Posted by Ame Sans Vie on January 26, 2004, at 23:47:05
In reply to Re: crazychickuk » crazychickuk, posted by dragonfly25 on January 26, 2004, at 17:07:28
Sorry to butt in, but since I have considerable firsthand experience with the "depression" caused by beta-blockers such as propranolol, I felt the need to interject.
About a year and a half ago (give or take six months... there's a lot of gin floating around my bloodstream right now--give me a break, lol) I was prescribed Neurontin (2.4 grams daily), Nardil (120mg daily) and Klonopin (5mg daily). My dose of Klonopin just wasn't cutting it, and the other two meds weren't helping me at all. So my doctor put me on propranolol at 10mg twice daily as it is known to increase Klonopin's effects. It didn't help the first couple weeks, so when I went back to him he told me to increase it to 20mg twice daily for one week, and then up to 20mg three times daily. My third day on 60mg daily I felt as if I had descended into the darkest pits of hell. It wasn't exactly a typical mental "depression" per se... it's hard to describe, actually. First, I noticed my hands and feet felt very cold no matter what I did -- this is very common with beta-blockers and can lead to a syndrome known as Reynaud's phenomenon. Quite an uncomfortable feeling. Then two days after noticing this side effect I woke up one morning feeling literally braindead. My physical capacity was all there... but my brain was going at about 2 MPH while the rest of me was trying to go 60 MPH. Typing on the computer was extremely difficult as my hands didn't seem to receive messages from my brain at the proper times. I wound up just resigning myself to lying in bed staring at the ceiling the rest of that day.
The next day I was feeling roughly the same, but was also physically slow and lethargic. I wasn't really "depressed", but I was quite unhappy, if that makes any sense. The only thing I can compare it to is the feeling you have with a *really* bad hangover, minus the headache and stomach upset.
Luckily, my stepfather had considerable experience with antihypertensive medications, and when I mentioned the symptoms he told me that they sounded very similar to those he experienced while taking Corgard (nadolol -- a beta-blocker similar to propanolol). I quit taking the propranolol that day and woke up the next day feeling back to normal... whatever that is. :-)
I believe the beta-blocking drugs must cause this sluggish, uncomfortable state due to a decreased action of noradrenaline at certain sites in the CNS. After all, drugs which increase or accelerate noradrenergic function (i.e. amphetamines, Ritalin, Strattera, Edronax, Wellbutrin) tend to increase energy and motivation.
Anyway, moral of the story -- if you start a beta-blocker for anxiety, be sure to exercise extreme caution in titrating the dose upwards. And at the first hint of malaise, call your doctor!
poster:Ame Sans Vie
thread:305546
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040122/msgs/305891.html