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Posted 8/6/2007 4:45 PM (GMT 0)
i'm having sever panic an anxiety problems.  i've been to my family doctor, a physicarist, a phsycologist, and the er many times, all since march.  i've had eye, ears, heart, mri's done and everything seems to be ok. i've always been laid back. i have a 12 year old daughter that was diagnosed with a kidney problem in march, maybe that's what brought this on. i can't handle these anymore. i've basically had to quit my job, i wake-up every morning vibrating!  i take xanax .5mg.  i think it isn't working anymore. can anyone think of anythis else that i might have checked or what kind of doctor i might need to see to see if something else is wrong with me.  i'm goning back to my doctor today to see if she can do a hormone test and a full thyroid panel on me. i also have been havine pain shooting up my legs and the top of my feet hurt. any suggestions.  i can't cope.  like i said my job is almost gone and the bills are rising. when i have one of these i can't breath, i tremble, cry, beg for people to not let me die, legs and arms go numb somtimes tingle, choked one time, dizzy alot of times, chest pain, anyone else?
Posted 8/6/2007 5:07 PM (GMT 0)
lela34,

That all sounds like panic attacks. Like many here, I know exactly how it feels! It's hard to imagine that the mind can cause such harsh physical reactions, but it does all to well!

How long have you taking the xanax, maybe you've become imune to the effects. Talk to the doc about kolnopin. It's the same as xnanx with a longer half-life, so it keeps you more even. Also need to look at some of the AD drugs (prozac, lexapro, effexor, etc).

I stopped talking lexapro around feb., It worked great for the panic/anxiety, but the side effects (weight gain, lethargic, sexual, etc.) were annoying. All was fine for awhile. Even had a bad spill on a bike, 2 broken elbows, one required surgery. Went through all that w/o the pa's. But then things at work started getting shaky about a month ago. It's left me with extreme panic/anxiety over my financial state if I were to be layed-off. I need to look for new work, but have been to anxious to get started. My doc perscribed me effexor. I hesitated at first. I didnt want the possible side effects again, but the anxiety got to an unmanagable state. So far, so good with the effexor. I still have bad anxious mornings, but I even out by the afternoon. I can see its starting to take hold and know that relief is comming.

The point is there is many different drug therapies, ask you MD, or Psyc. about them. I've never tried to talk to a therapist about my issues in the past, but I am going to see one soon. I hope that I can learn some techniques to help me deal with the fear/anxiety w/o the drugs one day. I know people that have, so there is hope!

Take it one day at a time, know that your know alone!
Posted 8/6/2007 5:26 PM (GMT 0)

lela,

Hello and Welcome to Healing Well and the A & P forum.  I am Kitt and I hope you will soon see that you are not alone and that will bring you some peace. It does appear that your anxiety and panic came on when your daughter was diagonosised. You have had all you systems  checked out pretty well and now the thyroid so I am thinking you need a good therapist and some meds for the A & P.

There are many drugs available and each person has one that works better for them.  AS far as the benzos for long term coverage Valium is the longest acting.  Klonopin works very well but you must be on a regular dose and be sure to take your med at the same time everyday to be sure to keep your blood level steady.

Please know you have come to the right place to receive support and understanding. Stay with us and keep posting.

Posted 8/6/2007 5:33 PM (GMT 0)
thanx for replying! i have not tried valium yet.  all i know is i'm going to have to get this under control somehow. the thing is i don't know how.  i keep telling myself that something is wrong on the inside and it's not a mental thing.  anymore suggestions?  i'm open. thanx again. i'll ask my doctor about valium and kloponin.
Posted 8/6/2007 5:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Lela_

It does sound like panic attacks to me as well. I felt the same way when they began to happen. Its amazing what physical symptoms you have while having panic. Your are doing the right things, i think its important for our own minds to get certain tests, so we can "rule it out". Once we know if the symptoms are not something to worry about, we begin panic recovery, if thats what it is.

There are many ways to deal with this, and the best you are doing. Hopefully you feel comfortable with your doctor and really value their medical advice. Some times it takes a little time to bounce back, but you will be feeling good again. Its a tough battle, but you're very strong and by looking into the problems, seeking advice, and going to the doctor you're doing great. Stewing in the problem is one of the things i tend to do, and it doesnt bring any results. It just worsens the situation. So good on you for combating this.

And like others say, its a one day at a time thing so keep posting.
Dan
Posted 8/6/2007 11:33 PM (GMT 0)
thanx dan!

i just came back from the doctor.  she did some more blood tests like hormone level, thyroid, and low iron. i also had an x-ray done on my foot, because the top of my left foot has been killing me. it feel like it is broke and at night i have pain in my legs which keeps me up alot.  i feel like giving up alot of times with this panic thing.  i don't understand it at all.  why? why? why? that's what i say to myself all the time.  i try to do breathing exercises. i've bought a 35.00 cd for panic and anxiety that i listen to everynight before i go to be. they say you have to re-train you brain.  people say to talk yourself out of it when it happens, but that is almost impossible when you feel like you're dying!!! today my psych also put me out of work again. so here i am again at home, but i still feel safer at home. do you have any of this same stuff dan? how do you cope?

Posted 8/6/2007 11:42 PM (GMT 0)
i also have tried many anti-depressants. lexapro, paxil, effoxor, trazadone, plus 2 or 3 more. i couldn't function at all on these. the lexapro did good for a while, but that ended. my dr. said the xanax was my best bet for now. has anyone taken valium for these? i've never tried them. but i think i'm gonna especially if they will give me some happiness and normality. they need to make a happy pill. i'm not into pill that much and i don' t want to get addicted to them. my ex had a real drug problem and i know what that kind of life is like. so i am real worried about addiction, but i have to be normal again. i have 2 kids 8 and 11 and am a single mom. i have to be sober.
Posted 8/7/2007 3:04 AM (GMT 0)

Lela,

Everything you describe sounds like a panic attack...they are awful!  Are you learning cognitive behavioral therapy?  That helps so much in dealing with panic attacks and the everyday anxiety.  I also take xanax and it has helped me to get through the worst times.  If you like to read, there are alot of books on the topic of panic/anxiety out there that are very helpful...my favorites are by Claire Weekes, but I'm sure others here will have some other suggestions.  I sure hope things improve for you, keep posting here, the support is amazing!

Posted 8/7/2007 4:31 AM (GMT 0)
You've received a lot of very good advice here. You didn't say how your doctor responded to your question about changing from Xanax to Klonopin or Valium, though. Did they refuse? If so, did they give you a good reason besides "you have to re-train your brain?". Sometimes the medications help you out to "re-train", and CBT, I believe, is the most common method of doing that. I've never tried it but am on my own little program that I devised for myself.

In any event, I've taken both Xanax and Valium recreationally when I was a kid. They're quite a bit different than Klonopin. With it you may be sleepy for a few days as you start, but people rarely abuse it because it doesn't produce any kind of high at all, even if one takes too much. You will become dependent on it, but if helps you that shouldn't be a concern.

Xanax helps a lot of people but it is often misused and/or mis-prescribed. It's quite potent, quick to act, and in some people it does produce a mild euphoria. Tolerance is something that has to be watched very closely, too. Even though it's in the same family of drugs, Klonopin works much differently.

Anyway, best of luck.
Posted 8/7/2007 3:48 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Lela34,
I am new to the Anxiety world as of three months ago. I too have most of the symptoms that you described, especially the vibrating. I was very concerned that I had some sort of physical ailment. I began to do alot of research on anxiety and found that it can cause all the symptoms that you listed. I am on my third week of Prozac and I think I am beginning to feel it working a bit. When you were on Anti-depressents did you give them enough time to work. The start up of these meds is terrible to say the least. Benzo's help take the edge off when you are starting up a new med.
Posted 8/7/2007 3:53 PM (GMT 0)
what do you do for yourself. you said you have devised your own program.  what is it? does it help?  i'm open for anything.  i just want a normal life back. do any of you wake in the mornings vibrating?  i do every morning.  why?  i would like answers to these questions but nobody seems to know, even doctors.  has anyone seen a neurologist.  could they help with anything?  thanx for all the support. it really does help to talk with other people who has this same problem. confused
Posted 8/7/2007 4:16 PM (GMT 0)

Lela,

I know there are some members here that have seen neurologists so hopefully someone can help you out with that question.

CBT......best if working with your therapist but here is a free site to look at and you can learn CBT on this site..................it takes hard work.

http://moodgym.anu.edu.au/

Posted 8/7/2007 4:29 PM (GMT 0)
You are going through what I was going through three months ago. I took to the net to find a cure or to diagnose myself because I did not believe anxiety could bring on all these physical symptoms. I was on Ativan which I went from 3mg daily to 10mg/daily(too much) because it stopped working and would begin to make me feel worse. I was tried on paxil at 20mg daily which just about put me in the hospital then zoloft 50mg first four days then up to 100mg, then straight into panic. I finally got into see my pdoc and he put me on zyprexa 2.5 before bed and told me as I began to feel more relaxed with zyprexa I should try and cut down the ativan. That took me a couple of weeks and I was only on zyprexa nightly. I began to feel hopeless and was still having anxiety and asked him what he suggested. Although I was extremely scared of SSRI's I agreed to try prozac at 10mg. Its will be three weeks on Friday and I am beginning to feel a little more calm in my head. I still feel some of the physical symptoms of anxiety but not living in terror of what my life was and what I have become. I am in this for the long haul and I am willing to let this med work so I can get back to life. I forgot to metion that I take 1.25mg zyprexa night now and will be coming off when the prozac takes full effect.

I get side tracked when trying to help out, so I hope this helps you. Any thing you would like to ask me specificly, feel free to:)
Posted 8/7/2007 6:47 PM (GMT 0)
i have not been on prozac. my psyc said that i probably couldn't handle it since the paxil didn't work.  i've never heard of zyprexa. what does it do?  does it just help in the withdrawl?  my doc said that everything that he as gave me, that he has prescribed more to a baby than me.  i just can't take meds.  paxil almost killed me. all i could do was go from my bed to the couch.  someone told me that alot of people with panic and anxity have something bothering them subconscious.  which i probably have alot of things i've done in the past that i am still regretting.  i feel like my daughters kidney problem, which is...at sometime she has had an infection of some sort, the docs don't know exactly, but this infection has destroyed her filters in her kidneys. not so that all are destroyed, but like 1 out of 28 is. she is 11 years old and has high blood pressure, which she takes meds for and always has alot of protein in urine,which there should be zero. just recently she still had over a gram of protein spilling and docs put her on predisone 20mg, which is an adult dose. she is coping fairly well, but i feel as if this is my fault and i could have gotton her to the doc faster when she had strep alot as a child or an in grown toenail, etc. anyway, can any of you say that your conscious bothers you or you have alot on your mind that causes these.  also i read that alot of people with panic or anxity usually breath more from the chest than the diaphram.  check your breathing let me know. i've been working on mine and i did notice that i breath from my chest. thanx everybody! tongue
Posted 8/7/2007 6:54 PM (GMT 0)
i was on the anti depressants for a while all of them made me feel like my head was coming off. i couldn't move but from my bed to the couch. i was on lexapro for about 4wks and it seemed to work good, but they all made me extremely weak, tire, migrains, etc. you say the side effet and i had it. so i say what do i do now??
Posted 8/7/2007 8:52 PM (GMT 0)
I too FREAKED on the paxil in just three days! I tried zoloft and they moved me up way to fast. I was taking 100mg in just 4 days. Thats alot for someone with panic/anxiety. I talked all of this over with my doc and he is the one that suggested prozac at just 10 mg. I went home and did a ton of research and found that most of the people that had a hard time taking AD's is because of the standard dosing protocol. I found a study on prozac that said that 56% of people had success with just 5mg. The usual starting dose of prozac is 20mg and that is hard for people to start on. The 20mg dose only bumped the success rate up to 64% too. The side effects you were having would of most likely wore off after a couple of months from what I understand. You have to think about it though, you said you were tired when you took the lexapro. That might of been that your mind was beginning to relax a little and calm down from the over stimulation.
You sound alot like how I think:) Always the worry and the what if's! You have to learn to try and let that stuff go. You can't beat yourself up living with what has happened in the past or what will happen. Just live for the day and love your life and your family. I know that sounds impossible! I was just where you were a couple of months ago. I am still having bad days and the what if's, but I am looking forward to tomorrow as I was not before. Think about the SSRI's and the low low dosage to start with.

The way your feeling physical has alot to do with your anxiety. Little pains you have become huge pains because you worry them into that. I too sit on this computer and diagnosed myself with just about everything you can think of.

I hope I have been of some help. I am in no way a doctor or am I quailified to give medical advice. Just relating your experience to my own.
Posted 8/8/2007 2:56 AM (GMT 0)

hey comingback!

you're right. i do think too much.  i just live for the day. currently i'm taking a baby dose of xanax. .5mg is my pill, but i only take 1/4 of it 2x a day and if i can't sleep at night i'll take a half of the .5mg.  if i take a whole one it knocks me out for the rest of the day. that's usually what i do if a panic attack comes on. i'll go ahead and take a whole one and sleep the rest of the day. thank god for my parents who help with my kids at this time.  they all say it is all in head. if i think about it it will happen, but just the other day at work i got a little dizzy during lunch. i went outside and sat for a minute and BOOM it hit me. i ended up going home and later that evening i had another and ended up in the er. it's like i can't get it off my mind. i don't drive anymore, because it happen 2x while i was driving and one of those was with my little girl in with me which scares her to death. even if i did drive she wouldn't ride with me.  now she feels like she has to stay with me 24/7 to watch me. i hate that. you seem to know alot more than i do. give me more info. what do you do to live or try to live a normal life. i mostly sit at home now on my computer. can't work, feel like i'm ok at home.  of course i take good care of my kids. they are my number 1's. anymore suggestions for me? what can i do. should i ask my doc anything specific. i don't know about the paxil, i couldn't stand to feel the way i did for months. tongue

Posted 8/8/2007 7:14 AM (GMT 0)

Hi Lela. My name is Nick.  Welcome to our little family.  Yes, everything you desribed is anxiety.  There are times that my anxiety is so bad that walking is almost impossible.  Try taking warm baths, deep breathing, or anything to keep your mind in bliss.  I know it's better said than done.  I would talk to your doc. and ask for something to help you cope.

Nick

Posted 8/8/2007 11:25 AM (GMT 0)
Great ideas boomer

I sit in hottest tubby could be with scented candles all around me and think of nothing but that good feeling it brings to mind and body as well as spirit
I also go occasionally to the Reserve to be around my Elders and the Healing Hut and feel that Healing Energy it does work for me if I believe it does and I DO BELIEVE
You are an asset to the forum IMHO

PLease do stick around ......
LYN
Posted 8/8/2007 12:54 PM (GMT 0)
As always Lil sis spot on ...........
You have given the best with the CBT it does help so many and I agree many ppl with this DD do see neuro's and get help here it is free I guess over there it cost alot of money for specialists and such
We have a program in Ontario called Ontario Health Insurance Plan and all is covered thank God > for a bag of my IV meds it is 800 dollars .....I cannot afford that
Even procedures such as scopes are covered here.......Anyways ........

CBT therapists would be covered here dont know how that works there
Relaxation Techniquies.breathing techniques and self help books are good too ........in conjuction with meds I agree with something like valium thats what I take and I take trazadone for sleep only not during the day knocked me on my keister........

A great thing for me is HOT milk as Kitt will know it has a Natural ingredient in it that is released when heated and it goes thru my body feeling the warmth and the relaxation so nicely ....I know many dont like the idea of HOT milk so you can add a dab of cinnamon or hot chocolate to the milk.......I think thats why babies like the hot milk or warm to calm them and put them to sleep lol

I have just started Cymbalta and it seems to be helping I had to go on an AD I was so tired of being so down and having that anticipatory anxiety all the time and severe depression ..and mood swings from HADES

YOU have to want to fight as well and it seems like you do Lela............thats the first step........
"Stinking Thinking " is a biggie for many of us me included but the CBT has helped out alot with that as well
I always was with the what if's and what abouts and worried about everythign and everyone .......to the point of getting sick and breaking out in the big sores I get .......

I know you can do this with support and self help tech and a good CBT program if you want to do the cbt.........
We will all be here for you to help you out ..............

Take care

LYN
Posted 8/8/2007 1:02 PM (GMT 0)
Dan
You have given some great input as well and it is so good to have the ppl we have here to lean on in these times
I ahve read plenty of your posts as well and I believe you are good for this lil family as well
Thanks so much for supporting all ..........


Debaser........Thanks for sharing your great insight and your input and also for being such a good person to al the members here it is appreciated as you know

ComingBack
Seems like you n Lela have alot in common and it is great that you have been able to emapthize so well with her situation........that is what HW is all about ....support caring ,sharing and having a lil family to help you out in these times that really do understand .........

Take care all and have a great day

LYN
Posted 8/8/2007 1:47 PM (GMT 0)
i'm sorry guys. i new at this forum stuff. i don't know what you are talking about when you pur cbt. what's that?  i agree with dan. this is a really good place to talk to others and get your feelings out and share with other people who having the same problem.  i'm only on xanax. i tried cymbalt, but that made me have a panic attack the first day i took it. i'm just coping and trying to get my mind back on track to thinking good things instead of always thinking about when the next one is goning to happen.  i've noticed that i do that alot! my thinking hurts me alot i know, and it has got to be that i can't just have a headache or an ache, if i do the i automatically think that something is wrong, which of course brings on the panic. i did see a pshycologist one time and i liked him and thought he would be of help, but where i was out of work and still am i couldn't afford to see him anymore. he needed his money upfront and i didn't have it.  so now i just have my reg. doc and my psyc.  thank god i do have a great boyfriend that helps me money wise.  he's not that good at helping with the panic though, he doesn't understand it i think.  i think eventually he will.  i really like this forum.  thanx ya all

Posted 8/8/2007 1:51 PM (GMT 0)
hey just wanted to say hi to nick. thanx nick for the advice. i'll try them. just like you i can't hardley function when i have these. i can barely walk.
Posted 8/8/2007 4:13 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Lela,
My pdoc tells me that we have to not feel anxiety long enough in order for us to get some relief from it. That is why there needs to be some sort of long term med along with some sort of therapy. Benzo's such as the Xanax are very helpful for acute attacks but not for your everyday worries. The bad thing about meds for our problem usually make us worse before there is any improvement. Thats a huge pill to swallow for someone with anxiety/panic issues. There is something out there that will help you long term its just trial and error. If you decide to try something else I would tell your doc that you are very sensitive to meds and the smallest dose must be started. For example, Zoloft comes in 25mg tabs and has a max dose of 200mg/daily I think. You could get the 25mg/tabs and break them in half and start on 12.5mg. It doesn't sound like you have insurance and zoloft has a generic now I believe. I know I am now paranoid to take anything new because I freaked on the doses my primary doc started me on. I found another forum online that has alot of information from its users about meds. I don't know if it is allowed but I can post it if someone would let me know.
Posted 8/8/2007 4:20 PM (GMT 0)

Hello Lela,

Just a note to let you know I am following your thread and I think you are receiving gret responses from the members.

Stay with us and keep posting.

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