when is propranolol fully out my system??

[thebean89]

im taking propranolol and have been for 7weeks, ive been told to cut my 40mg tablets in half and have half a day to slowly come off them, but when is it fully out my system???

[RubyWitch]

I'd certainly discuss with your doctor why he/she has put you on propranolol for "situational anxiety."
Propranolols main function class is as an antihypertensive, anti-anginal and antidysrhythmic. (class II) It's chemical class is B-Adrenergic blocker.

These are all related to high blood pressure and cardiac issues.

Way down at the bottom, under "UNLABELED USES/ Dosages and Routes," it states:
Anxiety........PO (by mouth) 10-80mg given 1 HOUR PRIOR to anxiety-producing event.

One of the many side effects of this medication is disorientation. Perhaps you took a pill and became disorientated. You state you "don't know what happened," but you do remember drinking a "couple" glasses of wine, which, BTW, is a no-no on this drug, perhaps by now you were even more confused and/or disorientated, so you decided taking some benadryl would what? Help clear your head? When that obviously didn't work, you added an Ativan. I will trust you had stopped drinking sometime before the benadryl?

Hmmmmm. I doubt I need tell you it was quite foolish to mix this stew of drugs. You ARE aware that in slightly different amounts, this could have lead to a deadly overdose?

You ended up with a hang-over that should not have lasted 10 days, but not knowing the amounts of each medication you actually took, I can only advise you to see your doctor AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

In my totally un-medical opinion, I think it unlikely you've done permanent brain damage, but then, there is no "MD" after my name.

I hope you tell the doctor the truth about everything you took and especially the drinking. If you can't keep track of what you've taken, then it may be in your best interest to be taken off these meds.
Bottom line is that you need to have a very honest heart to heart with your doctor.
Peace
Greenlydia  


























































































































  

[Wyverncreature]

The half life is 3-6 hours and it can also be used for anxiety and panic disorder as well as migraines.

[Wyverncreature]

Also it doesn’t mean what you think. The medicine is not half gone at that point. It is no longer in your system.

[Paxiled]

I'm not sure this drug is actually recommended for migraines, panic disorder or most types of anxiety.  It is only recommended, I believe, for social anxiety.  Because it affects heart function, the over prescribing of it for purposes for which it has not been proven to work might be dangerous for some, so caution is urged here.

[snakebite495]

ive been on propanolol for 4 years and 4 weeks ago with doctors orders decieded to come off them! omg first 2 weeks dose halved one every other day.. managed that well. 3rd week one every 2 days not feeling brill.. this week one every 3 days.. feel absolutely dreadful,, ache, anxious, hot/cold, chest pains, tired, generally ill.. off back docs Tues and hope it gunna get easier.. this is the hardest thing i have ever had to do in my life:( good luck everyone..

[pmizell]

I'm beginning to learn just how powerful Propranolol really is. I've been taking 60mg/day for hyperthyroidism along with Methimazole.  Doc advised me to halt all Propranolol and reduce the Methimazole after analyzing a blood lab.

Woah!

I feel like complete garbage 7 days after going cold turkey.  Withdrawal symptoms began on day 3 and have become progressively worse (extreme nausea, headaches, dizziness, spaced out, unsteady, memory loss, blurred vision!) -- still unsure if it's the Prop or Meth but after taking a 20mg Propranolol today I instantly feel better.

Do NOT come cold turkey off this medication!! This has been one of the worst experiences I've ever gone through.  Feel like you're dying and something much worse is wrong with you that really isn't.

[pmizell]

Just to clarify the above, been taking 60mg/day (3x20) for 5 months. 1st 3 days cold turkey, nothing. Next couple of days occasional nausea, dizziness, no appetite.  Days 6 and 7 complete hell with above symptoms x10.  I have weaned off meds in the past, including benzodiazepenes but the longest it took to withdraw was 3 days tops.  So I never suspected the Propranolol to remain in my system this long.  Just a horrible experience.

[mgillen84811]

Being that you seem very knowledgeable, i thought i would see if you could give me some advice with my problem. Im on 60 mg per day of extended release inderal. Im on probation and am affraid that i am going to have a false positive for methamphetamine. It had happened to me before and they threw me in jail until they sent it to a lab to do a more specific test (which obviosly showed up as a false positive, hence my concern). I have to see my probation officer January 8th and am wondering what I should do. Should I stop taking it cold turkey, and if i do, would the inderal be out of my system by then (ive been on the 60mg for about 2 weeks). I dont really feel like going to jail again over a false positive, so some good adive would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

[tigerlyn]

I have been taking proponolol just occasionally for situational anxiety and I don't know what happened but I mixed it with a couple glasses of wine, then later I took a benadryl and later an ativan and my head has been severely messed up since for 10 days straight. Im dizzy, off balance, confused, short term memory loss. It is really bad and I feel like I have permanent brain damage. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? Does it go away or an I screwed for life?

[thebean89]

thanks for all the help :) will let u no wen im fully off xx

[RubyWitch]

Wonderful news, bean! I'm REALLY happy and proud of you. I know it's a rough road.

I know you'd like to be off by the hols, but please don't push it. Slow and steady always wins the race and this is one race you've worked too damn hard to lose it now.

Why not look ahead to the New Year as your fresh start?
Not a dumb resolution..........they never last. Rather, look down the road to a beautiful Spring when you WILL be free.

I want to be there to see my BEAN SPROUT!
Love and gobs of support
Peace
Greenlydia

[thebean89]

thanks for the advise. im with another doctor now & im down to 30mg and have been for 2weeks so slowly going to wean on2 20mg next week, we have made a plan on how to slowly wean myself off them. just hope im off for christmas & newyear xx

[Embrace123]

Thanks Lydia u always give me that good Advice...

[RubyWitch]

Heart palpitations CAN be a side effect of taking propranolol at any dose. If you have just now noticed you are experiencing palps, I advise calling your doctor and letting him/her know, just as any side effect should be reported.
99.9% of palpitations are totally harmless, but they can be scary. Most people experience palps to one degree or another. You've probably had them before but just didn't pay any attention to them. The medication could be exacerbating them which is why you need to let your doctor know. Try not to worry. I have hundreds of palps every day!
You can go to our Heart Rhythm Forum and the folks there can talk your ear off about heart palps and they will ease your mind and give you lots of support.
You're fine.
Peace
Greenlydia

[Embrace123]

hello.. im taking propranolol an i think its giving me Heart populations because every time i sit for a long time an get up real fast i can feel  populations going, recently my dr cut my pill so now im only taking 10mg twice a day.. its been almost a month an there still happening not bad like they were nit there still there im wondering if its the pill.. any answers?

[RubyWitch]

In my humble and non-medical opinion, the reason you are feeling so lousy and had to call in sick to work is because you've made a WAY too large cut in your dose. To go from 40mg to 20mg will leave you feeling exactly the way you are and it's not going to get any better. Talking about just taking it every other day next week is just asking for more trouble.
You should NOT be trying to wean off this drug by yourself. Getting off any psychotropic med takes time and you have to be extremely patient! When I said that your withdrawal would be easier since you'd only been on it for 7 weeks that did mean to go ahead and play hit or miss with how you take this stuff.
You can HOPE it gets easier all you want but until you get yourself under the care of a doctor who knows what the hell they're doing, you're just making this worse for yourself.
If the doctor you're seeing now is the one who told you to cut your dose in half or if he is the one who knows you cut it in half yourself and then says "you're sick and shakey and missing work but that's just the withdrawal" is full of crap. Find a doctor who knows what he/she is doing or spend the next month or so going through hell. Withdrawal is not easy, but a good doctor can help you so you are not sick and shakey or missing work.
What you are doing is not wise and I hope you seek a second opinion from someone who can fix the mess your first doctor got you into.
I really wish you the best and hope that before you go onto any other psychotropic med, you'll check in here for some advice and support about taking these kinds of meds.
Peace
Greenlydia

[thebean89]

i meant to put come off but wrote it the txt way & wouldnt let me write it lol. ive cut my 40mg tablet in half and takeing 20mg a day i feel very shakey and sick the doctor told me that its the withdrawal, yeh your right its not easy had to fone in sick at work 2day. how long does it last? i was going to take 20mg every another day next week but dont no whether is wise the way i feel right now, hope it gets easier xx

[RubyWitch]

I'm sorry to be so dense, but I have no idea what this sentence means............"I wanna *** off and go on calms......"

Are "calms" a type of med?

If what you're asking is can you just cold turkey the propranolol and "go on the calms," I do have to say that is unwise. Doing a cold turkey on any psychotropic med is a very bad idea. Very. One thing working in your favor is that you were not on the medication very long. 7 weeks is actually quite a short trip. Your withdrawal will be easier than someone who has been on this med for several years.

Who am I to argue with a learned doctor, but the PDR, THE pharmaceutical tome containing a trillion tons of drug knowledge........is the source of the algorithm for the elimination of propranolol from your system. I don't doubt that even after you have completely withdrawn from a psychotropic, a very small percentage will remain in your body for "X" amount of time. Perhaps some has been absorbed into tissue that will take time to be totally eliminated, maybe some is still clinging to redeptors in your brain, but the point is, the vast majority is totally gone. When we stop taking any kind of head med, even after we've totally withdrawn from it, the action of these drugs is to mess about with brains in various ways. Some will stop certain chemicals from affecting us, some will produce chemicals that need to affect us and a bunch of variations of those two actions. So even when the drug itself is gone...........we can still feel some effects while our brain is re-learning and possibly even struggling to do all the work on it's own again without aid of the chemicals. THAT process CAN take a few weeks and it CAN leave us feeling strange. But it does go away.

I know it can be confusing, and sometimes it can be very frightening when a medication messes with our brains, and that is why I strongly advocate all prescriptions for psychotropic meds be written be either a psychiatrist or a Psychiatric Medication Manager. These doctors understand these medications inside and out. Most GPs only know what the slick and sexy drug reps tell them.

Never hesitate to get a second opinion. And consider therapy......
If you have any other questions or concerns, write back, OK?
Withdrawl is not easy but it shouldn't hurt.
Peace
Greenlydia      

[thebean89]

thanks for the advise that has helped. i wanna *** off and go on calms do u think this is wise? the doctor is sayin it takes weeks to fully come out my system when i fully stop so very confused x

[RubyWitch]

The half-life of propranolol is 8-11 hours. I don't mean to assume you don't understand what "half-life" means, but most people don't. In short, it means that every 8-11 hours, 1/2 the amount of a medication is eliminated from your body. So, if you've been told to cut your dose to 20mg qd, 8-11 hours later, there will only be 10mg in your system. After another 8-11 hours, there will only be 5mg in your body. 8-11 later, 2.5mg etc etc until it has been completely eliminated.
Depending how your doctor plans to taper you, just do the math. The algorithm stays the same irregardless of the dose.
You should be able to figure it out almost to the exact hour. Good luck!
That will be 5 cents please.
Lucy