Beta Blockers

[Anonymous]

Recently I have discovered that there exists a drug called a beta blocker, which can help alleviate feelings of anxiety and nervousness that comes as a side effect of adderall, adderall xr, or any other ADD stimulant medication for that matter.

I would like to get some people’s thoughts on this matter, and if you have tried it or are taking it in conjunction with an ADD stimulant medication, please let me know what you think of it.

I have definite feelings of anxiety and nervousness when taking my adderall, which causes me to lose some of my personality and easy going nature, and presents a challenge in social situations that would otherwise not be there.

I have heard that Beta Blockers help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and the “fight or flight response” mechanism which can increase when taking amphetamines.

I have also heard that by reducing anxiety, it can also help you focus more effectively coupled with the ADD meds because you will not worry so much about how the ADD meds are making you feel, and you will just do what you are doing!

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[ashockley55]

Hi philbo,

As a disclaimer, I have only very recently started trying ADD meds, so I don’t know that I will be able to speak to how beta blockers interact with, or counteract, the effects of stimulants.

I have, however, been taking a beta blocker for a few years due to an unrelated health condition called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.

Also, I suffer from anxiety in the forms of social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and just a more generalized and generally occuring anxious state.

They call me “Squirrel” at work.

I haven’t noticed that the beta blocker has helped me with my anxiety. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t helped, just not to the point that I have noticed.

With one exception; I had a huge amount of anxiety concerning my health condition, to the point that I was suffering bouts of severe, acute anxiety that weren’t quite panic attacks, but were pretty close.

Having the beta blocker has helped with that, and I don’t know if that is because it helped with the anxiety directly, or because it helped with the tachycardia, which in turn helped with the anxiety.

Others may have had better or more noticeable experiences with beta blockers helping their anxiety. I’ve heard that it is used to help people with stage fright.

Good luck!

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[Anonymous]

Beta blockers, like propranolol, have been long used for stage fear or doing oral presentations. However, you have to watch for depressive symptoms and for those of you who have respiratory ailments, it is contraindicated. So be careful.

Other types of traditional antihypertensive agents (that’s what beta blockers are) are also being considered like alpha-2-agonists, namely clonidine.

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[Author]

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