Ive had GAD and panic diagnoses for years. I've been in a bad place for 6 months now. Attacks every day and near constant state of heightened anxiety. About 2 hours ago I started to get that sensory awareness and I started to get anxious. Took .5 xanax. More anxious took .5 xanax an hour later. I'm still feeling dizzy scared foggy headed and while it's not full blown it's not going away. I am not a novice. I would estimate I have had 1,000 attacks. After xanax and still experiencing symptoms I am concerned. Over the last months I have had moments of clarity and I feel determined and accepting of it being anxiety. But Geeeez then I get bad one and I am sure I am having a stroke or dying somehow. Of course I see doctor therapist and psychiatrist. Right now I am taking propranolol and xanax as I am very ssri sensitive. This is really getting hard to manage. I have really had enough of the suffering. I am getting agoraphobic and having avoidance. I'm scared of doctors telling me I have ms or tumors etc... I'm almost 40 and I am a frightened child. I have a very fun trip planned this weekend and it's been planned for months. I don't even think I can make it. I am a mess. Right now I know I'm not being rational but I think I might have a disease.
Had to reply as nightimes are the worst. The worry about the way we are already worrying increases my anxiety. Sometimes I wake heart racing thinking I'm having heart attack. Basically I'm always anxious and never stop head racing and worrying. Some people can just empty their head and relax. God what I would give for that. Don't go down alcohol root to relax. Also any mess to relax. Ask your doctor for small amounts. I got hooked on both just cos relaxed me temporarily. When these wore off anxiety was worse tenfold thought I was going mad. Talk to doc talk to people who've been there. I may wake up anxious in morning but hope I can get back to my periods of having more good than bad days. Keep talking . Not alone
Brandon, I have been where you are and I know it's a terrible, scary feeling. I too have ended up canceling trips with family and other events like golf outings. The good news is that once I got my Medes readjusted I have been able to do a lot of those things again and enjoy life. Sometimes we just need to adjust our meds as our body readjusts to the medicine. This can happen even after multiple years of that doadage working. Talk with your doctor and see if it's a good time for you to adjust or change meds.
Hi Brandon, I'm Patty. I am saddened by how you are feeling. I hope you know that you are not alone. Sometimes doctors/therapists really do listen well enough to get the total picture of how a person is feeling. My husband is a head of mood disorder's clinic at UHN in Toronto. Please let me know if I have your permission, for hime to read your post and get back to you soonest.
I hope you will not take any more xanax. In this moment please check in with yourself to see if you believe the horrible attack you are having will pass.
Brandon, Patty here I left out a crucial NOT in second sentence. "Sometimes doctors/therapists really do NOT listen well enough to get the total picture of how a person is feeling."
"Not alone" is so powerful.
Thanks patty. Feel free to pass my post on but there is a 20 yet history behind it as well. Yes I have what I believe are bad panic and anxiety attacks. I am prescribed up to 1.5 mg a day of xanax as needed and that is all I have taken. I've been given more in the hospital so I'm not worried about that. I appreciate your response. I know it's a slow process that takes time but the attacks usually pass after an hour or so I guess this one is taking longer. Last time I checked bp I was 126/80 with a 70 pulse. I guess im just wound up. I don't want any more scares today...
Have you ever listened to audio on you tube for panic attacks emergency?
they guide you through it. Many to pick from.
guided meditation for detachment from overthinking is really good.
I appreciate your letting me know about the amount of xanax. Clearly, I don't know much about that!
I have there are some good ones. Thanks
Brandon,
Sorry for the situation, best wishes, Only thing that helped nightly panic attacks was activity, going for walks till I was too tired to stay awake, any active distraction helps. So I'm thinking force yourself to go on that trip, with plenty of that vitamin X. Also thinking you should get out, if you fear going out, the fear might develop into a panic, better to find panic attacks don't happen every time you go out.
All my doc did was Rx zoloft, said 100mg was right dose. Maybe I'm sensitive but stopped at 25mg, seems to inhibit panic. Not that I like it, hard to withdraw, doesn't help anxiety, but if your current meds don't work, may consider others.
These cycles happen. I dont know why but they do. They pass brandon. They do pass but can take a while, its awful. Klonopin might be of more help then xanax. They have wafers and last longer. This is a cruel and brutal disorder that makes no damn sense, but it does and will pass. It will. It has before and it will.
Mindful exercises help they give a little break. On you tube, otherwise for these cycles you need meds a bit which you are doing,
its all so awful. Listen believe this will pass. Okay. It seriously will. If you know the teigger think it thru on paper you have had this a long time so there was a teugger, a worry or something that bugged you. Or hurt your feelings. Something triggered it, i had a stomach virus nice that triggered it for weeks. But it did pass. That was a few years ago and now im dealing with weird face,jaw and ear stuff thats is making me anxious. That damn what if it doesnt going away thinking is destructive.
sometimes i am not sure to pray for healing or Godspeed so believe me you are not alone in this. Im a decade older then you and the cycles do appear at times. Mine have a trigger usually illness but a trigger. And then you feel hopeless because drs have limited knowledge overall. So you are left as is to deal. Its rough.
Things do change in a dime. Oddly they do, this cycle kind of just ends and then slowly you are done and go back to your base line as it was.
i send yiu twenty hugs and a ton of courage and stregnth. Hang in there. It will absolutely pass. Be careful with the xanax. That after a few days can make issues too. Mini withdrawls on top of the anxiety. But even so it still will pass.and be very sure to eat whether you want to or not, keeo sugar levels even.
Thanks Lisa. That was very kind and thoughtful it helps to know that people relate. I appreciate you and your kind words and I do know deep inside that it will get better it just takes a little time. I think klonopin my be a good suggestion. I was hoping just to get in a good mellowness baseline and then try to introduce a snri like Cymbalta which has been suggested. Thanks again you made me feel better. I don't like the just meditate and calm down comments but I can tell yours were experienced and thoughtful.
Focus on the feeling and try and not think, dont think about the future or the past nothing is certain to happen your only panic because of an emotion nothing bad is going to happen to you.
Without the emotion none of the attacks would happen which proves that the thoughts/worries/anxieties are not real, remember this is just a feeling and just an emotion.
Try and not be afraid, as horrible as it is you have been though many and can get though this one. Keep focusing on that it is just an emotion, it is not real, none of the thoughts/worries are real.
brandon if you can I would try some rewiring techniques, I am not sure how many there are you can probably Google them but music is one and its very effective, the idea is to reset the brain, get it into a state pre-anxiety and pre-panic attack, and to keep doing it. when we get into that state we then are able to rationalise, and for a brief moment we get clarity that are problems are not real, and we are OK. It's tough, but music can help, dig out some songs from a long time ago that you think will make you happy or 'take you to a happy place' and put them on and keep telling yourself anxiety is just an emotion it is not real, none of the worries are real the only thing that is real is the emotion. Know that if you could rationalise properly you would be cured because thats why everybody does't have anxiety, its just a rewiring of the brain and you can rewire it back, you will rewire it back and you will overcome this.
Hi when I'm replying at the end it says reply . Everyone else's says reply to patty etc. Am I dong anything wrong? Just hope people can read my replys if they help in any way thanks
Hey Brandon,
The good news is that you are not alone and you are at the right place where members care and will try to help.
Back in a time was suffering from panic attack and disorder, and I managed to walk away from it with peace.Taking meds are temporary releafe and are not a solution same as coping with the symptom. Just take a pen and paper and find a place where it feels calm, nice and pleasant, like someplace in nature or at the beach. Places like this promote calmness. Find out what are the stressors, and write them down, and try to figure out how you can overcome with positive believable thought, something that you can believe is doable.FOCUS: Don't focus on negative thoughts, guess what you will end up with negative emotions causing anxiety attacks, even though emotions are nothing but a product of your thoughts and feelings that you can overwrite them. Easy to say, I know, but it is doable. Need to be practiced, and one day it will work. Like this good saying "Fake it till you make it". Focus on positive thoughts, the human brain is very powerful, imagine something beautiful or something that you feel safe, anything that makes you feel good and safe, make that picture bigger and bigger unit you can see yourself in that safe and beautiful picture of your imagination, play some good relaxing music or something that makes you feel good. Take baby steps and you are guaranteed that peace will come to you. It is a matter of understanding that panic attacks and anxiety are part of us and we can't run away from it, just need to approach wisely.THOUGHTS BECOME THINGS: doesn't matter the thought is negative or positive once you ruminate on it eventually you will see or feel the physical outcome. So let's chance your negative thoughts substituting with positive ones and it will take you to your desired destination.Wishing you all the best and will be more than happy to help.
Are you doing a it better today?
You know how it goes... I am at the moment. It's so unpredictable. It seems like you need a week or two of feeling just fine to get back to normal. (And then 1 bad day can send you right back). I was concerned yesterday that even with the anti anxiety medication it wasn't really responding. I kind of stayed at like a level 7 or 8 for about 6 hours straight. I only took 1.5mg of xanax total over that 6 hours so it's not like I popped the whole bottle but usually a .5 can bring me down. I suppose I'm probably getting used to the medication and need more mg's. I am doing everything I can to get well but the one thing I know is that I kind of just have to wait it out because my system in just hyper sensitive and overactive. Takes a while to recover. Thank you so much for checking in. Are you better and in a normal place right now or do you struggle with it daily?
Well hi Lisa! Had a very good day yesterday had plans to go out of town and I went had a great time no panic and minimal anxiety. But I got home really late and didn't sleep until 5 am. I did no drinking and had taken just one .5 mg xanax early in the day like 20 hours before. Felt fine but tired from the road trip. I had atein the morning and about 6pm. Ate 5 am I had an English muffin before bed. About 30 minutes later I woke with terrible indigestion and used the restroom. While doing so. I got a hot flush and my head startied sweating. Anxiety set in from the body symptoms. All of the sudden I was EXTREMELY faint. I splashed cold water on my face but I could literally barely maneuver walking to the front door and using my brain and hands to open the front door. I did so in order to get some fresh air. I could literally hardly think or put thoughts together.After only I would say less than 5 minutes it was kind of over although I was shivering and I went to bed. I have NEVER been faint quite like that. I've been dizzy and sort of loopy but that was real strange and concerning. It's one step forward two steps back for me. Do you think I was exhausted. It's almost like an allergy. Could it have been a mini stroke? I'm not in a bad place and I was so happy about my day yesterday it was like all the bs what finally going to start getting better. Anyway bp this morning 115/75 61 pulse. I know it's easy with anxiety to think the worst but I also think people might get overlooked if they have a history with it for other serious issues. I don't think I will die today but I just thought I would see...What do think?