Beta Blockers For Anxiety

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I am coming to believe that I actually have very high baseline anxiety levels. I had never really put much direct thought into this as (like with so much AS-related stuff) I always just thought everyone must feel like I do. Anyway, since I began realising I (almost certainly) have Asperger's a few months ago, I have become much more stressed and anxious. There are numerous reasons for this but it boils down to the AS discovery being a rude awakening to the way I realy am and just how much it differs from others around me and even from who I thought I was.

Earlier this week it came to a head so to speak and I had gotten myself into such a state that I was not sleeping properly, drinking heavily, cutting (something I thought I had left behind me) and missing work. Up until now I have been making an effort to avoid treating anything until I get a diagnosis and know where I stand. However, it now seems that this is not going to be a quick process and will likely take months more. So, I glossed over some of the more embarresing details but told my GP about the problems I have been having and he prescribed me Propranolol - a beta blocker used for heart problems but also known to help with anxiety.

Well, I was told to take 40mg 3 times a day (quite a high dose from what I understand) and the change has been remarkable. It was only when the dose kicked in and I actually felt fully relaxed that I realised how bad my anxiety must have got. I was able to return to work the next day, talk to people without the can-they-sense-im-a-weirdo type anxiety I have always had in these situations and just get on with my job without worrying about stuff. I am usually very skeptical about prescribed pills but I have to say, I am impressed with how well they work. I don't feel like a drowsey zombie and I have yet to notice any negative side effects.

I still have tics, I still stim, I still avoid eye contact quite a bit and I still seem to be an aspie but I feel a hell of a lot less worried about all of that.

Anyone else been on this? In particular, I would be interested to hear from anyone who has been on it long-term?

i have been on atenolol for about 16 years, and the first thing i noticed was that my free-floating anxiety disappeared, as well as my intentional tremor.

That's interesting. I am on atenolol ("Tenormin") and I am under the impression that (unlike propanolol) atenolol does not pass through the blood/brain barrier very easily - which means it shouldn't reduce anxiety very much: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atenolol Maybe you are on a high dose. On the other hand, I have found it quite effective at preventing my occasional migraines (though I still get the aura, only without any following migraine) - and it is not supposed to be very suitable for that either.

i get the auras sans pain [so far] also.

I take it for tests and other performance-related stuff. It doesn't seem to help much with social skills, though.

i take it for my blood pressure, the anti-anxiety bennie is gravy.

I take a beta blocker for heart arrhythmias. I recently asked my psychiatrist whether she thought it might also be helping prevent panic attacks, and she agreed that this was quite possibly the case.

a rare example of a good side effect.

In my experience so far it has helped me feel less anxious in all situations including social so I expect that (again, for me) it helps socially just through me not feeling I have to focus 50% of my energy on worrying and intense self-analysis etc. As I said, I am not suggesting this is some kind of magic cure (would I want one even) and I still feel quite disconnected from people etc. It is just such a relief to have such a reduction in the accompanying anxiety.

i used to take it for high blood pressure. it also helped my migraines and anxiety. i didn't notice it except when i forgot to take it, then i would get much more anxious over small things (like, i would physically *feel* more upset, then the emotions would rise up). some actors take it for stage fright, i've heard. i still have a few of the pills around even though my blood pressure is normal, so i considered trying them for acting stuff but any time i've been doing any sort of acting or public speaking i decided i have enjoyed the feeling of adrenaline.

i started a thread where i wondered whether it could help people to take beta blockers in a dating context, but people did not really think so.

my doctor told me that taking beta blockers on a whim is not prudent, for they make durable changes in the circulatory system that take a long time to work themselves back to the former status-quo.

Hmmm.....interesting. A few years ago, I was put on Effexor for panic attacks, and around the same time my blood pressure was running high (I was in some pain from boils I had developed). The doctor put me on Toprol (Metoprolol) for th BP and said that it might help with the anxiety too. I took it until it became apparent that it was lowering my pulse too much. During that time I had NO panic attacks. I just assumed that the Effexor was responsible. I'm off the Effexor and on Paxil now because the Effexor wasn't working. I wonder now if it was the Toprol was doing the heavy lifting rather than the Effexor.

^^^
as an experimental alternative to the stronger pmeds, you might ask your pdoc for a small dose of atenolol, say 25mg or so. if you tend to have waterweight gain then hydrochlorothiazide might be useful also, say 12mg or so, to start. that is killing two birds with one stone. at least that is what happened to me.

Last edited by auntblabby on 02 Feb 2013, 1:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

I'm on propranolol because I have a mild arrhythmia and anxiety.

It worked like magic for the anxiety for about the first...3 times. Now, I notice no mood effect, but my heart rate slows down so it's lovely to have when my heart decides to run a marathon sprinting.

It's like my anxiety said, "Ha! Can't get around me with a beta blocker!"

as has been said, "your mileage may vary." i found that i had to cut back my atenolol to half-dose to avoid some of the bradycardic effects when exercising, which would cause me to black out. i still have a lot of the beneficial side effects, though.

I'd probably hate this. I take caffeine and other stimulants and they relieve my anxiety. As most of my anxiety is related to ability or inability to do a task, or that I can't think fast enough. I've only realized now basically my entire days can be fueled by adrenaline and cortisol and whatnot. I'll have caffeine before driving or whatever to keep me calm before I anticipate stressful driving like on the highway or something. I need the fast reaction times the stimulants give as without them my reaction times are slow due to my NVLD.

It's kinda a cursed existence if I think about it, doomed to always be "stressed" but needing to be to accomplish anything.