New to the site and suffer with Panic and anxiety

Hey Guys I am 26 and have been suffering from anxiety and panic for about 3 years.

Well when i Say 3 years I was anxiuos when younger about my parents dying and also about being alone.

Anyway over 3 years ago I was doing drugs not addicted but messing about with mates and drinking. Anyway I ended up stopping doing all drugs when myself and my partner bought a house. However the panic attacks started then, I started to avoid sistuations, and having taughts i didnt want to be thinking about which gave me panic attacks.

I went to visit a friend of the family who was a cognative therapist and she explained everyhting to me and said i could try a AD to help with the anxiety so I tried effexor didnt really seem to do much for me but i was on it for about a year.

However lately I started feeling bad again and went to my doctor who sent me to a psycoligist who wanted me to go on seroxat I read up about it on the net and was too afraid to take it. I then decided not to go back to this guy and i started to feel abit better.

May I add at this point i do shift work and i do feel worse the days after i have been on nights.

So I started to feel bad again and decide to see someone else this time i went to see a psychotherapist and we were getting on fine. i then stupididly watched a programme on agraphobics which freaked me out and i started to worry i would be like that. She then decided cause i had been doing drugs in the past maybe i should try a ssri and she advised me to go to my doctor and get him to prescribe something. So i did and he put me on seroxat. So on sunday just gone i started it and everything was fine until the second day i went to go to bed and started having weird taughts i got into a panic attack and my body felt like it was burning and i started shaking. i really got freaked out i could hardly sleep alnight with anxiety and my stomach was very sick so next day i went to my doctor and he told me to stop taking them and prescribed me lexapro to start on 5mg for 2 10 ten and then go onto 10mg.

However i am now too afraid to take it and i really feel that episode the other night has knocked me back, Because i wasnt too bad I can still go to work i can go out and do things i just get anxious and panic from time to time.

I hate the way you see all these adds on the net that claim to heal you from panic attack without medication. I hate being like this I hav a 7 month old baby girl and i want to be able do things with her when shes older I am afraid i will loose my job.

Anyway thats my story any input would be greatly appreciated.

Paul from Ireland.

Welcome to HW Paul. I'm sorry but I had to edit this post due to Rule #1. If you would like to talk more about this my email is listed under Members.

Post Edited By Moderator (MsKittie) : 1/23/2007 6:01:56 PM (GMT-7)

  Hi Paul and welcome to HW

 Lexapro has been a God send for me I feel so much better on it now, I did have a sideaffect of not sleeping well at first but my anxiety is way down now and for those moments of anxiety I take valium for it but like mosts AD's it's just finding the right one for you and I'm glad that you are following up with your doc and remember to breath when your having a P/A and just go with it as it will past I know it's eazyer said then done and learn to relaxes there should be others on soon that can help you to.

  Cowboy up

hi paul.

welcome to HW. This is a great place.

Your post sounds a lot like what I have been through with panic and anxiety. It is a terrible thing to go through I know.. . I am on prozac (20mg daily), It has helped me  a lot and have found that cbt has helped too.I take vitamin B also. Anti-depressants do take a while to kick in and at first you can feel more anxious than what you did before taking them!..side effects ...ugly things sometimes..lol....but they do pass...take care...let us know how you do..

jayne xx

Hey Guys thanks for the replies.

The thing that worries me is most of you guys sound like you have been on med's for years.

I was kinda hoping this would only be a short term thing and I would be back to normal no such luck I suppose.

I suppose I could try the lexapro and hope the side effects are not too bad but at the same time I have a job and believe after the other nights experience I would not have been able to go into work the next day after the way I felt. The sick stomach would not bother me so much but if its going to make me more and anxious and stop me from sleeping properly well that will be a problem.

The reason I say this is I am my worst when i Have nothing to do so if i am lying in bed not able to sleep I am obviously going to start thinking stuff that will make me panic.

My doctor did also prescribe me a months supply of xanax to relax me.

Do you guys think something like this could be better than a AD. Also whats the best way to take the xanax swallow it or put it under my tonque.

It really amazes me how many people are the same.

Another thing I have noticed as well reading stuff on the net or programs such as the one on agraphobics isnt the best thing for people like us as we tend to read into these things and compare ourselves or worry we will develop the same symthoms these people we read about have.

Anyway I am going to leave starting the lexapro till I have met with m physchotherapist again.

 

Thanks Janet I will see.
The things is I took effexor about 3 years ago and I didnt get any mad side effects apart from feeling sick which I can deal with. But back then i hadnt read up about the drug like I have about thses other ones so I wasnt exspecting side effects however know I am cause I have read about them.

Paul a lot of people learn to deal with their anxiety without meds or stop meds after a period of time.  There is no right way only the way that works for you.  I have three kids and know how hard it can be to try to be a parent and deal with anxiety at same time.  Sometimes I feel so guilty that I'm not a normal Mom but then give myself a break because I give the kids everything that I am and many don't do that for their children.  I hope things start to turn around for you soon.

Welcome
Sorry I had problems yesterday will be back later to yak at ya k
Take care and glad ya found us
Lyn

I think it's a little bit of everything, Paul. Many people lose a significant amount of weight when they're depressed or having severe anxiety and have trouble eating. Once the medication starts to work, you feel better and start to eat more.

On the other hand, there is no question all of the SSRIs have the potential to cause weight gain (Paxil is generally shown to be the worst, with Prozac the least). Exercising and having a healthy diet help, but sometimes you have to accept trade-offs to stay well.

Again, I wouldn't worry about "will I or won't I" right now. You can deal with those issues later if and when they come up. Let's just see if the Lexapro can help you.

GEORGE

Hey guys just an update for ya:

Yesterday I started the Lexapro and I was pretty anxious all day just worrying about side affects but not going into any full blown panic attacks I was also taking .25mg of xanax twice a day to help.
Anyway at about 8 o' clock in the evening I felt a lift and like a whole new person I felt happy and wasnt worrying anymore I had a cup of hot milk and went to bed. Instead of worrying myself to sleep I prayed and I eventually fell asleep and I had a great sleep.

Ok so I woke this morning feeling abit groggy as I am sure most people do anyway whether their anxious or not. I went down stairs and felt as good as i did yesterdy evening I have taken my second tablet now today and I am just going to get on with things. My partner said she noticed the difference in me yesterday and I am like a different person.
So upward and onward we go.

Geebs said...
Glad to hear you doing OK, Paul!

GEORGE

Thanks Mate.

Post Edited (funnyclub) : 1/25/2007 8:19:36 AM (GMT-7)

Hey funnyclub-

I'm currently on Lexapro too, and have been for nearly five months now. I like it, the side effects passed quickly, but I also had a benzo type medication, and still do, which is called Ativan (Lorazepam for generic)

You said you have Xanax, which is much like Ativan, and very helpful with panic attacks. Maybe you should get the prescription filled and in those moments of terrible panic, take one, but make sure you take one while you have some time to be at home to figure out how you react to it at first. (I couldn't drive for the first couple days I was on Ativan, but now I can)

Ativan is helpful, but I also take the Lexapro to diminish the need to take the Ativan as often as I would have to without the Lexapro. The Lexapro helps curve my anxiety and panic throughout the day, but it doesn't seem to help wtih preventing my panic attacks

In my personal opinion, the thoughts about your cars sound a bit obsessive, and may cause you worry. If you do feel more anxious when thinking about the cars; try deep breathing exercises. Try to distract yourself or try to think about something else. I tend to get a bit obsessive about things like if I forget my pills at home.. and the thought races through my mind a million times in an hour ... such thoughts like... "I could turn around, even tho the traffic is heavy to get my pills" "I need my pills, I am scared to be without them" "What if I have a panic attack and have no Ativan with me?" "what if my car stalls and I'm stuck on the side of the road panicking" What if what if what if what if... and then I try to just turn up the radio reaaaalll loud and ignore those thoughts otherwise it'll drive me into a full blown panic attack.

A good resource for breathing techniques is http://www.pe2000.com

*HUGS*

Welcome to Healing Well.

Twiggygal~

That might be why you panic later in the day.

I only take .5 mgs of Ativan at a time, and typically I only take it once, sometimes twice a day if I'm having a bad day.

I HATE travelling in other peoples cars if I'm not driving!! It makes me SOOOOO panicky but I'm getting better now that I have the Ativan and Lexapro.

Hmm... well that is certainly something you could dredge up if it is eating at your conscious to share with your partner.. but perhaps it may be better to leave it in the past. I don't know, that's entirely up to you.

We always try to find reasons why are panic attacks are happening, and I'm sure even after you tell her about what happened some years ago; your still going to have panic attacks. I'm sure you had the panic before the unfaithfullness.. or wait.. reading what you posted in the first post.. you stated the first one was 3 years ago. I don't know. You could tell her but that might be damaging to your relationship... but I'm not a shrink or a person with great advice for love... as I don't even follow my own advice with love and relationships. hehe

Twiggygal~

If I don't take an Ativan... for the entire day... and I have a panic attack... no it's not even nearly as bad as they were before I was on meds. Before I was on meds, the panic attacks would go on for three hours sometimes and finally just burn out and I'd be so exhausted I'd pass out in my bed. Before I was on meds I never got off the couch cuz everytime I moved I thought I'd have a panic attack, couldn't even go to the gas station without having a really bad panic attack.  I'd try going to bed and have an hour long panic attack.  (my mind was always racing)

I would say to give the Lexapro some time as I didn't feel any effects of it for the first week. The side effects I had after the first week lasted about two weeks and what usually happened is I'd wake up in pure panic mode and just so shaky on the inside and I'd have to take an Ativan to calm down... and I had bad diarrhea, thank God that subsided.

At first yeah.. it felt like it might have been counter acting against myself because of how I'd feel in the morning and afternoons, but the Ativan helped calm that down and it helped me get thru the side effects.

When you say warm and stingy.. do you mean in your mind? Or you just felt like sort of tingling throughout your body? Cuz I had the tingling bad before I was on Lex and when I started it... that's what usually started first when I'd have a panic attack is I'd feel like my hands and feet and arms had fallen asleep and were tingling something awful.

But if you feel like the med is counter acting against the adrenaline, that's good, because that means the Lexapro might be able to prevent panic attacks for you. It's just that for me and all my relatives that have panic disorder... no anti depressant we have tried prevents panic attacks... only the benzo type drugs help.. like the Ativan or Xanax or Klonopin.  The anti depressants seem to just slow my mind down a bit and stop me from feeling anxious or panicky 24/7.  Of course everyone is different, and what doesn't prevent my panic attacks (ie; Lexapro) may in fact help prevent yours. I would also perhaps suggest such things as CBT (Cognitive behavioral therapy)... or seeing a therapist.. or learning to meditate... finding a comforting hobby... etc...

My sister, Grandmother, a couple aunts, 3 great aunts, Great Grandmother, uncles and my father all have or have had Panic Disorder, but it mostly ails the women in my family.

Hope this helps.

Twiggygal~