Golf and drugs

[Robert L.]

No, not illegal or legal drugs! I'm talking about prescription drugs. I have Type 2 diabetes and a pacemaker because I have what's called a heart block, which is poor electrical signals between the valves of my heart. The pacemaker regulates my heart's electrical signals. What I'm wondering about are the prescriptions I have to take. I take metformin, lisinopril, metoprolol, simvastatin, hydrochlorothiazide, and Jardiance. I have a feeling one or more of these drugs are the reason I never get nervous when playing golf. For example, my preshot and preputt routine consist of assessing the situation, picking a target, taking my stance, and pulling the trigger. No nerves. I seem to remember back in the 1990s that there was some kind of controversy on the Tour about beta blockers, but it died out shortly after. I suspect one of these drugs causes me to not be nervous.

 

Comments?

Edited March 19, 2023 by Robert L.

[caniac6]

I would contact your doctor.

[MattM97]

Yeah talk to your doctor not a bunch of dudes on the internet about medical conditions.

[Jeff58]

You’re taking an ACE inhibitor and a beta-blocker. Both affect hypertension and increased blood pressure generally. The feeling of tension is generally linked to increasing blood pressure.

[Hickory4ever]

If you have concerns, definitely discuss them with your doctor. I am not sure why you asked the question here.

 

Beta blockers slow the heart rate and were used by some competitors in various sports until they were banned as a performance enhancing drug. Your use is medically necessary and a different matter.

 

I personally don’t see a problem being calm while playing.

[Hawkeye77]

Nobody here knows enough about your specific medical history and physical and mental condition and drug interactions to answer such a question. Ask your doctor!

Edited March 21, 2023 by Hawkeye77

[Red4282]

Ditch all that and take a gummy. That take care of nerves lol….Just kidding, ask a doctor!

[ezra76]

3 hours ago, Red4282 said:

Ditch all that and take a gummy. That take care of nerves lol….Just kidding, ask a doctor!

That's exactly what my doctor ordered. The only thing that should be nervous is that squirrel in the tree a hair left back of the green about to get hit in pecker... cause that's where I'm aimin'.

[RoyalTroon]

Only know about Metoprolol which is used for lowering blood pressure and heart rate, and is classified as a beta-blocker. 

[MK7Golf21]

are beta blockers tested on tour? I could see those helping with shaking hands during putting etc.

[naval2006]

Good ol' beta-blockers buddy.  Good you're not on Tour, they are banned.  

 

Anyway for a real serious answer you should talk to your Doc. 

[phizzy30]

Just now, MK7Golf21 said:

are beta blockers tested on tour? I could see those helping with shaking hands during putting etc.

The Olympic committee tests for beta blockers.  PGA Tour I'm not sure. 

[GoGoErky]

23 minutes ago, phizzy30 said:

The Olympic committee tests for beta blockers.  PGA Tour I'm not sure. 

Because golf is in the Olympics I believe the tour follows the same testing protocols. Iirc it’s a requirement to be part of the Olympics 

[againstthegrain]

I took the same beta-blocker as OP for 3 days before pleading w dr to stop it.  The purpose of the bb is to slow down the rate at which your heart rate and blood pressure increases which reduces the "sheer forces" in the blood vessels so they don't burst.  The bb drove my resting heart rate down to 37 or 38 BPM from my normal 42-43. 

 

Standing at top of ski run ready to rip and I felt ...........nothing.  Hardly a way to go through life.....and I'd do ANYTHING to get that off my Rx list. However, I guess it's better to be alive and feel nothing, but it'd be a rough go for me. 

 

Take care of yourselves boys, getting old ain't easy.

[phizzy30]

Just now, GoGoErky said:

Because golf is in the Olympics I believe the tour follows the same testing protocols. Iirc it’s a requirement to be part of the Olympics 

They do to a certain degree.  As far as I know from one of my clients who plays on the Mackenzie Tour, the PGA Tour still doesn't test for hgh or peptides/gh secretogues so it's not quite as stringent as the Olympic committee. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by phizzy30

[ChipNRun]

Concerns of beta blockers on competitive golfers arose in the early 2000s. Nick Price admitted using them in the 1980s for his high blood pressure. But, he said, it left him with a "blah" feeling that's wasn't too helpful when you need to be competitive. See  Beta Blahs.

 

Back in the late 1960s, Quaaludes (tranquilizer) was the calm-down drug the pros would sneak. Our family doctor at the time was a golfer, and we would talk about golf during exams. He cautioned me, as a young athlete, to stay away from drugs like ludes.

 

Ludes came up as a topic in an interview 20 years ago with a once-promising pro that had fallen off the pro tour in the 1980s. He said the ludes really calmed him down, like too much. He said that if you make a couple of double bogies a round and are ho-hum about it, all the sudden you're not making the 36-hole cut any more.

[Barfolomew]

You just understand there's no need to be nervous...... its just a sport

 

If Alex Honnold can climb El Cap with no ropes and enjoy himself 3000' feet up then golfers cant say jack squat bout nerves

[betarhoalphadelta]

I've been wondering about it because I think I have essential tremors, and I know that can be a problem for golfers. But at the same time I don't have ENOUGH of a problem elsewhere that I want to start medicating myself for it, because I can still do everything I need to function in life. 

 

It seems that if I was trying to go look for a medication at this point, it's more putting things with side effects that I don't understand, and that I don't need, into my system to help my putting. And that seems like a horrible prioritization of golf over life. 

[againstthegrain]

22 minutes ago, betarhoalphadelta said:

I've been wondering about it because I think I have essential tremors, and I know that can be a problem for golfers. But at the same time I don't have ENOUGH of a problem elsewhere that I want to start medicating myself for it, because I can still do everything I need to function in life. 

 

It seems that if I was trying to go look for a medication at this point, it's more putting things with side effects that I don't understand, and that I don't need, into my system to help my putting. And that seems like a horrible prioritization of golf over life. 

I believe your thought process is correct and hopefully you can delay the onset as long as possible.

[SwingBlues]

5 hours ago, Barfolomew said:

You just understand there's no need to be nervous...... its just a sport

 

If Alex Honnold can climb El Cap with no ropes and enjoy himself 3000' feet up then golfers cant say jack squat bout nerves

 

Good call...

Free SOLO!

Free GOLF!

 

👍

 

Back to the topic, I take half of those drugs, don't do sh*t and I get nervous coughs as well, had it since i was a kid doing competition BMX.

 

Trying to get off these drugs though 🙄

[Ripper212]

On 3/19/2023 at 11:49 AM, Robert L. said:

No, not illegal or legal drugs! I'm talking about prescription drugs. I have Type 2 diabetes and a pacemaker because I have what's called a heart block, which is poor electrical signals between the valves of my heart. The pacemaker regulates my heart's electrical signals. What I'm wondering about are the prescriptions I have to take. I take metformin, lisinopril, metoprolol, simvastatin, hydrochlorothiazide, and Jardiance. I have a feeling one or more of these drugs are the reason I never get nervous when playing golf. For example, my preshot and preputt routine consist of assessing the situation, picking a target, taking my stance, and pulling the trigger. No nerves. I seem to remember back in the 1990s that there was some kind of controversy on the Tour about beta blockers, but it died out shortly after. I suspect one of these drugs causes me to not be nervous.

 

Comments?

Beta blockers such as metoprolol are often used for performance anxiety.

And just an FYI, pacemakers are used for slow heart rate often from blocked conduction of electrical signals between upper and lower chambers, not valves. Just being picky

[nikeblades00]

On 3/19/2023 at 11:49 AM, Robert L. said:

No, not illegal or legal drugs! I'm talking about prescription drugs. I have Type 2 diabetes and a pacemaker because I have what's called a heart block, which is poor electrical signals between the valves of my heart. The pacemaker regulates my heart's electrical signals. What I'm wondering about are the prescriptions I have to take. I take metformin, lisinopril, metoprolol, simvastatin, hydrochlorothiazide, and Jardiance. I have a feeling one or more of these drugs are the reason I never get nervous when playing golf. For example, my preshot and preputt routine consist of assessing the situation, picking a target, taking my stance, and pulling the trigger. No nerves. I seem to remember back in the 1990s that there was some kind of controversy on the Tour about beta blockers, but it died out shortly after. I suspect one of these drugs causes me to not be nervous.

 

Comments?

Not sure why everyone is telling you to ask your doctor.  It seems you just want to create a conversation about beta blockers and anxiety. I also remember this topic from the 90s, in that many golfers in contention on a Sunday would take beta blockers.  I also remember hearing people who have performances anxiety before big public speaking events would also take beta blockers.

 

I do find the idea interesting. I just wonder particularly in sports,I think some nervous energy is a good thing. 

[bluedot]

I was prescribed for and took a beta blocker for mitral valve prolapse that was causing mild chest discomfort; nothing dangerous, just a little uncomfortable at times.  I had read all the stuff about beta blockers as a type of performance enhancing drug, so I thought I might benefit in competitive golf.

 

I lasted a couple of weeks before I had to stop taking the beta blocker and just adjust to the MPV, simply because on the back nine of a round I would have NO energy.  I felt like I didn’t even want to finish the round or walk back to the car; just wanted to sit under a tree and rest.  I wasn’t bothered much by nerves in competition anyway, and have pretty low BP naturally, so it just wasn’t a good fit at all.

 

 

[Mike_C]

Back in my day, you just put a bottle of whiskey in your bag and chain smoked all round to calm your nerves, kids these days.....

[Chunked Blade]

On 3/19/2023 at 11:49 AM, Robert L. said:

No, not illegal or legal drugs! I'm talking about prescription drugs. I have Type 2 diabetes and a pacemaker because I have what's called a heart block, which is poor electrical signals between the valves of my heart. The pacemaker regulates my heart's electrical signals. What I'm wondering about are the prescriptions I have to take. I take metformin, lisinopril, metoprolol, simvastatin, hydrochlorothiazide, and Jardiance. I have a feeling one or more of these drugs are the reason I never get nervous when playing golf. For example, my preshot and preputt routine consist of assessing the situation, picking a target, taking my stance, and pulling the trigger. No nerves. I seem to remember back in the 1990s that there was some kind of controversy on the Tour about beta blockers, but it died out shortly after. I suspect one of these drugs causes me to not be nervous.

 

Comments?

 

Metoprolol is sometimes used for performance anxiety. It isn't a psychiatric med, but rather blunts the heart's response to being nervous. BP and heart rate won't jump as much as they would in an unmedicated person.

 

I am more aware of propanolol being used for that but it's in the same class and there is evidence metoprolol is also effective. Nothing in those other drugs' mechanisms or indications makes me think they'd make you'd experience this effect.

[ezra76]

6 hours ago, Chunked Blade said:

 

 

I am more aware of propanolol being used for that but it's in the same class and there is evidence metoprolol is also effective. Nothing in those other drugs' mechanisms or indications makes me think they'd make you'd experience this effect.

I got prescribed propanolol to help with anxiety/ptsd. I didn't care for it at all. Thankfully my new doc got me to go with CBD/THC. I take 5mg/5mg 2x a day and so much better. 

[Sean124]

Before I had my hip replaced, I found that washing down 2 percocet with Jameson was also calming on the nerves. 

[Fairways_and_Greens]

Blades vs cavity backs: WRX

x-Cap vs a LPGA pro: WRX

Stock 200 yard butter cut 8i: WRX

”what’s wrong with ____?”: WRX

Iron loft jacking: WRX

Swing advice from a 15-cap: WRX

Medical advice: doctor

[miamistomp]

beta blockers can cause ED - I think i would rather be nervous ...

[Robert L.]

As the OP I wasn't really looking for medical advice from all you non-doctors. If I need medical advice I know who to see. However, I did start a conversation and got some interesting comments out of it.