I also have this fear (I know it sounds silly)... If I go on a trip it doesn't matter if it's 40 miles or 400 miles I feel like I HAVE to know where a hospital is, we'll be driving down the road and all I can do is watch for hospital signs! It's crazy, I know, but i'm SO afraid i'm going to stop breathing. Also if i'm around people all i can think about is 'what if I stop breathing, will they know what to do?... Would they just watch me lay there or would they do something?'.... Anyone else do this?

I had a coworker with this exact fear. She even LIVES close to a hospital and checks the locations of hospitals when she decides to change apartments, jobs, etc. She has a hard time taking trips because of this. She said if she had to travel a long distance she would mentally calculate how long it would take an ambulance or helicopter to reach her and get her to the hospital. I think this is a variation on the common "escape route" theme that is so prevalent in anxiety disorders. We need a way out, whether it is a way out of the theater, a way off the freeway, or a way to a doctor quickly. Take care. Are you getting therapy or meds for your anxiety?

I am the same way. We just recently had a bad storm and it knocked out power for 5 days, we had to travel about an hour away to find a hotel to stay at cause it was to hot to stay in the house, i made sure there was a hospital close by to the hotel just in case. If i have to travel anywhere i make sure to look for the blue H signs on the highway. I just like to know that they are there IF i need them.

I'm on WelButrinXL, I've been on it for a few months and I can't tell that it's working-- I still feel the same. It's weird tho, because the first 2 days that I took it I felt excellent- It seemed to work- but after those 2 days I felt the same as I did...?

I'm not a doctor, and your doctor may have had a specific reason to put you on Wellbutrin, but for anxiety disorders, Wellbutrin has not been shown as effective as a first-line primary therapy as opposed to the SSRIs/SNRIs like Zoloft, Paxil, Effexor, Celexa, the list goes on. Wellbutrin is sometimes added as a secondary medication and it does have the potential to decrease the sexual side effects of the SSRI meds. Psychiatrists seem a little split on this one. From what I've read and talked with my docs about, there seems to be a consensus that Wellbutrin PROBABLY is not the best choice for anxiety unless certain circumstances apply: the person can't or won't take the other meds, moderate to severe depression is associated with the anxiety, nothing else has worked, and some other reasons. However, there are clearly some docs who really want to try Wellbutrin for anxiety, probably because it seems to have less side effects and less side effects tend to make patients stay on the medication and give it a chance to work. I think you've given it a chance to work, JMHO, but if I were in your shoes, I'd ask for a different med. You don't have to go quote studies or anything, just say "I don't feel any different at all and I think I've taken this medication long enough to feel a difference if there were going to be one. How about we try another med?" The fact that you felt better for two days is not unusual---you may have just had two really good days OR more than likely, you were experiencing a VERY common placebo effect---when we try new meds, we really WANT them to work, so it is not unusual to feel better for a little while. That has happened to me with numerous medications and even therapies. Best wishes to you, there is something out there that will work for you.

I do internet searches for hospitals and directions to them when we travel in case someone gets sick or hurt. Both my son and I have had minor accidents on trips for which we needed stitches. Since then, I always look for hospitals.

Cell phones are a great thing...if you stop breathing, even if someone doesn't know CPR, someone will call for help right away.