Propranolol for performance anxiety? (depression, psychiatric, vision, antidepressant)
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Hello I've struggled with depression/anxiety for 15+ years. Currently on Bupropion + Prozac and this combo seems to be helping me so far. If I don't have to go out and meet people, I'm perfectly fine. But when I have to attend a social event, I feel super uneasy and often take Xanax.
I think the reason I'm apprehensive of social events is somewhat similar to performance anxiety. Even though I rarely would be put in a public speaking type of situation, I still feel "I have to perform" to look cheerful so people have a pleasant time with me. It makes me nervous obsessing over if I'm saying the right thing or don't look/sound strange.
I heard doctors often prescribe a blood pressure medicine (beta-blocker) Propranolol for performance anxiety. I read user reviews where people had very satisfactory results. So I asked my doctor and she prescribed me 20mg of propranolol and instructed me to take it every day (once a day) .
My understanding was that, for occasional extreme anxiety, you take it an hour or so before the anticipated event ... So I don't know if taking a small dose every day would be just as effective? But my doctor did say we can increase the daily dosage if I don't feel a relief from my anxiety symptoms (palpitation, sweating, etc.) ...
I'm wondering if anyone in this forum used the med, if so, can you share the experience with me, the pros and cons of the med?
First, I want to say I'm against psychiatric drugs, but if they've helped you, it's fine.
I don't see why you want to poison your brain. You can ask your doctor if there are any natural alternatives to control your anxiety, because you have the right to know it. If you really can't do without drugs, then take that drug an hour before the event, I don't recommend you to take a higher dosage, because that's what the drug business wants.
I understand your concern and I do too have the concern for using medicines blindly. I've struggled with recurring depression/anxiety for about 15 years. I took anti-depressants for the first few years, but once my condition improved, I tried to manage it without medication ... I tried almost every supplement I could find that's said to be good for anxiety, but none gave me permanent relief from my condition ...
Several years ago, my condition started to worsen, I often couldn't get out of bed until the afternoon, started avoiding social events as much as possible and became a hermit. I felt hopeless and my life was worthless. I wasn't suicidal, but I sometimes felt like I didn't care if I died in some kind of an accident (so that it won't be too much of a burden to my family compared to taking my own life).
I realized I was at the end of my rope and had to seek some serious help, so I finally saw a doctor and got some anti-depressants prescribed a little over a year ago. My only regret is that I didn't consult with the doctor sooner. After a few months of being on Prozac, my mood was significantly improved and I was able to travel abroad to see my other family that I hadn't seen for a long time. I still have anxiety issues, but I can tell you I'm in a much better place than I was a few years ago.
I understand that any medicine can be poisonous if it was used carelessly. But I'd say the same about so-called 'natural' supplements. Sometimes they can cause damage to your body, especially because you're using it without the supervision of medical professionals.
My doctor told me to take Propranolol every day because I also suffer from hypertension. I've been taking Metoprolol (another BP med) for a half year, yet my BP is still 145/90. She said switching my BP med to Propranolol may do me some good. The dose she started me on is very small (she is a very careful doctor), a lot of people take this med 80-100mg a day.
If those drugs worked for you, and there is NO other way for you to feel better, it's okay. You can try taking that drug your doctor told you, to see if you'll get any benefits.
You said:" I finally saw a doctor and got some anti-depressants prescribed a little over a year ago."
Has your doctor prescribed them too early in your opinion? Did you say you wanted to take them? I've watched some videos about psychiatry, and they say there's a business for drug companies, that tell doctors to prescribe drugs as much as possible. Many people will have bad effects by the drugs, like suicidial thoughts, apathy and more. If you're feeling better after taking the drugs, then I have (almost) nothing against it.
What did your doctor tell you about it? Also, what do you think you should do?
Your doctor told you to take Propranolol every day because you suffer from hypertension. Okay. If I'm correct, this has few to do with mental health.
I don't know about Propranolol, perhaps you can try it, and stop if you don't feel well?
Remember that doctors don't always care about your health, they have business to do, i.e. selling drugs/medicines. For example, it often happens that if you're agitated, they will attempt to give you sedatives, instead of trying to know what the problem is and making you do relaxing activities. It's business, my dear.
I recommend you trying it IF you suffer from hypertension, because that's what that drug's for, right? Then post here to let us know if you're doing better
I still don't have a clear picture of my opinion, what do you think you should do? Do you trust doctors? Remember what I said about drug business, then take a mental picture of your health, do you really need it?
Yes? Take that drug, ask yourself if you're doing better.
---Yes? Keep taking that drug.
---No? Maybe you'll need another drug, or perhaps you can ask about alternative therapy.
No? If you're sure you don't need it, and your doctor attempts to prescribe you the drug, tell her you're fine. Doctors (especially psychiatrists) attempt to sell the drugs, saying these are the solution to every problem.
Okay, I've written enough. What do you think you should do, considering your health?
Thank you for your concern about my health, but I'm not really looking for medical advice (how I should treat my condition) in an online forum, especially about whether I should trust my doctor or not.
I do trust my doctor, she's treated me well over the past 10 years. I have no reason to believe her primary interest is to sell meds and make money for herself. If so, she should've prescribed me much higher dosage of the med. Often she denies my request of increasing the dosage or adding different meds too soon, tells me to wait for my body to adjust properly. If she was in it for making money off of selling meds as much as she can, then she should agree with me every time.
What I'm looking for here is hearing about the firsthand experiences of the people who actually have used (or are using) the med I just started taking.
I took propranolol for hypertension. It lowered my blood pressure, but I had a horrible headache the first few days that I took it. I switched to a different medication, then switched back to the propranolol and had the headache again. It didn't make me any less anxious in situations where I was meeting new people.
I think it's worth a try in your case, since it will help your blood pressure regardless of whether it helps your anxiety.
If you have the kind of anxiety where you're replaying everything you said in your head to see if it sounded weird or if you acted strange, or it's hard to say anything because you're worrying about seeming weird, then a supplement called NAC might help, probably taken every day rather than just when you're going somewhere.
Since you're already on prescription antidepressants (and it sounds like you need them and they're working well for you), you would need to be careful with any of the natural alternatives that are supposed to improve mood, like St. John's wort, 5-htp, SAMe...
I took propranolol for hypertension. It lowered my blood pressure, but I had a horrible headache the first few days that I took it. I switched to a different medication, then switched back to the propranolol and had the headache again. It didn't make me any less anxious in situations where I was meeting new people.
I think it's worth a try in your case, since it will help your blood pressure regardless of whether it helps your anxiety.
If you have the kind of anxiety where you're replaying everything you said in your head to see if it sounded weird or if you acted strange, or it's hard to say anything because you're worrying about seeming weird, then a supplement called NAC might help, probably taken every day rather than just when you're going somewhere.
Since you're already on prescription antidepressants (and it sounds like you need them and they're working well for you), you would need to be careful with any of the natural alternatives that are supposed to improve mood, like St. John's wort, 5-htp, SAMe...
That's interesting, 'cause I heard propranolol is sometimes used to prevent migraine headaches, but everyone has a different reaction to meds, and there's such a thing as "paradoxical side effects" ... What daily dose were you taking, and how long did you take it, if you don't mind me asking? I ask this, because your headache could have been one of those temporary side effects that would eventually pass ... But I totally understand, when you have a bad headache, you don't want to wait even one more day to get rid of it!
I'm not really counting on propranolol having an effect on my anxiety at this small dosage of 20mg. Drugs.com website says the typical initial dose is 40mg twice a day, so I'm taking only 1/4 of it (yes, my doc is that careful! But I like her a lot). She said I could increase to 40mg after a month ... I just have to be 'patient'. (pun intended, lol)
I'll definitely ask her about the supplement NAC, thanks! Yep, there are some supplements that can have a strong effect or bad interaction with one's meds, like the ones you mentioned. My doctor pretty much told me not to take any supplement without talking with her first.
That's interesting, 'cause I heard propranolol is sometimes used to prevent migraine headaches, but everyone has a different reaction to meds, and there's such a thing as "paradoxical side effects" ... What daily dose were you taking, and how long did you take it, if you don't mind me asking? I ask this, because your headache could have been one of those temporary side effects that would eventually pass ... But I totally understand, when you have a bad headache, you don't want to wait even one more day to get rid of it!
I'm not really counting on propranolol having an effect on my anxiety at this small dosage of 20mg. Drugs.com website says the typical initial dose is 40mg twice a day, so I'm taking only 1/4 of it (yes, my doc is that careful! But I like her a lot). She said I could increase to 40mg after a month ... I just have to be 'patient'. (pun intended, lol)
I'll definitely ask her about the supplement NAC, thanks! Yep, there are some supplements that can have a strong effect or bad interaction with one's meds, like the ones you mentioned. My doctor pretty much told me not to take any supplement without talking with her first.
I was taking 40mg twice a day. I had been taking hydrochlorothiazide for blood pressure, but I broke my leg and was in a wheelchair, and the HCTZ causes really frequent urination, so I had to switch because I just wasn't mobile enough to get to the bathroom every ten minutes. When I started taking the propranolol, I was on some strong pain meds for the broken leg and my usual migraines were absent. The headache started as soon as I took the first dose and continued for a week, visual disturbances, sensitivity to light, throbbing pain, vomiting, tender spots on my head...all my usual migraine symptoms, but usually my migraines did not last that long. I stopped taking propranolol and the migraine was gone the next day. The doctor prescribed methyldopa instead and it lowered my blood pressure without the evil migraine. A few months later, when I was not on the pain meds for my leg anymore, they wanted me to try propranolol again and I had the same side effect.
I was taking 40mg twice a day. I had been taking hydrochlorothiazide for blood pressure, but I broke my leg and was in a wheelchair, and the HCTZ causes really frequent urination, so I had to switch because I just wasn't mobile enough to get to the bathroom every ten minutes. When I started taking the propranolol, I was on some strong pain meds for the broken leg and my usual migraines were absent. The headache started as soon as I took the first dose and continued for a week, visual disturbances, sensitivity to light, throbbing pain, vomiting, tender spots on my head...all my usual migraine symptoms, but usually my migraines did not last that long. I stopped taking propranolol and the migraine was gone the next day. The doctor prescribed methyldopa instead and it lowered my blood pressure without the evil migraine. A few months later, when I was not on the pain meds for my leg anymore, they wanted me to try propranolol again and I had the same side effect.
Thanks for your reply So you took a typical initial dosage ... I guess everyone has certain (in)compatibility with certain meds. Like in my case, the first antidepressant my doctor put me on was Lexapro ... she said many of her patients do very well on it ... but wasn't for me ... I felt even more tired/sleepy most of the day. Stuck with it for a month hoping it's a temporary side effect that'll go away ... Nope. Later I found out my neighbor also takes Lexapro and she said she had her life back thanks to it ... what a difference. For me, Prozac did the trick.
If you've tried Propranolol three times, and got a headache every time, clearly this med is not for you. This is my third day taking it, so too soon to tell anything (and I'm on a very low dose), but I don't feel anything particularly different. Let's see how I feel after a couple of weeks. I just want my palpitation and sweating to be lessened when I'm attending a social event or when I'm driving on a highway ...
Thank you for sharing your experience, any info. about this med helps. I really appreciate it!
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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I use a beta blocker on occasions where I have elevate pulse (90+ resting per minute) and it does work. But I've reduced my average resting pulse from 90s to 70s or lower but eliminated caffeinated drinks and reducing sugar intake. Despite a nagging back problem I feel better than I've felt in a very long time. Try that before using a beta blocker daily. I take mine maybe twice a month.
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I've struggled with depression/anxiety for 15+ years. Currently on Bupropion + Prozac and this combo seems to be helping me so far. If I don't have to go out and meet people, I'm perfectly fine. But when I have to attend a social event, I feel super uneasy and often take Xanax. 
