# Propranolol and Xanax first time.



## th3crow7 (Nov 20, 2011)

Ok, my last panic attack was during an interview where I embarrassingly got up and left. My face was red, my heart pounding, my voice a slurring mess my stomach in knots. I normally take Xanax but for this I did not. I tried to do the interview just me with no armor. Needless to say I lost that battle. Now I have two interviews in the next two weeks and I am a complete mess.

I talked with my psych and she prescribed me propranolol, 10 mg tablets 3x a day. I am wondering how much I should I take of propranolol before the interview. I have read between 20 up to 80 mg. I will also be taking 1mg possibly 1.5 mg of Xanax. I just want to be sure I don't make a mess like I did the last time. I have taken the propranolol here at home over the last two days to make sure I don't have any ill effects and it seems fine but it's difficult to put yourself in a stressful situation at home to test it.

I am 6'3 and weigh 280 pounds so I'm not a small person. How much of each would you suggest I take and how long before hand. Thanks a bunch!


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## brown324 (Oct 1, 2011)

th3--- I sympathize with your symptoms. In my experience propranolol is an amazing med. at helping calm physical anxiety. I take 80 mg a day in 2 split doses (40 mg each). In my experience less than 40 mg. doesn't do a whole lot, and with your body weight and size you may require more for it to be effective maybe around 60 mg. in a single dose. You should take it about 1.5 hrs. before your interview for it to have full effect, and it's effects should last somewhere between 3 and 5 hours. Good luck to you sir.


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## MilkWasABadChoice (Nov 16, 2010)

The propranolol will definitely help you, I would recommend taking 30mg the night before and then 40mg an hour before the interview. I usually get best effects this way. You are a big guy but 40mg should still do the trick.


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## th3crow7 (Nov 20, 2011)

Thanks for the responses! I will plan on 1 mg of Xanax and at least 40 mg of propranolol an hour and a half prior. Hopefully this will a good combo.


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## scribe (Mar 8, 2011)

Hope the interview went well. I can sympathize with all your symptoms, especially the blushing(my face can get tomato-red). I'm using valium/propanolol right now, but I wanna see if Xanax has any different effect.


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## th3crow7 (Nov 20, 2011)

scribe said:


> Hope the interview went well. I can sympathize with all your symptoms, especially the blushing(my face can get tomato-red). I'm using valium/propanolol right now, but I wanna see if Xanax has any different effect.


How do you perform on the combo? I havent had my second interview yet so I'm still nervous. I did have an event ( not where I was center of attention ) where I would have avoided it or leave during but a low dose of propranolol worked very well, so I have high hopes the combo works.


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## scribe (Mar 8, 2011)

Valium calms you down, almost like you've had a few beers. It's a pleasant calming effect, but too much can make you drowsy. So, the valium/prop combo works well for, but I still might try xanax to see if it works even better.


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## th3crow7 (Nov 20, 2011)

I'll post to this thread after I test it.


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## th3crow7 (Nov 20, 2011)

So after 50 mg of propranolol 2hours prior to interview and 1 mg of Xanax I nailed the interview. I was completely relaxed and able to focus. Thanks for all the suggestions.


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## DK3 (Sep 21, 2011)

th3crow7 said:


> Ok, my last panic attack was during an interview where I embarrassingly got up and left. My face was red, my heart pounding, my voice a slurring mess my stomach in knots. I normally take Xanax but for this I did not. I tried to do the interview just me with no armor. Needless to say I lost that battle. Now I have two interviews in the next two weeks and I am a complete mess.
> 
> I talked with my psych and she prescribed me propranolol, 10 mg tablets 3x a day. I am wondering how much I should I take of propranolol before the interview. I have read between 20 up to 80 mg. I will also be taking 1mg possibly 1.5 mg of Xanax. I just want to be sure I don't make a mess like I did the last time. I have taken the propranolol here at home over the last two days to make sure I don't have any ill effects and it seems fine but it's difficult to put yourself in a stressful situation at home to test it.
> 
> I am 6'3 and weigh 280 pounds so I'm not a small person. How much of each would you suggest I take and how long before hand. Thanks a bunch!


I really feel for you and understand how stressful these interview situations are for provoking the symptoms..

I would be careful with Propranolol as although it's considered a relatively safe drug it does lower blood pressure and interfere with the heart rate. Not wanting to scare you, but just be careful about taking high doses of it, particularly if you're a big person and already may have low blood pressure (I assume your dr has given you a physical and checked blood pressure). I would advise to take a normal dose and see how you feel..increase dosage gradually.. Xanax is a great drug for calming the nerves but again that seems like a very high dose to me 1.5mg.. why not start with 0.25mg see how you feel on a pre-interview trial and then gradually increment up in 0.25mg doses until you get it right.. Xanax can make you VERY sleepy and sedated looking in the eyes at high doses, and this together with the beta blocker might make you slow and looking like you're "on something" to the interviewer... I guess it's all about getting the balance right for the maximum effects without being compromised in how you look and function... saying that, you're a big chap so you might need higher doses to have a normal effect..but I would definitely do some tests before the next interview, start small, work up dosage to suit.


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