Propranolol for Migraine Prevention User Reviews (Page 5)

• Anonymous
• October 11, 2012

"I have had migraines since I was a young child. They have gotten worse as the years have gone by (I'm 37). I would be completely debilitated the entire week I was menstruating, with several other less severe migraines throughout the month. I tried all the triptans and ended up with horrible rebound migraines. I tried Topamax, and it made my headaches worse (and the side effects were truly terrible). Propranolol has been a huge lifesaver. It hasn't completely erased my headaches, but I get many fewer during the month, and my menstrual migraine is manageable--not completely debilitating. My only complaint: my heart rate doesn't get high enough to exercise aggressively. But it's worth it to not have the out-of-control migraines."

• Ano...
• November 27, 2017

"Didn't seem to do anything apart from making me tired and depressed. When I finally came off the drug, it was like I was given my life back. It didn't seem to help the migraines either, in fact, it was while I was on the drug that I had the worst migraine of my life."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 8, 2012

"I have been suffering from migraines since the age of 10 (I'm now 18). I used to get at least 4 migraines a week with severe vomiting and couldn't move out of bed until the next day. I have tried lots of tablets; pizotifen, atenolol are just a few. I began propranolol 2 months ago, starting at 60 mg. I was still getting a migraine a week, but no vomiting, and constant eye pain all day, every day. Also suffering from poor circulation, severe dry mouth, and being unable to sleep at night. The doctor has now put me on 160 mg once a day and haven't had a migraine since, although still struggling with the side effects! And I've now been referred to a migraine specialist, which will hopefully give me an answer as to why I'm getting them. Would definitely recommend!"

• bet...
• September 18, 2009

"I suffered 2 severe migraines every month. I was at my wits' end trying to deal with them as all the medications had failed miserably. Propranolol was my last hope, and thankfully, it works beautifully. I truly feel as though I have my life back. I can plan events in advance, and I no longer have to go to work with a migraine! Amazing!"

• woo...
• August 7, 2016

Propranolol "I put on 40 kg over the course of 12 years of this medication, but I don't have migraines. The generic ones don't work at all, except Derralin (can no longer get Inderal in Australia). I would recommend anyone with life-altering migraines to try it for 3 months. It just might be the cure you are waiting for."

• CoT...
• July 6, 2016

"Started taking 80 mg before bed about 8 months ago. It worked okay the first few months, with the exception of some weight gain. I went from having daily severe headaches and migraines to mild daily headaches and migraines about once every week or two. About two months ago, headaches came back full force, and my neurologist decided to up the dose to 120 mg. Couldn't sleep at all, terrible nightmares, gained more weight, and had hand numbness. His suggestion was to take it during the day instead of at night. Terrible idea. Excessive drowsiness, nausea, and still nonstop severe headaches and migraines. Hands still going numb and no sleep. Hope to get off of this soon."

• tk2...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 3, 2016

"I am a 35-year-old male from India. Due to some disturbances in personal life, I developed migraines. Migraines started in the morning after awakening if I slept beyond 6 AM. I consulted a lot of psychiatrists, and they all prescribed me different SSRIs, tricyclics, or benzodiazepines with a lot of side effects. So, I tried propranolol. Believe me, propranolol is the best anti-migraine medication that I have ever tried. It's a miracle. My life is now migraine-free. I take 40 mg immediate release in the morning. In India, you can buy any branded medicine because the cost of medicines here is extremely low, so there is no need for medical insurance. I take Ciplar 40 (propranolol 40), which costs me just 40 INR for 15 tablets. Less than $2 per month."

• Nud...
• February 24, 2015

"I have been on 40 mg Deralin (propranolol) for 3 years. I still get daily headaches and the occasional migraine. I find I have dizziness and vertigo, lethargy and tension whilst on it. I also have trouble exercising - because I get puffed within 2-3 minutes of cardio - like almost vomiting, kind of puffed! Deralin has helped with my headaches a little, eliminated my tremor, but the biggest improvement is with anxiety. It's almost zero. I have attempted to reduce my intake because I'd like to get fit. But was met with overwhelming dizziness, vertigo, and panic attacks within 5 days of decreasing my dose to 20 mg. So it's great for some things, but hard to get off. I'd love to hear of something similar that has less side effects."

• UKa...
• December 1, 2019

"Don’t use them if you are affected differently by medication. I’m autistic, so medicine affects me in a way that it wouldn’t in a “normal” person. It screwed with my head. I still suffer, even though my mum had to wean me off them, which also gave me withdrawal effects since the doctor kept saying to take more. It’s horrible. I still can’t think straight or breathe normally, and all I have is bad thoughts after using beta blockers."

• Nat...
• January 11, 2013

"I have read most of the posts. I am so glad this medicine has helped so many, but unfortunately, I am one of the few that it did the opposite. I have been on Topamax, a bit effective, but I created a fast resistance to it, and the constant 'idiot' mode, fatigue, tingling, and memory loss made me decide to ask him to change me to something else. Since you can't be taken off Topamax cold turkey, I was advised to take 50 mg and one 60 mg of propranolol. The first 5 minutes, it felt like I had taken a good 5 shots of tequila without the gagging. After that, I felt as if someone had dropped a bucket of ice water on me and then a nasty migraine... 4 hours later, I'm without a breath, barely feeling my legs."

• Thi...
• June 13, 2017

"In 2010, I started getting horrible one-sided migraines that would put me in bed, praying for death for hours every day. Doctor prescribed propranolol 80 mg extended release. Within the first week, the migraines had lessened in intensity, and by the second week, they were completely gone. Three years later, in 2013, the dreaded migraines returned. Went back to the doctor, told him what medication I needed, and sure enough, the exact same result. But now, here we are, four years later, and they're back. Wish we could figure out why I seem to only have this issue every three to four years, but at least I know there's something out there that works for me."

• Nic...
• July 21, 2017

"I'm 28 years old and have had chronic migraines since I was 7 years old. I have several triggers and get all the side effects during a migraine, including stroke symptoms. I have tried everything and recently got put on propranolol for prevention, which is definitely helping and has lessened migraine frequency, and I have 4 different medications for onset. I have Cambria, which is a migraine powder that I take first if I caught it in time. 30 minutes later, or if it was already too late, I take either Maxalt-MLT (rizatriptan), least effective for me, Imitrex (sumatriptan), semi-effective depending on pain level, or my favorite and the best/strongest and most effective is Onzetra - sumatriptan nasal powder."

• Anonymous
• August 29, 2011

Propranolol "I initially used Inderal to assist with 'stage fright' for large work presentations (it lowers heart rhythm and so reduces the signs of nervousness). I noticed while taking it that I had fewer headaches and migraines, so my doctor recommended I continue with it. I have now been using a low dose of Inderal for around 4-5 years. It has reduced the frequency of migraines from around an 8-10 a year to 3-4 a year. Headaches have been reduced from several a week to one every couple of weeks. I have experimented with reducing the dose and frequency, however, that has resulted in a return of migraines. The main side effect I have noticed is colder extremities (hands and feet). I assume this is due to the poorer circulation caused by Inderal."

• Beb...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 7, 2017

"Recently, I had a hemorrhagic stroke, and afterwards, I was having the worst headaches along with some anxiety. My doctor prescribed propranolol 20 mg per day. I started taking this medication last week, and yesterday I began to feel as though my speech was more clear and my mind wasn't as jumbled. I have been experiencing dizziness, but checking my blood pressure on a regular basis. At this time, it's just nice that other people are able to understand me when I talk. Unfortunately, my headaches are still occurring, but not as intense. My anxiety has seemed to decrease. Since this is only my second week taking this medication, time will tell."

• Anonymous
• April 19, 2011

"I had daily headaches and migraines that were coming every week out of the blue. It was debilitating, and my career was suffering. I hate tablets, but I listened to the doctor and went on to propranolol. I'm only on 7 days, and already I'm pain-free for 5 days. Woke up this morning with a horrific migraine, and it was gone within 30 minutes of taking my daily propranolol dose. Only side effects seem to be dry eyes and achy chest, which I would take any day rather than have the debilitating pain and sickness of the last 4 months. Really do recommend this."

• Ber...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 28, 2016

"Had migraines for 7 years. Took Fioricet for pain, which works well, but I wanted to try prevention. My doctor had already tried Gabapentin and Sumatriptan, both of which did nothing for migraines and had side effects. Then Propranolol. The side effects were: feeling sluggish and tired all the time. I have a regular diet and exercise routine that I follow, and it did not affect my eating habits, but it did make me not want to exercise because of how sluggish I felt. I forced myself to anyway, which is why I didn't gain weight on the drug, but gaining weight would have been easy. At night, my heartbeat felt like it was chugging on a milkshake, which made me anxious. It did nothing for my migraines, so I stopped after a couple of months."

• Vic...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 19, 2021

"I have been taking this for 5 weeks, and my migraines are more regular. I also believe the medication has been making me sick to my stomach and would like to ask if anyone else has had this same problem. I can't handle it anymore, I have stopped taking this as of yesterday. Thank you."

• TxM...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• October 30, 2020

"I've been on 120 mg of propranolol for 20 years to help my migraines. My migraines went from 3-4 days a week to 2-3 days a month at most. The only exception is if the weather is crazy that month, but it only adds another couple of days of migraine per month at most. I take 2.5 mg of naratriptan (Amerge) for acute headaches and that usually helps (once in a while, I'll have to take a second naratriptan, but one usually knocks it out). I used to take Imitrex shots, but I didn't like how my chest and neck felt tight afterward. Propranolol has been a Godsend."

• Anonymous
• December 24, 2009

Propranolol "I have taken Inderal now for a few months. I have noticed that my migraines are down to 2-4 a month. I was 5-6 a week. I was using the max dosage of Imitrex and still not getting any relief. Don't get me wrong. I love my Imitrex and can't live without it. Inderal has improved a lot of my headaches. At first, I hated Inderal because I hated the idea of feeling slow and tired all the time. Now, if I forget to take it, my coworkers notice immediately! I get very agitated and nauseous when I have a headache to begin with, and I slur my words. I want candies loaded with dyes, and I get a manic-like hyperactive speech. I feel better now than I did in May. I still feel the migraines, I don't feel their attacks."

• Fla...
• January 18, 2013

"After quitting drinking about a year ago, I developed severe migraine headaches. The propranolol LA 160 mg caps have worked very well, and I seldom get migraines. I decided because of cost and the fact I was having so few headaches, to try and wean myself from this medication. Within 2 days, the headaches were back. So I'm back on the propranolol and back to being headache-free most of the time."

• Anonymous
• November 14, 2011

"I have been taking Inderal 80 mg for about 10 years for migraines. It has been a tremendous miracle for me. My migraines were severe, and I was getting them about once a week with an extra severe one that lasted for days at the onset of my period. Since I've been taking Inderal, I still get headaches, maybe 1 a week, but nothing close to what I was getting before with the vomiting, nausea, and being unable to function. I don't believe I have had any significant side effects. Hope this helps."

• Cai...
• November 13, 2016

Propranolol "Migraines started at age 50. Just about every day at 3 PM. They were severe, but only lasted 2-3 hours. My eye area, cheek, and ear were always sensitive to touch. Inderal was a lifesaver. 10 mg twice a day. Sometimes I would feel slight pain behind my eye, but never needed a pain reliever. The nightmares were something else, 3-4 times a month. I was actually afraid I would give my husband a heart attack when I would wake up screaming and thrashing at night. When I hadn't felt that pain behind my eye for about a year, I gradually went off Inderal (around 60 years old)."

• And...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 29, 2019

"Started with 80 mg of propranolol for migraines and did great for the first 2-3 months. Then I started noticing that I started losing hair, more than the usual. Other than that, it worked great, with no migraines. Sorry that I must stop taking it now. I can't lose any more hair."

• Riv...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 4, 2016

"Helps tremendously with preventing migraines, however, I have instant weight gain around the middle. I gained 20 lbs in 2 months on it, and watching what I ate and exercising would not take it off. The weight was continuing to come on. I slowly weaned myself off. I took the weight off. The migraines became out of control again, and I went back on it. I've been on it for 10 days and gained 5 lbs. I'm on 60 mg a day, which doesn't seem that much. I have to find something else because of the weight issue."

• kat...
• April 10, 2011

"I just started this medicine a month ago. Am I amazed. I had tried almost every migraine medication out there, and nothing worked very well. I went from having 15-20 migraines a month (some lasting for days) to now about 1 per week. I am just so relieved! The only thing is, I do notice some side effects. I am on antidepressants for depression and anxiety, and my doctor did say it can sometimes make depression or moods worse. I also get some shortness of breath or wheezing a bit, which I might have to talk to my doctor about. But I'm scared she is going to say I have to stop the propranolol. I would rather have the other effects than the awful debilitating migraine pain. (I lost my job over my migraines, too)."