Beta blocker: Propranolol

[climber]

I don’t care if 50% of ny or la musicians are using beta blockers! They are NOT to be trifled with. I have a heart condition and my cardiologist prescribed misoprolol first and then bisoprolol. A few months into taking the second drug I started having very dark and suicidal thoughts which ended within a few days of stopping the drug. PLUS do not consume alcohol with them…

Just sayin’

 

[JeffG47]

When I began gigging, my right hand would shake like crazy. I did take a beta blocker to take the edge off but was encouraged by many that I’d get used to the jitters either way. After a handful of gigs the tremors went away. We always began our set with Blue Bossa and we’d all use that opportunity for both a sound check and and a time to settle in. Hope that helps.

 

[LiptonJigglers]

I was on it for years with chronic kidney disease.
Never had an issue of alcohol and beta blockers.

For what it's worth, I would highly recommend to anyone that they absolutely avoid being tied to any pharmaceutical corporation unless it was absolutely necessary and essential. I have been tied to them since 1987 and will continue to be tied to them for the rest of my life.

Many of us who suffer chronic pain have now lost the ability to get pain treatment that was effective and beneficial, thanks to the abuse of these medicines by those that didn't need them (we must never forget the role played by the businesses too).
It would be a severe blow to millions around the world if suddenly they lost the ability to access beta blockers too.

There has to be better ways to deal with the problem other than relying upon popping pills.

 

[DaveParker39]

Stage fright is a very common off-label use for propanolol. Alpha and beta blockers are prescribed off-label for anxiety disorders, PTSD, specific phobias, stage fright, and many other uses that they weren't originally intended for (hypertension).

Propanolol stops the sympathetic nervous system and adrenal medulla from releasing excess adrenaline.

Doctors prescribe low-dose propanolol for stage fright because
1) It works
2) *Most* people can safely take it
3) It has a relatively benign side effect profile
4) It has little-to-no value as a drug of abuse

I cannot opine as to whether or not you should take it because I am not a psychiatrist or GP/Primary Care Doctor and I have not examined you, but a psychiatrist or GP/Primary Care Doctor who does examine you could opine definitively if it is safe for you to use and prescribe it if so.

 

[BismarckHerring]

I have used propranolol myself, and I've known people who have used it for auditions, presentations, and job interviews.

It works and has low risk profile for occasional use in low doses (the recommended dosage for stage fright is lower than for most people who take it for blood pressure regulation).

I've also used alprazolam, but I wouldn't start with that. Alprazolam can make you drowsy and it's addictive. I can imagine it having a negative impact on your playing. To oversimplify the difference between the two: Propranolol is not a psychoactive drug, the psychological effects are indirect, you feel calmer because you don't tremble. With alprazolam it's the other way around.

Even though the risk profile of propanolol is low, it's not zero. Always consult with a physician, and try it out before you use it for a gig to see how you react to it (if you feel nothing, it doesn't mean that it doesn't work, it is should only make a difference in a stressful situation).

 

[smo]

…use it under the supervision of a doctor. Beta blockers exert some of their effect by slowing heart rate....

Yep.

We use Metaprolol at work for our cardiac patients. The crucial part here is your diastolic blood pressure. If you're on the low side, a beta blocker will likely have you feeling tired and light headed, maybe even have you falling over if taken in a high enough dose. I'm not going to go into undesirable medication interactions.

Careful.

 

[pcake]

i dealt with my stage fright by not wearing my glasses. i found not being able to see people in the audience helpful. perhaps there are glasses that would make vision blurrier.

i'd think hypnosis could be effective for stage fright. mine improved after i had a sudden epiphany that the people weren't there to judge me, mostly they were really happy to be entertained, and as long as nothing dire went wrong, they were right there with me. and that was always true. oddly this hit me after an open mic years ago when i sang an entire verse from a different song than the one we were playing, apologized with a joke to the band and the audience, then started over to a round of applause.

btw, i used to take xanax for anxiety, and suddenly developed an allergy to it one day with no prior symptoms that involved sneezing, runny eyes and a spectacular, itchy rash.

 

[Krisfield]

I’m 54 and have Hypertension. I ended up taking a Calcium Channel Blocker called Amlodipine. My blood pressure is now perfect, but one of the side effects is that it relaxed me out quite a lot. I was very surprised by it. Talk to your doctor about it. I’d recommend it for anxiety.

 

[Nomoncello]

I'm 100 percent sober, and I never get anxious playing on stage anymore. The amount I practice, I have no reason to be. I would suggest looking at the problem from a 3rd person perspective before relying on drugs you may or may not always have. Why do you get anxious? When does it start? Try things you haven't done yet, like deep breathing (it really works) and eating healthy/working out. The gym plays a huge part in my own sanity. Drugs are a last resort in my opinion, and those who take them really didn't try everything naturally.

 

[HueyFreeman]

The Bene-Gesserit Litany Against Fear:

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

I can understand resorting to medication if one's fears are compulsive and/or diagnosable. But anything else just requires a little inner strength to get the fearful event behind us.

 

[Qlanq]

I had pretty bad stage-fright.
My cure was to have an argument with someone just before going on.
Worked like a charm.

 

[Philonius]

Propanolol stops the sympathetic nervous system and adrenal medulla from releasing excess adrenaline.

For the record (and I checked to verify my recollection), beta blockers such as Propanolol work by blocking cellular receptor sites that are activated by adrenaline type neurotransmitters. The drug binds to the receptor but does not activate the response that a neurotransmitter would stimulate. Your system may produces the same amount of adrenaline and related compounds, but there are fewer active sites for this to bond to, resulting in a decreased response. Propanalol is a first generation beta blocker and has more general, less cardiac-specific effects than some of the newer drugs; thus it can be more effective for managing other sympathetic nervous system effects of stress, etc.

 

[ajkula66]

Have you considered yoga ?

It doesn't work as fast as a pill would - in the respect that you won't be able to prepare for a gig tonight using it - but it may turn out to be way more beneficial in the long run.

My $0.02 only...

Good luck.

 

[DaveParker39]

For the record (and I checked to verify my recollection), beta blockers such as Propanolol work by blocking cellular receptor sites that are activated by adrenaline type neurotransmitters. The drug binds to the receptor but does not activate the response that a neurotransmitter would stimulate. Your system may produces the same amount of adrenaline and related compounds, but there are fewer active sites for this to bond to, resulting in a decreased response. Propanalol is a first generation beta blocker and has more general, less cardiac-specific effects than some of the newer drugs; thus it can be more effective for managing other sympathetic nervous system effects of stress, etc.

this is correct, usually when I post something like "changes the affinity for adrenaline to bind at receptor sites" it loses people, but technically you are correct, it is not "less adrenaline" it is "less response to the binding of adrenaline"

 

[Beej]

I believe the statistical data shows that talk therapy is not generally effective with stage fright.

By 'statistical data', if you mean evidence-based research results, then they show the opposite to this opinion. This is not to say that everyone will have successful results with therapy, but the comment above is speaking to statistics, presumably meaning 'evidence'.