So I don’t know if you have yet tried medication to stop blushing? I remember first visiting my doctor’s surgery around 15 years ago to explain my excessive blushing, and for some reason, I felt nervous and uncomfortable about having to explain this to my doctor.
WHY did I feel this way???
You see what I have found is that so-called normal people, i.e. people who don’t have excessive blushing simple do not recognise that excessive blushing is actually a BIG problem to the person that is suffering. You try to explain what it is, and you just get told yeah so you blush to get over it I go red sometimes what’s the problem? But to us excessive blushers, it is a BIG problem and trying to explain how you feel and why going so red bothers you I don’t know about you but I feel so awkward and even embarrassed.
So I’m sitting in the GP surgery, it’s a hot day I’m feeling a little anxious, fiddly, sweating a little, keep checking my little mirror to see how red my face is.
It’s not helping that it’s a Monday morning and everyone and their dog seems to be visiting the surgery today, I can see Hilda from over the road, Simon whose always up here because he has a cold then little old me for a little blushing 🙂
So I’m running through what I want to say to the doctor in my mind, but before I get a chance I’m called into the doctor’s room…..
DR “so what seems to be the problem Mr smith”
ZACH “Well err you see doctor what it is err, well, cough stutter I seem to blush a lot.”
DR “Blush? well, that’s completely normal Mr Smith everyone blushes.”
ZACH “Yes but not like me it controls everything I do Dr”.
Dr “I see Mr Smith”. Frowns, tap tap tappety tap on the computer, sighs gives me a prescription.
Zach “So what’s this for”
DR “Oh those are beta-blockers try these and see me in a month’s time”.
ZACH “Err ok doctor err thanks”.
An uncomfortable episode and I can tell you this the normal GP’S just don’t seem to recognize excessive blushing as a problem and if they do they just use a standard protocol to treat you.
This time around I can’t even remember what medication to stop blushing the doctor gave me, but they NEVER made a difference. I have been prescribed so many tablets over the last 15 years, ranging from beta-blockers, anxiety pills, crazy pills all different shapes and sizes and doses. Currently, the ones I take are a slow-release tablet called propranolol which is a beta-blocker, and these help along with the excessive blushing and the hypnosis for blushing that’s why it’s reduced for me to around 90%.
It’s an individual thing I’m afraid if you are considering medication to stop blushing you may find something that works straight away for you. For me it took absolutely years as doctors just don’t seem to know what they are doing with our condition, most of the time they prescribe anxiety and crazy pills. They think this will help retune your thinking but it certainly didn’t work for me and came with too many side effects, that’s why I was so glad well!! overjoyed to discover the stop blushing hypnosis track.
So basically I wanted to give you a bit of advice if, you are at the point where you are considering medication to stop your excessive blushing, then you really want to ask the doctor for beta-blockers. Like I mentioned before I am on propranolol around 160mg slow-release, but just because propranolol works for me it may not for you so it’s a bit of trial and error I’m afraid. Also, I am not sure if you get this but sometimes when I’m in from the cold to the hot like I work outdoors and if it’s freezing then I’m in a hot room I can end up looking like a burns victim. With me, although I have excessive blushing I think I have highly sensitive skin, and I found after researching that anti-histamines can help in this situation. I have to say I think I get flare-ups when drinking alcohol to and I’m certain anti-histamines help.
So yeah along with the propranolol and anti-histamine, which is the only medicine I take to stop blushing I also have my stop blushing hypnosis.
REMEMBER to stay away from the ETS surgery for blushing if you can, read what I wrote about that HERE so if you are blushing and flushing get up to the doctors and start a course of beta-blockers I recommend propranolol and forget the anxiety pills/crazy pills get yourself on the stop blushing hypnosis HERE