BAD day, ER visit again....

OK guys, having a BAD day today,(panic attack from hell while driving my bus this morning) I went to the ER again. Got all the normal tests done, EKG, blood work, etc... Everything came back normal again. I told them I took a .5 xanax about a half hour before I got there, and they STILL gave me 1 mg of Ativan through IV. They told me to consult with my doc today, so I called when I got home and they scheduled me in right away. I almost missed my appointment because I fell asleep from all the xanax and ativan they had me on, got to the docs a half hour late and I didn't get to see my regular doc, it was his partner which i'd never had before. She wants me to increase my dosage to 100 mgs of zoloft and keep taking the xanax with it. I'm not sure about this..... But she also will not let me go back to work again for another month. She wants me to get blood work done to check my vitamin D levels, and also another test that costs like $500. I have no medical insurance, everything for me is self pay. I told her this and she told me to go to the welfare office and get a disability form and bring it back for her to fill out so I can get help paying for all these tests, and my hospital visit again. She wanted to switch me from Zoloft to Cymbalta, but I told her I didn't feel comfortable doing that, and that the Zoloft always worked great for me before. I am "mediphobic", I don't like taking pills period, and if it's something I've never had before it just makes me worse. So anyway, just have to ask, if there's anyone here taking Zoloft, since i've never taken stronger than 50 mgs, do I bump to 75 first for a week, or just bump right up to the 100? I'm kinda scared to raise my dosage.... I want MY regular doc!

Tinlou,Thank you for your response. I have been dealing with panic attacks for 25 years now, but like you, I recently started peri menopause too. My gynocologist and my primary doctor told me that my disorders were going to get about 10 times worse now because of my hormones fluxuating. The thing that gets me the most is the palpitations that come with peri, and then that, in itself, sends me straight into panic mode! I know what it is, and I know what it's coming from, but sometimes it gets to be too much and I start wondering if it is, in fact, something wrong with my heart. Then I start with the health anxiety, and all hell breaks loose until I find out that my heart is totally fine. I was fine with no meds for 3 years, and then I started peri and it got insane!

I do think i'm on the right meds because I have taken Zoloft in the past, (3 times) for GAD and Panic Disorder, and it has always worked extremely well for me to the point that I had NO anxiety at all. I was recently talking to a woman who was on 50mgs of Zoloft for years, and when she hit peri she had to increase her dose also. She said it felt like it wasn't helping at all anymore. I also read that some women, who have never suffered any type of anxiety at all, started having anxiety and panic attacks once they hit peri, and that people who are already suffering anxiety or panic disorder, like myself, tend to get worse. So my docs were right when they told me that, I just didn't believe that it could get THIS bad.

Also, I agree with you about the daily struggle. I too feel like my body is "at war" with itself. I get the "head feeling" too, I get what feels like an off-balance, lightheaded feeling. VERY unpleasant! Well at least I have someone here that's going through the same exact thing I am right now, and it makes me feel better that we can support each other through this trying time. Take care of you! *Hugs*, Fox

I know exactly what y'all are going through!  I made many trips to the ER while going through peri-menopause.  My panic attacks were ferocious and I was sure I was going to die of a heart attack...chest pain, heart palps and the head feeling you both describe.  All tests were always normal.

I found during that time that I could not drink alcohol in any form in any amount as the next day after drinking I would experience the worst P attacks.  I stopped drinking, period.  That helped although I still had P attacks they were not as often or as extreme as when I drank.

I've completed menopause and it's been a long time since I've made a visit to the ER with a panic attack.  I still have anxiety although it is not anything like I had when I was going through peri and through menopause.  You will get through this...trust me!  Just hang on to the thought that it doesn't last forever.  Y'all take care and be blessed.

Joni

It's funny that you mention agoraphobia because I know for a fact that if i didn't literally force myself to leave the house on certain days I could become someone who never leaves the house. Summer was the worst because I have a very neighborly street that I live on and I am not a big social person so it gets awkward. I do find once I get out it helps to a degree and even lately when i get home i get extra panicky again. I have no idea who has taken over my body but I would like it back!!
I have always been anxious/panicky but it has been really bad lately.

I really feel for you since you have so much going on in your life right now and with the holidays coming up that also is stressful. We just have to try to take one day at a time if we can, hard to do i know. Maybe being out of work won't be so horrible right now for you and you will have more time to concentrate on everything else.

I am pretty sure that if you have a doctors note, especially for medical reasons of any kind, for a leave of absence they can't fire you. I would check into that in your area and see what your legal rights are as far as your job is concerned.

Actually, I have often thought of seeing a psychiatrist myself at times for the extra support. Keep your head up though, it has to get better since most days it can't get any worse!

Well, she asked me if I would be interested in going to see a psychiatrist when I get insurance, and I jumped at the chance. If it will help me at all, then i'm all for it! There's a lot of issues that will probably be brought to the surface, and if it's going to help me, then so be it. At this point i'm willing to do anything I can to aleviate the misery of these panic attacks and constant anxiety. There are a lot of things I have kept bottled up over the years, but some things I haven't and they still bother me, so if going to the psychiatrist is a way of getting rid of the "baggage" I have been carrying, then i'm totally willing to unload it ALL! LOL!

I know that I was complaining about her yesterday, but when I talked to her again today, she seems like she is trying to help me in any way that she can. I guess I was just being a little biased, because I love my doc, and she was "new".