Your Questions About Social Anxiety And Propranolol

William asks…

What is best and safe for social anxiety- Prozac, propranolol, or any other anxiety med?

J. Lynn answers:

Inititally, Paroxetine was expressly marketed as the ‘social anxiety’ drug of choice, however now that we recognize that some of the SSRI/NRI’s with shorter half-lives tend to lend themselves to withdrawal symptoms in certain patients, Paroxetine is prescribed to a lesser degree by psychiatrists (I am not a Psychiatrist).

Inderal (propranolol) was largely prescribed for patients to minimize the symptoms associated with anxiety associated with pulblic speaking.

Most psychiatrists will agree that any modern SSRI is indicated for social anxiety disorder, but when you speak about “best or safest” these are highly difficult terms to define.

Propranolol is contraindicated in a number of patients, and some SSRIs/NRIs don’t go well with certain patients, thus for this reason, I recommend that you see a Psychiatrist who can properly tailor a reasonable regimen for you.

I wish you well.

Jenny asks…

Propranolol for social anxiety. 80mg is too strong, and 10mg too weak. Advice?

I have recently received a letter from the student loan company saying I was over paid by �1000 and they want it back, so it has been taken from my next loan instalment.

This means I need to get a job as soon as possible, but as someone who suffers from social anxiety it is very difficult.

I was prescribed 80mg of propranolol which proved too strong for me and I felt very weak, so now I am on 10mg which is not really doing anything.

I hear great things about propranolol working the majority of the time, so wondered what doses people are taking. I thought 40mg might be right for me?

J. Lynn answers:

Propranolol is good for decreasing the exterior signs of anxiety. It is a great drug for stage fright. It will decrease any shaking associated with the anxiety but will not resolve the underlying problem and anxious feelings. There are many other drugs that can help resolve the actual problem. If you want to continue taking propranolol and 80 mg is too strong, then the dose can be reduced to 40 mg. Just be careful of dizziness and monitor your blood pressure as this is a drug used to treat high blood pressure. If this is a continuous problem, than other drug therapy would benefit you more than propranolol and treat the underlying condition.

Steven asks…

if i take propranolol for anxiety, will my blood pressure stay Normal?

I take propranolol 40 mg for Anxiety. I don’t have any blood pressure problem. when I stop this medicine, will my B.P remain normal? because this medicine used for both anxiety (social phobia and blood pressure.

J. Lynn answers:

No it won’t

it will also turn silver-blue from the side effects

Joseph asks…

If i take propranolol for anxiety, will my blood pressure stay Normal?

I take propranolol 40 mg for Anxiety. I don’t have any blood pressure problem. when I stop this medicine, will my B.P remain normal? because this medicine used for both anxiety (social phobia and blood pressure

J. Lynn answers:

B-blocker will lower your blood pressure and also pulse rate below the average 72beats/min

stopping it would steadily return your BP to normal in about 25hrs since it takes that much time for the drug to be excreted out of your body.

Hope this helps