Coming Off Propranolol (Page 2) (Top voted first)

i have stopped taking propranolol 80mg 3days ago and would like to know if there is any side effects coming off them

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i have taken propanolol 160 mg slow release for nearly 5 years. i have not slept a full night for the last 12 months so decided to reduce the dose as the doctor said sleeplessness is a side affect. Im now down to 80 mg after two weeks and Im having a feeling of severe pressure in my chest/throat. i have a doctor appointment in 3 days but i am very worried!! will this feeling pass?? has anyone else had this??

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You can shed the weight now,as I have done. I have taken 20 mg 3X day for 7 years.. I am 37. I gained about 60 lbs in the last 6 years, feeling like crap all the time....

I lost 60 lbs over the last year with a low carb diet, YES trust me it really works.. Even my DR is now doing it...

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Dear Elspeth.I was on them 27years(80mg) Came off them cold turkey!!about 5 weeks ago.The withdrawals are not nice ,BUT I will NEVER GO BACK ON THEM.I only sleep about 2 to 3 hrs a night,but that is not new to me.I too have silly dreams.I think tablets are the worst things on earth and cause more problems than what you are originally taking them for.KEEP OFF TABLETS unless absolutely necessary.Hope that has helped. xx

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Dear CJ.I was on 80mg of Propranalol for 27yrs.I have come off them "cold turkey" at the beginning of August.I am suffering horrendous withdrawal symptoms,BUT it is worth it.I could NEVER understand why I was as big as I was because I only had a small appetite.My main worry was my hair loss and breathing problems.The medical people were not interested,so I took matters into my own hands(so to speak)My breathing is a LOT better as I am NOT having as many episodes as I used to have.My hair loss is no better,so I will probably come off some of my other tablets.I am "virtually bedbound" so don't exercise like your self BUT I have lost 2 stone.I NEVER put this problem down to the tablets BUT since then I have found out that they CAN cause weight gain and breathing problems.WHY DON'T the medical people tell you this?? I NOW SAY THAT TABLETS CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS THAN THE CONDITIONS YOU ARE TAKING THEM FOR.I HATE TABLETS FULL STOP.I am experiencing sweating episodes,trembling,dizziness,severe headaches(all withdrawal symptoms)BUT it is better than taking THOSE TABLETS!! So CJ I am sure you WILL lose the weight when you come off them.What would Drs.do if they didn't automatically dish out horrific medication??? No more new tablets for me EVER!!!

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Whoa there Steve! We are all different and react differently to taking the stuff in the first place and to coming off it. I took Propranolol 80mg for over twenty years and started to think it could be the cause of some problems. Doctor advised tapering off and that worked fine until the last 10mg. As soon as I try to stop that last 10mg (which is, let's face it, a tiny dose) the migraines return big style. I feel like a real person again on the lower dose and various symptoms have gone. So you can keep cold turkey.

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I was on a Propranalol 80mg a day for 27 years.I just stopped them COLD TURKEY.Yes the withdrawals were horrendous but I stuck to it and it "paid off" That was last July/August time and also came off 10 mg of Enalapril COLD TURKEY which is for High blood pressure and I was on these for 20 years.I expected my Blood pressure to zoom up BUT it lowered and it is really TOO LOW NOW.(I don't know why this has happened??) I HATE TAKING TABLETS AND CERTAINLY FEEL BETTER NOW I HAVE STOPPED TAKING THESE NINE A DAY.

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How I took myself off of Propranolol:

As my current prescription was about to run out and my healthcare situation is slim to none; I had been contemplating how to decrease my propranolol intake. I have been taking 120 MG time-release capsule for at least 2 to 4 years, I don’t remember if the initial dose was smaller but either way the 120 MG has been steady for at least 2 years.

Regardless of the health insurance I want to get off the meds anyway, it helped a lot at first but lately I still get migraines and the side affects while minor are bothersome. I notice the most my chest beating irregularly, a little off at times especially while exercising. I didn’t realize this could be from the meds and thought I just wasn’t in my best shape until reading other peoples experience and side affects. I also get lightheaded standing up to fast or at random times. Neither of these have happened to the point that I was worried but now I am starting to question if it’s because of the meds I’d rather stop. I don’t think I have gained weight from the meds but I have had trouble loosing weight and think this may be a contributing factor as adjusting my eating habits and exercise routine don’t seem to make any impact.

The label says to not stop taking suddenly and may cause risk of heart attack. I hope those are worst-case scenarios and being that I am in good health should be ok. Also from reading on the internet, it looks as though people with heart conditions on the medicine are more at risk. Since the pharmacy or my previous Dr. were unable to alter the remaining portion of my prescription I took myself off by alternating days. First I went to every other day for one week then every 2 days for one week then every three days for one set or so as it really became irrelevant at that point and probably did me more harm.

I felt a difference almost immediately, on the days without Propranolol I felt more alert but would sometimes crash a little in the afternoon. I had a slight headache on a few of the days but nothing to major. What I noticed the most was my heart rate, it was normal while resting but would beat rapidly during exhortation. Over this time I stopped exercising besides some low-key yoga, another reason I hate this drug is that it made me give up something I love to rid it of my body. It has been over a month since I first started decreasing my dose and about 2 weeks of no Propranolol at all and I am glad to be done with it.

I am starting to exercise again, my heart was beating pretty quickly during my run this morning but I will ease into it and hopefully normalize soon. I am more alert than ever and can’t believe what an impact it had on my grogginess that I attributed to sleep or other factors of life. I am not recommending that anyone try my method however I rummaged through the internet for related posts and hope this can be consideration for anyone considering getting off the drug. Also if anyone has input that I may not be out of the danger zone of having a heart attack I’d like to hear it.

All the best.

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I hope this will be of help to someone in a similar situation.

I was prescribed propanalol for anxiety but they had such horrendous side effects for me that it actually increased my anxiety and I had a panic attack in the middle of the night (thinking I was dying).

I was then put on atenolol which was as bad so decided I wanted to come off them. After reading others suggestions here and elsewhere I started to reduce the dosage. I confirmed this with the doc and he suggested using the propanalol to come off the atenolol.

I know some people have had no side effects or withdrawal symptoms from these things but they are the worst medication I have ever taken, they were poison to me causing palpatations, headaches, feeling of extreme heat (yet temperature was normal), breathing difficulties (like breathing through a grater), fatigue and inability to get to or stay asleep.

If you are coming off these pills then please believe me, these things will pass. I know how hard it is to deal with these symptoms but they will reduce in time.

I wasn't on these things long but here is how much (in mg) I was taking each day. You can see the reduction tapering off towards the end.

Drug taken mg
Propanalol 10
Propanalol 30
Propanalol 30
Propanalol 30
Atenolol 50
Atenolol 50
Atenolol 50
Atenolol 50
Atenolol 100
Atenolol 37.5
Atenolol 37.5
Nothing! 0 (this was the day I had finally had enough)
Atenolol 12.5
Propanalol 10
Propanalol 10
Propanalol 5

I am typing this on the day following the 5mg. The doc said 5mg was so miniscule there was no point in me taking another 5 today.

I have to admit this was hard work but today I only have a slight breathing problem and very minor feeling of something around the heart. This is a MASSIVE improvement even on yesterday or the day before.

Peace.

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I Was on 80 mg for a year. Im trying to get off them too and I Was wondering if your heart was beating fast for a few days? (because my is)

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Like Des, I tried halving my Propranolol dose just 7 days ago. I had been taking 20mg 3 times a day for about 10 years as a migraine preventative. I reduced to 10mg 3 times daily. I have generally felt OK but noticed an increase in heart rate. Becoming more noticeable as the week has progressed. Last night in bed I could feel my heart thumping throughout my whole body. It scared the hell out of me which is how I have ended up on this site. I have taken my full dose again this morning and am going to do things much slower. I am just going to have one of the doses a day for a week at a time and see how I go.

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I was on 20mg a day, 10mg twice a day, i was told to try just one a day now by a locum dr, only been on tabs for 5 Wks anyway, iam getting lots of minor sharp pains in my upper arm, chest, had the odd pain in my head, is making me abit worried, don't know if this is just side effects of lowering the dose, but my understanding is that you taper the dose so you don't get the side effects, hate not knowing what's going on.

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Stopped taking propranol 80mg daily, 2 weeks, and I am still light headed, sometime I get the spins when I stand or make quick movements, bp went to 150/100. Yes I got off the med coldturky, I was just tired of taking 7 pills a day. Comming off of the drug is like comming of Paxil. Libido has improved immmedatealy. I wonder if the side effects out way the cure. Anyony know how long it takes to come off the effects. Thank you for all the information on this blog everone

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Well its now 31 days since I stopped taking Propranolol. Doctor supported me and advised that if migraines do return to weigh up if they are worse than side effects of propranolol and vice versa. After two weeks I started to feel normal again with headaches subsiding. However, I picked up a virus and had flu - hot and cold chills followed by chest infection and am now on antibiotics! Perhaps my immune system was low? Still have cough and waking up with headaches - probably caused through coughing so much but hope that I will soon feel better again. It's difficult to say if coming off Propranolol is the root cause of symptoms or whether I'm just attributing them to it. I will post an update in couple of weeks time but still am determined to stay off Propranolol. As a positive, my night terrors have ceased and I have not experienced restless legs since either and anxious feelings have gone. I suppose after thirteen years on Propranolol - one month off is early days still.

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I got rid of propanalol by taking 1/4 of a pill less, each dosage, for a week at a time (twice a day - 1 pill, 3/4 pill, 1/2 pill, 1/4 pill then 1/4 pill once a day then free) until I was off, without any side effects or withdrawals. Praise Jesus! I'm free! Not sleepy or aggitated anymore!

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I have the same problems going on and am on the same dose as you. My blood sugar also keeps dropping very low (one of the reasons I am going off of it) but I would love to know how long until I feel normal again?

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I'm glad I came to this message board, and am amazed that it's still going strong 10 years after the first post. My run-in with Propranolol has been going on for over a year. I had a neurologist prescribe 40 mg in response to my chronic migraines. I had immediate response, with a significant reduction in migraines. Meanwhile, my weight started creeping up.

After a few months, the chronic migraines returned, the weight continued to increase, and I began experiencing unfamiliar muscular pain. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia by my GP, and he tripled my Propranolol (from 40 to 120 mg). Along with the increase in Gabapentin (simply can't handle Lyrica's side effects, unfortunately), they helped improve the pain.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. I was out of Gabapentin and Propranolol. My GP had retired, and I had to wait a month to see his replacement. I'm thinking, "I can hold off for two weeks without Propranolol," having no idea what the consequences of going "cold turkey" would be. Last Saturday, my heart skipped a beat, then started beating in a way I'd never felt (I guess they call it palpitations?). Being 42, I doubted it was a heart attack. I thought it might be the fibromyalgia. Then, I started thinking about all my meds. I looked up Propranolol. Bingo!

This stuff is scary, and I'm not sure that the value of taking it is better than the drawbacks of the side effects/withdrawal symptoms. When I see the doctor next week, I'm going to discuss Propranolol, along with all the other meds, he has me on. After my experience with Propranolol, I'm not sure I trust any medication.

PS: Propranolol + Me = 30 lbs.; don't call it lack of willpower, call it one of the stupid side effects that the drug manufacturers never tell you about

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I feel your pain! I was put on 60 mg of propananol for heart palpitations and they said it would help with my migraines! Went back after 2 months cause I was still getting palpitations so I went up to 80 mg once a day. Was working great for my migraines but everything else seemed off. Fatigued/arms felt like lead weights were tied to them and my palpitations were getting worse(although my stress levels were too). So I went back again and he gave me propafenone... Well that really sent my body into a tailspin... After about a week and a half on 150 mg of propafenone once a day- I developed a virus.. Fever, aches, exhaustion and then lethargic with a low grade fever for 8 days! Doc said stop taking the propafenone cause my liver enzymes were way to high... After 2 weeks of being off it my liver tests are all back to normal but I still feel tired and just off. So now I'm wondering if I should ween off the propanol and just get all these meds out of my system- it's not helping with the palpitations anyway!!! But I will miss how it helped my migraines!!!! Any suggestions for helping heart palpitations naturally besides magnesium(I'm taking that too). And suggestions for naturally getting rid of migraines?? Thanks, Laura

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Answer For Everyone! I'm taking inderal from 8 months! at start 20mg / day. (10mg morning + 10mg evening)
One important thing for all of you, do not stop talking inderal or propanolol suddenly!
you may feel worse effects like Chest pain, Sudden raise in blood pressure, Irregular heart beat. or heart problem!
I myself stop a morning time inderal 10 mg, & felt sudden raise in blood pressure till again talking inderal.
then i reduce it by breaking it as 10mg/ day, without any problem
Then I reduced it again after 2 weeks as 5mg/ day without any problem
Before two days I decided to skip one day does, but that was wrong decision, after end of the day! My blood pressure was normal 116/ 80 but then within 5 second it raise to hypertension (i didn't monitor but i felt it like above 180/100) sudden Irregular heart beat. suddenly my condition became worse.
Then I take Inderal 5mg quikly! then my blood pressure went down to normal 129 / 80
Now I have to reduce it as 2.5mg
So keep in mind. Do not Stop Taking Inderal Or Propanolol suddenly.
Just Reduce the amount of medicine gradually (20mg>10mg>5mg so on..) after 2 weeks
Remember me in your Prayers!

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Hi so I know you did this a long time ago. But did it help? I'm on 10 mg am and 10 mg pm. I've been taking propranolol for about 2 years due to a rapid hr and anxiety. I take something for anxiety now and want to taper off. I tried cutting back for a few days and I've had this uncomfortable pinching in my heart for two days now. Worried.

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I have been breaking out with psorriosis and I think it has something to di with propranonal

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