however, i haven’t had the problems you’re having in re losing the weight i’ve gained since i started taking the propranolol, and even working on what i had to lose before that. *knocking wood* eliminating a good deal of the sugar i was consuming has helped immensely, but atkins and i do not agree with each other. i’ve had to sometimes force myself to exercise, but i do eat whole grains and fruit.

my biggest problem has been with postural hypotension. even after all this time on this medication, most of the time i rise from a seated/prone position too quickly and feel as though i’m about to pass out.

i will gladly live with all these side effects and continue to take the propranolol though. i’ve had one migraine in the entire time i’ve been on it, down from 2 or 3 a week before. i sometimes have the scintillating scotoma phase that was/is(?) my aura, but the headache never comes. weird, eh?

found you from doug’s blog… glad i did!

I seem to have avoided the weight gain window of 3 to 6 months! My loss has been very, very slow though - about a pound a month.

When I told my doctor I was skeptical of Inderal because of its effect on insulin (extensive family history of diabetes), she countered with, “But that is balanced by its heart-protective effect.” Now, I have no family history of heart disease unrelated to diabetes. Which should I be more concerned with?

But below is the opinion of a pharmacologist who claims that there is indeed a weight gain but that it is limited to the first 3-6 months.But if you then put on ten pouns it is very difficult to get these off again as beta blockers do seem to interfere with a ketogenic diet. Atkins (New Diet Revolution 2002 p.268) claims that they can contribute to metabolic resistance to weight loss.Eades & Eades (Protein Power 1998 p.28) claim that diuretics and beta-blockers do raise insulin levels.

Here is the pharmacological advice:

“The medication you are on is commonly used to treat high blood pressure, used to prevent heart attacks, and in some cases for heart failure.

In the case of its use in heart attacks and high blood pressure, Sharma et al. (Hypertension 2001; 37 : 250-254 ) recently reviewed the question of whether beta blockers ( Inderal LA is known as a beta blocker) can cause weight gain. In reviewing studies that included over 7000 patients, it was concluded that drugs such as Inderal can cause a weight gain in the first 3-6 mths on the average of about 3 pounds. The range was 0 to about 10 pounds weight gain. Weight gain did not happen after the first 6 months on the medication.

The reasons for weight gain from a drug like Inderal are :

decrease in your metabolic rate of ten percent
fatigue
reduction in exercise tolerance
increased insulin resistance
decrease in the ability to process lipids
In the case of use of drugs like Inderal for heart failure, weight gain would be seen as a sign of worsening disease and should be managed by your clinician. Given that we do not know the reason for your use of Inderal, it is difficult to assess this.

Finally, no matter what Inderal is being used for, it is important not to stop this abruptly. Abrupt discontinuance of Inderal has been associated with heart attacks.

In summary, Inderal and medications like Inderal have been associated with weight gain. There are alternative medications that can be used for any of the conditions named above. You should discuss with your clinician the above information and if deemed appropriate, consider a tapering off of Inderal to assess its contribution to your weight gain.”

Response by:
Dennis Mungall, PharmD
Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice
College of Pharmacy
The Ohio State University

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The diabetes thing, though, is one of the many reasons I’m less than enchanted with my current doctor. She pooh-poohed my concerns, saying that the heart-protective effect of Inderal outweighed any diabetes risk. As if heart disease were the only reason to be worried about diabetes!

To my mind, the subject matter thing is kinda like low carb and weight loss. People might initially stumble upon low carb because they’re looking for a way to lose weight, and then discover that low carb is the key to a whole host of issues surrounding health, politics, economy, history, culture… For this site, the point of entry for many people might be migraine rather than weight loss. Doesn’t matter; the important thing is, it’s another way in.

As you know I started LC July 1, 2007 and have had good success with the weight loss. I’ve always taken 10mg to 20mg Inderal daily during that time. But about two months ago I agreed with my doc in jacking the dosage to 80mg daily! I take the Inderal LA, which is the Long Acting or slow release version, thus only once a day. I had taken that much for a few years back in the nineties but came off due to depression. The Inderal was not a 100% contributor to the depression, but when I came off of it, I could see some improvement. So, here I am trying it again. I take it for essential tremor in my hands. It improves the tremor about 60% which is a huge help in trying to do everyday tasks.

I’m monitoring the depression thing closely and I’m also thinking it effects weight loss. Mine has slowed. I’m not thrilled about beta-blockers (Inderal) but they do improve one’s quality of life, at least to some extent. Strange thing is that, as you know, they weren’t designed/developed for what you or I are taking them for. From what I understand, heart patients began to notice that they no longer had migraines and/or tremors. So, we end up taking a heart med for our problem.

Anyway I could go on and on about this stuff, Inderal. But I won’t here. I may just write a post on it myself…and get all my whining out.

Thanks for your great blog! I think it’s great even if it is called The Migraineur. Kinda’ like Inderal, it’s was designed/developed for migraine sufferers but it works for low-carbers.

Ron, aka The Former Donut Junkie