160mg of propranolol daily!?

[katie23]

My GP has said to me to take 160mg of Pro everyday if needed for my anxiety. I've taken 80mg for around a year and a half and I've started getting panic attacks on it so my GP has said to take either two together or one in the A.M and then one in the P.M

Has any one else taken such a high dose? x

[Catherine S]

My max dose was 80mg which I took for about three years but I remember my previous doctor telling me it can be given at 200mg and more if necessary. Propranolol has always made my anxiety symptoms loads better, especially the palpitations, but because it slows everything down it was causing other problems for me such as no energy and difficulty exercising etc. After I moved house a few years ago my new doctor suggested reducing the dose to 40mgs which I still take at 20mg twice daily and this seems to suit me much better. If my anxiety gets to be too much on any particular day then I take more of it for that day, then reduce it down again...fortunately beta blockers are meds you can do this with without problems. But if you are actually getting panic attacks on 80mgs then increasing it will probably help you, so i'd say try it and see. You can always reduce the dose when you start to feel better and see what happens.

ISB x

[Svojski85]

Hi there... The maximum allowed dosage of propranolol here in the UK is 320mg (benchmark dosage was INDERAL LA-now discontinued drug but it was a 24-hour formulation).

I was on 320mg for about 1-2 years, then in the last year I had the option to take either 1x160mg capsule a day, or two of those if I felt under pressure (stress etc.). So long it was the above named drug (INDERAL LA), it was helping me a lot since this drug formulation was a 24-hour working formulation... All there rest here in the UK drug market is crap and avoid it.

But if you still want to take these cheap generics, then what you get with the other two capsule forms of this propranolol (either BEDRANOL or BETA PROGRANE) is that with the first, the drug is released into the body in large bursts in certain intervals because there is one ingredient missing in the production of this propranolol-formulation (namely hydroxypropylcellulose which is modern cooking ingedient for slow and steady drug release), these burst are not desirable for patients with anxieties who need a rather steady stream (build-up) of propranolol to achieve that desirable therapeutic effect in their body and mind... In other words, although you will partly benefit from the propranolol in you body, you will also now be getting these ups and downs and this adverse effect can destroy your perception of how this propranolol will work for you in your body, and your anxiety can therefore get partly mismanaged (you might notice that sometimes the propranolol works, other times not). With the second named generic (BETA PROGRANE), it will take 5 hours for this drug to kick in, so your doctor should calculate the dosage for you accordingly (e.g. take one shortly before going to bed, therefore drug will be already working for you upon you waking up in the morning). Another rather controversial thing about these slow-release capsules is the given half-life of between 10-20 hours, which is an incredible interval because you never know if the drug works for 10 hours for you, or if it worked for 20 hours... That has serious implications on the correct dosing...

Then, you've got the tablets which come in 10mg, 40mg and 80mg sizes, which are capable of steady release of the active ingredient, but you would have to discuss this with the pharmacists (ask for propranolol with hyproxymethylcellulose ingredient). Then, you look at how quick each such tablet dissipates in your body (4-6 hours) and you calculate how many and how often of these you take a day to achieve this steady stream of propranolol in your body... A practical working option would be the named tablets 4x a day (8am+4hrs, 12am+4hrs, 4pm+4hrs, 8pm). It does not matter really if you are taking 160mg, 80mg or 320mg... It all goes down to your own perception of how calm you feel on each dosage (propranolol blocks the heartbeat slightly and also the breathing, so you feel noticeable slower and therefore less excited if under stress... but don't worry, this is just slightly... only dosage above 320mg could be potentially difficult to handle for your body and therefore potentially dangerous).

Anything else might not work for you since only a 24-hour stream of propranolol is desirable for patients with anxieties... With the currents propranolol meds, you might feel the ups and downs (these are called troughs in pharmacology) which then can be disturbing for any anxiety patient....

If you want something stronger than propranolol, you could perhaps switch to SSRI antidepressants (citalopram, setraline), but that will destroy your ability to focus a lot and you would also have to wait at least a month for these brain poisons to fully infiltrate your brain.....

We have allowed pharmaceutical companies control us, so that is what we get (shitty generics which don't work). Good luck

Note: all drug information can be found in the 'Drug Safety' tab on the www.mhra.gov.uk website... just use their search field under that tab and you will get all information about all propranolol (and all other meds available here in the UK). These information are called SPC (summary product characteristics; if you download these, you can read, for example, how long it takes for the drug to start working in your body - so called rate - and how long it takes for the drug to last in your body for half of its effective life, so called drug half life)

[Monalisasmiler]

Hi Svojski85 forgive the direct reply but you seem very knowledgeable on these.

My background is I have always suffered with nerves - have controlled this sometimes but recently I have changed roles and my hands are shaking when being watched in my job. I have had the Propranol 40 mg previously and now have the half beta prograne 80 mg.

My question is which is the most effective at controlling the shaking and nerves, and how long does it need to be taken beforehand? Ideally I would like to control my nerves as I know it is mind over matter and wondered if anyone had any experience with hypnosis or magnesium?

Thank you all.

[Carrera74]

Hello, you might be better starting a new thread as the original post is 3 years old now

[Monalisasmiler]

Thank you will do.