Propranolol and heart rate

Hi, I’m posting this here because it seems to be the place although I was actually prescribed 80mg slow release propranolol for hopefully migraine prevention. Having said that is it takes the edge of anxious thoughts I’m not going to complain and I’m guessing some of you take it directly for anxiety.

I know it was primarily developed to lower blood pressure and heart rates. Now even though my Drs know my BP is not high (my top figure is usually under 120) and my resting heart rate tends to slow (it’s never actually very slow in the Drs but my over all figure from my sports watch is usually around 60 at most) they’ve still prescribed it.

I took my first dose this morning and checked my watch, already it seems to be dipping into the 40s although the average is 53 which isn’t too bad. I feel absolutely fine, no dizziness at all.

Anyone else had this low reading?

I have low blood pressure - typically 90/60 and when my psychiatrist found that out he said he couldn?t prescribe me that med because my blood pressure would drop too low and I'd likely faint.

Thanks, oh that is very low BP, much lower than mine. I can certainly see it would be dangerous for you to take this.

My BP is still fine, after 5 days, but the heart rate seems (according to my watch) pretty slow, average 40 which isn’t unusual if I was half marathon training but I’m not half marathon training. I might give them a ring - so far I’m not getting migraines though and that’s great!

I could not take this medicine (it was prescribed to ameliorate akathisia, tremor, rigid hands) because my BP dropped too low (my normal reading is about 105 and that is because of weight gain; prior to weight gain it was 90/60). I do not know what it did to my HR because it was not measured at that time.

What do you figure out, Dis?

Well it’s worked miracles with my migraines, they’ve virtually stopped and the one I did have was after a few accidental missed doses.

My resting heart rate is still low, but I wouldn’t know if I didn’t have a sports watch. It’s low 40s but it’s been that during long training for half marathon before so I’m pretty sure I’m okay. I notice my calorie burn is lower too and I’m watching what I eat because I gained weight quickly I noticed. I get a little lightheaded sometimes but if I slow down it rights itself. Weirdly I don’t get light headed on a run but do when I’m walking, I’m a fairly fast walker.

So far I’m sticking with it because it is amazing not getting hideous life disrupting migraines.

Really glad it's working well at preventing migraines.

Nurtec has completely stopped my, until then intractable, chronic migraine. And Nurtec for me has no side effects whatsoever. It is a medication you take every other day.

I love propranolol. I take it for anxiety. It works without making me feel high. My BP has always been on the low side but I’ve never experienced side effects from that.

My thing is that I’ve been on it years and think I could go off but now I’m 64 and if I went off would my BP go up? Would I have rebound anxiety? So I keep taking it. It’s generic and on my plan cost me nothing. So status quo.

Thanks that’s good to know and glad you’ve got an effective treatment.

I hadn’t heard of Nurtec so looked it up, apparently it doesn’t look like it’s available on NHS as NICE didn’t approve it. Possibly that might change and if so I’ll look into it.

Thanks that’s great news, as I understand it it’s a very safe drug, and as it’s been around a long time they know it’s long term safety. So hopefully you can keep taking it.

It hasn’t affected my anxiety at all unfortunately but wonder if it’s because what I term anxiety in myself is actually a thought pattern rather than a physical thing, we all experience these things differently I guess. I’m just a champion over thinker possibly.

Oh, I did not notice you are in the UK. Nurtec is pretty new, just several years old, so it might become available on NHS in the coming years.

Works too well imo. Often cold and tired but absolutely no anxiety. Ever. Well very little. Not sure if that’s a good thing.

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Yeah I think it’s slowed me down a bit, that’s interesting about the coldness and tiredness- did you get your iron levels checked? I’m not getting that myself but I did with anaemia.

I’m struggling with my half marathon training and not sure how much of that is this med but I run out of steam more noticeably on long runs, my exercising heart rate is lower than it was so I wonder if it’s affected my stamina.

I am starting to take vitamin B6 for EPS. Apparently in studies it has been shown to be as effective as propranalol for EPS. I cannot take propranalol since my blood pressure would drop to 80/40 on it. My psychiatrist also recommended I take other B vitamins, writing that, according to research, they work synergistically to help the nerve cells function.

I do not know if vitamin B complex would work in ways similar to propranalol in other uses of propranalol, but it seems to be a harmless thing to try.

Hope it helps you, I tried a vit b complex many years ago and unfortunately made no difference. May depend if you are deficient or not.

I know what you mean . Magnesium didn't help me for sleep and then when long after I stopped it and had leg cramps, I had a blood test and it turned out that my magnesium levels were already at the top of the normal range. I was not deficient. Magnesium helps for sleep if someone is deficient in it, as I recently learned from a podcast with Matt Walker.