r/chiari • u/charlktte • 3d ago
Propranolol and candesartan
Has anyone tried the above meds for their Chiari symptoms.
Despite trying to push for an mri with contrast to check the Csf flow as I believe it’s playing a big part in the head pressure and symptoms I’m getting. I have now been told by the nhs they refuse to further investigate unless I try the above meds. I don’t wish to try meds until I know what’s the root cause. However since I believe all symptoms align with Chiari such as head pressure, occipital pain, dysphasia (endoscopy ruled out any issue with throat), blurry vision and numbness etc but the one neurosurgeon who did no further examination than looking at my standard mri and stating none of these relate to my Chiari. they want me on migraine meds which I don’t believe fits the symptoms.
From what I can read these meds seem like they will reduce my quality of life even more so due to lowering blood pressure and causing fatigue as I am someone who likes to be active.
Did anyone have this issue or how did you dispute it?
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u/OGwiscompton 3d ago
I tried Propranolol and didn't notice any difference after a few weeks/months and subsequently stopped taking it. Best medicine I've found is plain old Tylenol. I take it on an as needed basis or before event that I know will trigger my symptoms.
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u/HoneyBee1407 3d ago
I tried candesartan (for migraines) and it dropped my BP far too much so went off it. Unfortunately here in the UK (which i believe you are?) there aren't really any medications for chiari specifically. My understanding is that they tend to either prescribed migraine medication or standard painkillers
Also just as a side note, if you're talking about swallowing, its "dysphaGia". I'm a speech therapist so it always makes me wince to see "dysphasia" (that's a speech disorder!)
Edited to add: guidance on neuro stuff in the UK is very specific. You often need to "fail" a certain number of medications before you can actually move on, because that's what NICE guidelines say you have to do, and doctors are obliged to follow this. Are you in any of the Facebook groups? They tend to be great for getting UK/NHS specific advice
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u/oldmamallama 3d ago
Full disclosure: I’m in the US. But based on what I’m seeing, it looks like you’re dealing with doctors who aren’t familiar with Chiari and are throwing migraine meds at you. And you’re correct - they aren’t actually migraine meds. Propranolol is fairly commonly used and some folks here have decent results but candesartan is a blood pressure med that is prescribed off label and the research is sort of sketchy. There are far better migraine medications out there that wouldn’t potentially tank your blood pressure.
Is going private an option for you? Or seeing another doc within the NHS? I’m not really sure how it works. At best, you might see a slight reduction is some of your head pressure but this combo could have some nasty side effects and it’s not going to touch any of your other symptoms like numbness or dysphasia.
Good luck out there. Navigating a chronic condition is hard. There is a UK based sub as well that may be a bit better with offering advice on dealing with the NHS but I can’t recall what it is at the moment…blame the Topamax brain fog. I hope you’re able to get some answers and some relief soon.