shellyb
23-10-10, 21:20
Hi all, I hope this helps people who are worried about starting Meds like I was.
Never read the side effects on your meds, I went abroad in September and the first few days was dreadful, I couldn’t relax and ended up at the doctors who gave me some anti-depressants. The leaflet was in Spanish so couldn’t read it, started taking them straight away and my symptoms improved within hours, had a fab 2nd week with no side effects what so ever.
When I got home I went to my own doctor who subscribed Amitriptyline, after reading the side effects I decided not to take them and suffered terribly, another trip to the doctors got me Citalopram, again like a muppet I read the side effects and couldn’t take them. I decided to take the self-help route instead and got some ‘Quiet Life’ these have really taken the edge of some of the symptoms for me, also doing some yoga, again fab for relaxing your muscles and eases tension headaches. I’ve made some changes to my diet as well with loads of excellent advice from fellow sufferers on here, worth their weight in gold, thank you all :yesyes: x
I do some work for a retired doctor once a week and he happened to mention that I wasn’t looking to good this week so it all came out, himself and his wife were absolutely brilliant and they gave me some sound advice, firstly his wife takes Propranolol for Claustrophobia and has never had any side effects, ever. He said to trust your doctor 100%, he/she will not give you anything that they wouldn’t take themselves if in our situation. Go armed with some questions: Will they interact with anything else you are taking, what are the most common side-effects etc (that’s all you need to know). With this knowledge I booked an appointment for that same day and off I went with my questions. I got a very positive response and came out with a prescription for 40mg Propranolol to be taken twice daily; I haven’t read the side-effects because the doctor told me that the most common are cold hands and feet plus fatigue. They are safe to take with ‘Quiet Life’ and Buccastem which I take for nausea (these are a life saver for me). I also take Thyroxin as I have an under active thyroid, again it is safe to take with Propranolol.
As you will understand, with suffering from anxiety I still had a niggling doubt about taking them so for peace of mind I chopped one in half ready to take the plunge. Funnily enough, because I had made my mind up that I was going to take them I didn’t feel the need until later the following day. I did it quickly without trying to think too much about it and waited. I would say it only took about 30-40 mins to kick in and the rapid heart calmed down. After a couple of hours I felt really sick, bearing in mind that, that is one of the symptoms of anxiety anyway I can’t be sure whether it had anything to do with the meds or not. I did wake up in a panic this morning but then I wasn’t expecting a miracle, after taking another half I felt much better within the hour and have had a much, much better day.
Please remember that Propranolol is a beta-blocker and only helps with the physical symptoms not the mental ones so do your exercises, eat fresh fruit & veg regularly, try ‘Quiet Life’ and anything else that helps you to relax, I find massage very effective and also snuggling up to someone you love for half an hour, if you haven’t got a partner, go to a parent or good friend, just hold each other (you don’t have to speak just cuddle up) the warmth you feel is so comforting and really helps.
BTW… I haven’t got the cold hands and feet yet but it’s still early days.
If you have been subscribed Propranolol and are worried about starting them, do what I have and cut them in half, take one and occupy yourself. Don’t forget they only help with the physical symptoms so once they are relieved it does feel funny to just have the mental ones, read the advice and threads on self-help, start making some changes and reap the benefits. I am so glad I had the courage to take my meds, I feel I can get better now. Good luck and happier days :hugs:Shelly xxx
Never read the side effects on your meds, I went abroad in September and the first few days was dreadful, I couldn’t relax and ended up at the doctors who gave me some anti-depressants. The leaflet was in Spanish so couldn’t read it, started taking them straight away and my symptoms improved within hours, had a fab 2nd week with no side effects what so ever.
When I got home I went to my own doctor who subscribed Amitriptyline, after reading the side effects I decided not to take them and suffered terribly, another trip to the doctors got me Citalopram, again like a muppet I read the side effects and couldn’t take them. I decided to take the self-help route instead and got some ‘Quiet Life’ these have really taken the edge of some of the symptoms for me, also doing some yoga, again fab for relaxing your muscles and eases tension headaches. I’ve made some changes to my diet as well with loads of excellent advice from fellow sufferers on here, worth their weight in gold, thank you all :yesyes: x
I do some work for a retired doctor once a week and he happened to mention that I wasn’t looking to good this week so it all came out, himself and his wife were absolutely brilliant and they gave me some sound advice, firstly his wife takes Propranolol for Claustrophobia and has never had any side effects, ever. He said to trust your doctor 100%, he/she will not give you anything that they wouldn’t take themselves if in our situation. Go armed with some questions: Will they interact with anything else you are taking, what are the most common side-effects etc (that’s all you need to know). With this knowledge I booked an appointment for that same day and off I went with my questions. I got a very positive response and came out with a prescription for 40mg Propranolol to be taken twice daily; I haven’t read the side-effects because the doctor told me that the most common are cold hands and feet plus fatigue. They are safe to take with ‘Quiet Life’ and Buccastem which I take for nausea (these are a life saver for me). I also take Thyroxin as I have an under active thyroid, again it is safe to take with Propranolol.
As you will understand, with suffering from anxiety I still had a niggling doubt about taking them so for peace of mind I chopped one in half ready to take the plunge. Funnily enough, because I had made my mind up that I was going to take them I didn’t feel the need until later the following day. I did it quickly without trying to think too much about it and waited. I would say it only took about 30-40 mins to kick in and the rapid heart calmed down. After a couple of hours I felt really sick, bearing in mind that, that is one of the symptoms of anxiety anyway I can’t be sure whether it had anything to do with the meds or not. I did wake up in a panic this morning but then I wasn’t expecting a miracle, after taking another half I felt much better within the hour and have had a much, much better day.
Please remember that Propranolol is a beta-blocker and only helps with the physical symptoms not the mental ones so do your exercises, eat fresh fruit & veg regularly, try ‘Quiet Life’ and anything else that helps you to relax, I find massage very effective and also snuggling up to someone you love for half an hour, if you haven’t got a partner, go to a parent or good friend, just hold each other (you don’t have to speak just cuddle up) the warmth you feel is so comforting and really helps.
BTW… I haven’t got the cold hands and feet yet but it’s still early days.
If you have been subscribed Propranolol and are worried about starting them, do what I have and cut them in half, take one and occupy yourself. Don’t forget they only help with the physical symptoms so once they are relieved it does feel funny to just have the mental ones, read the advice and threads on self-help, start making some changes and reap the benefits. I am so glad I had the courage to take my meds, I feel I can get better now. Good luck and happier days :hugs:Shelly xxx