Primidone Alternatives Compared

For Benign Essential Tremor: I've had essential tremor for most of my life. It has got worse in the last 5 years, so I've taken 7 to 8 different drugs (at different times) to see how well they worked. Propanolol worked best, but unfortunately brought out my old asthma that I hadn't had since childhood. Primidone was the only other that seemed to work for me, but was not a cure all. The problem I had with Primidone was the bad effects it gave you, but I persevered and it went away in 3 to 4 days and has not come back again. The bottle says to take three 50 mg pills a day. This is a lower dosage. But, I just take one 50 mg pill once a day and have on occasion upped it to two when I want to feel more confident in public without embarrassing myself with hand tremors.

For Benign Essential Tremor: I was diagnosed with ET (essential tremor) about 12 years ago and first started on primidone at 50 mg nightly. As the disease progressed my doctor increased my dosage until I was three 250 mg tabs a day. This was the max allowed. I had to stop working due to not being able to write and I used lift gear to eat. The tremors continued to worsen. Recently I had a DBS (Deep brain stimulation) operation. I no longer am using primidone.

For Performance Anxiety: So I have a huge fear of public speaking. In any setting. I have avoided these completely until recently. It was in the form of adrenaline rush, fast heart rate, tunnel vision, shaky voice.. pure panic. I've been trying to get more comfortable in these situations, so I joined Toastmasters for public speaking improvement (Highly recommend). But, I still needed that extra bit of confidence so my dr prescribed Propranolol (10mg) to be taken before the event. I had my first ever speech to give at toastmasters, which was really worrying me, so I took a 10mg first thing in the morning to help with the nerves that build during the day, then 10mg 90mins before, then 10mg 20mins before the speech (at 7:20PM). I actually really enjoyed the speech, absolutely no fear or symptoms and I got to work on being a better public speaker, rather than focusing on not dying and failing. I've read people taking doses up to 160mg, for me that was too much to play with.

For Performance Anxiety: I have an intense fear of public speaking. I get such a bad adrenaline rush my voice shakes and I feel like I'm going to pass out. Then propranolol came up with my doctor. Now, when I know I'll be public speaking, I take 30 mg anywhere from 30 mins to an hour before and my symptoms are gone. No signs of my terror, I am cool and confidence. Also, I was reading a really interesting article where propranolol can actually help you eradicate anxiety. Essentially my brain used to associate public speaking with adrenaline rushes and embarrassment. Now my brain doesn't have to fear it and I've spoke publicly with propranolol quite a few times. Now I don't need it nearly as much. It used to be that I couldn't even speak up in a small meeting. Now I'm able to do that with ease even without propranolol, because my body isn't conditioned to have that adrenaline rush and I'm more confident. I hope to continue to speak publicly with propranolol and hopefully come to a day I don't need it anymore.

For Anxiety: I've struggled with moderate to severe generalized anxiety for all of my life - mostly related to social and performance situations. I've tried many different drugs and have never been sure that they worked. Then I was prescribed Neurontin, and I can 100% feel the difference. My anxiety has decreased significantly on this drug. It sedates me nicely to the point that I'm still completely alert and myself, but I'm so much more easygoing and relaxed. My physical symptoms related to anxiety are still there but I feel less anxious about them, if that makes sense. It just makes the world much more bearable. There are some negative side effects - such as low sex drive, dizziness (which went away after taking for a few weeks), and sometimes I get extra teary. But it's not much of a price to pay if it helps with the main demon of anxiety! Drugs affect everyone differently, but if you think your life is negatively affected by anxiety, it's definitely worth trying.

For Anxiety: gabapentin works differently for everyone. I took it for anxiety but only temporarily because of concentration issues. I took 100mg every 6 hours and it helped me for a while. Currently, my anxiety is under control, but my mood is down. A combo of an antidepressant and gabapentin is a perfect match, but it doesn't work for everyone. It will either work or won't. The great thing about this medication is that you don't have to wait several weeks for it to work. It usually works immediately but if your anxiety is high then give it at least a week and at the right dosage for it to work. Some people can handle 300mg and some people need 1,800mg to be effective. Give it a chance before quitting.