beta blockers

[Mr Herbert]

every now and then i have to do large presentations to mixed audiences at my work. my main job is technical which means sitting at my desk and dealing with no more than 10 people but about once a quarter i need to speak to about 300 people in an auditorium setting.

for some reason, the first five minutes is always torture. sweaty palms, wavering voice, heart palpatations etc. no matter how prepared i am its always the same. its usually alright after the first 5 minutes but the first five are terrible.

so i was thinking about hooking up some beta blockers like all those proffesional musicians.

is taking performance enhancing drugs for work as bad as it sounds?

anyone else had beta blockers? any side effects?

 

[MetroStyles]

**** works like a charm. I pop 10mg of propranolol before a really big presentation, but I try to do it very sparingly as I don't want to become dependent.

 

[RedLantern]

Common sides associated with inability to quickly raise bloodpressure - soft peen.

 

[Mr Herbert]

whoah! do you mean straight after taking it (probably a good thing) or long term (definitely bad thing)

 

[Reggs]

I want to try them out. Any reputable place to order them online?

 

[v.freeman]

Just get them from your doctor. Easy enough to get - no dependency / addictive component so all you have to do is ask. It definitely works. I use them for interviews and presentations.

 

[RedLantern]

Originally Posted by Mr Herbert

whoah! do you mean straight after taking it (probably a good thing) or long term (definitely bad thing)

Well the stuff that I have takes 2 hours to take effect and then is effective for 20 hours, but no it's not long term.

 

[Mr Herbert]

sometimes a little nervous anticipation is good - but i was sweating like pavarotti in a sweet shop.

does a milder dose acheive half the effect?

 

[cold war painter]

You'd be surprised at how little your anxiety symptoms are perceptible by the audience, at least that is my experience. The best cure is probably to present as much as you can; the anxiety wears off pretty quickly as your body figures out nothing bad happened the last few times so it gets bored.

If you're set on trying beta blockers, there are many many side effects from impotence through to the one side effect common to all drugs; death. I would think your risk of most of the usual side-effects is very low if you're taking small doses on a one-off basis, probably the thing I'd be most worried about would be low blood pressure/postural hypotension causing collapse. (Unfortunate if this happened during the talk of course.) Starting with a small dose is a good idea.

The usual cautions apply: medical advice over the internet is worth a lot less than what you pay for it.

 

[RedLantern]

Originally Posted by cold war painter

You'd be surprised at how little your anxiety symptoms are perceptible by the audience, at least that is my experience. The best cure is probably to present as much as you can; the anxiety wears off pretty quickly as your body figures out nothing bad happened the last few times so it gets bored.

If you're set on trying beta blockers, there are many many side effects from impotence through to the one side effect common to all drugs; death. I would think your risk of most of the usual side-effects is very low if you're taking small doses on a one-off basis, probably the thing I'd be most worried about would be low blood pressure/postural hypotension causing collapse. (Unfortunate if this happened during the talk of course.) Starting with a small dose is a good idea.

The usual cautions apply: medical advice over the internet is worth a lot less than what you pay for it.

Death is a common side effect of all drugs?

 

[Working Stiff]

Originally Posted by RedLantern

Death is a common side effect of all drugs?

Eventually, yes.

 

[MetroStyles]

Originally Posted by Mr Herbert

whoah! do you mean straight after taking it (probably a good thing) or long term (definitely bad thing)

Lol anti-drug people are just trying to scare you man. Believe me. I am the first person the in the ******* world who would stay away from something if it caused even a 3% decrease in my boaner power.

It only takes 10-20mg of propranolol to get rid of all physical jitters before a big presentation. I use 10mg. It's like the smallest amount you can use, unless you want to split pills. Some people take 50-90mg daily but they must either be elephants or be the patients of evil freak doctors. Not necessary.

10-20mg of propranolol will kick in within 20 minutes or less. It will last a few hours. That said I have had sex absolutely fine within 3-4 hours of taking it. I have had massive boaners within 2 hours of taking it. It definitely does not cause impotence, at least not in me. It might leave you a bit sleepy (but not overwhelmingly so), kind of like any antihistamine might.

Originally Posted by Reggs

I want to try them out. Any reputable place to order them online?

Medstore.biz, for one, is very reliable.

 

[musicguy]

I use beta blockers for auditions sometimes. But I only use half a 10mg pill. At 5mg it's almost like a placebo. Try it out a few times before taking it for something important. It works well, although I rarely use it.

 

[XenoX101]

Whats wrong with just dealing with it or trying to overcome the anxiety yourself? I don't see how this justifies the use of a drug, however weak it might be.

 

[MetroStyles]

Originally Posted by XenoX101

Whats wrong with just dealing with it or trying to overcome the anxiety yourself? I don't see how this justifies the use of a drug, however weak it might be.

Lol, who gives a **** about justifying it? If it lets me nail a kickass presentation in front of a client without the adrenaline rush my body is trying to sabotage me with, it's cool with me.

I've used PEDs. Sue me!