Comparing Primidone vs Propranolol

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 have been on primidone for 10 years, I'm 34. I take 250mg twice a day. No longer works. If I increase the dose anymore I'll be a zombie. About to start Gabapentin, time will tell.

For Performance Anxiety I am a 44 year old female that as dealt with fear of public speaking all my life. I've recently joined an organization where the ability to public speak is a career necessity. I've tried taking Xanax during public speaking engagements. While it would calm me down slightly, it wasn't able to control the adrenaline-induced autonomic responses such as shaky voice. Today I took 80mg of propranolol spaced between 90 minutes to 30 minutes before my presentation and 2 0.5 mg doses of Alprazolam in that 90 minute to 30 minute window before my presentation. I was nervous entering the presentation. As soon as I spoke, no sign of anxiety or shaky voice evident. I was joking and very natural on stage. I am so grateful for these drugs.

For Performance Anxiety I used to be a very confident speaker in college but I always felt awkward in social situations. As I progressed professionally I had to do more of public speaking generally on a round table with some 20 odd people. I once messed up very badly about couple of years ago. Since then I developed fear for public speaking with humiliation and embarrassment several times post that. I thought of leaving my job. I visited a doctor couple of months back for anxiety and he prescribed me Propranolol. So far it has worked really well and in spite of being nervous I am able to speak properly without my voice cracking or heart racing. I am deeply indebted to this drug and it has perhaps given me my life back.