Doctor gave me Beta Blockers, Dont know if I should take them!

[[Tu...]]

Well I went to the doctor today and was explaining to him that, my anxiety is up, restless sleep patterns, obsessive thoughts of doom and gloom (you know the usual s/x) So he said that he wants me to try these pills called Half-Inderal LA 80mg tabs one a day for a month and if they dont work or s/x dont let up we will talk about an anti-depressant (possibly remeron) He said the beta blockers are non addictive and not to worry as he knows I just tapered from valium and have been benzo free almost 5 weeks (it is not the same doctor that I did my taper with that doctor was from a drug  rehab clinic, this is my family doctor) Has anyone used these pills and can anyone shed some light on the pros and cons of taking beta blockers

I am in no rush to take any medicine, but if harmless and non addictive, I will give them a go. I just dont thrust any doctor and there prescriptions anymore, even though he means well.

Thanks

[Guest [Pf...]]

Beta blockers are not addictive in the sense that one will crave more and more of them, or get high from them.  Even so, they can cause rebound symptoms, like racing heart and anxiety, when you stop them.  So people also have said that beta blockers cause insomnia.

[[ve...]]

Well I went to the doctor today and was explaining to him that, my anxiety is up, restless sleep patterns, obsessive thoughts of doom and gloom (you know the usual s/x) So he said that he wants me to try these pills called Half-Inderal LA 80mg tabs one a day for a month and if they dont work or s/x dont let up we will talk about an anti-depressant (possibly remeron) He said the beta blockers are non addictive and not to worry as he knows I just tapered from valium and have been benzo free almost 5 weeks (it is not the same doctor that I did my taper with that doctor was from a drug  rehab clinic, this is my family doctor) Has anyone used these pills and can anyone shed some light on the pros and cons of taking beta blockers I am in no rush to take any medicine, but if harmless and non addictive, I will give them a go. I just dont thrust any doctor and there prescriptions anymore, even though he means well.

Thanks

 

Do you have any family history of heart disease?  How is your cholesterol?  Ever had elevated BP before?  I had a family history of heart disease plus slightly elevated cholesterol and already was taking a statin when I finished my taper off valium a couple years ago.  About two to three months post taper, my BP surged.  I had no explanation for it other than withdrawal and "rebound anxiety".  My internist suggested beta blockers but I decided that I would not opt for any other meds (based on my state of health at the time and consulting with my doctor). I asked him if he thought my bp was so elevated that I was in immediate danger of stroke or what not and he said no.  I told him I was going to embark on a little more gradual exercise, eat more sensibly and monitor my BP daily or every other day. Within a week, BP was back down to normal.  At 8 months off, I was doing much better healthwise and was almost ready to declare a "post benzo success story".. I resumed some moderate wine drinking (which by the way can elevate BP) and started to eat unhealthy over that summer.  After about six weeks at 9 months off, BP was up, cog fog and some GI symptoms gave me a setback, but again was able to return to healthy diet and exercise to avoid the meds that Fall of 2010.  It's a personal decision to make with your doctor.

 

Vertigo

[[Tu...]]

No history of heart disease that I am aware of. I'm not to sure about BP or cholesterol,thats another thing I must get checked out, i have so much things bothering me when I go to the doctor I actually forget to tell him half of it.

I think I'll take the beta blockers for a few days  to see If they help, I will report back tell you how I get on!

[[ra...]]

Have you took the beta blocker i was reading about it last night and it has. Itching to do with your brain  it works on your symtamatic. Nervas system it works on the physical anxiety. Not the mental

[[to...]]

All BBs cause sexual side effects and they do need to be tappered if you are on them long term.  There are other possible side effects that you should look up bu tthe most common is the one I mentioned.

[[ba...]]

As  dr. Ashton states the are no  meds ,that haven proven to be useful during withdrawl  benra blocker are often used to control bp, they need to be tapered when going off of them you can not stop them c/t

[[13...]]

I have been on Propananol 80mg slow release for years and they are wonderful.  I used to suffer with bad anxiety and palpitations and the doc gave them to me would'nt be without them.

[[An...]]

I was on betablockers and they have made my w/ds much easier.

[[ka...]]

im on beta blocker have been for 7 months they realy work for me they take about 2 to 3 weeks to work if you take them do not stop them cold turkey you could have a heart attack you must taper down they are not addictive an work great you must take them everyday at the same time dont skip dosage i tale atenolol 25mg once a day....kate7

[[...]]

Hi all. My husband was on Toprol XL. He slept all the time, couldn't think straight, had memory loss, unable to have sex, did poorly at work. All this from the drug. He slowly tapered and had a really hard time for quite a while coming off it. The anxiety was horrible. It was HORRIBLE!!! He never had anxiety before this. He has been off it for years and is totally fine.

Bear

[[GH...]]

AS I understand it, beta blockers block beta receptors. When we have an adrenaline rush, the beta receptors are stimulated to raise our pulse, dilate our eyes and other things. With anxiety we sweat, our pulse increases and all the other fun stuff.

 

Drs give BB to treat the physical symptoms of anxiety. They also give it to mellow the heart response to beta, and keep BP lower.

 

So, say if you are taking a bb and you do some heavy exercise, your pulse will not increase as it normally would. With anxiety I found it to be sort of cruel. I was still nervous but had few physical symptoms. I was screaming inside. BB did not help to stop the anxiety, just the physical symptoms.

 

The sex side effects are from the beta receptors being blocked with orgasm. For me, I did not feel an orgasm. It was an anti climax, so to speak. Not exactly enjoyable.

 

cardiologists love BB because they are "safe". Maybe they are, I cant say.

 

So with wd some get beta stimulation. We are given BB to help. My dr gave them to me to treat the shaking and twitching. I felt no help with them. IMHO The shaking and twitching is not from a beta receptor.

 

[[to...]]

AS I understand it, beta blockers block beta receptors. When we have an adrenaline rush, the beta receptors are stimulated to raise our pulse, dilate our eyes and other things. With anxiety we sweat, our pulse increases and all the other fun stuff.

 

Drs give BB to treat the physical symptoms of anxiety. They also give it to mellow the heart response to beta, and keep BP lower.

 

So, say if you are taking a bb and you do some heavy exercise, your pulse will not increase as it normally would. With anxiety I found it to be sort of cruel. I was still nervous but had few physical symptoms. I was screaming inside. BB did not help to stop the anxiety, just the physical symptoms.

 

The sex side effects are from the beta receptors being blocked with orgasm. For me, I did not feel an orgasm. It was an anti climax, so to speak. Not exactly enjoyable.

 

cardiologists love BB because they are "safe". Maybe they are, I cant say.

 

So with wd some get beta stimulation. We are given BB to help. My dr gave them to me to treat the shaking and twitching. I felt no help with them. IMHO The shaking and twitching is not from a beta receptor.

 

Good post, I find it odd that those who responded did not mention the sexual side effects.  For me that was a dealbreaker.

[[ka...]]

i did not have any sex side effects may be it effects men different then women

[[GH...]]

Tonn, I dont know your sex. I was incapable of sex for quite some time in wd. Now it is a little different at 16 months.

 

In general , yes  the sex side effects suck. I think that some people are not as effected. For me, even at a low dose it was bad. I could still have sex, just orgasm felt like nothing. I just ejaculated but no feeling.

 

I dont know how bb affect other peoples wd. They did no good for me. So many of the psych drugs efect sex drive. But so does anxiety, depression, mania, and all my favorites.

 

There are no magic pills.

 

[[Mi...]]

I believe inderal is the same as propranolol I take 1/2 of a 10mg. pill on occasion.

80mg. at one time seems very high to me. If you take it and start to feel woosy get to the floor

quickly, as you may pass out (as it will lower  your BP). Although they are not labeled as addictive

you will still need to do some tapering if you decide to take them for awhile.

 

(maybe try 1/2 to 1/4 dose to see how it effects you first)

 

Mindy

[[bb...]]

im a med student (haha) and the doc probably gave you beta blockers to control the somatic symptoms of anxiety,e.g shaking hands,muscles,excessive sweating and fast heart beat.its not addictive,u can leave it quite easily in a couple of days,it should be very helpful

[[GH...]]

wow, talk about a cliche. I have heard that med students take beta blockers for the anxiety symptoms. LOL

 

That is exactly what I took them for, years ago. I thought that it was cruel. I was still nervous but I did not have the symptoms. It is like doing surgery on a paralyzed person.

[[ch...]]

hi bbs,i couldnt take beta blockers because i have astma.which is a shame cos doctor said the would have helped me.i now have high blood pressure and have to go on tablets for it.i wonder if this is cos of withdrawal.i wouldnt be surprized.iv got every other sx.

[[Me...]]

After all the meds the doc has given me over the years, in all honesty, I wouldn't touch anymore prescribed medication at all unless it's for a chronic health condition, not a psychological one, but that's just me.

[[mc...]]

I am kind of with MessedUp, but it is a personal choice. I was on beta blockers a year ago for my anxiety symptoms as well and the side effects bothered me so bad, that is how I ended up taking more ativan. I didn't have s/e from ativan, so not knowing what I know now, it was the senisble choice. I am so sensitive to medications though, so you may not have too bad of s/e's. Good luck!

[[Tu...]]

I have been taking the BB now for 3 days and I feel no different, to be honest I feel worse. My tinnitus is bad and it was very low before I started the beta Blocker, also feel worse at night and the head stuff (obsessive thoughts)are still there. I think I'll just do without them!

[[GH...]]

There are many side effects listed for BB. Depression, drowsiness, decreased libido to name a few of my favorite things. Just google away.

[[Me...]]

Here's my advice- if anything like beta blockers or whatever have certain side effects, I would avoid them personally. I take codein pain killers from time to time if I have severe pain from my sciatica (caused by the nerves in my left leg retracting and moving up and down when I did a cold turkey, it was quite frightening) and when my ribs are sore. I didn't know they were addictive, but I've been on them so long now (a few years) that if I stop it will cause a w/d, so I have to wait until I'm healed to taper off them (that's something else to look forward to).

 

I am also somewhat annoyed that I was put on Zoloft 50mg along time ago for anxiety when I c/t from the benzos, but it was so long that I cannot stop taking them for now as I'll get a w/d from it, and that's pretty much the last thing I need. So I have to wait until I am fully healed to come off the meds, one at a time until my body is free from Big Pharma crap.

 

Look it up, and see if Beta Blockers create a w/d when you come off them. If they don't, maybe give them a try and see if they work, but when docs say you need to take them for awhile for them to 'work', and when that happens it makes you feel worse (as it did with the zoloft), and coming off them causes a w/d, then I would most definitely avoid them.

[[GH...]]

I dont think that you ca "look it up" to find out if there is a wd from beta blockers.

 

As we all know, there is no such thing as a long withdrawal from benzos either.

 

BTW, I went off oxycontin and benzos at the same time. I think that the wd from the oxy was not bad. But I cant say for sure.