Scared to take beta blockers

[Gem Can't Switch Off]

help please!! Doc prescribed me beta blockers yesterday for anxiety and migraines. I spoke to my Dad and Gran who both have heart disease and they both collapsed on them. I am now too petrified to take them in case I have the same reaction. Why would the doc prescribe these, my pulse and BP are generally quite slow at the moment to start with?

I get really really bad migraines, which are hemiplegic, so half my face becomes droopy. Also have bad anxiety at the moment, stress is getting too much for me to take.

Is there anything else doc can give to help both? Or are these tablets safe and my family were unlucky with them??

Any advice would be fab please xxx

[Cathy V]

Hiya, well first off im surprised your dad and your grans doctors pescribed betablockers if thy have heart disease, perhaps it depends what kind of heart disease it is. One of the very rare side effects of betablockers is heart failure in susceptable people. If you havent been diagnosed with any heart problems then you should be ok.

However, because they also slow down the heart and lower bp, im equally surprised that youve been given them too. There are plenty of meds out there to treat anxiety and migraine, so im surprised your doc has given betablockers to you. Yes they are very good at treating both conditions, but only if your bp is normal and not low. If i were you id go back and ask more questions.

Take care
Cathy xxx :)

[House fan]

Hi Gem, please trust your doctor, who is aware of your BP and pulse rate, and would have taken this into consideration when making his diagnosis. Beta blockers have improved considerably over the past ten years, I think the chances of you collapsing are very slim indeed, and I trust you don't have heart disease unlike your dad and gran.
Please stay strong, and start your medication, beta blockers have been very helpful to lots of members on this site, and might just be the medication to give you some welcome relief from your symptoms.
House.

[Cathy V]

Oh, ok i stand corrected. I also take beta blockers (propranolol) and have always been told that, because they lower blood pressure and slow the heart down, if your bp is low and heart rate slow to start with, then the docs dont like to pescribe them. Perhaps Gems idea of low bp is not really that low? and as you say the docs know best...

So, take care
cathy xxx

[Gem Can't Switch Off]

hi guys,

House and Cathy, thanks for your answers so far, I think I will ask the GP more questions tomorrow, my pulse is 54BPM, can't remember what my BP was.

I know I should trust my doc but you know what it's like with anxiety, I'm panicking about taking them!!!!

My Dad was prescribed them post heart attack 5 years ago but no longer takes them now due to the collapse episode, and my gran for high blood pressure years ago.

The tablets are Atenolol 50mg.

xx

[Hollytree]

Hi there, I am taking Propranolol which is a beta blocker, I take 10mg 3 times a day. If anything they made me feel a bit sick, but nothing major. However I do feel alot better for taking them. Despite your family history and i understand your concerns, your doctor would no prescribe them to you if he thought you were at any risk. My Bp is 105/60 which is low but normal, if you know what I mean :) I hope this helps you a little. Take care xxx

[Captain America]

i'd wait and ask the doctor if i were you, just to be sure. the point is beta blockers are good for slowing down heart rate and that's good for people who have anxiety moments where their heart starts racing, as i believe they keep the heart from kicking in by blocking the sympathetic influence over the heart rate (the beta). so it's possible that it won't really affect your heart at it's normal beat but would just prevent your sympathetic system from kicking it in too hard when panicking.

i think i'm right. could be wrong though....so ask dr please

[Hollytree]

Yeah, beta blockers ' dampen down' the overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system, these include rapidly beating heart (palpitations), shakiness (tremor), intolerance to heat and sweating, diarrhoea, muscle aches and mental symptoms, as well as some heart conditions. There have been proven to help with anxiety related conditions. Please ask your doc though is you are worried xxx

[Natural Mystic]

I take 80 mg slow release per day and I think they have diluted my symptoms of anxiety.

[Captain America]

incidentally i think that's why archers try sneaking them in in the olympics, and i heard that a lot of performers take them for performance anxiety.

anyone know if they effect your heart at rest or if it's just when the nerves kick in? i'm kinda curious now...they're starting to sound appealing.

[JohnBliss]

Hi there
I have been taking Atenolol 50 mg daily for several months and have not had a panic attack since taking them despite continuing high anxiety levels. They literally do stop the panic attacks as I understand by slowing the heart and blocking the adrenalin. I thoroughly recommend them because for me they remove the fear of a panic attack which makes the anxiety easier to deal with.
Best of luck
John

[Gem Can't Switch Off]

Hi guys,

thanks again for your responses,

John- what happens now when you get anxious? Can't imagine how I'd feel anxious but not get symptoms??

Also worried (surprise surprise!) as I'm having an anaesthetic in 3 weeks time for IVF. Can you take them a) when you're having an operation and b) when you're pregnant?

Will have plenty of questions for my GP this week

XX

[JohnBliss]

Hello again
Mostly when I feel anxious I have no physical symptons, at worst I may feel tense but it's a long time since I had a full blown panic attack ie palpitations.the shakes.lightheadedness.sweating etc.
Hope you get the reassurance you seek from the doc and if you do take the
Atenolol will reap the benefits I'm sure I enjoy through taking them with no side effects
Regards
John