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ativan, xanax?

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Posted 1/13/2009 4:55 AM (GMT 0)
my anxiety/panic attacks have been coming back full force. i have been doing pretty good for a while. the other day i didnt think i was going to make it out of walmart without passing out or fainting or something. i have been on paxil/ celexa. prozac and more in the past. now i just have .5 xanax to take when needed. but the darn things take up to half hour to kick in, its awefull being in that situation for that long, will anything else kick in faster? i am going to ask my dr. to put me bcak on a ssri, but till them i cant take these 10-15 full blown panic/anxeity attacks till a ssri starts to work. LOL...stupid question, but i HATE being around a lot of people, stores with lots of people for example. for xmas my wife bought me tickets to go see MY ALL TIME FAV band AC DC. the stadium if full with 21,000 people...LOL..is it possible to go if i take ativan, xanax etc? what about those ativan sublingwual or however you spell it, the ones you put under your tongue, do they work faster, and if so, how fast. im tired of my phobia's, aniety, depression ruining my life. also have anyone of you actually passed out while having a really bad panic/ anxiety attack? i swore the one i had in walmart last week was going to drop me to the floor and make me passout, i tried my breathing teqnuiqes etc, didnt help, i just wanted to goto a coner of the store and cuddle up in a ball so no one would see me past out. im a 35 year old man with 5 childeren and i feel like a baby when it comes to all this. i have been on work dissability for the past 3 years. thanks to you all.
Posted 1/13/2009 6:46 AM (GMT 0)

Hi fdmcall,

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles..walmart has a lot to answer for!! They seem to be the place "most likely to panic in"..

I'm not a health professional so I can't really answer your questions, I do know from personal experience that xanax is one of the faster acting medications, but it doesn't stay in your system as long. Anything that goes directly into your bloodstream would be the fastest method, but I don't think they will give you a syringe of xanax.

You have AC/DC tickets?? Well you have to go! I would discuss this with your doc at the next appt when you talk about SSRI's..he may be able to prescribe something that will calm you down enough..but allow you to enjoy the concert. You wouldn't want to miss a second.

Let us know how you go,

Cheers, Meg AC/DC fan..

Posted 1/13/2009 11:33 AM (GMT 0)
I can understand you panic...maybe not to the same degree, but I have been unable to get to work...I get dressed and half way there and turn around in a panic...I just cant do it. I am a nurse at a nursing home, so I have no good reason to panic but I have been. My anitdepressants have been upped and I am starting to feel a little better. I too have threee children and am in the middle of a messy divorse and property settlement which i am guess is adding to the panic.   I feel for you and hope you can feel a little better soon. Gillxxx
Posted 1/13/2009 5:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hello! The chance of passing out from an anxiety/panic attack is very slim. If you read books on the subject they will tell you all about that. You really should pick up a book or two on anxiety. May I suggest, "From Panic to Power" and "Overcoming Anxiety"? These are great books. They will help you tremendously!

Also, get yourself on an anti-depressant. If this has been affecting you for years and you're not getting better, an anti-depressant will help. There are many people on this forum that take meds. Learn some relaxation techniques. Stop all caffeine and sugar.

I have had the same panic attacks where I'm not sure how I'll get out of a store. The best thing is to remain in the store until the panic subsides. You were absolutely right in trying the breathing exercise. Hang in there, my friend. Things are going to get better!
Posted 1/13/2009 8:19 PM (GMT 0)
I take ativan for when I have anxiety attacks and venalflaxine (anti-depressant, anti-anxiety med)
to reduce the number of episodes I experience. I was on paxil for a couple of months and it did very little for me. I have had undiagnosed anxiety since I was a kid, and now that I'm getting treatment my quality of life has improved.

I use some cognitive therapy (grounding... ect.) for when I experience anxiety and try not to take the ativan if I can. I found ativan very addictive so I avoid it if I can, but it really helps when things are too much for me to handle and I carry a couple tabs with me whenever I leave the house.

i take .05 of ativan, but if things are really bad I'll take a second one. Since starting the venalflaxine I've went from experiencing numerous attacks a day to one every couple of days.

I wasn't big on being on an anti-depressants, but they make a huge difference my mood has picked up and I don't worry so much.

Hope that was helpful :D
Posted 1/13/2009 11:04 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Fdmcal :)

I'm sorry to hear that you are not feeling well right now. You have already received some good advice and I would just like to add a note about the fainting issue. I have had this problem for many years and have learned to live with it by doing different exercises like you will find under our Anxiety-Panic Resources thread at the top of the forum page. The two that helped me the most for this issue as been Breathing and Relaxation Techniques. You said you have done this but you must practice and work with it several times a day until it becomes second nature for you.

I was having fainting feelings from shallow breathing and tension in my upper body. My blood pressure would go real low and then spike when the anxiety kicked in. It is amazing how many syptoms that anxiety will make you feel. When I used to feel that way, my Health Anxiety would just go off of the chats at times. . . like a 12+ on a 1/10 scale (at least it felt that way, lol:) If you have benzos prescribed by your physician, then you should take them as long as you are following the directions given to you and not abusing them. I take Clonzepam/Klonopin and some days I need my full dose and some days I take half since my doc said that was fine for me.

AC/DC tickets, eh :) You rock!!! I would love to see them in concert. I sure hope you make the decision to go and have fun, but I do understand if you don't. . . That danged Wal-Mart has been a bugger for me too at times, lol :) If you use the techniques that you always see through the threads laid out for everyone to use, you will get better and be so much the happier for it!

Peace for you :)

Posted 1/14/2009 12:55 PM (GMT 0)
I prefer to use Paxil ( usually get it from Totaldrugs24.com ) cause it works very good

Post Edited (Gordon22) : 1/17/2009 1:26:06 PM (GMT-7)

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