How it went
Did it last?
- 4 of 15 said the benefit wore off (including the 1 who relapsed).
- 1 of 15 needed to keep doing it to stay well.
Read from what people wrote. A story that ends without a follow-up counts as lasting, so treat these as minimums.
| Outcome described | Accounts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Full recovery | 3 | 20% |
| Near-full | 3 | 20% |
| Substantial | 5 | 33% |
| Partial | 3 | 20% |
| Relapsed | 1 | 7% |
| No benefit | 0 | 0% |
By how ill people were
| Severity at worst | How it went | n | Recovered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Severe | 9 | 56% | |
| Very severe | 5 | 20% |
1 accounts don’t say how ill the person was.
Who published these accounts
Right-hand number: share describing a full or near-full recovery. Pages that sell something, and advocacy sites, tend to publish only the successes.
How often it comes up
Posts that mention Beta-blockers, per 1,000 posts each year. Hover a point for the count.
Show as a table
| Year | Posts mentioning it | All posts | Per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0 | 184 | 0.0 |
| 2010 | 1 | 682 | 1.5 |
| 2011 | 1 | 704 | 1.4 |
| 2012 | 2 | 1,491 | 1.3 |
| 2013 | 0 | 1,708 | 0.0 |
| 2014 | 1 | 2,352 | 0.4 |
| 2015 | 8 | 2,158 | 3.7 |
| 2016 | 2 | 1,431 | 1.4 |
| 2017 | 11 | 3,110 | 3.5 |
| 2018 | 2 | 2,201 | 0.9 |
| 2019 | 0 | 1,075 | 0.0 |
| 2020 | 3 | 2,581 | 1.2 |
| 2021 | 3 | 1,867 | 1.6 |
| 2022 | 1 | 1,166 | 0.9 |
| 2023 | 0 | 1,000 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | 4 | 1,237 | 3.2 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1,019 | 5.9 |
| 2026 (so far) | 1 | 840 | 1.2 |
Posts in the forum threads we archived, 26,806 in all, counted per year. A mention means the post names the treatment, not that the writer took it. These threads all contain a recovery story, so they show what those communities discussed, not everyone with ME/CFS or long COVID. All trends
Side effects and harms people mentioned
Found by scanning the summaries for side-effect language, so this list is incomplete and may include a mention that isn’t about Beta-blockers itself. Read the story before drawing conclusions.
- Side effects
nescio13 credits a beta-blocker ("basic blood pressure reduction medication," no specific drug name or dose given) with ending their migraine-like long covid symptoms, though as a side effect it also brought back their asthma.
- Withdrawal problems
They had lived with long covid for about four years, severe enough to require nearly complete social withdrawal and tightly controlled environments.
All 15 accounts
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How I got in remission/cured my ME/CFS
Ali_Mardiyev, disabled for 1.5 years with POTS/dysautonomia/severe fatigue/PEM, layered a stellate ganglion block with beta-blocker, a testosterone course, several psychiatric medications, intermittent fasting and a slow graded-exercise ramp starting April…
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Long Covid Diaries, No. 49: the end.
nescio13 credits a beta-blocker ("basic blood pressure reduction medication," no specific drug name or dose given) with ending their migraine-like long covid symptoms, though as a side effect it also brought back their asthma. They had lived with long covid…
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Michelle
Michelle saw more than ten specialists and tried extensive medical treatment: beta blockers, the migraine drug Ubrelvy, meclizine for dizziness, two rounds of prednisone, B12 shots for neuropathy, and Paxlovid taken months after her initial infection, plus…
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Impact of extended-course Paxlovid in established Long COVID (Case 11)
Case 11, a 33-year-old woman roughly three years into severe Long COVID/ME since March 2020, initially bedridden and dependent on caregivers and later "mostly housebound," had a 5-day Paxlovid course in May 2022 that brought significant improvement, ending…
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Impact of extended-course Paxlovid in established Long COVID (Case 7)
Case 7, a 29-year-old man about 10 months into Long COVID/ME since July 2022 with extreme fatigue, PEM, tachycardia, POTS, persistent headache, brain fog, chest pain and shortness of breath, took a 15-day extended Paxlovid course in May 2023 while also on…
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Robyn Dale
Robyn's treatment combined short courses of propranolol, zopiclone and diazepam early on with medium-term amitriptyline for insomnia, mood and muscle spasms, alongside daily walking, yoga, meditation and graded activity. She crashed severely in December 2021…
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Robyn Dale
Robyn was prescribed short-term propranolol for heart arrhythmia and palpitations, at doses that were increased despite her objections, short-term zopiclone and diazepam to help her rest, and medium-term amitriptyline for insomnia, mood, and to stop cluster…
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From ME to MMA
Recovered after a stay at the AiR Rauland rehabilitation centre, which taught mindfulness, energy-pacing (sorting activities into "green" and "yellow" rest zones) and structured daily routines, following a second severe relapse; before that she had seen a…
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Calmness & increased functionality from Propranolol
At a low dose of propranolol (5mg twice daily), this poster reports reduced heart-rate spikes and better cardiovascular stability, saying "my feeling is the upside...is worth it." Kept deliberately modest - ongoing benefit, not a cure claim, with no…
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Calmness & increased functionality from Propranolol
Propranolol initially brought this poster substantial relief, calling it "life-changing to a certain extent" for cutting the fight-or-flight response, brain fog and sleep-onset problems. Several months in, though, he reports the effect fading, needing higher…
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Iron Man: How One Young Person Recovered From POTS / ME/CFS
Jack Schlanger fell severely ill with POTS and ME/CFS-like symptoms at 13 after an infection, unable to attend school full-time with near-constant stomach pain and exercise intolerance. Diagnosed with iron deficiency contributing to his POTS, he was treated…
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Long Treatment Regimen Reaps Dividends for Irene
Irene, a college teacher, developed severe ME/CFS with active EBV and HHV-6 infections after 2001, with extreme fatigue, migraines, joint pain and memory loss. Over more than a decade she combined Valtrex and Valcyte, Babesia treatment, atenolol, complete…
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How I recovered.
Combined a multi-part protocol -- twelve $325 Oxford "homeostasis" peptide shots starting September 2013, a rotary diversified (Theron Randolph) elimination diet, vitamin D, low-dose naltrexone, Remeron, the Gupta amygdala-retraining program, and removing…
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how did you get out of "bedridden level" ??(even if you are still sick)
Reports going from bedridden to walking a mile and a half the next day after starting Florinef, Midodrine and a beta-blocker for orthostatic symptoms. Frames it as trial-and-error ("the trick is to try things") with no dose, duration or durability detail given.
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My Valcyte pilgrimage
About two years into illness with a persistent CMV infection (titer 107 against a normal range of 0-18), severe brain fog, extreme fatigue needing 12+ hours of sleep, and tachycardia and breathing trouble so bad she "felt like I was dying," started Valcyte…