sfgirl

I was just wondering if any of you have a history of panic attacks. I do. In fact the first one was induced when I was coming off alcohol when I was much younger, then I did not drink for a long while but had attacks every day. I was just reading some things and it seems like a lot of alcoholics might suffer or have suffered from them? Luckily I haven't had one in years thanks to zoloft but those six months of daily attacks were hell. Just wondering if it is a shared experience. Perhaps, no probably, I used alcohol sometimes to self-medicate for anxiety issues which then ended up exacerbating anxiety....such an awesome vicious cycle....

lunarise

Mine started when I was 20. I wasnt a drinker then. I figured out how to talk myself down from them. I had them alot for a while but then they stopped and I only had about 1 a year. 5 weeks ago after 3 yrs of drinking daily I had the worst attack ever and went in to the ER. I got sober that day. I knew that my mind and body was saying enough. I have prescription now that i take when I cant talk myself down. Having it around helps because I know that I will not have to ever feel that way again.
Hope that answered your question....
nice to meet you....

yeahgr8

Had them for about a year at 19, really horrible, unbelievable that i did not get help for anxiety but then again who would have been drinking all that booze for the last 18 years?! Panic attacks were really bad though, especially cos at that age i did not know what they were!

Unfortunately it was always all about alcohol, when you give up drinking the panic attacks will sort themselves out etc which is absolute ******* bollocks as i now know. Alcohol made it worse and come more to the surface but you have to deal with the underlying issues that are causing the panic attacks, i still can't believe i never saw this!

NewBeginning010

Yep, panic attacks started when I was about 18 years old. The first couple of years were really scary as I didn't know what they were as others mentioned. I eventually tried a lot of different medications but I didn't like the feeling they gave me (except alcohol of course).

I know that drinking gives me bad anxiety & panic attacks. I have to usually have a few drinks the next evening after I have been drinking (don't know why this is).

For anyone that doesnt have them, its close to the feeling that you might get right after almost being hit by a car or suddenly startled x100= Not Fun . Fast heart rate, sweaty palms, racing thoughts of worst case scenarios, difficulty breathing & lastly feelnig like you are going to die.

I have some ativan that go under the tongue when needed, they help a little.

Glenna9802

Bad anxiety is the basic reason that I drank in the first place. I didn't know alcohol could cause anxiety. Geez, this s**t is poison!!

CD-RUN

Mine also started when I was 18 or 19. SSRI's fixed the problem. I eventually stopped taking the medication. The attacks would come back. Just not very often. I went years without thinking about them. I quit drinking, and my anxiety came back with avengence. After around 4 or 5 months sober things started getting better. I think it took me awhile to learn to deal with life again.

Lenina

Yep. I started having panic attacks at 17, well before I drank. How I managed school and work I'll never know. I had an echo cardiogram in my late twenties and discovered I have mitral valve prolapse, a very minor and harmless heart thing. I was given a beta blocker and that's put them under control for the most part. I thought I was nuts for years but white-knuckled through them by using breathing techniques.

Love,

Lenina

Wombat05

I am pretty sure mine were a result of my drinking. They didn't really start until around a year or so ago. (I am 31, been a drunk since that good ol' "drinking age of 21).
One in particular, I remember watching some television after a decent drunk the night before, and I was virtually incapacitated on the couch thinking nothing but I was going to die. It was awful, scary, and I've never felt such terror. Eventually self-medicated myself with a few beers, and some wine that was left in the house. Was never a wine drinker, just pouring w/e I could find down the hatch.
By the time my girlfriend got home from work (4 in the afternoon, mind you). I was "fine". And drunk. Neat.
Alcohol definitely either caused--and, or--exacerbated my anxiety. Had a couple mild periods of the same feeling as that day as I was in my first week with no booze.
Happy to report that without the booze--any anxiety I feel is easily managed by relaxing. It is also amazing what actual, decent rest will do for your body. It's almost like you're supposed to sleep 6-7 hours a night--not pass out.
I am so thankful to have found this site--and the wisdom to figure out the cause of my anxiety.
Best,
Wombat

ViciousCycle

Oh yeah. And panic attacks are one of the worst feelings in the world.....mine were all stemmed from drinking. Back when they were really bad I could not be stuck in the middle lane of traffic at a traffic light, anywhere where I would feel "trapped"....it was awful. So, as you have said, I would self-medicate to alleviate them and it would start all over again. Hence, my avitar name. Xanax was a big help. I did not take that much, sometimes just knowing I had one in my pocket was good enough.

I am very thankful that was a long time ago. Horrible, horrible feeling.

Samsonsworld

When I'm the main speaker in front of 50+ people I usually have a panic attack...which is 2-3 times a year. I get paranoid when people look over my shoulder or I feel like they are staring at me, too. And I freak out a little when I have to get on an airplane.

Hopefully, now that I've stopped drinking, I'll find one or two of those marbles I've lost over the years.

Anna

Yes, I have panic attacks sometimes and I have anxiety attacks, which are a bit less severe. I began having those symptoms as a child, but I had no idea what was happening or that it had a name. The first time it really affected me was in university at a final exam. I opened the exam and my head started spinning, I had trouble focusing and I was a mess. I never did finish the exam, but still didn't know what it was. I just blamed myself for not being able to handle the situation. For me, those attacks had nothing to do with alcohol. But, when I did start drinking, the anxiety attacks increased. Now, I still get them, but I handle them a little better.

Toomutch

Panic attacks... Oh ya... For as long as I can remember, they come less frequently now as I am on meds for panic dissorder, but they they still break through sometimes.

playfare

I have definetly had my share of anxiety and panic attacks regularly the more i drink the day/night before the worse it is the next day and thats how my vicious cycle goes on and on usually i felt that the only way to calm myself down was to have a couple to relax myself but like always it never stopped at 2 so i'd be facing the same attacks the next day again my symptons would be sweating spinning, like i'm going to pass out, panic driving like i'm trapped, and even talking to people(that trapped feeling) but i too have relized that alcohol just makes it really bad that i don't even want to go out of the house.

playfare

i have them very bad driving too exactly like you said do you still have them and did you ever have panic attacks where you found you couldn't be around people?

nobodyknows

definitely. its worse when i was drinking because i woudnt be able to handle them. when i am sober i usually can calm myself down.
i remember one day i came into work drunk and had one, and had to go sit in the bathroom crying. that was interesting....

louis

I had my first panic attack 12/13yrs ago... i used to take drugs then as well as drink... someone gave me some ketamine... i dint kniow it was that and took the lot....(NOT GOOD).... anyway i was hullicinating and my body felt paralysed.
That was the first....
I had an attack at work... my hands cramped up like claws (the blood moves from the extremities to help the heart as its working overtime).... the paramedics came and relaxed me (cup of sweet tea helps they said)... (dont sit on the floor, sit straight so air gets into the lungs)...
In the end i had them almost daily and i also it brought out abit of OCD in me.... being anxious does make it worse....
When i used to go to college... it would take me longer to do the journey as for the quick train you had to swap trains... but i could'nt...
You would have to wait on the platform for the other train to come.... my head kept telling me i was going to fall on the track... and i used to have to push my body back against the wall that was there else i could feel my legs/body and head trying to push me forward onto the track... eventually it got too much and i could'nt keep myself safe swapping trains.
I really struggle with being trapped (even now).... when i first visited Scotland before i moved there.... I had to get a train that stopped at every station on the way.... i didnt necessarily haveto get off but i needed to be able to if i felt like it. What should be a 10hr journey took 23hrs in total...
Eventually i went to see a CBT therapist (Cognitive behavioural therapist) who explained the insw and outs of panic attacks.... my brain understands them better and that helps me.... also he gave me things to do if i get them...
I take in a breath... not too deep and then i exhale... but when i exhale i blow the air slowly up over the tip of my nose.... this apparently(works for me) send a signal to the brain saying you are getting enough oxygen and relaxes me.
Also that panic attacks stop.... the brain can only release so much adrenaline... and eventually it has to say enough is enough and stops.
Anyway... i still get attacks but no where ass much as before and i can change trains without fear of throwing myself under one. *which is a bonus*

Sorry this has been soooooooo longwinded it just is something that affects me.

Be well
louis