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Misc Inderal (propranolol) making me depressed?

suessmayr

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Messages
1,067
Location
Sydney, Australia
I've been on Inderal for about 2 weeks for anxiety/panic. It seems to have helped in a limited way with the physical symptoms, but I'm not altogether sure. But since about 3 days ago my mood has gone way down. This has made the anxiety worse, as they always seem to correlate.

I have heard that Inderal can do this. Does anyone know whether there are other beta-blockers that don't cause depression? I take avanza and lexapro and was depressed (but not as much) before the Inderal.

S
 
In general, when I have used medications for anxiety (benzodiazepines, hydroxyzine, cannabis, and others), they worked.

If you didn't have marked anxiolysis from propanolol, I am going to say it probably isn't helping, and as you already suspect, could be making things worse.

Of course, it may be that you are not doing as well due to other factors which are unrelated to propanolol, I wouldn't rule other exogenous forces out, but it is something definitely worth bringing up to your doctor.

How long have you been on lexapro? I have heard many weird and unusual things about this particular SSRI, so I might also look into tapering off of it. Unless you feel you actually do get good effects from it, I would consider tapering off of it, and re-evaluating.
 
I HATE lexapro!! I feel like it never did anything for me. My doctor agreed to bring me off it and start me up on something else (Zoloft or Paxil) but I am back at full-time study now and have so much going on - I'm barely managing as it is and coming off lexapro would probably result in me feeling worse before I felt better. I've been on it for at least 6 months and I would be devastated if I stopped taking it and then felt worse/more anxious.

I feel really trapped right now. I am 54 days off bupe and around 8 months off benzos. But my anxiety and depression are unbearable. I don't want to go back to benzos because they fuck my head and this is unacceptable in my degree. Avanza and Lexapro have done shit all and although Inderal was great for about a week, now it's making me intensely depressed. I feel under the circumstances like it's almost logical to go back to opiates.
 
Switch over to prozac. It is the SSRI which is least likely to have a withdrawal syndrome (zoloft is very likely to do this), and that way, you can see if it is going to do anything for you.

Of course, that is up to your doctor, but that is what I would do in your shoes.
 
I was on prozac previously. I've been on, variously, prozac, zoloft, cymbalta, pristiq, lamictal, epilim, lithium, abilify and seroquel. This is why I feel trapped, I feel like nothing has helped. And I've wasted so much time with drugs and dysfunction I feel like now I don't have the time anymore to slow things down and take time off to try a tricyclic or a MAOI.
 
lexapro is generally well tolerated and is a very selective sri. I hated it too though, didn't help my anxiety and I wasn't depressed anyway, it actually made me depressed because it killed my sex drive. The w/d from it was shit too, felt like a short benzo withdrawal. I love how my Dr. describes the withdrawal as discontinuation syndrome instead of calling it a withdrawal, it certainly feels like a withdrawal. Of course when it comes to other drugs, there's no such thing as discontinuation syndrome, just withdrawal and dependence or he calls it addiction depending on how he feels. bunch of semantic bullshit.

Have you tried taking propranolol just for anxiety attacks instead of all the time? I think that may help. Or possibly trying to come off all medications and allow you body to return to normal and see how that is. It's difficult though, especially if you are in school, you can't fuck with your brain too much or it'll affect your school work/cognitive abilities.

With all the side effects of these meds and how generally ineffective they are I feel like just going back to opiates as well, seems like the lesser evil of the bunch. If only they were as cheap as benzos (and didn't cause me to poo golf balls). Sorry I have no tips, i'm still struggling with the same issue, but the less medication I take the better I feel lately anyway.
 
Propranolol is a beta-blocker. It blocks the effects of epinephrine/adrenaline upon your heart. It is prescribed to people who suffer from anxiety
attacks so that they will not experience the "racing heart" and other symptoms associated with panic attacks. It does not affect the central nervous
system, only the beta receptors of the peripheral nervous system. Some people report they feel fatigued while taking the drug, likely because of the
decrease in heart rate and blood pressure that results.
 
It could be possible, emotions don't exist completely independently of one another so using a drug to eliminate one particular feeling may suppress others at the same time. I've never really noticed any benefit from propranolol, anywhere from 20mg to 80mg in a day. But some people swear buy it. If you feel that it is making things worse then you can always try taking a break from it.
 
prozac makes me very aggressive and every other ssri i'v tired zoloft paxil cymbalta lexapro and a few others i can't even remember did jack shit zyprexa helps slightly with my anxiety and bipolar2 disorder
 
Propanolol is known for having relatively high CNS penetration and causing negative side effects on mood. Get them to switch you to a more cardioselective beta blocker like atenolol and these side effects should go away.
 
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