Can I use labetalol for the treatment of anxiety?
Your blood pressure reading is represented as systolic & diastolic values. Former refers to the maximum point of pressure while the latter denotes the minimum. If blood pressure fares at ~ 80/120 or 90/130 mmHg (millimeters mercury), it is considered as a normal thing. People who smoke or drink often are likely to experience pressure higher than 90/140 mmHg. It is a good practice to check your blood pressure readings on a periodic mode. Labetalol is one of the widely used antihypertensive meds; it is used for reducing high pressures. But can you use labetalol for treating anxiety? It is useful to know more about this.
Labetalol
Hypertension is labelled as primary form and secondary. The primary type of hypertension is known to affect more than 93% of those living with high blood pressure. You may get it if you are obese, take excessive amounts of alcohol daily, if your diet is salty and/or greasy with oils. Secondary form of hypertension is caused by many reasons viz., kidney problem, and also if you are taking birth control pills.
What is labetalol?
Drugs are widely used to reduce hypertension. Labetalol is mainly consumed to treat high blood pressure levels. You can purchase it as a tablet or an injectable form. It is useful to know that labetalol is administered for several decades; it was introduced in 1977. You can now get it as a generic drug with ease.
Labetalol is commonly administered in US. It ranks among top-250 widely administered drugs. In terms of prescriptions, count has crossed 1.95-million mark each year. This antihypertensive med possesses alpha as well as beta-blocking capabilities. But when you compare it with other meds – say, meds like propranolol – labetalol’s beta-blocking strengths are known to be much lesser. Likewise, its alpha-blocking properties are lesser than drugs like phentolamine.
Can you administer labetalol for the treatment of anxiety?
Labetalol was not launched to manage mental conditions like anxieties. However, researchers believe that it has properties to control anxiety; this stems from calming effects this med can bring forth among people who use it. It hence remains a fact that labetalol does reduce heartbeat rates – a common symptom of being anxious and restless.
Due to this fact, doctors do administer labetalol dosage for anxiety. This med is used mainly to control your system’s feedback mechanism – by decreasing symptoms such as quicker heartbeat or faster pulse rate. Once these reactions are under control, you are likely to become calm. Labetalol thus can work for treatment of anxieties despite being a beta-blocking med.
Also, unlike anxiety-decreasing meds such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibiting (SSRI) drugs and/or serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibiting (SNRIs) meds, effects of labetalol are relatively quicker to show up. You may need to know that SNRIs and SSRIs take some weeks’ time to yield needful outcomes. Due to its fast-acting capabilities, labetalol is used as an interim-reliever of distressful conditions such as restlessness and anxieties. Absence of very adverse reactions and effects is another reason for using labetalol dosage for anxiety.
However, if you observe any adverse side effects such as breathing difficulties (for example – panting, wheezing or gasping for breath), swelling of oral parts like lips or tongue, an itchy feeling or rash formation – talk to your doctor without delay. People in the US can dial 911 while users of labetalol in Canada need to call Health Canada.
Above all, in order to have more details about labetalol dosage for anxiety, it is a safe practice to talk to your doctor and/or pharmacist.
Disclaimer
Information provided here are only of supplementary nature. Information shared here does not substitute a qualified doctor’s advice. This website is not suggesting intake of this drug as safe or appropriate. Hence it is advised to talk to your doctor before consuming this med or any other drug.
Education: Master’s in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Michigan. Experience: Over 8 years of experience writing for health and wellness websites, including WebMD and Healthline, specializing in women’s health and nutrition.
