Posted 11/2/2010 2:48 PM (GMT 0)
So right now I'm at work, trying to fight off a panic attack. I'm keeping it at bay, but just barely. What triggered it is having to work in one particular area of our building (no alternative) that has some mold, plus the next-door office has a constant odor that smells like one of my food triggers. Anyhow, I'm sort of stuck in this area for a bit, and my throat has been tense off and on all morning. Because I'm so afraid about the (genuine) allergies right now, at first I got very afraid, fearing that my throat might close up completely. But it hasn't, and it isn't, and it kind of comes and goes, so I'm telling myself that it can't be an allergic reaction. I say to myself, "If this were a dangerous reaction, it wouldn't just hover on the edge of being scary and uncomfortable. It would go full-blown, and I wouldn't be able to stop it nor to calm myself." I used to be really good at talking myself through panic attacks, back when I didn't also have the allergy attacks that COULDN'T be talked through.
So I see my GP this week, and I'm thinking of asking him about medications for anxiety. I used to take Paxil, but after 20 years on that, I was concerned about what it might be doing to my immune system, in the allergy sense. There was a study about 5 years ago that announced that serotonin, the brain chemical that Paxil deals with, is also used by the cells in our immune system to communicate. The study didn't know whether SSRIs could help or hurt the immune system, just said that SSRIs had the potential to affect it, and that more research should be done. So I decided that 20 years was long enough of tinkering with a chemical that might be involved in my newly-arrived food allergies. Breathing attacks became less frequent when I stopped it, but I also made some other changes around that same time, so whatever.
Can anyone else recommend medications that have helped them, with few side effects? I am barely able to function, and just go through the motions day to day. It's affecting my work, my personal relationships (husband is SOOO supportive, but I barely give my friends the time of day any more), everything. Life shouldn't be like this.
percycat