Beta Blockers...What Are These?

[ladybug8372]

i have irregular heartbeats....(and also suffer from anxiety)...sometimes i have BAD heart palpitations, which grate on my nerves tremendously. my cardiologist said that it is nothing to be alarmed over....but if it annoyed me that bad, that he could perform a VERY risky surgery to correct it......since it isnt life threatening....i will deal with it!!!!!!!!!!......he also said that he could put me on beta blockers......HOWEVER.....my heart WOULD become addicted to it, therefore if i ever needed them later in life...my heart would already be addicted, and therefore it would not help me then.......so.....again..........i will deal with it................my whole point in this is to let you know that beta blockers are addictive...so make sure that you are getting on them for the right reasons.......WHENEVER it is mentioned by a doctor.

[HELLASRULES]

I was prescribed beta blockers a couple of times for heart palpitations caused by mitral valve prolapse. But I hated them, as they made me slow & sluggish feeling. IMO they aren't worth taking unless absolutely medically necessary for serious heart conditions! I've stumbled upon a couple of natural things that help the anxiety and the palpitations. Since taking magnesium, the heart palps have lessened dramatically. It also helps me sleep better, less leg cramps and gotten rid of my ocular migraines. I also take omega 3 supplememnts which pretty much got rid of my anxiety atttacks, my mood is better, and that improved my sleep even more.
Keeping well hydrated and exersizing helps anxiety too.
Hellas

[Swayze711]

Beta blockers can be tricky! Dosing is actually the tricky part. Too high of a dose will make you "sluggish".
Beta Blockers are commonly prescribed for anxiety. In fact, the most common use outside of cardiac issues is for stage freight.
As far as you becomming "addicted", i can try to address that. Beta receptors are located on the heart and in the lungs, among other areas. You've got these receptors that are use to having things like epi (speeds up heart) attach to them. The thought with anxious ppl is stop the natural heart racing biomediators from attaching and their heart rates slow, and the beat is less felt. Doctors give Beta Blockers (Adrenergic Agonists) (adrenergic=fast heart, dilated pupils, slowed GI...etc) to reserve the receptors so that those other caffeine like stimulants cant park there. Problem is that the receptors are wondering where the heck the epi and that "rush" is and the cells in response make more receptors than normal. All fine and dandy while you're taking you're "blockers". Should you abruptly stop, you'll have all these empty receptors, a heck of a lot more than usual, no blockers .....Epi has a field day. Overstimulation, severe tachycardia, severe angina (chest pain)....An overall SPEED response that can lead to MI (heart attack).

I would worry more about "addiction" with benzo's, opiates, sedatives, etc.


Woo hoo! Somebody just had a pharmacology test And somebody has been on BB for a while

[lena_33]

I'm a 17 y/o girl and I take these for anxiety. Mine is called Propranolol and it helps me with the tachycardia (racing heart) that comes along with it. Beta blockers lower blood pressure, heart rate, and palpitations or arrythmias.