Having really bad panic attacks

[least]

I'm sorry to say that the only relief I get is drinking wnough wine to fall into a deep sleep. I've been sleeping all day, trying to avoid waking up. I'm afraid of everything. This fear is debilitating. I can't do anything but feel afraid. I wish I would just die and be done with it.

[faith12]

I've had pretty severe anxiety for many years and I have to say people have recommended many things I can think of. Besides drugs and therapy though the thing that helps me excercise. Seriously. Sitting around makes the crap compound until my mind often would just freak me into having an anxiety attack. When I felt anxious I would go out and run or excercise. The brain releases dopamine when you excercise and makes you feel better quite quickly. The other thing is. No one has ever died from an anxiety attack. Seriously no one has. They suck but they aren't life-threatening and they get over fairly quickly. You're going to survive. Keep telling yourself that.

[least]

I know this is not life threatening but it really feels like it. I've just drunk the last of the wine and have no money so will have to "get over it". I'm afraid to be awake and aware. Feel like I'm losing it. I'm sorry to be such a loser. I don't know what else to do.

[Photonic]

Talk to your doctor and make sure he knows about the alcohol use. Acute anxiety management is usually achieved with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, such as paxil. As a matter of fact paxil, celexa and lexapro are the big three on this list. The problem comes in because these drugs can be slow acting and it can take several weeks in order to get the benefits from them. It is common practice to supplement the SSRI with a low half life benzodiazepine such as xanax or ativan. Be careful here, if you get a lazy doctor once the problem is solved they tend to forget. The use of the benzodiazepine should be for no longer than a month. Sometimes it can be difficult to find the correct antidepressant as everyone reacts to these drugs differently. It is usually a trial and error process till you find what works for you. I wish all the best for you and hope this works out well for you as soon as possible.

[least]

My shrink knows about the alcohol, tho I'm now 11 days sober. STill having problems with anxiety. Partly due to being unemployed. I'm taking Zoloft, Risperdal, Campral, and Neurontin. But I'm not drinking!

[Chino]

My 20 year old recovering daughter had a diagnostic test called rEEG because of anxiety and panic attacks. She was lucky to find the one psychiatrist in our area that utilizes it. I lucked out on the cost because she agreed to become part of a study at Boston College so it was free.

Over a period of 6 months... she had tried several anti-depressants prescribed by former pdocs but none worked and actually made the problem worse and created new ones. She was on Neurontin for a while too but it stopped working for her.

So her current pdoc does this test and it comes back saying she's resistant to anti-depressants (she's never been diagnosed depressed anyway), now resistant to Neurontin, a match for benzo's but since she's an addict that wasn't happening, and then a surprise perfect match -- beta blockers. It blocks excess adrenaline from attaching to the beta receptors in the brain.

She doesn't take them every day, just occasionally when the physical symptoms go out of control.

You might want to ask your doc about them, but you have to be in fairly good health and using alcohol or any drug that lowers your blood pressure/respiratory rate while on them is a very BAD idea.

[least]

woke up this morning in a horrible anxiety attack. I'm so agitated it's hard to sit still or concentrate. I'm taking my meds for the anxiety but it's still a problem. I can't sit still, I can't rest either. I'm sick of this when will I be able to wake up feeling "normal"???

[warrens]

Chino

Wow, your daughter is lucky to have located some cutting edge treatment. I'm really glad you wrote about it!

Using EEG's to test meds is brand new. It made headlines about 6 months ago. I remember reading about it. Prior to this, those with anxiety and depression were like lab rats as far as finding medications that worked and stayed working. It could take year$ to find an effective med and dose. And all the while feeling terrible.

From what I understand, the EEG is an under $200 procedure. I hope this new approach proves to be as accurate, safe, and cost effective as the "hype." Your daughter is very lucky to have found this approach and to have you for a mother!

warren

[Chino]

least, have you called your doc? Remember, nothing changes if nothing changes.

warrens... thank you,

My daughter knew she needed a psychologist for several issues and when she found one she liked outside of our insurance network, I almost balked. He doesn't accept insurance but will give you the necessary paper work to file. But we could afford it so I figured what the heck, we'll see how this goes.

He is the one who recommended the pdoc. Said it was the only psychiatrist he recommends to anyone because he doesn't indiscriminately throw meds at patients. Thing of it is, the pdoc doesn't accept insurance either so I was ready to say no way because I'm a major tightwad.

I'm so glad I ate the cost on both of them! That EEG also ended up showing a mild TBI that needed to be treated. It was impairing my daughters logic and that isn't good for a drug addict, you know?

When he suggested the rEEG, he point blank said it would prevent the lab rat syndrome and did it ever.

By the way, her pdoc is married to a neurologist and they had a daughter with severe intractible epilepsy. She passed away three months ago at the age of six. They also have an autistic son. Their children drove them to search every avenue and provide the best options for their patients.

This is another one of those situations where benefit is gained from other's pain

[Emimily]

my sponsee exercises to curb her anxiety. i pray a lot, and jog, and read books that are like junk food for your brain (harry potter, like water for chocolate, etc.), and watch movies, and eat hot soup, and go to meetings.

this helps me quite a lot - it's a bit paraphrased, but some is word for word from the book.
there was a young student warrior that went to battle with fear. she stood on one side, and fear stood on the other. the warrior felt very small, and fear looked big and wrathful. they both had their weapons. the young warrior roused herself and went toward fear, protrated three times, and asked "may i have permission to go into battle with you?" fear said, "thank you for showing me so much respect that you ask permission." then the young warrior said, "how can i defeat you?" fear replied, "my weapons are that i talk fast, and i get very close to your face. then you get completely unnerved, and you do whatever i say. if you don't do what i tell you, i have no power. you can listen to me, and you can have respect for me. you can even be convinced by me. but if you don't do what i say, i have no power." in that way, the student warrior learned how to defeat fear.
-Pema Chodron, When Things Fall Apart

take good care.

[fifty]

Least,

I can totally sympathize with you and these panic attacks. The other day (read my blog), I felt them coming and then boom! I was breathing fast, holding my heart, rolling left to right in the bed, and then stood up and started pacing. Felt like the world was coming to an end. Sad thing is that drinking has messed my 'wiring' up. I thought drinking would help me sleep but nope, if anything I have messed up my sleep patterns and am on OTC meds too. One thing I just researched and learned is that (and I hope I'm not being repetative) but meds that contain Diphenhydramine can trigger panic attacks as well as insomnia. Odd right, you're taking something to put you to sleep only for it to do the opposite. I finally had to think about what was triggering them. When they happen a good thing to do is to breath in through your nose on the count of seven and out through your mouth on the count of seven all while putting the tip of your tongue on the ridge line of your top teeth (back side) and where the gum meets. I know it sounds crazy but it helps me a lot. Also try to tell yourself calmly that, "everything is fine." It's going to take some time to get this all situated but you will find that being sober will help to diminish it. I've been on seroquil, adavan, everything and none of it worked for me...BUT.....it may for you. Just keep asking questions and we will find something for you. Take care and best wishes!

Fifty

[BCBoy87]

Here are some things to help with anxiety
Control your worry. Pick a place and time to do your worrying. Make it the same place and time every day. Spend 30 minutes thinking about your concerns and what you can do about them. Try not to dwell on what "might" happen. Focus more on what's really happening. Then let go of the worry and go on with your day.

Learn ways to relax. These may include muscle relaxation, yoga, or deep breathing
Steps to deep breathing
Lie down on a flat surface.
Place one hand on your stomach, just above your navel. Place the other hand on your chest.
Breathe in slowly and try to make your stomach rise a little.
Hold your breath for a second.
Breathe out slowly and let your stomach go back down.

Muscle relaxation is simple. Start by choosing a muscle and holding it tight for a few seconds. Then relax the muscle. Do this with all of your muscles. Try starting with your feet muscles and working your way up your body.

Exercise regularly. People who have anxiety often quit exercising. But exercise can give you a sense of well-being and help decrease feelings of anxiety

Confront the things that have made you anxious in the past. Begin by just picturing yourself confronting these things. By doing this, you can get used to the idea of confronting the things that make you anxious before you actually do it. After you feel more comfortable picturing yourself confronting these things, you can begin to actually face them.

If you feel yourself getting anxious, practice a relaxation technique or focus on a simple task, such as counting backward from 100 to 0.

Although feelings of anxiety are scary, they won't hurt you. Label the level of your fear from 0 to 10 and keep track as it goes up and down. Notice that it doesn't stay at a very high level for more than a few seconds. When the fear comes, accept it. Wait and give it time to pass without running away from it

Confront the things that have made you anxious in the past. Begin by just picturing yourself confronting these things. By doing this, you can get used to the idea of confronting the things that make you anxious before you actually do it. After you feel more comfortable picturing yourself confronting these things, you can begin to actually face them.

If you feel yourself getting anxious, practice a relaxation technique or focus on a simple task, such as counting backward from 100 to 0.

Exercise Regularly
Relax
Sleep Well
Laugh It Up
Make Time for Fun
Improve Your Diet
Create a Support Network
Change Negative Thinking

Change Your Filters of Perception .

Your mind interprets your worldly affairs by passing them through a set of 'invisible filters' set up in your unconscious mind. For instance if you have an unconscious idea that getting jobs is difficult. Your mind will be filtering out only the 'difficult' part of things for you, and eliminating all the easy opportunities from your field of perception. Similarly if your mind is focused on "problems", you will simply be noticing more and more problems around you and in your life... Why not turn this around.

Change your focus from 'problems' to 'solutions'... you will start noticing more and more solutions in and around you. How do you change your 'mind filters', initially you will have to force yourself to focus on all the prosperity, health, happiness etc. around you. It will take a while before it becomes automatic. Affirmations help in changing your filters of perception. Hence you will be automatically eliminating worry, fear and anxiety from your life.

Here are some Affirmations to help You Cope with Anxiety and Depression:
"I now let go of worn out things, worn out conditions and worn out relationships. Divine order is now established and maintained in me and my world"... Catherine Ponder

"I now dissolve from my own mind and from the minds of all others any idea that my own can be withheld from me. No person thing or event can keep that from me which the universe has for me now"... Catherine Ponder

Repeat them as often as you can. You may even automate the process of helping you overcome anxiety, stress or depression, get some tapes and cd's to speed you on your way. It's simply a matter of how much you love yourself and want to take positive action right now to finally and firmly resolve your current issues

Yes nip worrisome thoughts in the bud...
One way to do this is by developing trust in God or higher powers of creation and unflinching belief that God/ higher power will always work in your best interest.
For instance instead of worrying whether your child / spouse will come home safe and not meet some bad accident on the way, totally believe and trust in God that your loved one will be brought to you safe. Or instead of worrying that you will be robbed / raped/ whatever... have faith in God / higher power for being able to protect you and keep you safe.

As soon as you feel a cycle of worrying thoughts circulating in your mind, get physically active or change the activity you are doing... For instance if you are sitting and doing something, get up and do some physical work. This may be as simple as organizing your closet, taking out the trash etc. Or start exercising / go for a walk.

Another very potent way is to change your feelings, and you will instantly change the thoughts going around in your mind. How do you do this... Say for instance you are feeling angry, immediately start thinking of some happy event in your past or in your future, you will start feeling happy and soon the angry thoughts will be replaced with happy thoughts.
The power to change your feelings is right inside you. You can choose to feel happy. You can choose to feel valuable. You can choose to feel successful. You can choose to feel prosperous. You can choose to feel confident. You can choose to feel beautiful or smart. YOu can choose to feel loved or loving. And very soon your thoughts will follow your feelings.

Get out of your 'comfort zones' more frequently to overcome fear, worry and anxiety
We all set up invisible boundaries around our day to day affairs. For instance most of us usually travel the same old tried and tested route to work. We may buy our clothes from the same shop. We would prefer to go to the same restaurant... Same hair dresser... Our choices or routines are pretty fixed. We don't like to change our choices or routines because it kind of pushes us out of our 'comfort zones'.

If you were to experience making small changes from day to day and getting out of your comfort zone in little ways. You will notice that it is quite safe to travel a different route to work, eat at a restaurant in a different part of town, go to a different hair dresser... And these small enjoyable variations in your daily routine are going to re-enforce your feelings of security and safety and help you in eliminating, unnecessary worry, fear, stress or anxiety during bigger changes. So get into the habit of getting out of your comfort zones more frequently.

Get into the habit of thanking God / higher power everyday. You can do this while commuting to and from work or at any time of the day.
It may go like this: Thank you God for the good clothes I am wearing; Thank you god for my excellent car; Thank you God for the healthy food in my body; Thank you God for my education; Thank you God for the loving people in my life; Thank you God for...
Yes thank God for every thing/person/place/situation in or around your life. If you do this exercise every day, you will start noticing more and more things to be thankful for, and will start experiencing more abundance and happiness, it also helps you develop an unflinching faith in the goodness in everything / supportiveness of higher power.
Whatever your life situation, you can surely find some thing to be thankful for.

Stop thinking of past negative events or of how something will happen in the future. Concentrate on what you need to do right now... Yes live in the present moment.
Yes if you take some quite time and pay attention to your thoughts, you will notice that most of the debilitating thoughts are about events that happened in the past or those that have not even happened yet! Instead of letting this pattern take hold of your mind, you need to develop the practice of paying attention to your thoughts. and correcting them as soon as you notice the wrong/harmful thoughts

Believe in Yourself.
Totally and completely accept yourself as you are and believe in yourself. Yes develop incredible self esteem. You have the God given power to face and satisfactorily handle any situation as it arises. So accept yourself. Believe in yourself. Love yourself. Appreciate Yourself. You are the best thing that has ever happened to you. YOU have all the POWER. What is the best thing you can do for yourself right now?... Go do it.
You can activate this self belief by repeating the affirmation: "Even though I have been stuck, I now totally and completely accept myself and believe in myself".

Imagine yourself having your worst anxeity attack...
You can't breathe easily, it feels like your chest is being squeezed hard.

Your heart is palpitating fast.

Your eyes are itching.

Your mouth is dry.

Your palms are sweaty.

You can't sleep, eat or rest.

You can't focus on anything.

Your worst nightmares are flashing at wrap speed through your mind and you can't even think clearly.

Your head is throbbing painfully.

With the constant shortness of breath, You just want to crawl between the covers and pass out... you desperately want to block the worrisome thoughts that have total hold over your mind body and spirit.... Also you can't lead a productive life. Your career suffers. Your personal quality of life suffers. Your family life suffers. Life becomes a total burden to keep living the same, day in and day out.

Learn to Manage Your Time
Stop Being a Perfectionist

[least]

I"m doing breathing/relaxation exercises but am still having overwhelming panic/anxiety attacks. Just so restless I can't sit still. But don't have the energy to 'do' anything. THis is getting very frustrating. Next appt with my shrink I'm going to ask him if there's another med I can take to help with this. I hate feeling on edge all the time. I have enough real reasons to feel anxious - finances, lack of work, etc - without imaginary fears.

[Chino]

Can you call and try to get in sooner? I'm sorry you're so uncomfortable. I've watched my daughter curl into the fetal position from a panic attack, I've sat next to her and breathed right along with her... it just breaks my heart. I hope you get some relief soon.

[least]

Do panic attacks ever make your daughter feel nauseated? Half sick? That's how I've been feeling, but so restless and nervous I can't lie down long enough to fall asleep and/or feel better. Can't concentrate on anything for more than a few minutes. Feel like my heart is pounding, even when it's not.

I can tell my counselor at my appt next week. She's my shrink's associate and can tell him how I'm feeling.

[Chino]

I asked her and she answered yes to both questions. She also said she heard in AA meetings it's a part of alcohol detox. She attended AA meetings in rehab but opiates are her thing not alcohol.

She said she feels your pain because having anxiety and panic disorder in addition to w/d makes life absolute hell.

Hang in there, least. Somethings gotta give soon but don't let it be you.

[repsvssweats]

Hey Least

This is my first post here so please don’t feel like I am butting in!

I suffered from brutal panic attacks a few years back and I know exactly what you are going through. There is nothing quite like them!
I managed to suppress them without medication, and although that may not be for everyone, I did learn a few tricks that really helped, and help now if ever one of the buggers comes a calling.

The turning point in being able to handle them for me was when I completely understood what was happening to my body and inside my head.
Although it sure doesn’t feel like it at the time, you are in no physical danger. You are not about to have a heart attack. You are not going blind. You are still perfectly capable of breathing normally, and you are not about to stop being able to breath.
Your body is feeling all of these horrible sensations for a reason, and studying each individual sensation (pain in left arm ect) and learning why it is happening can, in time, help you to rationalize the problem when it is occurring. This can help divert the feeling of panic that you are suffering.
You know the feeling you get if you have sat on your legs awkwardly and for to long? You try to stand up and your legs are totally dead and cannot feel a thing.
People experience that from such an early age that it is never cause for concern, and it is just regarded as a temporary state that will pass in a little while.
Imagine if you had never experienced that feeling and it happened to you, or anybody, today. You try to get up but you cant. Your damn legs have stopped working. Pretty scary when you don’t know the reasons why, isn’t it?

You are not going crazy or loosing your mind.

Your brain is having a horrible reaction to what is going on with your body because it thinks you are in danger and have no control or understanding over what is happening.

Knowledge is power. Try to learn as much as you can about the physical side of the attacks and why you body is doing all the nasty little (or big!) things it is doing during an attack.
Soon you will be saying – ‘Ha! Left arm! I know why you are doing that and you don’t scare me!’

It’s a long, hard road and I wish you all the best and hope you can, by whatever means you overcome them, do just that.

[least]

THanks all for your kind and useful replies. I'm trying the breathing and telling myself it's not going to kill me. Sometimes it's possible to lessen the effects of such total panic, sometimes it's not. I'm frustrated so badly cause this is the longest sober time I've had in the last year (19 days) yet I feel like total shi* and can't relax and enjoy being sober. I talk about this with my counselor and she's emphasizing the breathing/relaxation techniques. I just can't always make them work for me. I'm having some real life problems, not the least of which is unemployment. I'm having such a hard time relaxing and trying to enjoy life/my sober self when I can't pay my bills and such. I get so depressed and anxious I'm afraid to leave the house. I'm looking for work and not finding any.

I appreciate all your help and advice. Thank you all so very much for sticking with me.

[Barto]

I’d go see another doctor immediately. I was diagnosed with panic disorder and ever since being put on the proper medication (Klonopin for me) I have not had a single panic attack except during those times I’ve tried to taper, usually AMA.

I talked to a couple of so-called addiction specialists. One of these idiots told me that I wasn’t sober if I was taking Klonopin. I told him that I was an alcoholic and not a drug addict and that in AA I was considered sober. He disagreed and said that AA doesn’t say that. I then pointed out the relevant AA literature that proved I was right. His ego consumed him, he said he’d read all the AA literature, and maintained his position like a jackass.

My view on these so-called addiction specialists, is that the term is an oxymoron, at least when it comes to alcoholism. These guys just don’t know much about it at all. They believe alcoholism and drug addiction are the same thing. I don’t believe this and neither does AA. Example: they say you must remain free of all mind altering chemicals, yet they will prescribe mind altering anti-depressants. If pushed they say these aren’t addicting and not likely to be abused. Then I ask them about caffeine and they are either speechless or they start spouting pure non-sense. My point is that not everyone abuses all drugs.

I have been sober for over twenty years and I have been taking Klonopin for a few of those years (the past few) and I have not had to have my dose increased above 3 mg (at my worst). Now I am okay on 1 mg. daily as long as I do not drink any caffeine – no tea, no caffeinated soda, no chocolate, etc. I have to watch headache meds too, as many contain caffeine. Simple carbs are no good for me either. There is one caveat about caffeine. During withdrawal from it, which has lasted up to a few weeks or more for me (depending on how long I had been drinking it prior to stopping), there has been increased anxiety. After withdrawal, it has been relatively easy for me to cut down and stabilize on Klonopin. I still have to go relatively slowly, but caffeine not only puts the brakes on tapering, it makes me increase my medication significantly.

I hope this helps, and, more importantly, I hope you find some healthy relief.

[augustine]

This is interesting to me.

I know my anxiety and panic just about disappeared when I stopped drinking. (If you read my old posts here, I always sound like I'm about to have a heart attack.) I think this was because I had a pretty comfortable life and so nearly all of my anxiety was based on getting caught drinking at inappropriate times and losing that life. (It was a kind of a circle I got caught in. The more I drank the more likely I was to get caught so I worried about it and then drank because I was worried and then was even MORE likely to get caught which made me really more worried.)

I don't really get panic now as much as a vague worry about my future. Did I make too much damage? Will I have to change locations? Things like that.

I think my problem now is more anger.

Now it sounds like you and I have the some problem because I too try to "will it away". That never works for me. In fact, it's like the drinking circle. I get angry at myself for being angry when I don't have to be. Then I'm twice as angry!

Like you I have a lot of time on my hands. I'm on sabbatical from my work and I'm living in a sober house, but it means that I have to keep busy. I'm a person who likes a schedule. Without one I have a lot of time to find things to be angry about.

These are times when I have to remember God (my higher power). So I try to remember him several times a day with prayer. And even so, if I find I am so caught up with something that I simply cannot sit down, I go out and walk and pray the rosary. (Or sometimes, now that it is nicer out, I change and have a run. I haven't run for years. There's no way to be angry when you can't breathe I have discovered.)

I know my solution perhaps involves a lot of thinking about God (and is maybe too Catholic!) but it works for me. Even in the cold I went out and walked. I am telling you, there is no way to stay angry when you are trying to pray the rosary while walking in a Minnesota snow storm!

Some people have suggested that perhaps there is a psychiatric problem. That I wouldn't know, but for me I know it is too difficult to trying NOT to feel something, it is about my state of mind always. If I am in a good state of mind I find I am angry less and when I am, it is easier for me to trust God to help me make a change. So I don't know about drugs and teas and things, but I do know that the more I seek God, the better things seem.

Pax,
Dietrich