Klarinet Archive - Posting 000605.txt from 1999/04

From: arehow <arehow@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Re: Beta blockers
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 00:32:22 -0400

I AM a doctor, and I even wrote a paper on Beta Blockers & stage fright
for a double reed journal, maybe 15 years ago...

A single dose of BB is more innocuoous than a beer or a joint, and will
keep your mind keener. However, I would advise the unsupervised use of
BBs only for a brief time, a single concert here and there. I have
used a minimal dose of Inderal, a shortacting BB, for concerto
performances just to keep my reed from drying up, and for oral
examinations and courtroom depositions in front of mean lawyers (a
redundancy, I realize). But I did not use BBs in my most recent
concerto or trial (having run out), and I did fine in both.

If you need BBs for prolonged use, see a doctor and be supervised. BBs
can indeed bring on asthma (and should NEVER be used by an asthmatic,
even with supervision), cause depression, impair cardiac performance in
persons with unusual arrhythmias, aggravate the management of diabetes
(although not cause it outright) and cause...dare I say it?
.....impotency.

So, might the Ideal Medicated Performer use Inderal to control his
nerves, and Viagra to give him more passion in his playing? Just a
joke...

Robert Howe, Musician and MD (Oboe/Gyn)

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