@lindy9 hey Lindy, I share most of your attitudes, when I discuss any meds with a doctor I'm always pushing to start with small doses and to know about discontinuance and have discontinued several heart-related drugs because they weren't helping or had awful side-effects, ... but let me tell you about the beta blocker I've been on. The moral of the story is sometimes they really do help.

I had high blood pressure but worse I had a variety of strange arrhythmias confirmed by Holter monitors and such so besides an Arb and diuretic was given atenolol, supposed to be 25mg twice a day, a standard small dose. But I took the first one - and it was like I'd been hit in the head with a brick, my heart rhythm did not respond to exercise and little issues that I'd expect to cause little blips of mental excitement - did not. I talked immediately to the doctor and ended up taking just 12.5 mg once a day, and that was plenty. And I took it only as-needed, probably a very rare way to take a beta blocker. But for me that worked, for a couple of years. It was a small enough dose that I could stop for a week sometimes, no ill effects. BUT over time, well, the breaks got rare, and I even went to 12.5mg twice a day. This is still below any standard dosing but the point is, I really need it. In fact, in retrospect, I probably needed it for many years before I first tried it! Odd little symptoms I've had my whole life, if taken more seriously, I now think in retrospect indicate a beta blocker would have helped.

(I also know that chocolate contains natural beta blocker, and I can feel that at work if I eat even a little (which I do!), but to equal even my very small pill dosage would be a LOT of chocolate every day!)

So let's appreciate a useful drug when we run across one. People have a huge range of genetics, and conditions, and diets, and activities, and sometimes there are drugs that live up to at least some of their claims!