3 ms·

Anecdotally, I can attest to the surprising efficacy of alpha blockers. I have used prazosin as a sleep aid for the last decade, a few times a month. There we

by retrac 4y ago

Anecdotally, I can attest to the surprising efficacy of alpha blockers. I have used prazosin as a sleep aid for the last decade, a few times a month. There were some limited studies that suggest it is effective in helping sleep quality in people with nightmares and PTSD. Now, I don't have PTSD, but I do have a mind that will not shut off at night, running in useless circles that jolt me back awake. It does nothing for the racing mind, but my body's physiological reaction to my emotional state is lessened. I physically relax, quite literally in smooth muscle activation terms, and apparently that lets me get to sleep. Beta blockers are probably a bit more heavy duty, but they do appear to be quite effective at treating performance-related anxieties from another small study. Shakes? Chills? Dizziness and blood pressure spikes? From the discussion I had with my psychiatrist, I think the working hypothesis is that treating the physical symptoms of anxiety is an effective intervention here, as the discomforting experiences that the initial anxiety triggers, creates a feedback cycle. (Oh god, now I'm sweating and flushed, everyone's gonna notice...!)

SemanticStrengh 4y ago
Good to hear! Glycine 3 gram before sleep can be useful as a combination. it relaxes the body too and relaxe the mind also. There are interesting studies showing positive effects on sleep and no tolerance. magnesium l threonate before sleep, the lthreonate variant penetarte the brain far more than regular magnesium, and it acts as a mild NMDA antagonist, which means it decrease maximal excitation. it is also a great synaptotrophic.
- voldacar 4y ago
  > the lthreonate variant penetarte the brain far more than regular magnesium How is this possible? Don't the magnesium ions fully dissociate once they come in contact with water, so that there's just free floating Mg+ and threonate?
  - SemanticStrengh 4y ago
    > How is this possible? I don't know, that's a good question I somehow the bond must mostly break in the brain but I don't know why. I have made extensive research on magnesiusm forms in the past, there was a great study comparing the amount of magnesium that crossed the blood brain barrier per form. Between a form and another the difference had a lot of variation. Magnesium taurate (not threonate) was the one with the highest crossing. however this study included all forms except threonate.. threonate is known to cross the brain much more than the others and it shows in studies, the effect on synaptogenesis/ gained IQ points is huge and incomparable with other forms. The unknown is how threonate and taurate compare. I'm not aware of comparative studies for threonate but you can see e.g. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31806980/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31806980/ for absolute values. As to why? I don't know.
cameronh90 4y ago
Propranolol is very commonly prescribed for anxiety in the UK. I take it as needed and it works wonders, but it does make me a bit lethargic. It doesn't completely eliminate the low level anxiety but it stops it ending up in a viscous panic cycle.
- matheusmoreira 4y ago
  Widely used for anxiety in my country as well but not an optimal choice due to the cardiovascular effects. As you noted, it can cause fatigue.
  - SemanticStrengh 4y ago
    there exists beta blockers that mostly do not cross the blood brain barrier, and therefore have less effect on fatigue
    - matheusmoreira 4y ago
      The fatigue is likely due to negative inotropism. Those newer beta blockers that don't cross the blood brain barrier can also cause the same symptoms in therapeutic doses.
- ineedasername 4y ago
  To me it seems like it helps with some of the physical symptoms of anxiety, but not so much the anxiety itself. So, it's efficacy depends a lot on the pathology of a specific individual's anxiety. For many people the physical symptoms of anxiety become self reinforcing, and short circuiting them can stop the anxiety. For folks whose anxiety takes a different path it may still be slightly effective but not quite as much.
kayodelycaon 4y ago
High blood pressure and anxiety can both cause similar symptoms. Tightness in the chest, for example. Your body tends to mistake one for the other. Treating high-blood pressure with an ACE inhibitor (which does not treat anxiety) can reduce anxiety simply by relieving symptoms that feel like anxiety. Beta blockers have the nice effect of directly treating both anxiety and high blood pressure.

by retrac 4y ago

SemanticStrengh 4y ago

Good to hear! Glycine 3 gram before sleep can be useful as a combination. it relaxes the body too and relaxe the mind also. There are interesting studies showing positive effects on sleep and no tolerance. magnesium l threonate before sleep, the lthreonate variant penetarte the brain far more than regular magnesium, and it acts as a mild NMDA antagonist, which means it decrease maximal excitation. it is also a great synaptotrophic.

voldacar 4y ago
> the lthreonate variant penetarte the brain far more than regular magnesium How is this possible? Don't the magnesium ions fully dissociate once they come in contact with water, so that there's just free floating Mg+ and threonate?
- SemanticStrengh 4y ago
  > How is this possible? I don't know, that's a good question I somehow the bond must mostly break in the brain but I don't know why. I have made extensive research on magnesiusm forms in the past, there was a great study comparing the amount of magnesium that crossed the blood brain barrier per form. Between a form and another the difference had a lot of variation. Magnesium taurate (not threonate) was the one with the highest crossing. however this study included all forms except threonate.. threonate is known to cross the brain much more than the others and it shows in studies, the effect on synaptogenesis/ gained IQ points is huge and incomparable with other forms. The unknown is how threonate and taurate compare. I'm not aware of comparative studies for threonate but you can see e.g. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31806980/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31806980/ for absolute values. As to why? I don't know.

cameronh90 4y ago

Propranolol is very commonly prescribed for anxiety in the UK. I take it as needed and it works wonders, but it does make me a bit lethargic. It doesn't completely eliminate the low level anxiety but it stops it ending up in a viscous panic cycle.

matheusmoreira 4y ago
Widely used for anxiety in my country as well but not an optimal choice due to the cardiovascular effects. As you noted, it can cause fatigue.
- SemanticStrengh 4y ago
  there exists beta blockers that mostly do not cross the blood brain barrier, and therefore have less effect on fatigue
  - matheusmoreira 4y ago
    The fatigue is likely due to negative inotropism. Those newer beta blockers that don't cross the blood brain barrier can also cause the same symptoms in therapeutic doses.
ineedasername 4y ago
To me it seems like it helps with some of the physical symptoms of anxiety, but not so much the anxiety itself. So, it's efficacy depends a lot on the pathology of a specific individual's anxiety. For many people the physical symptoms of anxiety become self reinforcing, and short circuiting them can stop the anxiety. For folks whose anxiety takes a different path it may still be slightly effective but not quite as much.

kayodelycaon 4y ago

High blood pressure and anxiety can both cause similar symptoms. Tightness in the chest, for example. Your body tends to mistake one for the other. Treating high-blood pressure with an ACE inhibitor (which does not treat anxiety) can reduce anxiety simply by relieving symptoms that feel like anxiety. Beta blockers have the nice effect of directly treating both anxiety and high blood pressure.