Propranolol for Anxiety. Terrified.

Doctor gave me propranolol for anxiety. Absolutely terrified it will make tinnitus worse. . . Or even more terrified it eill cause pulsatile tinnitus. My tinnitus was caused by going to a loud concert on October 4th of this year. ENT and Audiologist appointment November 30th. Anxiety has been the biggest problem. The first 2 weeks I have almost no memory of because I was taking hydroxyzine for anxiety 2-3 times a day and it just made me loopy and out of it. I am so absolutely terrified of anti anxiety medicine making my tinnitus worse or giving me pulsatile. I have made slight progress this week.

Not as much anxiety, trying to focus on my reaction to the tinnitus and not the tinnitus itself. Started eating and drinking a little more regularly. Just terrified and need support/suggestions.

 

You are right to be careful with this stuff.
Sometimes it works well for people at low doses. But it can lower your blood pressure significantly, and that can affect your ears. I had nausea, no energy, dizziness, and worst of all what appeared to be small Meniere's attacks because not enough blood was getting to my head (?). I think it made me susceptible to more ear damage even though I got off of it quickly. You should consider less risky solutions first.
Try to find an anxiety drug with a low risk of ototoxicity. You can google or look here; I think someone posted a good link about it. Have you also tried supplements such as kava root, chamomile, etc? They can work too.

As for me I take 1mg of klonopin a day. That stopped my panic attacks almost completely, and I have suffered seemingly no side effects. But klonopin isn't for everyone. It's a benzo, so it can also be a bit ototoxic, and can be habit forming (withdrawals can be brutal). But some people claim it helps with their T, which is a plus.

 

I take 500Mg of Magnesium every day, usually at night to help me sleep. I take up to 1Mg of Melatonin over the past couple of days. The Melatonin helps me get to sleep, but not stay asleep. I also have Valerian Root but I haven't given that a shot yet.

 

Good that you are taking the mag and melatonin; both can help tinnitus. Valerian root may be helpful. I've never tried it but I know some people who have had benefit from it.

 

I share your fear/caution of anxiety meds.

I suffer with anxiety and ocd. Inositol in particular is apparently helpful.

Alternatives to look at are ..

. Inositol
. 5htp
. Tryptophan
. Chamomile
. Mindfulness cbt
. Yoga
. Exercise
. Multi b complex

Re melatonin. You sound like youd be better off taking a slow release form of melatonin at night ?

 

Like Deb said you should explore meditation and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Meditation and relaxation exercises helped me greatly with crippling anxiety in the short term (weeks) and CBT helped me keep it in check in the long term (months/year). It's all about calming down the limbic system (amygdala) and engaging the para-sympathetic nervous system. Look up how to stimulate the Vagus nerve. Here's a link to help you get started:

http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/the-vagus-nerve-an-unexpected-key-to-better-performance