Does anyone take propranolol?

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katiew78
katiew78 Posts: 24 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My GP has suggested I switch to this for migraine prevention, but she took great pains to warn me that it could affect my aerobic capability (I run, bike, lift weights and have a very active job) making me unable to push myself. I am worried that I will get fat again, or lose all my fitness gains that I have made over the last 2 years. Obviously I want to prevent my migraines and current meds aren't doing that, but I worry about the effect this may have on my mental health (running and biking gives me an ability to forget my stressful job, and clear my head, and prevent my migraines IYKWIM? )
So just wondering if anyone is on it and what sort of changes it may have made to your athletic abilities?
Thanks in advance for any answers...

Replies

  • cpettigrew
    cpettigrew Posts: 168 Member
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    I take propranolol and topiramate for migraines, and I do SL 5x5 and T25.
  • katiew78
    katiew78 Posts: 24 Member
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    Thanks,
    the neuro suggested topimarate but I was terrified of the potential side effects, so GP has switched to propranolol. She said that it could be like hitting a wall-just nothing else left in the engine when it came to effort-eg up hills on bike etc.
  • victoire713
    victoire713 Posts: 720 Member
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    I take it. To prevent panic attacks and as an anti anxiety medication. I have no issues with it and exercise.
  • sylviedrozz
    sylviedrozz Posts: 80
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    its a beta blocker so it reduces blood pressure and heart rate. just means that you heart rate might not rise as fast as it needs to when you exercise. so gradual increase in exertion rather than like interval training. ex. biking up hill with less steep slope to give your heart enough time to catch up and beat faster etc rather than just pounding up a really steep one. and extended warm ups should help too.

    I took it for hyperthyroidism
  • yeahwhutevr
    yeahwhutevr Posts: 14 Member
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    My son takes it, (sometimes) for tremors in his hands. He feels like it really slows him down! When he was playing soccer he wouldn't take it when he had a game, he said it made it feel like he couldn't get going.
  • yeahwhutevr
    yeahwhutevr Posts: 14 Member
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    Have you ever tried Zomig nasal spray 5mg for migraines? I tried so many that either didn't work or quit working after a few doses. My GP finally tried the nasal spray and OMG! For me it has been a life saver, i take it when i get my aura, and within about 10 minutes the aura is gone and the migraine never starts. Expensive little boogers, but well worth the cost!! My insurance wanted me to have tried numerous other things first due to the cost... for 6 doses MY cost is $114.00. But six doses last me 1 1/2 years. Like I said well worth it to not have to suffer for 1-4 days with a migraine!!
  • katiew78
    katiew78 Posts: 24 Member
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    Thanks. You guys who have no problems with it-were you always on it and started doing exercise or did you start taking it whilst active and noticed no deterioration in performance?
    Yeahwhutevr that is sort of what I expect from what the GP said. Unfortunately triptans like zomig are out for me now-I used to have sumitriptan nasal spray and it did get rid of them wonderfully (although made me feel like *kitten* in other ways), but apparently the type of migraine I have puts me at risk of it converting to a stroke with triptan use, so they have been banned for me now :)
  • kgb6days
    kgb6days Posts: 880 Member
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    MD placed me on a beta blocker for my BP. I switched to something else because I couldn't seem to exercise with the same intensity. It seems like it doesn't affect some as much based on responses here
  • GeorgiPorgi1989
    GeorgiPorgi1989 Posts: 30 Member
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    Hey there! I was prescribed propranolol by my GP a few months back to prevent migraines too. I've been going to the gym regularly for almost 2 years and can say that I have noticed a decrease in my 'get up and go'. My GP also warned me the effects it could have on my tiredness levels and she was right. A few months into taking it I feel better, I just kinda worked my way through it. I still have very tired days but I just try not let it stop me anymore. Definitely worth it since it's reduced my migraines significantly.
  • pinkiezoom
    pinkiezoom Posts: 409 Member
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    OMG my doc gave me them for migraines too, took them for 3 weeks, and they did not agree with me at all. They made me exhausted, and dare i say it, have dark thoughts, terrible nightmares, dizziness. He stopped my other preventative migraine drug at the same time, so some of my experience could have been withdrawal too, i stopped everything in the end, and take soya isoflavins .... look them up, they might be a more natural alternative.
  • GeorgiPorgi1989
    GeorgiPorgi1989 Posts: 30 Member
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    I'd agree with you there @pinkiezoom! I had the worst nightmares ever and trouble sleeping too. I was given a natural sleeping remedy for a couple of weeks to get me through it. Touch wood since then I've been all good! Was an exhausting couple of weeks though.
  • pinkiezoom
    pinkiezoom Posts: 409 Member
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    wow @georgiporgi1989 big respect for sticking with them, i was angry at my doc as he stopped my amatryptaline and put me on the beta blockers, i should have been weened off the trips after researching it. But i had started hallucinating even when i was awake on the beta blockers, out of interest, have they stopped your migraines? i am still fighting on with mine, but trying the isoflavin thing, as someone on a migraine site i am a member suggested them. only been on them 3 weeks though so hard to tell x
  • GeorgiPorgi1989
    GeorgiPorgi1989 Posts: 30 Member
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    Thanks @pinkiezoom. It was hard to stick with as I just wanted sleep but I'm glad I fought it! They've helped my migraines hell of a lot. I still have the odd one every now and then if tired or stressful day but no where near as many or to the same intensity as before!
  • cpettigrew
    cpettigrew Posts: 168 Member
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    I didn't really notice a slow down. I was put on a lower dose originally without topamax, and then it was upped later on when the topamax was added because my migraines were uncontrollable and 3-4, if not more, a week. Either that, or I was so messed up from the migraines, I honestly didn't notice. I was active when I was first put on propranolol, stopped due to job issues, but am now more active than before and still haven't noticed a difference. Topamax has more side effects for me, but I travel for work, and getting laid up in a hotel with hell's migraine outweighed the cost.
  • kCalCrusher
    kCalCrusher Posts: 54 Member
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    I take something like it...another beta blocker. I was super tired when I first started but got used to it and don't notice much difference working out except my heart rate doesn't go as high as it did. I wouldn't take it if I didn't have to though.

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