Beta Blockers

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Has anyone tried the medicine called Beta Blockers to reduce their anxiety or stress response?

I would like to try it for the awful rash I come out in when I am stressed. Things like job interviews or having to give a presentation at work. It's bright red and goes across my chest. Once the stressful situation is over the rash goes away. It would also be good to slow my crazy heartbeat and the feelings of being really wound up when these stressful situations occur.

I have read that some drugs interact with aspies differently to an NT though so I am a little hesitant to just start taking them.

I tried a beta blocker (I forget the name). It didn't do anything or did very little so I stopped using it. I'm now on medication for ADHD. Drugs that did something were Geodon (made me feel euphoric as if being high on weed, for 1-2 weeks. Another drug did pretty much the same thing for about the same duration. Both drugs trailed off after that period and then did nothing. These two drugs are both anti-anxiety drugs used for psychosis and off-label stuff like that.

I've never heard of beta blockers being used for anti-anxiety. They are mostly cardiac-blood pressure drugs.

I asked a doctor one time, and he said it was too much risk with my asthma and so I never got any.

Very, very, very bad idea! You absolutely should never use beta blockers unless a physician has prescribed them to you, and I'm not talking about hounding your doctor for beta blockers—if there is a legitimate medical reason (eg high blood pressure) for you to be taking these drugs, your physician will recommend them to you. Otherwise, don't touch the stuff.

n4mwd: Beta blockers lower blood pressure and inhibit epinephrine. As such, many people use beta blockers (legally and otherwise) as performance enhancers to reduce stress, especially in audition situations. This is not an appropriate use of the drugs, and can be very dangerous. I know an aspiring musician (small little guy with already low blood pressure) who takes a half-dose of beta blockers before auditions. After the audition is over, he basically goes unconscious the rest of the day. Others have messed themselves up much worse.

Beta blockers are a known treatment for anxiety, as even Wikipedia indicates: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... nhancement

That said, they are prescription drugs that typically lower blood pressure, and should only be used on the advice and prescription of a physician.

I have been on beta blockers for more than 20 years, and I can tell you that they do have a range of side effects. For example, I once fainted in the shower and ended up at the hospital casualty ward because my BP and pulse were too low. A specialist told me that the beta blockers were a significant factor in that episode, and he prescribed a 50% reduction, while increasing other medication to reduce BP. Beta blockers, at least on their own, are somewhat old technology for treating high BP.

By the way, not all beta blockers are effective at treating anxiety. That is why a doctor's prescription is much better than self-medicating - you don't want to make a mistake with your own body.