Badly disturbed sleep after first propranolol

[jimbo2753]

Hi. I am a 49 year old male and for the first time ever my GP has prescribed me 40mg propranolol. To be taken 2 hrs before delivering a speach at 11am. Excellent effect (suppressed adrenaline). However horrendous effect on my sleep that night. To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. That was 4 days ago and i don't really want to take a 2nd tablet. If I were to take 40mg every day would my body adjust and my sleep come good again ? Thanks.

[Catherine S]

Hi there. Glad it worked for your speech...propranolol is great for these occasions, but it may have worn off by the time you went to bed to be honest. Although 40mgs is a fair dosage for a newbie....I take it split into 2x20mgs which seems to suit me better than 40mgs in one hit. When beta blockers wear off you might experience a faster heart rate than before, due of course to the fact that they suppress a strong heartbeat. It may be worth splitting your dose, or even doubling up on it with maybe 2x 40mgs....which isn't too high a dose when you know that propranolol can be given up to as much as 300mgs when necessary. Maybe have a talk to your doctor about dosage?

Take heart in knowing that beta blockers only ever act on your adrenaline, they are not mind-altering drugs and so have a limited effect on your body. There can be be some side effects but I personally think the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, but like all meds, its entirely down to the individual needs.

ISB x

[Svojski85]

I agree with I still believe in that it wore off and you got the "yo-yo" effect with the sudden heartbeat (which in itself can be surprising and stressing, therefore even higher heart beat etc.).

My suggestion: get used to it; it will then go away on its own. But only if you are on a regular propranolol dose. It could happen again if you take propranolol ocassionally.

With 300mg beware, I have to point out (sorry I still Believe but patient safety first!) that this is not the full and correct information! 300mg in a tablet form could literally kill you! So beware, the higher doses are acceptable in capsules which slowly spread the entire dose (i.e. 160mg or 320mg) across the whole day (over 10-12hrs on average) in hourly doses by 10-20mg per hour or so. So, please dont you ever take 8 or so tablets which spread the entire dose in just between 4hrs ....

I've taken once 4x40mg tablets (I'm a young strong male, at least I'd like to think! ), and I could barely breathe, I barely could move and I felt that my heart was going into a stop ). So, I decided to exercise at about 2 am and I probably saved my life )

[jimbo2753]

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post. There seems to be many reports of upset sleep side effect with propranolol but not really any wide concensus on how best to avoid / minimize the problem. I will try 2 * 20mg as you guys suggest. I assume you have no sleep issues. GP's seem to be inconsistent on dosage. I have actually been subscribed 3 * 40mg per day ! Can't begin to imagine side effects this would give ! On the otherhand perhaps propranolol must indeed be taken daily whether actually required or not ??

[Svojski85]

Jimbo, with every drug, you need to get used to it. If you take it once and have a restless sleep, then no wonder; your body does not like it because it is a new thing... You may wish to try some routine around sleep (no tablet or PC 2hrs before going to bed; no cellphone browsing; no food 2hrs before going to bed etc.). There is much more information out there which could help you, these are just examples which worked for me. Ultimately, it is down to your doctor to decide if you need it or not. And btw, 3x40mg is absolutely normal. However, taking three such tablets AT ONCE (or four!) would be a risk to your health. Good luck

[DD71]

Hi, I am new here.

My doc told me not to take propranolol before bed as it could induce nightmares or bad dreams.

I take just 10 mg every day, usually upon waking and that means my sleep is unaffected... I took a propranolol late the other night and my dreams were not very pleasant...

This drug has really helped my palpitations big time and only a small dose too, so over all I am happy with it, maybe it took me a few weeks to get used to it but much of that was probably in my head... I feel fine taking it these days.