lugnut

I have been suffering from Panic Disorder for 11 years now. I have been on Klonopin 1mg 3 times a day for almost 9 years now. I am gettng off vicodin addiction now and the klonopin helps still, yet the panic is still there. No triggers, I could be standing in the kitchen getting a drink of water and bam a panic attack,

What I really want to know is....After suffering from panic attacks so long can one turn into a paranoid schizo? Or something like that? That is my main worry as I have kids and a wife and dont want to go all ape shite on them one day because of this.

Doc is going to be putting me on Effexor as well soon (just moved to a new state and waiting for insurance to kick in)

Thanks for any input!

sicilia1414

lugnut, I hate to tell you but it is probably the pills that are making you have panic attacks. people normally have panic attacks from a trigger. if you are getting them out of the blue, it is probably because your body is so dependent on the K, that when your body starts to run low of it, it goes into withdrawal, and triggers a panic attack.

I was on klonopin for ten years...every year they upped my dose, my body kept getting used to it and i would have to take more and more to feel better....i started when i was 15 and was 25 when i quit. I don't get panic attacks any longer. yes, it was VERY hard to get off them, the hardest thing i ever did, but it was also the single most important thing i have ever done in my life. Klonopin is meant for short term use, not for nine years. and it aggravates me that these doctors continue to just give them out to people like it is candy.

pleaes check out Welcome to benzo.org.uk

that site save/changed my life. they have a forum too, just like this.



and no, you cannot turn into a schitzo...panic is nothing but a feeling, it can't hurt you.

lugnut

Thanks sicilia! I knew you could not turn into a schizo (sorta lol) But you have been there so you know what it feels like. I have read that the pills can actually make you start having more panic attacks after longer use!

Will look at that site..

Chicago huh? Cool I grew up in Palatine IL..
Again thanks!

sicilia1414

Palatine, eh? that is right down the street from me, I am in Elk Grove Village.

good luck to you, another good site is (pm sicilia for link) he was a great therapist i went and saw when i was dealing with my panic attacks, his website was very helpful for me.

RalphSavage

Hi Sicilia and crew.

I wanted to thank you for your insight about this drug. I was prescribed it for 8 years as well. I've been on and off it at doses from .5 to 1mg. It's been a wandering dose, mostly 1mg or .5 mg at night for sleep and prn use every few weeks for anxiety.

I am so glad to hear that someone else got off of it. I'm on day 4 of a withdrawal--after weaning/tapering down from 1mg to .75mg to .5 to .375 to .25 ..this was over the course of 6 weeks.

I had the S A M E experience---i was having panic attacks every morning--so the drug worked to keep me sleeping but then woke up and boom--withdrawal. This was not really dose dependent. Strangely each day by 6pm at night I would feel myself again.

I find my day times suck (even tapering) and even off for 4 days. I'm anxious, feel crazy, i nap a lot (hiding from life) and I am scared alot. I am sober 20 years. There was a time that these pills and antidepressants helped alot--had a kid, a job, full time in graduate school....didn't lose gifts but alas....i want reassurance...will these feelings go away?

I don't want to go back on all these pills. In the crazy moments though, all i want is to stop feeling--to be medicated again.......

Hope it will get better.

Ralph.

mxchaos

You might want to try DBT or CBT therapy to help with the panic. They teach you skills to use when having panic and anxiety it does help. I'm glad I have more tools to use other than just meds.

hjen

I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder for 11yrs and prescribed increasing dose of Xanax over the years as it seemed to the doctors that was what was needed.
However the pills were making me sicker but silly me did not realise nor did the drs
By the end i was on 4 to 6mgs and got reported at work as they knew i had been sober for many years and presumed i was drinking due to slurred speech.
memory problems and emotional status which i had no clue i was displaying.

I got suspended and just flushed the pills which was very stupid and not the way to go.Anyway that was just over a year ago and still suffering from the cold turkey experience but very slowly getting better.
The good news is i have not had a panic attack at all since flushing the pills

I wish i had known better
Just wanted to share my ESP

jen

roderick

Anyone have experience w/ chlonazipan (sp?)

Lilya

I don´t know about Klonazipan, but I want to tell you, lugnut, that it does end.

Drugs can be helpful, but I think it´s changing the state of mind that offers the best chance of getting over the anxiety.

I´ve been consumed with anxiety for the better part of my life and have been working with a therapist for a while plus attending AA meetings.

I have found what really works is a combination of:

1. Yoga or Tai Chi, or just a healthy exercise every day.
2. Breathing and visualizing positive things.
3. CBT
4. Making all problems as small as possible.
5. Accepting problems and difficulties, looking at them as a project.

Hope it helps,

scarlati

I agree with MXChaos and Lilya (btw, lilya, thx for the PM). Meds helped me a little but I didn't make any real progress with my anxiety until I started therapy. Understanding the anxiety and the things happening in my mind that cause it was really helpful. Therapy also taught me some really useful techniques to minimize the anxiety and keep it from turning into full blown panic. Daily meditation and tai chi have been a life saver.

I still take meds, but I've never been on klonopin, so I can't tell you about that. But as to the question,"Does it ever end?" my answer is that you can live a good and happy life without panic but it takes work and patience to get there. I don't think you will find a magic pill that will cure you overnight. My recommendation is to find a therapist/counsellor that specializes in panic disorder and join a tai chi or yoga class and get a book about meditation and practice every day.

Good luck.

jenvy

I don´t know about Klonazipan, but I want to tell you, lugnut, that it does end.

Lilya

It does end - but only you can make it happen. Action is the magic word here.

Someone told me once that CBT and Tai Chi combined is unbeatable. I believe it to be true.

Minimizing problems certainly works, but all real healing starts with talk.

Scarlati, nice to hear from you. I agree that a magic pill won´t cure it. Therapy works for sure.

Once I had nothing. I was in the gutter. I was a junkie, but I had a vision and that vision helped me to get what I wanted in life - career, family and travels around the world. Not ready for love yet.

I had a breakthrough this summer. I was in Egypt travelling from Cairo to Sudan. I took the Nile boat and suddenly, I decided to throw away my mobile and computer and lounge on the sun deck and watch the wonder of this magnificent country.

I had withdrawal symptoms and got a high level anxiety at first, but I was determined to live in the now. I didn´t look at my e-mails, my mobile phone or watch the news in Egypt.

Since then, not one anxiety attack. Sometimes I feel it was taken away from me on this trip. When I feel an attack might start coming, I visualize the Nile, the desert, how the people lived... and it goes away.

Let us know how it goes for you. Remember, it´s a journey.

Candygirl

CBT has helped me when I thought nothing could and got me off all the antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs.

Jrock75

I haven't had a panic attack of been depressed since taking a hit of MDMA over a month ago. I'm not saying go out and do it since it's illegal and can actually have quite the opposite effect on you. But then again 'FOR ME' it was better then xanax,prozac,or any of that garbage which in my personal opinion is more dangerous then illegal drugs (other then maybe Heroin,coke,and Meth).

Jrock75

:wtf2O.k It's been a month since I made that last idiotic post.. I woud now like to retract this statement 100%! I was having my usual "remission" from the panic attacks and was delusional thinking the MDMA had anything to do with "curing me". The fact is I'll think I'll have to cope with panic/anxiety for the rest of my life. I apologize all the way for irresponsibly making that post on a recovery forum. I would also like to add that while I think the MDMA did have some positive effects (insight,empathy) it's bad effects far outweigh it (neurotoxicity,"rebound deppresion",strong urge to repeat). I apologize again.

SoberSheila

I've read through a few of the posts and must agree, the pills aren't the answer, but we addicts/alcoholics want FAST solutions to these (hopefully) temporary problems. I'm a year and a half sober and I mostly have panic attacks in the morning when I wake. Well it's no wonder, for me, I know that I'm freaking out because I'm currently unemployed, living in a new town, and feeling a little lost. I can't afford a therapist (but maybe you can and I recommend it) but I do talk to my sponsor about this a lot. Again, for me, I feel it's only temporary. Taking pills will (oh boy, oh boy) only get me high. Umm, I'm in recovery, last time I checked that really wasn't in our promises.

Hope you're feeling better. Breathe!:ghug

Candygirl

Certainly no need to apologize!
Give cbt a try for your panic and anxiety. It has enabled me to change my life and eliminate most of my anxiety. the book by Sam Obitz we used in my group is simple and really good. Do the TEA form exercise in it a few minutes a day and you will soon begin to see your anxiety start to become a lot loss troubling.
Take care

Candygirl

Hey Jrock & SS I hope your panic & anxiety are getting better.

Candygirl

Thinking of you two and curious how you are doing?

box3

I was diagnosed with panic disorder (along with generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder and major depression), because of my history with opiate abuse I opted to not take any other type of medication other than an SSRI. For me, taking benzos wouldn't resolve the fear response, only mask it and make it worse.

CBT worked, I don't have panic or generalised anxiety disorder anymore. I know what panic is, I can recognise it and I know I wont die from it.

Edited to add: I know you were joking, sort of, but paranoid schizophrenia is not caused by living with chronic panic disorder. If I had paranoid schizophrenia and read this board, don't think I'd appreciate you associating my illness with going 'all ape shite' on my family.