A week of panic attacks

[Concernedgal]

This has been a tough time for me. I've had at least 2 panic attacks a day since the 27th. Wish I knew the reason. Nothing will be going on , I will be watching television 1 minute and the next.... feel like i'm about to die. I get up and walk it off.( My nervous energy that is) and it usually disappears within an hour if two. I called my therapist to ask why, she said that she thinks I have" anticipatory anxiety " meaning i'm expecting it to happen and that's why it does . Does that make any since.? Why are the medications not working? Is it the medications fault? Maybe it's the new anti depressant medication they have me on. They took me off zoloft slowly and then they started giving me effexor. It's gotta be the effexor. They took me off zoloft for the negative side effects. Zoloft actually increased my anxiety levels.

 

[Alex]

It does make sense, but also some medication can make you more anxious. I remember being given Citalopram which they all said has the least effects. Oh, my, with me I was a wreck and that was given to me to help me come off medication. That's why I decided to look at what suits me and my lifestyle.

Do you drink soda or coffee that can make you anxious? Or maybe sugar? Remember, medication helps you get through the day, but is not a cure. The cure or rather solution is finding the triggers and then having the courage to face and deal with them, or a way to live with or around them.

 

[Concernedgal]

I see what your saying but, is living with it all I can do? It just seems so grim. Like right now talking to you i'm experiencing slight dizziness. Which sucks because I was having a moderately normal day. But it just seems that having a good event free day lately has been out of my reach. I just wish this would just go away. This life of mine has been hard the last 16 years . Maybe i'm just feeling sorry for myself. I seem to do that alot. And I do realize that i'm not the only 1 this happens to ... it just sucks is all. You know what I mean? And as far as caffeine goes.. i'm afraid that i'm addicted to it. I've tried to get off of it and my panic attacks worsen I trembled more and was more agitated. Agitation is the main symptom of my anxiety. I just get so sensitive and high strung. The 1 thing g that does work ativan th ey tell me that they can prescribe it to me again but, on a temporary basis like always ....due to its addictive nature. If only there were a magic pill to take it all away. I call my doctor and tell her bow uncomfortable effexor is making but, she tells me to give it more time. So what's a girl to do? I guess i'll have to wait and see. Thanks for the advice. I will keep you posted.

 

[janemariesayed]

Perhaps it is the medication that you are on and maybe it isn't. I suggest to speak with your Doctor about it and he will be able to tell you if what you are experiencing is a side effect of the drug. When I had panic attacks, my counsellor told me to take in deep breaths. I tried it and it really worked. He explained to me that before the panic attack starts, that we are shallow breathing for a while, so our heart pumps faster to pump the air around our body. By taking in a deep breath, and holding it in, we are bringing in more air into our body and so we can save our heart having to work harder. Try doing the breathing exercises, and also try to remember what you were thinking about shortly before you had the attack. Maybe there is a trigger that sets them off. Perhaps keep a journal and write down what you were watching on the TV, or thinking and you may see a pattern forming and be able to recognise what is triggering your attacks. Good luck!

 

[Concernedgal]

Well sweetie I can have a panic anywhere , anytime, there's nothing logical about this. My first panic attack came along while having fun with friends. I was in a vehicle too. To this day, I can't ride in a car without expecting a panic attack. Sucks huh. Lol. I've got another appointment for the 16th, maybe we can get this resolved. I understand about the deep breathing too , it helps but, if you knew me you would know that i'm not a very patient person. If something doesn't work immediately.... it just doesn't seem good enough. Maybe that stems from my mild ocd. I'm not to the point where I have to turn a light switch on and off a certain amount of time before I feel better, but, I do have to plan every aspect of my life out. If things don't go as planned... then I have a panic attack. I have a certain route that I take back and forth to work, if that changes in any way... that when I have the panic attacks. My psychiatrist says that I am so afraid of the panic attacks that I will do anything and everything I can to avoid them. That's why my whole life is planned out. No surprises, please. I'm I the only 1,or do you plan out your life too?

 

[Alex]

As much as we wish to plan our lives, it doesn't always work out like that. What I am trying to say is not 'live with it' or 'put up with' the panic attacks, but figure out why they occur? If you fear the attacks too, what do you do when you can feel one coming on?

I have playlist I used to play on my iPod when I was on the bus, because I needed it to keep me calm. You know, what helped me? I went on a trip out in the mountains with no mod cons and it was hard, but I survived and I look back and know that it will be okay. Now, I'm not advocating you do my extreme measure of going off to climb Everest or trek in a jungle. but maybe a weekend with nothing that can trigger you? Have you done that before?

 

[Concernedgal]

Travel is the majority of my problems. You see along with the agitation I experience I also experience sensitivity to light and sometimes even sound. If i'm in any kind of vehicle I feel as though i am not in control. If I have a panic attack at home, I can manage that , keep under control. I can get up and walk around and do whatever I have to do to control it. But, in a car ... I can't . I'm just stuck. Then when I feel that i'm stuck than I feel closed in and when I feel closed in , I can't breathe and then I hyperventilate and then sometimes I black out . The fear of being in a car or any vehicle for that matter is so intense. .. I can't travel longer than 15 minutes in a car. The longer i'm in a car, the worst it is. Many times when there were plans of travel I would tell myself. Face it. You've got to face this, you can let this fear run your life. Then when the day of empending travel would arrive I would psych myself out and not go. Maybe I will get this resolved. Because this sucks . Lol

 

[PiaBlooming]

I am really sorry about this you are dealing with. Like you I also have panic attacks sometimes. Not always, but at critic moments or at some environments , like small or crowded places I do.
I will reccomend you to change your therapist , just to have a "second opinion", sometimes you can get stuck with a professional too, you know.
Now, what I do is that I have learned to recognized those little signs before a panic attack show up. How do you feel? What do you feel those minutes before ? So when I start to feel that, I repeat to my self , "This is not real", " I have no reason to feel like this". Things like that. That means controling your mind.
After that you could also "contextualize". So, for example. You feel anxious in a car , think on how many times you have been in a car and nothing happened. Nothing. Is just your mind playing games with you. So dont allow your mind to make you feel sick.
Because off course, your mind is like the captain of your body.
Suggestions like music and signing are great , I think. It will distract your mind. Do not focus on the panic. It will make it stronger.
This doesnt happened to me in a car, but used to happen to me on concerts or the subway (crowded places).
Finally during critic periods of times I take Fluoxetine. It depends on what the dr reccomends to you.
But most of the work needs to come from your inner strength. Working besides your common sense and your own will.
You will get stronger Im sure .

 

[Concernedgal]

First things first . Nice to meet you pia blooming. I liked what you said about my mind being the captain of my body. I never thought of it that way. And if these are mind games than my mind hates me sometimes. Lol. It sucks so much to have panic attacks. But, maybe if I do as you suggested and recognize the panic attacks for what they are and not tell myself that i'm dying than maybe I can (retrain my brain) that would sooo be nice. If I could just be more realistic about what's actually going on when it happens and not that i'm "fixin " to die. Lol. As us alabamians would say. Then maybe I can finally conquer my anxiety once and for all and not let it win. Thanks for the advice.