Question:
Jodi, I’m sorry to hear about your latest relaps. For over five years I’ve gone through the exact same thing. This year has seen three relapses! I’m currently going through a tough one right now (though at the moment I’m mostly calm). I’ve been on Effexor and Buspar to control the Panic Disorder and it works most of the time. Unfortunately out of the blue (after a period of months of peace) another series of panic attacks come. I too feel like tossing in the towel and giving up because I’m so scared. But then I’m reminded that I’ve survived this for over 5 years now and that in time this latest relaps will pass. There is a web site on Panic Disorder that contains many good ’self-help’ techniques to help calm (and control) panic episodes. Good luck! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi all, i read this board several times a week but never post, so i guess today my deperation outweighs my fear of posting. i had my first panic attack in a year yesterday while getting thanksgiving dinner ready. it was just for my sister and her family and my mother-in-law, and i didn’t feel nervous but it hit anyway (i get very dizzy, nauseous, can’t stop shaking, running to bathroom, heart pounds hard) i took 1 mg of lorazepam but it still took 3 hours until i could leave my bedroom. the problem is, it started again as soon as i woke up today. so i took more pills but i’m still shaking, crying, dizzy and feeling so alone and pessimistic like i’m falling down the hole again. now i’m afraid i’ll keep worrying it’s going to continue, which of course will make me anxious and keep bringing it back. i’d rather not be taking the lorazapam every day and get hooked since my attacks in the past haven’t happened very often. how do I stop this cycle. –by the way, my husband left town on business this morning which is making me feel all the more vulnerable. sorry this is so long. i don’t have anyone to discuss this with and needed to vent. thanks for listening. jody
– -Earl http://www.astronerdboy.com/comic-strips Before you buy.
Response:
Hi Jody: Welcome to the group. Holidays and holiday dinners are sure triggers for anxiety. No matter how few people there are coming or how well you know them, the Holidays are difficult for most of us. Once it starts, sometimes it is hard to stop. Try deep breathing exercises, they sometimes help me. And again welcome – some others will have more suggestions for you I’m sure. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Hi all, i read this board several times a week but never post, so i guess today my deperation outweighs my fear of posting. i had my first panic attack in a year yesterday while getting thanksgiving dinner ready. it was just for my sister and her family and my mother-in-law, and i didn’t feel nervous but it hit anyway (i get very dizzy, nauseous, can’t stop shaking, running to bathroom, heart pounds hard) i took 1 mg of lorazepam but it still took 3 hours until i could leave my bedroom. the problem is, it started again as soon as i woke up today. so i took more pills but i’m still shaking, crying, dizzy and feeling so alone and pessimistic like i’m falling down the hole again. now i’m afraid i’ll keep worrying it’s going to continue, which of course will make me anxious and keep bringing it back. i’d rather not be taking the lorazapam every day and get hooked since my attacks in the past haven’t happened very often. how do I stop this cycle. –by the way, my husband left town on business this morning which is making me feel all the more vulnerable. sorry this is so long. i don’t have anyone to discuss this with and needed to vent. thanks for listening. jody
Evelyn Check out my woodcarving site at: http://home.swbell.net/lbiggio
Response:
Hi all, i read this board several times a week but never post, so i guess today my deperation outweighs my fear of posting. i had my first panic attack in a year yesterday while getting thanksgiving dinner ready. it was just for my sister and her family and my mother-in-law, and i didn’t feel nervous but it hit anyway (i get very dizzy, nauseous, can’t stop shaking, running to bathroom, heart pounds hard) i took 1 mg of lorazepam but it still took 3 hours until i could leave my bedroom. the problem is, it started again as soon as i woke up today. so i took more pills but i’m still shaking, crying, dizzy and feeling so alone and pessimistic like i’m falling down the hole again. now i’m afraid i’ll keep worrying it’s going to continue, which of course will make me anxious and keep bringing it back. i’d rather not be taking the lorazapam every day and get hooked since my attacks in the past haven’t happened very often. how do I stop this cycle. –by the way, my husband left town on business this morning which is making me feel all the more vulnerable. sorry this is so long. i don’t have anyone to discuss this with and needed to vent. thanks for listening. jody
Response:
Hi all, i read this board several times a week but never post, so i guess today my deperation outweighs my fear of posting. i had my first panic attack in a year yesterday while getting thanksgiving dinner ready. it was just for my sister and her family and my mother-in-law, and i didn’t feel nervous but it hit anyway (i get very dizzy, nauseous, can’t stop shaking, running to bathroom, heart pounds hard) i took 1 mg of lorazepam but it still took 3 hours until i could leave my bedroom.
Obviously one mg of Ativan is not enough to kill a PA for you. the problem is, it started again as soon as i woke up today. so i took more pills but i’m still shaking, crying, dizzy and feeling so alone and pessimistic like i’m falling down the hole again. now i’m afraid i’ll keep worrying it’s going to continue, which of course will make me anxious and keep bringing it back.
This is called *anticipatory anxiety* (the fear of fear) and could cause the next PA to be at least partly a sepf-fulfilling prophecy. This is what links PA’s and transforms them from isolated events to parts of a *disorder* of which the anticipatory anxiety is as much a vital part. ‘d rather not be taking the lorazapam every day and get hooked since my attacks in the past haven’t happened very often. how do I stop this cycle.
There are three ways: by stopping your *catastrophic* thoughts ("When will I have my next attack?"). If you can’t do that on your own (and it’s *not* easy) there is a therapy called *Cognitive Behavioural Therapy* which is purely targeted at getting rid of your symptoms and not at finding an alleged *root cause* somewhere in your childhood. CBT is the domain of the *clinical psychologist* and is the only therapy which can rightfully claim good results with anxiety disorders. The third way is regular med use, for instance Ativan if that works for you. I understand your hesitance to do this although *hooked* is not quite the right expression. One will become *dependent* on Ativan and other benzos which means that you can’t stop taking it suddenly when having been on a regular dose for a long period of time but have to do so by way of a slow taper. Medication and CBT can very well complement each other. –by the way, my husband left town on business this morning which is making me feel all the more vulnerable. sorry this is so long. i don’t have anyone to discuss this with and needed to vent. thanks for listening. jody
Philip
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