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DeniseCambs
23-12-09, 17:18
Hi all,

I've been loitering for a day or two and have found the forum and articles really helpful.

About 3 yrs ago I developed severe anxiety and panic attacks, linked to months of being unable to breath whenever I tried to get to sleep. Fortunately I saw a very good doctor, who treated my anxiety with a low dose of Citalopram and some Lorazepam (only for when I felt the panic was getting out of control). He also, correctly as it turns out, suspected I had acid reflux, which was causing the sleep time breathing problems and he gave me Omeprazole for that, which I continue to take. Once the acid problems were sorted, the anxiety soon (within about 3 months) was under control. I continued to take the Citalopram for another year as my doctor said that prolongued use would hopefully reduce the risk of future panic disorder. I've been absolutely fine since then.. until this last week.

Out of nowhere I've been feeling really anxious at work, sparked I think by a couple of ophthalmic migraines. I'd never had one before and was terrified as my Mother had a brain aneurysm some years ago that was diagnosed after she suffered some visionary problems. Anyway, it's been spiralling a bit and at work on Monday I kept going light headed and dizzy, feeling sick and generally uneasy. I panic about panicking (I'm sure many of you are familiar with that particular roundabout), and started to worry that I'd lose my job through having time off etc.

I went to the doctors on Tuesday and he has prescribed 10mg Propranolol, which I will take along with the Amlodipine 5mg and Lisinopril 10mg I'm already on for hypertension.

Interestingly he suggested that rather than my acid reflux being the cause of the previous anxiety, the anxiety caused the acid reflux.

So, I wondered first of all.. does anyone else take Propranolol with Amlodipine and Lisinopril? And has anyone else ever noticed severe acid problems caused by their anxiety condition?

Finally - I want to thank all of you who take the time to run and contribute to this site. I've always felt a bit embarrassed about having anxiety problems, as I'd made wild assumptions about anxiety sufferers being weak etc. I felt ashamed of my anxiety because I'm just not the sort of person I expected to get it.

Anyway... here's hoping the propranolol will work, as my daughter and I are due to spend Christmas with my best friend and her family, and I've been working myself up a bit about getting panicky and ruining their Christmas!

leo05
26-12-09, 06:05
welcome to nmp - hope you find all the support you need

tc
lea

pollyanna
26-12-09, 09:54
Hi denise


i can only half answer your question, as i take propranolol and omeprazole, but not the other two.
i started getting bad acid reflux a couple of years ago, when i was particularly stressed out, ( funny enough it was also at this time of year) i had noticed it always came on when i was stressed, but this time it never went away, but then neither did the stress.... i have been taking the omeprzole ever since then and it has worked very well. so i have no doubt in my mind that anxiety brought it on . I also take the propranolol , which i have done for many years which i also find to be very helpful, as well as the antidepressant dothiepin, all helping to keep me on a more even keel, well most of the time...


I am sorry that you are having a bit of a rotten time at the moment, and worrying about losing your job just adds to the worry. and i totally understand the concept about panicking about panicking only too well.
I hope you managed to have a nice day yesterday at your friends house, and hopefully things wil start to pick up again for you soon.

tc P x :hugs:

DeniseCambs
26-12-09, 21:33
Hi and thanks for the replies.

Was interested to read you suffered from acid due to stress Pollyanna. I'd always assumed that I was anxious because of the acid, not the other way round. Especially as I had NEVER experienced anxiety problems before.

I had a good Christmas, although Christmas Eve was a bit of a nightmare. I really thought I was going to have to ask my friend to bring me home, because I got terribly anxious in the evening. I felt sick, light headed and my vision was blurred. I realise now that I was just terrified about ruining everyone's Christmas by being anxious - again, the panic about panicking. I ended up taking a propranolol and had a lay down with my ipod on (I know it makes me sound like a 70yr old biddy - I'm 36, but I find the Archers podcast really relaxes me). I fell asleep for half an hour and when I woke up I felt much much better. Christmas Day was absolutely fine, and we all had a great time.

We got home this afternoon and for some reason I came over all anxious again, but a lay down helped.

I just hate the way I've got nothing to feel anxious about, but still do... infuriating!

Incidentally, I was wondering about the blurred vision thing, does anyone else get this?