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Horrible Panic Attacks

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November 30th, 2007
If anyone has some advice, I would relaly like to hear it. I have been dealing with anxiety in a big way for the last 1 1/2 years-ever since the birth of my second child. It seems to get better and then I have these periods (like right now) when I am having panic attacks again. There's no reason for them-they just come on and sometimes they are so awful that i feel like throwing up. They make me feel like I am completely crazy! I was prescribed .5 mg Ativan in the beginning to take when I was having one, and then they became so frequent that I just took it three times per day. I still have some, and I take .5 mg when I feel crazy. I am under a lot of stress right now, and sometimes the wheels in my brain are spinning so fast about what i need to get done, that I feel powerless to take a step toward getting anything done at all.

A little bit about me: I am a definite type A personality and I am certain I have perfectionist issues. Simply knowing this doesn't help to make it go away, though. I understand what my problem is but I just don't know how to fix it. I don't like to take medication unless I have to. I have had issues with depression in the past but never anxiety such as this. I have a counselor whom I could see, but as I am uninsured and short on cash, resources are pretty limited at this time. I take a yoga class twice per week and find this really helpful in centering my mind. I also enjoy running and do so whenever I can, but I work from home and have a small child, so it sometimes becomes difficult to get out there and go for a run-plus its freezing outside! I also wonder if the weather has something to do with this, I hate cloudy days and there have been many as of late.

Any advice, or even your own personal stories would help. I feel so alone in all of this and although my husband and friends are supportive, they don't really understand. Thay always ask "Why do you think this is happening?" Well if I knew the cause, it would probably be a lot easier to come to terms with it. I really am not an unhappy person, I just feel sad some days without knowing why. The depressionis one hthing, but the panic attacks are horrible. It feels like the worst acid trip anyone could ever be on.

Anyway, thanks for listening.
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mm-82
replied November 30th, 2007
You are definitely NOT alone! I took was prescribed .5mg of Ativan for my anxiety. You are also NOT going crazy! I thought the same thing! I was terrified that I'd be admitted to a psycho ward and that'd I'd lose my life over it!

I'm currently on Effexor XR 37.5mg and have been on it for a week straight. It has definitely helped with my anxiety attacks. I no longer feel crazy! Sometimes I feel in a bit of a daze but it's only been a week so I can't expect everything to just disappear.

Effexor is also an anit-depressant. Look it up online or talk to your doctor about it if you're interested. It might work to help both your depression and your anxiety.
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Highanxiety
replied December 1st, 2007
Thank you for your reply. I am not interested in going the route of anti-depressants again at this time. They tried me on Zoloft and I ended up in the ER with that, so i am quite leery of them now. A long time ago I took prozac and it just seemed to dull the colors of the worlsd-kind a made everything feel muted around me. I was a black and white character in a technicolor world.
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anniek
replied December 10th, 2007
Experienced User
Don't be leery just because of on drug. They all work diffrently for diffrent people. I was on lexapro, it worked great! But I had an advantage both my mom and sister had been on it. Which if it works well in a family member it's a good chance it will work good with you. My friend was on wellbutrin and it made her worse, she felt like she was going crazy! They put her on zoloft and she has been doing very well. I would talk to your dr again and try another one. But make sure you keep talking to your dr or pharmacist so you don't end up in the er agian! Good luck!
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puzzld
replied December 13th, 2007
Supporter
i'm leery of SSRIs. paxil or i should say my previous dr overdosed me on it and i ended up in the er too!!!

before i had insurance i went to state mental health and university mental health facilities. it's better than nothing...

i suffer from PTSD, chronic anxiety, major depressive disorder... and a recent diagnosis of bipolar 1. i'm a little confused about what i have exactly now due to recent diagnosis...

i had a major panic attack a couple of months ago while i was home recovering from major abdominal surgery. i though i was having a nervous breakdown but dr. said that a panic attack that leads to full blown hyperventilation can make you catatonic, which i was. my husband had to come home from work because i couldn't even speak on the phone... i just cried uncontrollably and hyperventilated. he called my mother and father and they came over. i would go from crying to catatonia within minutes. eventually, i snapped out of it and was extremely embarrassed.

you are not alone.
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Lennon
replied December 19th, 2007
Experienced User
Nobody's alone with anxiety. I'm 25 years past my first panic attack. You don't need drugs to get over it either. If you have some that help, then use them by all means but anxiety is only there because you've trained your mind to think about it constantly. If you can make yourself anxious then it's only logical that you can do the opposite as well and believe me, YOU YOURSELF are the only thing that is making you anxious. You need to exchange every anxious thought that you have the second it comes on with a positive thought along the lines of..........it's just anxiety, so what?
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Highanxiety
replied January 7th, 2008
Lennon wrote:
If you can make yourself anxious then it's only logical that you can do the opposite as well and believe me, YOU YOURSELF are the only thing that is making you anxious. You need to exchange every anxious thought that you have the second it comes on with a positive thought along the lines of..........it's just anxiety, so what?


I don't know, this sounds sort of like blaming the patient for their disaease. Someitmes I wake up in teh night or earley in the morning in the middle of a pannick attack, So I wonder how that happens if I am causeing it to happen to myself?

I think tha anxiety is different from teh pannick attacks. Anxiety I can deal with but the pannick attackes come from out of nowhere and all of a sudden I am running from the grocery store because I am sure that everyone there is looking at me and watching me and I feel like I'm under a microscope or something.
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