Hi everyone. Just a quickie. I take 160mg propranalol, about to increase to 240mg (have delayed doing this for a couple of weeks as surgery cocked up!) Anyway, to begin with I was sleeping pretty well on the meds, I then started waking up a few times in the night. That did seem to settle down, however, I now seem to be waking up a number of times in the night again. It generally happens between the hours of 2-6. I understand that insomnia can be a side effect but was wondering if anybody else had experienced this and what they did to rectify it! Maybe I could try taking the meds earlier on? I wouldn’t want to stop taking them as they have greatly reduced my anxiety and although I’m far from feeling 100% I can have really good days. It definitely has helped the dizziness to a certain extent. Dr Silver did say they would take 3/4 months to take effect so on the whole I’m pleased with my progress so far. Just could do with a bit more sleep. Totally wiped out today.
Kathy
You could try the increase & see whether that helps with sleeping through. If it makes the sleep situation worse then contact Dr Silver who may be able to suggest adding something, as getting enough good sleep is such an important part of recovery. It’s great to hear you are doing so well on the Propranalol!
Barb
I am now on 160mg Propranolol as of last Thursday and whilst my sleep doesn’t seem to be any worse than when I was on 80mg, it is still disturbed and I too wake up in the night a lot. I get the odd night where I sleep all the way through but most nights I am only getting a a few hours sleep and like you, it’s really tiring. The letter says to take them at night but I too am wondering if taking them earlier in the day would help. I currently take mine at 9pm but am thinking about moving it earlier. I’d be really interested to hear from anyone else who has had problems sleeping on a beta blocker.
@Barb. I may well get in touch with Dr Silver’s secretary. My own Dr hasn’t a clue! I am making progress, still very up and down. Can feel pretty good and then not so good. The intensity of the dizziness has definitely improved though. Fingers crossed it stays that way! I am trying to remain positive when I have bad days, keep telling myself that they will pass. I hope you are feeling ok. Thanks so much for all the support.
@Katherine. My letter doesn’t mention having to take the propranalol in the evening. How odd! Taken 240mg today, hope I manage to get some sleep!!! How are you getting on? Have you noticed any improvement?
I asked my GP what time of day should I take them and she said anytime, as long as I kept to the same time each day. I then read the letter again and it says to take them at night. I have taken mine at 8pm tonight and will try to move them earlier over a few days. What time of day have you been taking them?
I didn’t notice any difference on 80mg but have just had two better days since being on 160mg but after 5 years of this I’m not drawing any conclusions til I’ve been on the maximum dose for 4 months. There is too much natural variation. Are you going to go to 320mg? The wording in the letter is confusing, it implies this dose may be needed but not sure that means increase after 2-3 weeks on 240mg automatically.
Hi Katherine, I’ve been taking mine around 2pm. Today I took a 160mg at 2pm and the 80mg at around 8.30pm. I’m sure I could have taken them at the same time, was just a little nervous! I haven’t keeled over yet so that’s a positive!
You are right, there does appear to be a lot of natural variation. I haven’t as much experience of this as you! As you know mine kicked off in January although, in retrospect, I have had milder episodes over the years. I am also going to give this a good trial before saying it’s the drug for me. I do like the calming effect though, so would like to stay on them for that reason!
I am not sure about increasing again. 320mg seems very high, I will have to see how I get on at 240mg before I can make that decision. Remember I told you how the Dr at my surgery seemed a little reluctant for me to go up to 240mg as she feared I may conk out?! Well that has bothered me a little. If she hadn’t said that I would have probably gone as high as possible without any fears! It is a little unclear on the letter re:increasing again after 240mg. We could e mail his secretary and see if she could advise us what to do.
Did either of you feel more lightheaded and woozy when you started this? Did it increase dizziness at all at first for you? Did you have balance issues and has it helped with this?
Hi Sarah, it’s hard to say whether I have had increased dizziness as I don’t know if what I’ve experienced is down to the tablets or something else. On the whole the propranalol has improved things. I possibly may have felt increased dizziness yesterday but I had a very stressful day!
My main symptoms are unsteadiness, dizziness, swaying etc. When it was really bad I felt like I couldn’t walk in a straight line, I was able to, but it felt like I was veering off to the side. I don’t have trouble getting around now. I was so frightened at the beginning of all this, I really did feel shocking, I felt unable to do things. The propranalol has definitely helped manage my anxiety which in turn has helped me cope with everything else.
Kathy - Glad you slept through last night. I am dreaming a lot, wake up, remember my dream and then go back to it! I do this several times a night. I think I will see how I tolerate 240mg when I get there and if it is going well contact Dr Silver’s secretary for confirmation on 320mg. I will also ask about sleep too.
Sarah - I don’t have issues with my actual balance, mine is mainly visual vertigo with a sense of motion inside my head. So far I haven’t felt light headed on the propranolol.
I also take amitriptyline for chronic pain and when I started this it gave me insomnia, which is odd as most people seem to complain of feeling sedated.
Robert - it’s a bit complicated because I titrated up the Amitriptyline by 10mg per week and then added in Gabapentin which helped me sleep wonderfully. I’ve recently come off the Gabapentin as it wasn’t helping the nerve pain and now my sleep has gone haywire but I’ve also just started Propranolol now I have a MAV diagnosis. So right now I don’t know if the insomnia is caused by the Ami or the Propranolol or both.
Do you feel like your walking improved on the propanolol, or did it just improve naturally over time? That is so awesome that it helps with anxiety- that is what I need. I am on lyrica and nortriptyline but I want to drop the lyrica- I am supposed to start atenolol next.
Do you feel like your walking improved on the propanolol, or did it just improve naturally over time? That is so awesome that it helps with anxiety- that is what I need. I am on lyrica and nortriptyline but I want to drop the lyrica- I am supposed to start atenolol next.
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Hi Sarah Another tricky one to answer. I would not say I had a problem with walking as such but more of a feeling that I was going to stumble or veer sideways. I was so dizzy that I didn’t trust my legs to carry me. It was more of the fear of falling than anything else. You wouldn’t have noticed I was feeling unsteady to look at me.
The propranolol, as I’ve mentioned, has taken away the anxiety so therefore I am far more confident with walking around. I don’t fear falling and am not filled with ‘What if I stumble…,’ type thoughts. So I would say that the propranalol has definitely sped up my ability to manage all of this. I think treating the anxiety associated with this is pretty vital.
Hi everyone. Just a quickie. I take 160mg propranalol, about to increase to 240mg (have delayed doing this for a couple of weeks as surgery cocked up!) Anyway, to begin with I was sleeping pretty well on the meds, I then started waking up a few times in the night. That did seem to settle down, however, I now seem to be waking up a number of times in the night again. It generally happens between the hours of 2-6. I understand that insomnia can be a side effect but was wondering if anybody else had experienced this and what they did to rectify it! Maybe I could try taking the meds earlier on? I wouldn’t want to stop taking them as they have greatly reduced my anxiety and although I’m far from feeling 100% I can have really good days. It definitely has helped the dizziness to a certain extent. Dr Silver did say they would take 3/4 months to take effect so on the whole I’m pleased with my progress so far. Just could do with a bit more sleep. Totally wiped out today.
Kathy x
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Great news! am due to start propranolol at 10mg next week and icnrease to 40mg!
Hi guys, are you both taking amitriptyline with the propranolol? I’ve been asked to titrate off the ami slowly - decreasing by 5mg every week, and then start propranolol at 10mg and only increase to 40mg!
Hi, I do not take amitryptiline. My full list of meds are as follows:
240mg propranalol
50mg Sertraline (was prescribed this a long time ago for anxiety)
200 mg twice daily, ferrous sulphate (low iron level)
5mg folic acid (levels were also quite low)
I was put on the last 2 meds following blood tests which were ordered by Dr Silver.
