Karima
09-03-2002, 12:00 PM
Hi,
I have experienced anxiety/panic attacks most of my adult life and they come and go. Sometimes lasting weeks and months and then I am fine maybe for a year or so. I have severe episodes of agoraphobia and when the panic attacks start up, I stay home..and I mean I don't even go out to get the mail just in case....
The only med I have ever taken for these times is Valium which has always helped. But not anymore. I want my life back, Valium is a great helper for that moment of anxiety but I am at the mercy of the anxiety. And now because of 3 recent deaths in the last 4 years, my mother, only sister and her husband(who was like my father to me)plus a divorce, I am probably depressed. Anxious and depressed at the same time?
I have a doctors appointment tommorrow morning, originally made for a general checkup, haven't been there since February. I know when I tell him this he is going to want to prescribe something...again. I am horrified of anti-depressants, etc...but I am also worn out living like this.
Does anyone have a suggestion as to a med that might help without the devastating side effects I read about at various boards...any med that I take, even anti-histamines has to be a childs dose because I am so sensitive.
Last night I had 3 panic attacks in a row. That has not happened in over 10 years and is not a good sign. I no sooner got through one, racing heart, shaking, fright and about 15 minutes later another one came on and the last one although by then it wasn't as bad. But I had to take 5mg. of Valium to stop trembling inside and out.
I would appreciate any advice....thanks..
I have experienced anxiety/panic attacks most of my adult life and they come and go. Sometimes lasting weeks and months and then I am fine maybe for a year or so. I have severe episodes of agoraphobia and when the panic attacks start up, I stay home..and I mean I don't even go out to get the mail just in case....
The only med I have ever taken for these times is Valium which has always helped. But not anymore. I want my life back, Valium is a great helper for that moment of anxiety but I am at the mercy of the anxiety. And now because of 3 recent deaths in the last 4 years, my mother, only sister and her husband(who was like my father to me)plus a divorce, I am probably depressed. Anxious and depressed at the same time?
I have a doctors appointment tommorrow morning, originally made for a general checkup, haven't been there since February. I know when I tell him this he is going to want to prescribe something...again. I am horrified of anti-depressants, etc...but I am also worn out living like this.
Does anyone have a suggestion as to a med that might help without the devastating side effects I read about at various boards...any med that I take, even anti-histamines has to be a childs dose because I am so sensitive.
Last night I had 3 panic attacks in a row. That has not happened in over 10 years and is not a good sign. I no sooner got through one, racing heart, shaking, fright and about 15 minutes later another one came on and the last one although by then it wasn't as bad. But I had to take 5mg. of Valium to stop trembling inside and out.
I would appreciate any advice....thanks..
Sponsor
andreaphilip3
09-03-2002, 12:35 PM
im so sorry 2 hear you go through that, its terrible. we're here 4 ya :) i take xanax.
Karima
09-03-2002, 12:42 PM
Thank you so much for the reply. Everyone seems to be taking Xanax and many doing well. I saw the lowest dose at .25, my math is awful...is .5 less than that?
Is it possible to be depressed and anxious at the same time and does Xanax help with that?
Just knowing I have to go out in the a.m., my worst time of day, has me already shaky...I am thisclose to cancelling...sound like a child...
Is it possible to be depressed and anxious at the same time and does Xanax help with that?
Just knowing I have to go out in the a.m., my worst time of day, has me already shaky...I am thisclose to cancelling...sound like a child...
Aster
09-03-2002, 02:38 PM
I am terribly sorry your life is so filled with anxiety. Please keep posting; we care and feel for you. We know a little about these awful feelings you're having.
Xanax is fantastic for anxiety. But over time it becomes addictive. That is, SOMETIMES you need to increase your dosage for it to work as well as it used to. .50 is half of a milligram; .25 is 1/4 of a milligram.
I am finding as a DECADES long user of X that my daytime dose, if I take it during the day, remains constant. But for sleep I have problems with it. My sleep is not as refreshing as it was with taking nothing at all. And I need to use varying doses before dawn; it's a crazy time for me: I never know how much I'll need at 4am. Depends on what I'm thinking about.
If I had it to do over again I'd never have taken that first pill. But if I hadn't, what would have happened to me back then? I shudder to think.
Best Wishes,
------------------
Aster
Xanax is fantastic for anxiety. But over time it becomes addictive. That is, SOMETIMES you need to increase your dosage for it to work as well as it used to. .50 is half of a milligram; .25 is 1/4 of a milligram.
I am finding as a DECADES long user of X that my daytime dose, if I take it during the day, remains constant. But for sleep I have problems with it. My sleep is not as refreshing as it was with taking nothing at all. And I need to use varying doses before dawn; it's a crazy time for me: I never know how much I'll need at 4am. Depends on what I'm thinking about.
If I had it to do over again I'd never have taken that first pill. But if I hadn't, what would have happened to me back then? I shudder to think.
Best Wishes,
------------------
Aster
andreaphilip3
09-03-2002, 04:20 PM
it is definiely possible to suffer both, believe me, i think im gettin there myself. unfortunately, xanax doesnt help depression. as far as doses go, it goes .25-2mg. i myself take .5 as needed with daily doses of .25-1.25 and sometimes need to use a low dose of atarax as well.
Karima
09-03-2002, 05:52 PM
Thank you all for your advice. Now if I could just get all of you to come with me tomorrow morning to the doctor, that would be wonderful. Realistically though, I will just have to somehow get through it. I don't know if I can take Xanax after being on Valium for so many years. The most I take would be 2-4mg. a day, some days I don't take anything at all. I know it is addictive, and if I am given something new, I would have to be slowly weaned off the Valium. Is Xanax considered in the benzo family?
My head feels like a balloon from the panic attacks last night and my body just trembles from the surges of adrenaline that came with them. I feel like I have run a marathon I am so tired. For whatever it is worth, the divorce? Well that is the result of years of living with someone who is a emotional loose wheel...me. My ex tried for so many, many years..considering how men usually are with these types of issues, he really tried. So many good jobs he couldn't take because the hours weren't good for me.
So many trips and plans cancelled at the last minute because of my anxiety and panic/agoraphobia. So many middle of the night trips to the e.r. convinced I was dying and more of the same. If anyone thinks having panic disorder is a bunch of ---- or excuse for who knows what, they are so wrong. It destroys lives and relationships.
Anyway, thank you for being here for me...you are terrific for and to each other. I was lucky to find you here...Karima
My head feels like a balloon from the panic attacks last night and my body just trembles from the surges of adrenaline that came with them. I feel like I have run a marathon I am so tired. For whatever it is worth, the divorce? Well that is the result of years of living with someone who is a emotional loose wheel...me. My ex tried for so many, many years..considering how men usually are with these types of issues, he really tried. So many good jobs he couldn't take because the hours weren't good for me.
So many trips and plans cancelled at the last minute because of my anxiety and panic/agoraphobia. So many middle of the night trips to the e.r. convinced I was dying and more of the same. If anyone thinks having panic disorder is a bunch of ---- or excuse for who knows what, they are so wrong. It destroys lives and relationships.
Anyway, thank you for being here for me...you are terrific for and to each other. I was lucky to find you here...Karima
andreaphilip3
09-03-2002, 06:50 PM
karima,
we WILL be there with ya in spirit! just think of us as angels on yr shoulder :)
we WILL be there with ya in spirit! just think of us as angels on yr shoulder :)
jasmine30
09-03-2002, 09:47 PM
Hi Karima,
Ive had Panic Disorder/Agoraphobia for 7 years.Always was a worrier and fearful of many things from childhood.I managed to live 100 miles away from family and friends for nearly 4 years.In that time I completed my Associate degree and began working on my Bachelor degree.From 1999 I lost my step-sister,both grandmother's were sick,I lost my dad's mom who was like a mother to me.I lost her in August 2001.Ive had financial and relationship struggles and it put me in a huge setback.I took Xanax for 4 1/2 years and asked my doctor to slowly wean me off it because I felt I was doing so well I didn't need it.That was a big big mistake.I don't have a fear of taking medicine,but have had the fear of not being able to swallow which created some anxiety.Of all the meds Ive taken in a 7 year period,I would say Xanax has helped me more than any other.I need to go myself to have a complete physical but my fears seem stronger than the need to go...Best wishes for a great checkup...We will be there with you all the way...
Take care,
Jasmine
Ive had Panic Disorder/Agoraphobia for 7 years.Always was a worrier and fearful of many things from childhood.I managed to live 100 miles away from family and friends for nearly 4 years.In that time I completed my Associate degree and began working on my Bachelor degree.From 1999 I lost my step-sister,both grandmother's were sick,I lost my dad's mom who was like a mother to me.I lost her in August 2001.Ive had financial and relationship struggles and it put me in a huge setback.I took Xanax for 4 1/2 years and asked my doctor to slowly wean me off it because I felt I was doing so well I didn't need it.That was a big big mistake.I don't have a fear of taking medicine,but have had the fear of not being able to swallow which created some anxiety.Of all the meds Ive taken in a 7 year period,I would say Xanax has helped me more than any other.I need to go myself to have a complete physical but my fears seem stronger than the need to go...Best wishes for a great checkup...We will be there with you all the way...
Take care,
Jasmine
Karima
09-03-2002, 11:57 PM
Thank you Jasmine and everyone else here today. I have been reading through many different posts and I swear it just breaks my heart to read how much of our lives we are giving up to this nightmare. And it seems for many of us it has gone on for years, peaks and valleys.
I think we deserve medals for endurance and strength and for living with and through those times of 'quiet desperation'......
I think we deserve medals for endurance and strength and for living with and through those times of 'quiet desperation'......