Oops. That's "propranolol." The name-brand is INDERAL. It's an older drug, originally used for high-blood pressure. As of late, it's been studied to see if it can prevent PTSD - some people call it a "memory eraser." Yeah, right!

Background:
I find the physiological symptoms of PTSD to be debilitating. Regardless of whether I am emotionally upset or not, my body becomes progressively more "stuck" as the day progresses. Often, by afternoon, I will be dizzy, dazed, my senses will be "dull" (i.e., things sound cloudy, and I can't taste very well), my joints feel stiff, my fine motor skills are compromised (and my spelling:crazy-eye), I may shake and cry uncontrollably, my throat is constricted, it's hard to breathe, etc. Emotionally, I'm fine; physically, I'm semi-paralyzed in a sympathetic nervous sytem "freeze." This makes anything other than sitting in front of the television extremely difficult - I would consider brushing my teeth and taking a shower an incredible accomplishment for a day like that.

Anyhoo. It has been explained to me that the process of becoming "frozen" may begin with a "trigger," however miniscule or insignificant (milk, a fork, eating breakfast, looking at the alarm clock...) This is called "kindling," and sets the stage for "rekindling," which is rather like an avalanche: the first trigger makes it easier for the second trigger, then a third, and so-forth.

A psychologist mentioned the use of propranolol to me to help with this nightmare, so I mentioned it to my psychiatrist. I have been trying this drug for a couple of weeks, and have found it to have an impressive result. When I take it in the morning, and then again in the afternoon, the kindling effect never happens, and my body is fine. It doesn't do anything to my mind or emotions, but it stops that cycle from happening.

It's described in a different way here:

"Primarily intended as heart medicine, beta blocker drugs like Propranolol have long been used "off label" to treat anxiety patients because they have a unique property of either lessening patients awareness of parasympathetic (peripheral) nervous system (PNS) activation, or actually lessening that activation (I'm not sure which!). A socially phobic patient who normally would freak out during a speech can take Propranolol and not notice their palms getting sweaty, or their heart palpitating while they present. Because they are not distracted by internal arousal symptoms, they are better able to remain focused on their speaking task and to execute it without incident."
http://mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.p...&wlid=6&cn=109

Now, if I wake up and I'm already "frozen," due to some nightmare or something, it doesn't work as well, or at all sometimes (like today:dontknow:).

Like I said, it's new to me, so I was wondering if anyone else had tried it.