When I first became ill in my early 20's, I was given a prescription for Inderal (aka Propranolol). I was not experiencing POTS at the time (later I would), but I believe that Propranolol was given to me as a sort of anti-anxiety medication. Propranolol is used by musicians to combat "stage fright" which would otherwise impact their performances. I believe the idea is that the increased heart rate of "stage fright" turns into a sort of feedback loop setting off other anxiety symptoms like trembling fingers and sweaty palms (bad for musicians). Propranolol prevents that feedback loop from starting. It would appear that my symptoms were initially regarded as anxiety (this was a doctor who once told me that "it might be all in your head").
Anyway, I briefly took Propranolol. I'm not sure what my resting heart rate was before that, but it was driven down to the low 40's. I once measured it as low as 32, though my doctor claimed that I would probably be unconscious at that HR.
I attempted to decrease the dosage by cutting the pills in half - and then in quarters. No matter how little I took, the low heart rate remained unchanged.
Not long after that, I woke up one morning with freezing cold hands - something I had never experienced before. At that point, I stopped taking Propranolol and my heart rate came back up to the mid 50's.
If you have POTS, I could see how it might help some people. Before taking it, however, I would make sure to check your resting heart rate to make sure that it isn't normally on the low side (as was mine). As I would find out later, bradycardia (low heart rate) is actually a contraindication for taking Propranolol.
