How Beta Blockers Work
Beta-blockers are a class of drugs. They target what’s known as a “beta receptor” that is found on many cells in the sympathetic nervous system, including the heart, kidneys, muscles, and airways. During times of stress, these areas of the body are “excited” by epinephrine.
In those with heart disease, as well as other health issues, beta blockers reduce the effects of adrenaline on the sympathetic nervous system in order to prevent second heart attacks and other disorders that are exacerbated by stress.
There are many types of beta blockers. Two of the most commonly prescribed for anxiety are Propranolol and Atenolol. Other beta blockers may only affect areas that are not ideal for reducing anxiety or may cause too many side effects.
What Is Inderal La
Inderal La is an extended-release prescription drug that slows the heart and lowers blood pressure primarily in patients diagnosed with high blood pressure or chest pain. The active ingredient in Inderal La, propranolol, belongs to a class of medications called beta blockers, which block the effects of adrenaline. Adrenaline stimulates the heart to beat, so blocking adrenaline both slows the heart rate and reduces the strength of individual heartbeats.
Inderal La, because it reduces the load on the heart, is also prescribed to patients for chest pain or who have an abnormal thickening of the heart.
How Should You Use Beta
When being used for performance anxiety, beta-blockers should be used on an as-needed basis. They dont need to be and should not be taken every day.
Generally, our doctors recommend taking one 10mg tablet of propranolol one hour prior to your performance, presentation, meeting, interview, etc.
Your doctor has included a personalized treatment plan that includes recommendations, instructions, as well as benefits and any potential risks.
Be sure to read through this treatment plan completely to understand any recommendations tailored specifically to your needs, including the exact dosage your doctor has recommended for you.
Get started with an online consultation now and connect with one of our board-certified doctors to learn if propranolol is right for you.
Reviewed by Dr. Alex Dimitriu
Dr. Alex Dimitriu is a Stanford-trained physician with dual board certification in psychiatry and sleep medicine. The included content is not intended to replace medical advice. Always be sure to discuss any prescription medications with your doctor.
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Blood Pressure Medications For Anxiety
“When blood pressure medications are needed in a patient who also has chronic or periodic anxiety, if there is no other contraindication, a beta blocker and some, but not all, calcium channel blockers could be an excellent choice,” says Catherine Collings, MD, a cardiologist and director of lifestyle medicine at El Camino Health in northern California.
Beta blockers block the hormone epinephrine, according to the Mayo Clinic. Epinephrine â also known as adrenaline â is related to the fight-or-flight response, which can lead to anxiety if that fight-or-flight response stays activated long-term, Mayo Clinic says. Reducing the effects of adrenaline may help reduce anxiety or its intensity.
Beta blockers can be used to help lessen physical anxiety symptoms, like rapid heartbeat or trembling, says the National Institute of Mental Health. Still, the evidence for beta blockers as an anxiety treatment isn’t firm. A February 2016 review in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found insufficient evidence to support the routine use of propranolol to treat anxiety disorders.
Calcium channel blockers prevent calcium from entering the cells of the heart and blood vessels, according to the National Cancer Institute. By blocking calcium, these medications allow blood vessels to relax and open, helping lower blood pressure. Verapamil has been used to treat anxiety and other mood disorders. However, very few clinical studies have been done, and those that were showed mixed results.
Medications That Make You Sensitive To The Heat
Summer is in full swingand theres another heat wave slamming your area. Youre ready to hit the beach to cool off. As long as you remember to reapply sunscreen and stay hydrated, youre enjoying the hot temperatures safelyright? Not so fast! If you take any daily pillsprescription or over-the-countercheck with your pharmacist first. Certain medications
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Performzen For Performance Anxiety
PerformZen is a supplement designed to help performers reduce anxiety so they can perform at their highest level.
PerformZen works by promoting GABA levels in your brain. GABA is a neurotransmitter that relaxes the body, slows down the thoughts, and increases calmness.
Whether youre a speaker, musician, professional athlete, or a university student, you could most likely benefit from a higher level of calmness and mental focus when you have to perform under pressure.
Here are the ingredients in PerformZen that promote calmness, focus, and even better cognitive function:
Does Propranolol Have Side Effects
Used responsibly at a normal dose, propranolol is a safe, effective treatment for performance and social anxiety. However, like other beta blockers, it can result in some side effects.
Our guide to beta blockers goes into more detail on the side effects you might experience after taking propranolol, as well as potential drug interactions you should be aware of before taking propranolol or any other beta blockers.
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Perform Better Under Pressure Every Time
Performance Anxiety is common before a big event or performance. For some of us, the stakes are extremely high and we have to perform at our absolute best! PerformZen was created for you the high level performer who wants to stay focused & creative while delivering the best performance of your life, without the crippling anxiety & nerves. 100% natural and with none of the side-effects of beta blockers. Try PerformZen today:
What Is Performance Anxiety
As we explained above, performance anxiety is a set of symptoms some people experience before they have to perform in front of an audience, or under pressure. It happens due to an underlying fear of adverse outcomes. You might fear that you will fail, feel humiliated, or judged negatively for your performance.
The reasons why someone may suffer from stage fright are complex. It could be a combination of physical, mental, emotional, and environmental factors.
But when its time to perform, its the physical symptoms that take front and center and prevent you from performing at an optimal level. Here are some of the symptoms you might experience if you suffer from stage fright :
- Rapid heartbeats
In more severe cases, people may experience blurred vision, nausea, or even vomiting.
You experience these physical symptoms of stage fright because of your stress response.
When you perceive to be in a stressful situation, your fight-or-flight response mode takes over and causes a spike in the adrenaline hormone .
For most people, the boost in adrenaline is entirely normal, and it might even enhance their performance due to the added intensity.
But for some people, the spike in adrenaline is too much, and the stress response goes too far. To the point where it becomes difficult, or even impossible, to perform . If severe enough, stage fright can impact your confidence levels and keep you from pursuing a career and life that you love.
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Getting The Most From Your Treatment
- Try to keep your regular appointments with your doctor. This is so your doctor can check on your progress.
- Treatment with propranolol can often be long-term. Continue to take the tablets/capsules unless your doctor tells you to stop. Stopping treatment suddenly can cause problems in some people, so your doctor may want you to reduce your dose gradually if this becomes necessary.
- If you are due to have an operation or dental treatment, it is important to tell the person carrying out the treatment that you are taking a beta-blocker. This is because some anaesthetics may increase the risk of unwanted effects.
- If you drink alcohol, ask your doctor for advice about taking propranolol and alcohol. Alcohol will add to the blood pressure-lowering effect of propranolol and so may not be recommended for you.
- If you have diabetes, propranolol can block the symptoms of low blood sugar. Your doctor will advise you about this.
- If you buy any medicines, check with a pharmacist that they are suitable for you to take. Some medicines may not be.
- Your doctor may give you dietary and lifestyle advice about eating a healthy diet, not smoking, and taking regular exercise. If so, it is important that you follow the advice you are given.
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How Propranolol Helps With Anxiety
Propranolol is not FDA-approved to treat anxiety, but some healthcare providers will prescribe it off-label for patients with specific social phobias around performance, public speaking, or other short-term events.
Healthcare providers will also use it to help people who experience panic attacks or have post-traumatic stress disorder .
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Other Considerations: Lifestyle Changes
A healthy lifestyle may help improve your physical and mental health, including helping manage blood pressure and anxiety.
“Lifestyle should be the first, second and third step for people with high blood pressure and anxiety, unless blood pressure or anxiety are at critical levels,” Dr. Collings says.
She recommends a whole-food, plant-predominant diet low in sodium, processed foods and alcohol cardio and weight resistance exercise and stress-reducing measures like cognitive behavioral therapy and yoga.
How And When To Take Propranolol
Propranolol comes as 2 different types of medicine:
- standard release releases propranolol into your body quickly, you may need to take it several times a day depending on your dose
- sustained release this dissolves slowly so you do not have to take it as often, once a day is usually enough
If you are taking it once a day, your doctor may advise you to take your first dose before bedtime, because it can make you feel dizzy. After the first dose, if you do not feel dizzy, take propranolol in the morning.
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What Are Anxiety Medications And How Do They Work
Anxiety is a normal and useful response to potentially stressful or dangerous situations. It increases our awareness of what’s going on around us. For most people, anxiety is short-lived and normally goes away once the situation has passed. This is not the case for an estimated 40 million adults in the United States who have some type of anxiety disorder and experience ongoing and unwarranted psychological distress. That distress may also manifest itself in physical symptoms such as muscletension, headaches, or chest pain.
Anxiety medications include multiple types of drugs that are used to treat the symptoms of anxiety disorders. The three most commonly prescribed types of anxiety medication are
- anti-anxiety medications , and
- beta-blockers.
Antidepressants and anxiolytic medications work primarily by affecting the balance of certain chemicals in the brain known as neurotransmitters. Beta-blockers and other types of drugs are used to address the physical symptoms that may accompany an anxiety attack. First-generation antihistamines are also used to help with anxiety symptoms because they have a sedating effect.
Anxiety disorders are associated with certain chemical imbalances in the brain involving neurotransmitters such as
- norepinephrine, and
- gamma aminobutyric acid or GABA.
These chemicals are associated with an individual’s sense of well-being or with the ability to relax.
Side Effects And Drug Interactions
FDA has issued a black box warning for metoprolol: Do not abruptly stop taking metoprolol as stopping metoprolol suddenly may cause chest pain or heart attack. Your healthcare provider will help you decrease the dose gradually if you need to stop metoprolol.
Overall, beta-blockers are a relatively safe, non-habit-forming solution for short-term anxiety. One of the reasons that healthcare providers tend to prescribe beta-blockers is because most people will experience minimal side effects.
Common side effects of beta-blockers, in general, include fatigue, dizziness, headache, difficulty sleeping, and cold fingers or toes .
Metoprolol side effects include tiredness, dizziness, diarrhea, shortness of breath, and wheezing . More serious, yet less common, adverse effects are irregular heartbeat and weight gain.
Potential drug interactions can occur with metoprolol. An interaction between two medications doesnt always mean that you need to stop taking one of the medicines. Still, it does require a conversation with your healthcare provider about how to manage your medications.used
Below are some commonly prescribed drugs that may have a drug interactionmeaning a change in the action or side effectwhen taken along with beta-blockers .
This does not include all side effects or potential drug interactions, and you should seek medical advice from your healthcare provider or pharmacist for more drug information.
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Where Performance Anxiety Comes From
Just as the situations that cause unease vary from person to person, so do the causes behind it. In fact, there is a lot of debate over the root cause of anxiety disorders. And most doctors believe there isnt one singular cause.
Most often, anxiety is thought to be the result of:
- A previous bad experience
- Family history and genetics
Sometimes, it can even be the result of another medical condition or certain medications.
Understanding the cause of your apprehension is often a helpful step in determining the best type of treatment for you.
Perhaps one of the biggest problems with any type of stress is that most people dont seek help. And because of that, their symptoms worsen over time.
At one point in college, Richard had to give a presentation in front of the class and he ended up suffering a full panic attack.
Only after his distress reached the point where it was affecting his professional and personal life did Richard decide to get help. He began attending Toastmasters meetings, consulted with a psychiatrist, and, after reading about Richard Bransons experiences with beta-blockers for public speaking, he reached out to his doctor to discuss a prescription.
What Are The Potential Side Effects Of Lopressor
Lopressor, and beta-blockers, in general, are considered safe. But depending on the individual, there may be some side effects.
Here are some of the most common side effects of Metoprolol :
- Fatigue
In some rare, but severe cases, one might also experience the following side effects:
- Wheezing and/or shortness of breath
- Swelling of extremities like hands, feet, or ankles
- Fainting
- Pounding heartbeat
If you experience any of the side effects mentioned above, you should immediately notify your doctor.
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What Is Migraine Your Guide To Talking About The Condition
Migraine definition | Migraine vs. headache | Migraine vs. migraines | Stages of a migraine | Types of migraine Chances are if you dont live with migraine headaches yourself, you know someone who does. About 39 million Americans experience migraine in some form, according to the Migraine Research Foundation. The medical condition affects women, men,