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How did your attacks progress?

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Posted 2/14/2010 1:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hello everyone,
I am curious to find out. How did your anxiety/panic attacks progress? Was it something that gradually built up over time or did just one day you go from not having attacks to having full blown attacks? For me personally it took less then one week. I went from doing everything day to do as normal, to by the same day the next week I was having attack after attack and could not even leave the house till I ended up going to the emergency room. It was like a switch got flipped in my head. The interesting thing is that prior to that I was known to be the most level headed person around and never showed signs of stress or anxiety at all. It just does not make sense to me and I am hoping I can learn from your experiences.
Thank you,
ChemicalAnxiety
Posted 2/14/2010 2:57 PM (GMT 0)
Good Morning,

I have always had some underlying anxiety issues ever since I was a child but my first panic attack just hit out of the blue one day in 1982. Since then through therapy and medication I managed fairly well and lived a pretty normal life.

In 2005 I had a major meltdown and since then I have been battling the anxiety and depression ! I will say it takes a lot of hard work and stamina to keep on going some days but I practice living in the moment and try not to let the anxiety control me.

Do consider therapy if you have not already. Learning new skills to deal with your anxiety is truly helpful.

Take care,

Kitt
Posted 2/14/2010 4:05 PM (GMT 0)
Kitt,
Thank you for your kind response and the information. I am seeing a CBT therapist and she has been a God send to me. What is odd is that I had done so good that we stepped down the frequency of sessions. When I did have session, we spent more time talking about stress than the attacks. I had even gone ages without needing to take any meds. Then out of the blue I feel back and fell hard. One thing I did remember is that prior to the attacks and the general anxiety I had actually been on inderal for a decade for a non anxiety issue. It was not till after I was switched to a different beta block did the attacks started. I fought with my Doc and he changed me back to the inderal and within a day I have seen a noted improvement in my general anxiety. While I still get anxious since the change back my physical response (the racing heart, shortness of breath, sweaty palms, and such) have not been as strong or even there. I had been put on an antidepressant at one point, and that had actually made my anxiety worse. It took me almost two months two ween myself off them and I do not wish to go down that path again.. Since inderal can take up too a week to completely work it way into my system, i am keeping my fingers crossed that is all I need. For me personally the hardest thing was admitting to myself and my family that I have anxiety.
Thank you,
ChemicalAnxiety
Posted 2/14/2010 4:46 PM (GMT 0)
Hi CA and welcome to Healinwell. I have a chronic and incurable bowel disease and had already had it about 33-34 years when out of the blue I developed anxiety related to my illness. Thru therapy and the occasional Xanax I am now better able to deal with it. Good luck!
Posted 2/14/2010 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Chemical,
My anxiety progressed very fast after I realized that my first attack wasn't my last. I can relate with your confusion on how your in this place right now but you also need to understand your not the only one, and that in itself is a key.
Posted 2/14/2010 5:51 PM (GMT 0)
Hello,
Just wanted to share that for the longest time I have had depression but no anxiety and then a while back it hit me. I ended up in the hospital thinking it was my heart when in fact it was an anxiety attack. Thank God my heart was o.k. but since then I've been on anti-anxiety medication and it has been crippiling at times. Not wanting to leave my house or shop or what ever. Now I'm going back into the work force and taking with me this anxxiety and not sure how I'm going to do it. I just hope that you are able somehow to find a way to help yourself with yours, and find comfort. MY anxiety seemed to come on suddenly and out of nowhere and no I'm trying relaxation which was suggested by a therapist I hope it helps. I whis you all the best and I hope you find comfort in something helpful. I do know how bad they can be....
Posted 2/14/2010 6:34 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. I will over come this, my strongest attribute is my ability to adapt and overcome anything that is thrown in my path. I have a very strong support network, wife, family, therapist, and a few close friends. Knowing I am not alone is a big help. My therapist told me that in the current times something around 35% of the population now has some form of anxiety.

I only wish that the process of finding a med/therapy combination that works was more defined. Sometimes it seems that the doctors act like we are human dart boards. Here take this med.. It doesn't work? O.k. Go through withdrawal and now try this one.. That doesn't work? hrmm. lets try this again... It can be very frustrating at times.
Posted 2/17/2010 2:55 AM (GMT 0)
I understand your frustration with the medication situation. Remember - we're all different - and with different body chemistry, different medications will react... well.. differently.

Sometimes it is trial and error.

I'm going through a "med change" right now myself (have been for about 6 wks)... it's not fun, but it's a part of the process to find out what works for ME... so that I'm OK.
Posted 2/22/2010 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
My anxiety started one day outta the blue..at the mall in Dec 2009 10 or 11 days after my miscarriage. It was a full-blown, scary attack that I had never experienced before. I didn't understand it. I went to the doctors, and they just sent me home..said it wasn't low blood sugar.

Over the weekend it didn't get better, I felt anxious still and dizzy so I went back. Then they told me I had anxiety. My attacks in DEC and JAN seemed not too bad...but then in Feb i've had TWO full blown attacks, one which I went to the emergency room because I lost my color and I couldn't stop shaking. in Feb my attacks have been everyday [not full-blown but still, the not "normal" feeling and just anxious everyday every second"] ......

My first appointment with the psychiatrist is March 1st. It sucks, I really wish it was sooner....... my everyday life is affected by anxiety. There was a period for 5 days where I was in control, then an attack came and I lost it again.

I am not me anymore. All I want to do is sleep, I don't go anywhere public......and I hate driving because of a fear of anxiety attacks.
Posted 2/22/2010 11:35 PM (GMT 0)
My first attack occured 2 years ago (out of the blue, while having a regular conversation with my dad)...I had no idea what was happening, all i  knew was that it was a very horrifying experience...So after countless visits to various doctors, I was told it was anxiety. After my first attack, I went a whole year without another one, and then they began to come more frequent and intense (once a month to once/several times a week and resulted in several visits to the ER)...just to be told all my tests were fine, and again, I was given an anxiety diagnosis. After all this time, I am just now accepting my anxiety diagnosis, because prior to now, you couldnt pay me to believe I didnt have some life threatening disease/disorder that would claim my life at any time. So now that I am somewhat accepting the anxiety diagnosis, I have began to try medication. I began with Cymbalta (which made me feel like a zombie), switched to Savella (which gave me side effects almost as bad as anxiety) and am now trying Amoryn/Seredyn (a natural medication that I ordered online). I am more comfortable taking the natural medication because I don't have to worry about side effects or withdrawl effects when I decide to discontinue the use of them. It's been about a month since I began the natural meds and although it has not completely stopped the attacks, the frequency and intensity has slowed down tremendously. Theres also a natural medication called Panicyl that I am interesting in trying. I truly hope you find something that works well for you. Anxiety can be a very discouraging and horrific disorder to deal with, but I  have faith that one day things will be better. Take Care and God Bless.... 
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