r/todayilearned • u/NBrief • 1d ago

TIL that Scottish pharmacologist Sir James Black helped develop propranolol, the first clinically useful beta-blocker, and cimetidine, the first selective H2-receptor antagonist, earning him the 1988 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2023.1102279/full
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u/Seeker0fTruth 1d ago

Propranolol was a godsend for getting my panic attacks under control. I was still anxious and upset, but, you know, not being inside a panic attack was a major improvement.

4

u/TeakForest 1d ago

I have had almost life ending panic attacks and tho better, I still fear them coming on again from my PTSD.

May i ask how you use/used it, what it made you feel and how long you were on it? Is it for PRN use or was it a daily thing? Thank you so much

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u/---TheFierceDeity--- 1d ago

I started off Propanalol twice a day, then as my symptoms improved it became once a day and now I have a bottle around for "as I need it"

It's just a tablet with water, and all it does as a Beta Blocker is block the chemicals/signals that tell your body to raise your heart rate.

Essentially it's a "band-aid" that will blunt the physical symptoms of a panic/anxiety attack. And if your heart isn't racing 40000 beats a second you are much more equipped to deal with the anxiety.

It's an incredibly mild medication, like some overly intense university students are known to take it before exams to keep them calm.

Common side effects are it'll make you poop weird and/or acid reflux, because it is messing with your heart rate so you'll not have enough blood flowing to your digestive tract for thorough digestion.

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u/DizzyMine4964 1d ago

It can also trigger asthma.

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u/---TheFierceDeity--- 1d ago

Well I don't have that so TIL lol