Propranolol may offer prevention (or relief) of symptoms of post traumatic stress. Further research and exploration of medical ethics are needed.
I’ve had a lot of feedback on this subject, from both professionals and people with PTSD. This morning, I received an email from someone describing how they had experienced relief of their PTSD symptoms but had been unsure as to why. Many years later, they heard about propranolol in the news, a drug they had been prescribed for a medical condition around the time their symptoms improved.
This is something I’ve wondered about – people who have a) experienced trauma and/or post traumatic stress and b) been prescribed propranolol for other reasons. I telephoned a friend who has PTSD and is taking propranolol for heart disease. She too described an improvement in symptoms since taking this drug, even though her regimen would be quite different to those used in research studies.
I do not wish to trivialise these accounts in any way, but it’s important not to jump to conclusions – there could be a number of factors attributing to why these people experienced improvements. I’ve also only had a very quick web search but it’s incredibly likely that this area has already been brought into question. I’m going to take some time over the next month to explore this in more depth.
