Ok, I’m about to trial another med here. This will be my third trial. Anyway, I want to try one of these two meds because I truly believe my problem is more of an inner ear thing caused by migraine and I have a few questions that I can’t find answers for on the net. If anyone is familiar with these two meds, please inform me.
Propranolol- Helps anxiety in social situations, is a blood pressure med, but does it act as a vasodilator like verapamil is known to? Given my history with anxiety and my constant off balance, I sometimes wonder when I get drunk-I have no anxiety with my balance and I no longer feel off balance, other than normal drunkenness off balance (There is a difference). Also, does Propranolol interfere with streneous exercise depending on the dosage?
Verapamil- I’ve read on the net, actually can improve streneous exercise, but does it chill out social anxiety symptoms? I think if I can overcome the anxiety of being dizzy while walking around, that’ll help me a lot, but if verapamil does not offer that social anxiety, is it the right med for me?
I know both are used for migraine preventative, but just trying to figure out which one is better for me, since I do have a daily anxiety issue with my dizziness.
Are these the type of meds you have to ween off of, or can you just drop them at anytime if they’re not working?
One more thing, what is the smallest dosage possible for migraine preventative with these two meds?
In my opinion, I would start out first with Propanolol. I never had any severe side effects from it besides tiredness. That was it. Definitely a drug worth giving a shot! As for Verapamil, I haven’t tried that one yet. Good luck dude!!!
Hi Greg - I have been on verap 120 SR for about 3 weeks with no side effects at all. I do have to say that it does not help at all with anxiety and my neuro told me it wouldn’t. I wanted to try it anyway bc I dealing with my drug phobia and felt verap had less chance of side effects than propranolol. I thought it was starting to help a bit but am in a major setback with bronchitis right now so really don’t know what is going on…
Keep me posted on what you decide to try. I actually don’t think the side effects of propranolol will be too bad and I have heard it can really help with anxiety. My neuro is going to want to skip it now and start me on effexor if this doesn’t work in the next 2 - 3 weeks.
Greg
Propranolol is used for anxiety. I don’t think verapamil is. Propranolol made me depressed after only a few days. I had to bag it.
Hope you hit the jackpot!
Kelley
Hi Greg, I am currently on Depakote ER and have had some pretty good improvements but I still have had a few setbacks and bad crashes. My doctor (GP) wants me to add in Verapamil 120 ER and if I tolerate it, move on to 120 ER twice a day. I am very med sensitive though so I broke open the capsule and sprinkled about 1/4 of it on applesauce tonight( first time taking it). My neuro has me on Depakote and hasn’t been much help lately with the crashes I have had. He just wants me on it for a while without adding anything else but I have been on it almost 2 months and sometimes I can still have a really bad day. I saw another neuro for a second opinion and he suggested taking me off Depakote and on Propanolol. I was afraid of trying it due to the depression side effect. I had that side effect on Topamax and I tend to get depressed sometimes now, so figured it would be better not to try it. Good luck, let us know what you decide.
Rebecca
I’m leaning more towards propranolol because of the antianxiety stuff. But a lot of times I think my anxiety comes on because of the dizziness. I’m just not sure which one I should go for. If verapamil helps the dizziness, I don’t think I’ll have the anxiety/panic stuff. On the other hand, If prop knocks out the anxiety/panic, I don’t think I’ll have this constant dizziness.
It seems that these 2 meds are kind of similar and I just don’t know which one to choose from.
Greg, propanalol is great for anxiety. I tried it as a preventative for 3 months and at 40 mg a day my daily heads were much reduced. I started to get side effects over 40 mg and the people I knew that got relief had to get up to around 80mg or more a day. My side effects over 40mg were bad insomnia (I suffer insomnia anyway) and loose bowels, otherwise I tolerated it quite well (and having tried over 20 preventatives, only around 4 agreed with me). I still use it at 10mg if I am going say, for an MRI scan or a school reunion, it stops that racing heart I get in those situations and calms me down. I tried verapamil and unfortunately it made me dizzy, shame as its meant to be one of the best for this condition.
I took propranolol and it worked well for me (in conjunction with pizotifen) but not especially well by itself. It definitely helps with anxiety though. I stopped taking it recently, but I saved a few to take in the future before job interviews etc. :lol:
I didn’t have any bad side effects from the propranolol, and found it easy to tolerate. My blood pressure did get slightly low when I increased the dosage though, so maybe I wasn’t taking enough for it to be very effective by itself and hence why I needed pizotifen as well.
I’m weaning off nori now (didnt seem to be helping) and will be starting propranolol at the end of the month. I’m a little concerned about the depression side effect as I’ve been having a hard time trying to keep my spirits up as it is!
does the tiredness subside after you’ve been on it for a bit, also, what dosage were/are you on?
Greg
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Greg-
I was taking 50mg, and the tiredness lasted for about 4 weeks for me. After about 7 weeks of no improvement, I decided to stop. Some drugs work, some don’t.