[jefferson769]

This is going to be long and rambling -- I never post anything online and have never shared this much information about my situation, but I think this may some people who suffer the fear of public speaking:

I actually learned about Propranolol from reading these formats. In high school I had zero anxiety about public speaking. Once I started college, my level of anxiety increased. I can still remember the first time I was in class reading something and my voice locked up on me, it was extrememly embarassing. From that moment on, I found it hard to concentrate on things, because half my time would be spent worrying about having to speak in class. I would sign up for classes and then drop those classes where I would have to give a presentation because my fear was so great. Those times I did have to speak, my voice was shaky, I turned red, and my hands would shake.......it was horrible. I even had this experience during the beginning of the semester where you said your name and a little about yourself. I graduated school about 7 years ago, and just went back for my MBA. About two months ago, I had a similar experience during a 30 second presentation for marketing. The class has 55 people in it, and I was embarassed. Well this past weekend, we had our group presentation for our final project and I had to speak for about 5 minutes. In the past, I would have figured out some way to get out of speaking -- I mean there was no way I could hold it together long enough to speak for 5 minutes.

So I started looking around and found this information on Propranolol about two months ago after my most recent experience, and knowing I had this presentation coming up. I saw my doctor about a month ago and talked to him about taking this drug. I love it how people tell you that you don't need to take anything, and you just need to practice a couple of times, or address the reason for the fear -- these people have NO idea what we go thru, the anxiety of public speaking, the panic, and embarassment and humiliation. he gave me the perscription and I tried it at home one night just to make sure I wasn't going to get sick.....I felt a little drowsy, but nothing significant.

Well this past weekend came, and I practice my presentation over and over again. I started taking the drug about an hour before the presentation but didn't know whether it would actually work. I was still nervous before I started talking because I had no idea if it would work or not, and knew that if it didn't work I was in serious trouble. I had vision of myself running out of the classroom, or someone in my group having to take over for me because my voice locked up. Once I started talking a miracle happened...........my voice was not shaking even a little bit. I was able to make hand gestures and point at the screen - where in the past my hands would be shaking so bad I would have to hold on to the podium or put in my pocket. I didn't feel the need to rush through it, I could pause and use emphasis on words.

When I was done with my part, I felt so proud of myself, I felt like I was cured!! I was so relieved that things went well, and feel more confident to do this again in my other classes. I only wish I would have discovered while I was an undergrad, I think I would have done exponentially better in class and probably graduated a year sooner. My presentation was yesterday and I am still thinking about how amazing I feel that I really did this, and had it go as well as it did. Those who don't know what I have gone thru, will probably never be able to understand how painful it is to have this fear and how crippling it can be in these situations. To those that have this fear and need some help -- I HIGHLY recommend trying Propranolol, it can change your life !!

 

[euphoria]

Yes, propanolol is the ****. I am going to ask for some on my next psych appointment. If not, I'll just buy a bottle on the net.

 

[Medline]

Shouldn't your carvedilol be as good as propranolol? It just blocks alpa receptors too, but is an unselective beta blocker like propranolol.

 

[euphoria]

It is as good, but I lost my carvedilol. Plus the alpha receptor antagonism isn't necessary.

 

[proximo20]

Congratulations and Thanks for sharing your experience

Can I ask how many mg did you take?

 

[jefferson769]

How many MG I took....

Oh -- it was actually kind of interesting, because the group were chosen at random when they were going to go, so I took two 10 mg pills about an hour before the first presentation.......and by the time we actually went, I had taken eight (80 total mg) pills. The strange thing is, they don't really affect you, so you feel like maybe they are not working and I was so nervous, that's why I took more.

Or maybe because it was dialing down how nervous I would have normally been, it masked its effect on me at time.

 

[Newbie]

I was reading your story and was so inspired. I too suffer from glossophobia. I recently got an RX for propanolol from my doc. In few weeks, i have a major presentation due at work and I'm hoping for the same success you have experienced. I completely agree when you said people who do not fear public speaking have no idea what we feel. My closest friends dismisses my biggest fear in life b/c it's not an issue to them. Taking a pill for this was my last resource but i'm very happy to know it actually works with low adverse effects. Thanks for sharing your story. It was very inspirational.

 

[OKdOut]

Your description of propanolol sounds like exactly what most other people have described it. I have never taken it, but I am going to try to get a prescription whenever I get some health care coverage.

propanolol has been reported to work in as much as 96% of people who take it. Now, some people say that propanolol is just masking the symptoms and not curing the underlying root cause of the problem, but beta-blockers usually only work in 80% of the general population, and they've been shown to work in 96% of anxiety and panic sufferers, so I think it is in fact doing something to solve the problem. I too wish I had heard of this drug when I was younger!

I really think this should be THE DRUG and the ONLY DRUG that people who suffer from anxiety/panic disorders should take.

 

[euphoria]

propanolol has been reported to work in as much as 96% of people who take it. Now, some people say that propanolol is just masking the symptoms and not curing the underlying root cause of the problem,

Those people would be wrong. There are plenty of beta-adrenergic receptors in the central nervous system, not just the peripheral system. Noradrenaline is a neurotransmitter, just like serotonin and dopamine are -- it influences mood.

If it didn't affect mood, SNRIs would exert no clinical difference to SSRIs apart from heart and blood pressure-related symptoms. In reality, they are useful for anergic/ADHD-afflicted depressives, among others.

I really think this should be THE DRUG and the ONLY DRUG that people who suffer from anxiety/panic disorders should take.

A-****ing-men. It should [generally] be like this: you take SSRIs for depression, and beta-blockers for anxiety.

 

[wtf?]

Thanks for your story Jefferson769. My situation sounds a lot like yours. I used to be able to do presentations in the past without too much problem, but presently it is just out of the question. I remember two separate experiences in college that seemed to have scarred me very badly. For the one, I just had to get up in front of like 20 people and read something I from a paper I wrote. About halfway down the page I started to lose my breath, then I thought that they thought I was losing my breath, and then I started shaking and I had to stop. It stills messes me up to think about it. And now, even those little 20 sec. intro's at class or at a new job seems out of the question. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. Rambling aside, I recently found out beta-blockers and the help that they can give and plan to get some by any means necessary! Hearing your story made me very confident they can help! Thanks for sharing...

 

[Babyboy]

is there a difference between propanolol and propanolol ip in it's effectiveness?

 

[Medline]

You want to inject propranolol intraperitoneally into your body before a presentation? Or did I misunderstand something ?

 

[Medline]

No tolerance and you can take this drug every day, but it mainly treats the physical symptoms of anxiety like shaking, trembling, heart racing, higher blood pressure, blushing... you can still be very nervous "in your head". A benzo on the other side works directly in the brain and calms you down like alcohol.

 

[gadman80]

Propranonlol

Hello I am new to this site....propanonlol is great for the physical symptoms but it becomes a little sketchy on when you should use it..public speaking most definitely..unfortunately I do alot of construction work and I cant take it even when my physical syptoms are bad because it lowers oxygen requirements and of course blood pressure. When
i am physically woking my body tells me my heart needs to pump more blood but that propranonlol stops it from happening. So I physically feel I'm working 5 times harder under normal working conditions...a.k.a. I feel like an old man but for many situations propanonlol is great..just take it for the right reason like everthing you should take. I like this site lots of info:clap

 

[deeds14]

Wow, this is a really inspiring post! I am going to ask my Dr this week if she will give it to me. Since it's not habit-forming, I'm hoping there will be no problem with it. I always feel weird asking for a medication.

 

[icedCoffee]

Great post. I wonder if it can be combined with a low dose of xanax for public speaking? I've used xanax in public speaking situations and it helps greatly but mentally it really slooooows me down to where I can barely think if someone say would ask me a question at the end of the speech.

I did notice I had a small touch of shaking even w/ a massive dose of xanax so I think Propranolol could help me with that. I also think Propranolol could be a big help to me for interviewing.

 

[Medline]

Propranolol can be combined with Xanax, no problem.

 

[itsamystery]

I've used Propranolol for over twenty years--almost before Social Anxiety was a recognized condition. It allowed me to get two degrees--work, etc.
A couple of things I've learned: Since your body doesn't build up tolerance to it (as with Xanax and other benzos), you don't need to keep taking higher doses. In fact, like some of the people on this forum, I originally started taking large doses thinking it would work better, but in fact, 5 mg works as well as 80mg, and in fact, you'll have more energy for your presentation. Since my social situations pop up randomly (in addition to planned presentations, etc), I take 10 to 20 mg a day and it lasts 10-12 hours. There is also a time release version of this drug, but I've never needed it.

I'd be very careful with benzos--they're addictive, expensive, and your body needs more and more of it to be effective. The beta blockers don't manage the emotional fear you feel--that's what Xanax and other benzos take away, but once you realize you're going to make it through your events without embarrassing yourself or ruining your presentation, the fear becomes manageable. I believe many performance artists and even doctors (surgeons who cannot have shaky hands) have used this secret for years.

 

[itsamystery]

Forgot to add a couple of things about Inderal (beta blockers) vs. benzos.
You may feel more fearless on the benzos, but people can tell the difference--glassy eyes, sometimes slurred speech, etc, where Inderal just makes you a solid version of yourself. Beta blockers will not mess with your sleep patterns (a few people get more vivid dreams, but these are usually at high doses taken for high blood pressure).
I'm not against benzos entirely, and take them occasionally along with the Inderal for special situations (for instance a wedding or huge speech), but be very careful with benzos. They are very addictive and from what I hear, very hard to quit.

 

[indie85]

Yep, propranolol is ace for public speaking, thankfully I found out about it before two huge presentation type things I had to do for my degree, I honestly think it would have been a disaster if I hadn't taken it. Previously, the very thought of having to speak in front of people brought the fear of god in me because I know when speaking my breathing becomes uncontrollable, heart races, I shake, basically a total mess. In fact a guy who went after me obviously had this problem and I felt bad for him because I know how it feels and it was painful to watch. I don't like to speak in public but I now know I can handle it with propranolol and its just one less issue to stress out about I guess.