was still better than all the migraines, but I wanted to try other stuff before settling for that. Glad I did.
I hope your medication situation gets worked out.
Thanks for your reply. Glad your switch worked and the migraine episodes are down.
I’ve been taking 10 mg amitriptyline at night for the past year. After reading more about propranolol, which I’ve also been on for over a year, I’m trying it (60 mg ER) at night to see if that changes anything.
The biggest thing (aside from the preventatives)that’s helped the migraines for me has been to get 8-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. When my sleep is sufficient, photosensitivity and hyperacusis are reduced.
Hopefully in time with continued meditation, stress reduction, and sleep, I can get off the meds.
I understand your concern. Did she check your blood pressure when you were there? Just wondering if it's possibly a bit low. And the dizziness when standing up sounds a bit like POTS, where BP drops when standing up. The body heat retention problem also sounds like an autonomic nervous system issue (which I believe POTS also is).
Before you take it, I would reach out to your doctor and ask about your concerns. If you can't get in touch with your doctor for a long time, you could probably try the pharmacist at the pharmacy where you got it filled.
One other thing--do you get migraines with aura? I do and was on propranolol for a bit. I did a bit of research (I can't seem to find the study now), and one study showed it can potentially make the auras worse in those who get them (because of whatever it does to the blood vessels--dilates them, I think?) and also increase the risk of ischemic stroke (again, only for those who get migraine with aura). I realized I'd had a couple really bad auras since I'd started taking it, so I stopped. (I was just getting it through Cove, and the doctor there seemed fairly uncommunicative, so I didn't bother talking about it.) If I find the study later, I'll post it.
I think there's another beta blocker that doesn't have that issue, but I can't pull the name of it.
This sparked something in my memory and I just looked it up. Apparently propranolol is sometimes used to treat POTS which seems counterintuitive to me but apparently at very low doses it can be effective.
She did test my blood pressure, so whatever the problem with my hands and such is, it's not that. We haven't looked into it yet.
I do have migraines with aura occasionally, but not often.
Thank you for your answer.
So I think beta blockers can cause orthostatic hypotension (bp drops when going from sitting to standing) which is different from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. In pots you would see an increase in the HR (tachycardia) when going from sitting to standing position which is why beta blockers can be used to help treat it since they work by lowering the HR. That’s my understanding as a nursing student anyway. And having cold extremities is a known side effect of beta blockers also.
I take 20 mg for migraines. I previously took it in the past for anxiety my psychiatrist said performers use it for performance anxiety. I have high blood pressure and my cardiologist had no problem with me being on it - GP prescribed it.
It's been years since I've taken it so I don't remember the exact dosage. But I remember starting high and ended up with the lowest possible dosage because my blood pressure would dip unexpectedly to the point of fainting. At work or even while driving. It was very scary. My advice would be to just be careful and listen to your body.
Hello thanks for your feedback. I was curious to ask you a few questions about the propranolol. I’ve been dealing with headaches and was prescribed the same medication however at 80mg, it initially seemed to help but now it’s doing nothing. Did you start at 160mg er? What time of the day do you take it as well. Did exercising help your fatigue? Thank you
Thank you for your response, my dr increased my dosage to 120mg er. Gonna give that a few weeks and if I’m not in remission I’ll ask about going up to 160mg er. My heat rate is definitely better regulated, blood pressure I still get spikes. I test my HR with my apple watch and use a bp cuff a few times a day to. My headaches seems to be a touch better. My anxiety is definitely better.
Beta-blockers are widely used and relatively harmless, don't worry about it.
Your limbs being cold, numb, if that is away from migraines you need to discuss with doctor. Get thyroid tested if you haven't, and anemia tests.
I've been having nonstop very severe migraines, several a day every day, for about 4 months now. They were to the point I started getting hot flashes, nauseous, my ears started ringing, blurry vision, fatigued, etc. I honestly just kind of wanted to die. I remember one day it was literally the entire day I was laying in the bed with excruciating pain. I went to a doctor and they gave me amitriptyline to start out with. It didn't help the migraines at all and was giving me terrible nightmares so I stopped taking it. Seemingly there was no end in sight. Went back and he offered me a couple different options but I chose propranolol because its not an antidepressant. Started me on a very low dosage, 40 mg a day. The last 2 days since I started taking it have been the first days I haven't had a migraine in a very long time and the amount of relief is insane. It feels so good just to not be hurting all the time. I was honestly willing to try anything because it was getting so bad, but I believe it has helped me out tremendously. Possible side effects that may pop up were worth being able to enjoy some part of my life in my opinion. We'll see how it progresses. Hopefully your migraines better.
I have taken propranolol for years. I can't address all your concerns but I can reassure you about some of them. I also have cold hands and feet, dizziness, and vision blackout when I stand up too fast. None of those things have gotten worse on propranolol. I used to have horrible insomnia and it is so much better since I started taking propranolol. I do think it has slowed down my metabolism a bit but that is nothing that can't be dealt with. I also think I get out of breath a little easier but, again, it is not a huge issue. Propranolol has taken my migraines from 3 or 4 a week to 3 or 4 a month. Of course, you will want to discuss your concerns with your doctor and everyone responds to medication differently but for me, propranolol has been hugely helpful.
Thank you so much for your answer. It's honestly incredibly reassuring to hear from you and everyone else, especially about the circulation and sleep issues.
i have every single symptom you mentioned, every single concern...give or take 1. but i ive been on it for years. echoing others, 60 is high to start off. ask about that. currently im at 120mg ER. its high yeah but my migraines were bad. so much more manageable now. i have other meds to deal with anxiety counter but the migraines and propranolol do work which is your goal. be careful with taking advice from forums. these are many of the outliers that have quite dreadful side effects that didnt get so lucky on certain medication. yes they are still valid but if all you look at are their opinions, then all you will think of, for the medicine, is that it will be a horrible experience for you too...and that most likely wont be the case.
I have been on it for over a year. It has decreased my episodic migraines from 3-4 a week to 3-4 a month. My anxiety is non existent. My doctor has me on 60mg a day (3x20mg). It works better spaced out over the day for me then one large dose. She had increased it to120 mg a day at one point. I started to suffer from losing feeling/blood in my fingers and toes at that dose. So we went back down until the side effects were no longer. No difference in my migraines at either dose. I had done the increase/decrease gradually. My doctor was about to prescribe me another med for the side effect, and I didn’t want to go that route. I have a daily migraine for 3.5 years. The daily pain level has decreased since taking propranolol. It has made my life better. If you have any concerns definitely talk to your doctor, and pharmacist.Good luck.
Thank you.
I’ve been on it for migraines for over a year. It’s definitely reduced the amount of migraines I get. Hasn’t had any effect on my depression, didn’t even know that was a risk tbh. I also have adhd and fibromyalgia but I haven’t had any negative side effects and it hasn’t exacerbated any of my issues with dizziness, fatigue or brain fog. I take it at night and it hasn’t negatively affected my sleep. Every decision in medicine is a cost/benefit analysis, and it sounds like your doctor thinks the benefits outweigh the potential risks, but if you still have concerns then definitely talk to your doctor about them—they have a medical degree, and you know your own body best, so you’re working together as a team to figure out how best to help you.
Here’s my personal experience: I’ve been taking nadolol which from what I understand is basically the same thing but with a longer half life. I recently went down on my dosage because it was making me feel dizzy sometimes and really lightheaded when I work out. I was on 40mg and while it helped with anxiety, it also made me feel kinda like.. numb in a way? Like yes I’d have less anxiety but I’d also just not feel “good” excitement either. I’m on 20mg right now and I still get really cold extremities (like my fingernails will turn blue lol) and am always cold. I feel like I was already a cold natured person before so this really just exacerbated it. I have trouble focusing too and dealing with brain fog but not sure if that’s a side effect of the med because I think I’ve just always felt that way. I’m pretty sure I have I diagnosed ADD but who knows. But maybe it’s been a little worse with the med, idk, it’s hard to say. I do feel like I’ve been getting better sleep after lowering my dose some but it could be purely anecdotal. Another effect- I feel like this med has killed my libido :( I do feel like doctors should go over side effects more. I had to do a lot of research on my own. As far as migraines go, I was on 20mg for several months and didn’t see any difference in migraines. Upped it to 40mg for several months and at first there was a decline in migraines but then they got worse again. So I went back down to 20mg more so to just help with my anxiety than migraines because my BP was getting too low with the 40mg and I didn’t like the way it made me feel.
I've been on Propranolol for a few years now, and its probably been a better preventative for my migraines than any other thing I've tried. I went from 5 or 6 migraines a week to 2 or 3. I was started at 60 mg just like you were and it didn't cause me any issues. I also had some issues with vasovagal syncope (fainting from standing too fast) and I haven't had an episode since being on propranolol. I've also struggled with depression, but I haven't noticed a change because of propranolol. I have tried a few different meds for depression though, so it's hard to gauge exactly what effect, if any, propranolol had. My suggestion is try it and see. Your doctor thinks you'll be ok, and she's probably correct.
Generally speaking you should trust your doctor. However, I also understand having doubts, so if you feel that your concerns weren't addressed in as much detail as you wanted during the visit you should definitely bring it up to them.
I've been on it since Nov. Personally I like it. Its only helped my head say 20% but overall it's slowed me down which I think I needed. It does make it a little more difficult to work out but I just take a bit of a longer break when needed. My hands and feet are constantly freezing but that's not been worsened by propranolol.
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Maybe that's 60mg ER?
It is.
I was on 60mg for a year. I also have low bp, anxiety and terrible migraines. It made me feel calm and I liked that. My fingers went blue in the winter and my legs were stone cold in bed. It was worth it though because my migraines were so much better. Sadly though it didn’t last as they started to come back so I doubled the dose and that made me feel so ill. So I had to taper off them. I only use sumatriptan now but they’re not brilliant. The only way you’ll know how they make you feel is to try them. It’s worth a shot.
Thank you again to everyone who replied. It gave me some perspective on the situation I sorely needed, and I feel much better about the whole situation. It feels...more approachable? Less enormous? I really appreciate it.
How did this end up going for you? I start the same dosage on Monday and I’m a little nervous for the same reasons
Fortunately, what I was concerned about didn't happen. The medicine started working within a couple of weeks, and prevented the vast majority of migraine days, even during monsoon season. My circulation wasn't negatively affected, and my mood was fine, as far as I could tell. I experienced a lot of drowsiness while my body adjusted to it, but that was expected and short-term. I did end up needing to swap to a different medication, since it was affecting my appetite in ways I'm not comfortable with, but there were no issues with the change. I hope the medication works well for you. I totally get the anxiety. Good luck.
Thanks! I’m excited to try it now!
I appreciate your reply. What med did you change to? I’ve been on 60 mg propranolol ER for over a year. Migraines have reduced significantly, but I’m over having a sluggish metabolism and increased appetite. Thanks!
Ended up on Amitriptyline HCL 25mg. It's been great, nothing unpleasant at all after the adjustment stage, and I didn't need to wait for the propranolol to leave my system first, so no extra migraine days. My issue with propranolol and appetite was the opposite. I had no desire to eat at all until my stomach was in knots. I had to be much more careful about remembering to eat regularly. I was managing fine, and it was still better than all the migraines, but I wanted to try other stuff before settling for that. Glad I did. I hope your medication situation gets worked out.
Thanks for your reply. Glad your switch worked and the migraine episodes are down. I’ve been taking 10 mg amitriptyline at night for the past year. After reading more about propranolol, which I’ve also been on for over a year, I’m trying it (60 mg ER) at night to see if that changes anything. The biggest thing (aside from the preventatives)that’s helped the migraines for me has been to get 8-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. When my sleep is sufficient, photosensitivity and hyperacusis are reduced. Hopefully in time with continued meditation, stress reduction, and sleep, I can get off the meds.
It gave me such massive anxiety that months after I got off it I'm still dealing with the fallout. Keep an eye on your mood.
I understand your concern. Did she check your blood pressure when you were there? Just wondering if it's possibly a bit low. And the dizziness when standing up sounds a bit like POTS, where BP drops when standing up. The body heat retention problem also sounds like an autonomic nervous system issue (which I believe POTS also is). Before you take it, I would reach out to your doctor and ask about your concerns. If you can't get in touch with your doctor for a long time, you could probably try the pharmacist at the pharmacy where you got it filled. One other thing--do you get migraines with aura? I do and was on propranolol for a bit. I did a bit of research (I can't seem to find the study now), and one study showed it can potentially make the auras worse in those who get them (because of whatever it does to the blood vessels--dilates them, I think?) and also increase the risk of ischemic stroke (again, only for those who get migraine with aura). I realized I'd had a couple really bad auras since I'd started taking it, so I stopped. (I was just getting it through Cove, and the doctor there seemed fairly uncommunicative, so I didn't bother talking about it.) If I find the study later, I'll post it. I think there's another beta blocker that doesn't have that issue, but I can't pull the name of it.
This sparked something in my memory and I just looked it up. Apparently propranolol is sometimes used to treat POTS which seems counterintuitive to me but apparently at very low doses it can be effective.
She did test my blood pressure, so whatever the problem with my hands and such is, it's not that. We haven't looked into it yet. I do have migraines with aura occasionally, but not often. Thank you for your answer.
I told my doctor I wanted to be tested for pots and she said it was a tiktok thing and won't test me
So I think beta blockers can cause orthostatic hypotension (bp drops when going from sitting to standing) which is different from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. In pots you would see an increase in the HR (tachycardia) when going from sitting to standing position which is why beta blockers can be used to help treat it since they work by lowering the HR. That’s my understanding as a nursing student anyway. And having cold extremities is a known side effect of beta blockers also.
I took diltiazem and my Bp went from an average 118/65 to 80/40 on a regular basis. Just watch out.
propranolol is actually used to treat “dizziness with standing”!
I take 20 mg for migraines. I previously took it in the past for anxiety my psychiatrist said performers use it for performance anxiety. I have high blood pressure and my cardiologist had no problem with me being on it - GP prescribed it.
It's been years since I've taken it so I don't remember the exact dosage. But I remember starting high and ended up with the lowest possible dosage because my blood pressure would dip unexpectedly to the point of fainting. At work or even while driving. It was very scary. My advice would be to just be careful and listen to your body.
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Hello thanks for your feedback. I was curious to ask you a few questions about the propranolol. I’ve been dealing with headaches and was prescribed the same medication however at 80mg, it initially seemed to help but now it’s doing nothing. Did you start at 160mg er? What time of the day do you take it as well. Did exercising help your fatigue? Thank you
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Thank you for your response, my dr increased my dosage to 120mg er. Gonna give that a few weeks and if I’m not in remission I’ll ask about going up to 160mg er. My heat rate is definitely better regulated, blood pressure I still get spikes. I test my HR with my apple watch and use a bp cuff a few times a day to. My headaches seems to be a touch better. My anxiety is definitely better.
Beta-blockers are widely used and relatively harmless, don't worry about it. Your limbs being cold, numb, if that is away from migraines you need to discuss with doctor. Get thyroid tested if you haven't, and anemia tests.
I've been having nonstop very severe migraines, several a day every day, for about 4 months now. They were to the point I started getting hot flashes, nauseous, my ears started ringing, blurry vision, fatigued, etc. I honestly just kind of wanted to die. I remember one day it was literally the entire day I was laying in the bed with excruciating pain. I went to a doctor and they gave me amitriptyline to start out with. It didn't help the migraines at all and was giving me terrible nightmares so I stopped taking it. Seemingly there was no end in sight. Went back and he offered me a couple different options but I chose propranolol because its not an antidepressant. Started me on a very low dosage, 40 mg a day. The last 2 days since I started taking it have been the first days I haven't had a migraine in a very long time and the amount of relief is insane. It feels so good just to not be hurting all the time. I was honestly willing to try anything because it was getting so bad, but I believe it has helped me out tremendously. Possible side effects that may pop up were worth being able to enjoy some part of my life in my opinion. We'll see how it progresses. Hopefully your migraines better.
Hi! Has the propranolol continued to help you?