[b1tr0t]

OK - I'll bite. I haven't seen anyone mention medications here but personally I use propranolol.

Life. Changing.

For the first while I took it every day as prescribed for my ET. 20mg. And as I experienced the first pill (effects kick in about 40 minutes after), I had this realization "wait a minute, this is what it must feel like to be a normal person"! That light bulb in itself was incredible. Before that, I hadn't realized life could feel that good. I'd always wondered how people could do the things they could do ... and suddenly I didn't just realize but got to experience what it was like to be someone who DIDN'T have constant anxiety.

I cut back my dosage looking for minimum effective dose. Most days for me it's 0 (that's right, I don't take anymore on most days). My anxiety level has decreased because now I know -what it feels like not to be anxious-, plus, if I do feel anxious I have a solution at hand which lowers anxiety.

For a particularly stressful day I might take 5mg. (For me now a particularly stressful day means standing in front of a room of hundreds of people and presenting after 2 hours sleep.) At these infrequent low dosages, I don't experience any negative side-effects.

Worth sharing general personal details. I'm a 37 year old male in reasonably good health, I exercise vigorously twice a week and get a healthy amount of walking and biking in almost every day. I discovered propranolol by accident - it was prescribed for an essential tremor (ET), it was only after that I discovered the "off-label" anti-anxiety side-effects of beta blockers.

It's worth mentioning that I did experience negative side-effects when I was taking 20mg daily. If you can avoid taking it daily, that's going to be better for you in the long run.

* Reduced sex drive * Life just seems more "flat" I don't laugh as much, get as giddy. My partner described me as seeming "disconnected". * Cold limbs & numb tongue

[leaveyou]

After more than 10 years of serious and progressing anxiety disorder I discovered this plant wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypericum (Hypericum Perforatum or Millepertuis in french). In less than 3 weeks I was a different man. Ironically it has one noticeable "side effect": it has aphrodisiac properties (I didn't know it but it became quite obvious after several weeks. It's confirmed by other sources too). Also raises your Photosensitivity. One year later I still take one filmed capsule of plant extract every other evening and I don't stop taking it for more than a week or else I start to feel the unforgettable signs of anxiety creeping back.

[b1tr0t]

Do you have a preferred brand or online source?

I've also had good experiences with St Johns wort but found quality varies a lot from what you get at a pharmacy.

[jtrtoo]

Check http://consumerlab.com

[leaveyou]

I have only used these: www.dieti-natura.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=millepertuis

[mistermann]

> it was only after that I discovered the "off-label" anti-anxiety side-effects of beta blockers.

Could you possibly comment on the degree and characteristics (degree of moment, frequency, spiking under stressful situations) of your essential tremor, as well as offer any additional depth on off-label treatments?

[b1tr0t]

The tremor was something I was aware of since I was a kid, showed up in bad handwriting and general "clumsiness" with fine motor movements. Nobody ever thought much of it other than that I was "clumsy".

It wasn't until I was 27 that I started to wonder whether there was something actually wrong that might be a root cause for it. At this point the tremor was bad enough that at times I had trouble holding a fork to eat. The intensity of the symptoms could vary a great deal from day to day. Granted, I was in grad school at this time and my stress levels were pretty high. I did notice that alcohol made it better, but treatment with alcohol is contraindicated...

Got a referral to neurology dept and after they watched me do some drawing, arrived at the conclusion of the problem quite quickly.

For more off-label info, might have a look at Wikipedia page on beta blockers, it's pretty thorough. Turns out quite a few musicians use it for stage fright & dexterity.

[throwaway_52049]

I think I had mild self-diagnosed anxiety for a large portion of my life, which really took hold in college. I went through a majority of college without speaking to anyone, evaded those that did try to reach out to me, and eventually dropped out. And my online persona wasn't much different; I still remember strangers messaging me on IRC and my heart rate jumping several BPM from just a "hi".

I think I have arrived at a point in life where I am no longer nervous around strangers, but despite that I can't help but want that feeling back. It's relieving that I can interact with the rest of the world, but I can't help but feel like I've lost an important part of me; not just the anxiety but a major part of my personality.

[pitaj]

I think these are two different things.

Social anxiety where being around other people makes you anxious is very different from anxiety where you are just worried all the time.

I say this because you are obviously talking about a completely different condition than the woman in this article.

[throwaway_52049]

You're absolutely right, at worst it was a mild inconvenience for me, nothing even close to the authors wife has to face.

[NumberCruncher]

>> * Reduced sex drive * Life just seems more "flat" I don't laugh as much, get as giddy. My partner described me as seeming "disconnected".

Propranolol - like other drugs - changes your personality and makes an other person out of you. Replacing you through "Propranolol you" is not a real solution.

[jeffnv]

Easy to say for someone that doesn't rely on beta blockers. Take it from someone that does: 'beta blockers me' is the one I want to be forever.

[apatters]

Care to provide us with a "real solution," then?

[willempienaar]

Did your symptoms ever manifest on your skin? If so, did the propranolol affect that at all?