Mojo61
14-02-16, 19:14
I've been taking 80mg s/r propranalol to help with anxiety for 3 months now. At first they helped but gradually as the weeks went by I became more and more depressed to the extent that I was referred to the CMHT for a full assessment. Mornings were dreadful, such a terrible "fog" in my head which left me terrified and unable to do the most basic things like housework, driving, shopping etc. I was backwards and forwards to my doctor, prescribed God knows how many different anti depressants - citalopram, sertraline, Paroxitine, venlafaxine, Valium, sleeping tablets to name a few; none of which I could tolerate for more than a few days before the side effects became too much, I gave up. I wasn't eating, drinking or sleeping and my life was a living hell. I went back to my GP who increased the dose of propranalol to 120mg daily but I felt worse on that so decided I would titrate the dose down as now the drug didn't seem to be helping at all - what was the point in taking them? Slowly I reduced them, and an amazing thing happened; the fog slowly started to lift, my appetite returned as did my energy and enthusiasm. Sleep is still an issue but I'm working on that. I decided to do a bit of research as it seemed a big coincidence that stopping the propranalol also coincided with a big improvement in my symptoms. I was horrified to find out that this drug is heavily indicated in depression and other CNS symptoms! Why didn't any of the doctors and mental health professionals I saw make the correlation? Surely looking at my records would have shown that my depressive symptoms increased the higher the propranalol dose went? It is insidious too, these symptoms do not happen overnight, rather they appear slowly over weeks as the drug affects the brain. I am so angry, I can't begin to tell you, yet I'm still thinking maybe it is all in my imagination and the awful feeling is going to come back again, that somehow by actually telling people about this is going to jinx it. Has anyone else experienced similar to me? Should I report this to my doctor? Sorry for the rant lol!