Talk:Propranolol

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Moved from article: This is sometimes used, along with antipsychotics, in treating schizophrenia. Is it really? Propranolol is indeed effective against tremor, but I have never heard of any psychiatric use. Kosebamse 12:51, 27 Aug 2003 (UTC)

-- I was prescribed it for anxiety problems a few years ago.

--- It's commonly used for anxiety mainly because it slows and stabilizes your heart rate, in my understanding (and I am prescribed it for occasional use). Also this makes clear why it is mainly used for high blood pressure. But the effect of the drug breaks the feedback loop which encourages nervousness: heightened emotions/anxiety lead to increased heart rate, sweating, etc., all of which are cues back to your brain that there is something to be upset about. I didn't know of any direct psychotropic effect, if there is one it is very minor. It is certainly nothing like an atypical antipsychotic. If it's used in treating schizophrenia, it's definitely treating the symptoms, not the problem. There is also a significant black market for the drug especially among musicians because it pretty much completely cuts the nervousness and especially the hand shakes that accompany auditions for many people, even at a very low dose, resulting in a far less stressful playing experience and better performance. I am surprised the article doesn't mention that. 128.175.205.52 06:45, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Moved from article: Propranolol, acting as a beta-blocker, has also been shown to have an effect on the formation of memories with strong emotional content. During very emotional or traumatic times, adrenaline and noradrenaline are released from the adrenal medulla which activate beta receptors in the brain. The effect is to give the associated memories more "force" due to the strong emotional content and subsequent beta-receptor activation. Propranolol blocks beta-receptor action, and thereby reduces or eliminates the emotional component of the memory. The effect is to make the memory more mundane.

Controversial use of the drug per recent CNN article. President's Council on Bioethics not impressed. http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/01/14/trauma.pill.ap/index.html. Might give someone false hope this drug can do something for them in this area. Also per McGaughy article, he doesn't know where memories are stored or how they are stored. It is another theory.

Supported, but next time please use edit summaries. JFW | T@lk 14:21, 19 January 2006 (UTC)
I've been on propranolol for 3 years, for me it works amazingly. I first noticed how well it worked after my grandpa died in 2003, everyone had a really hard time with it, I seemed to recover from the grief faster than everybody else. - Richard February 11, 2006 - 05:51, UTC

ive just been prescribed 10mg 3 times a day for problems i am having which seem to be down to stress and anxiety

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[edit] Sign!!!! ¡ ¿ ~~~~

[[ hopiakuta | [[ [[%c2%a1]] [[%c2%bf]] [[ %7e%7e%7e%7e ]] -]] 02:31, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

Per [my impression of] a Sixty Minutes story {after John Philip Abizaid, & before Jay_Greenberg}, propranolol reduces memory by reducing adrenaline. There are many issues, positive & negative, regarding employing propranolol to reduce post traumatic stress disorder {which could be an alternate connotation of hypertension}.

It is spelt like propane {or profane, pain?}, & lol, which seem somewhat emblematic of the claimed effects. Fascinating that it's half a century old.

[[ hopiakuta | [[ [[%c2%a1]] [[%c2%bf]] [[ %7e%7e%7e%7e ]] -]] 02:31, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

[[ hopiakuta Please do sign your signature on your message. ~~ Thank You. -]] 04:54, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

Availability of propranolol medicine in INDIA as CIPLAR10 or CIPLAR40

[edit] Use as a treatment for anxiety

I added a note indicating that propranolol is occasionally used in the treatment of anxiety, but it has been removed. Why? I myself use the drug for such a purpose (prescribed) and I find it to be quite effective. It seems odd that the article now has absolutely no mention of this application of the drug, and a bit offensive, considering the fact that I added such a mention some time ago. Rev. Neil

Wait..."Control of tachycardia/tremor associated with anxiety..." That does touch on it, but perhaps this could be elaborated upon somewhat. Rev. Neil

[edit] It appears to only affect the amygdala

Propranolol only seems to affect the amygdala, which controls learned fear responses. It doesn't affect your memories at all, just the anxiety reaction to them.

Anyone know for certain about this? I plan on using it, as I'm sure millions of others will rush to do now also. Dream Focus 03:21, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

It affects adrenaline, which is necessary for the fear memories to form in the amygdala. You have to take it when the event happens to you. It doesn't work on long time anxiety sufferers like myself. Worth mentioning is how cheap it is. I got Propranolol and Celexa at Walmart, one of them two dollars and the other four dollars. I forget which was which, but very cheap, since they are both out of patent and generics abound.

Dream Focus 08:23, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

I'm not convinced that it only affects adrenaline. Anyway, doesn't it affect the receptors, not adrenaline, which is different and could turn out to have other consequences. Recent research seems to be concluding that every time we remember something we remove the emotional memory and then restore it, which fits with the idea of catharsis in therapy. Post-traumatic stress disorder is being treated by getting patients to recall events with the emotion while taking propranolol, so it would be expected to work on anxiety resulting from old traumas as well as current events. There is much reference to propranolol as inhibiting conscience and guilt, and I would not be surprised if there was more to discover here. My personal suspicion is that people I have known have changed subtly in personality while on propranolol, and a friend described how, looking back, he had a different attitude to people, about which he was now unhappy. Read the links I added under the new section on conscience etc where it is being suggested that propranalol could alter the fabric of society on which all our interactions are based. --Memestream (talk) 10:35, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Recent News: Will U.S. Military use it for PTSD?

Here's a new link with information regarding possible use for military PTSD sufferers: http://www.military.com/veterans-report/drug-hopes-to-treat-veterans-trauma?ESRC=vr.nl Ricojonah 21:58, 6 May 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Type 2 diabetes

I fail to see the evidence for propranolol provoking type 2 diabetes. The given sources certainly don't do it.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.112.192.38 (talk) 15:39, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

From the source: "An additional concern is the increased risk of developing diabetes, particularly with the combination of a beta-blocker with a thiazide-type diuretic."

Notice the "with the combination" part.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.112.192.38 (talk) 15:45, 11 May 2008 (UTC)