Hi everyone. I have been having more panic attacks than usual recently and was hoping to get some advice on a few things such as taking medicines and dealing with strange sensations. Firstly is the sensations. I had been getting chest pains in my upper left, along with arm pains down my left arm. It was more of a stabbing pain underneath my armpit in my ribs. This happened when I breathed deep and the pain only happened sometimes. Now the pains gone the last two days but now it feels 'empty' in my whole upper left chest area. It doesn't hurt at all, but just feels completely different to how it should feel. My breathing has changed also it feels like I have to tell myself to breathe (this mainly happens when I'm trying to sleep). But it feels so strange that I csnt physically sleep with it like this. Does anyone have any sort of explanation of help for this? Secondly, possibly more important is I am considering taking medication for panic disorder. I was offered sertaline ages ago but turned it down as I felt I could do it by myself. But it seems a year on and I still have the problems. Has anyone used medications for anxiety/depression/panic disorder and have any feedback on their experiences? I'd really appreciate anyone telling me if it works for them or not or how it has affected them. Thanks a lot people
i thought the same thing about medicwtion too. but then it got so bad to the point that i couldnt leave my house, drive my car, ect. i got cery depressed so i ended up taking prozac (fluoxetine). it took about 4 or 5 months to feel better but i did and now im 2 years in on my medication. the best thing that i ever did. but one day i will get off of it when i feel completely better. definitely try it out. but my doctor also gave me xanax to help with the aide effects. i still take xanax for my panic attacks as well.
Hi,
I am 50 years old. My anxiety started a year ago with headaches 24/7. I tried several antidepressants, and I could not handle side effects. Then, my anxiety got worse: chest pains, not able to sleep, and very tired. So, 8 months later, my doctor gave me Duloxetine, xanax, and ambien. It has been 5 months, I felt 80% better. But, I still need to take xanax during a day for my anxiety and ambien to sleep. I still have anxiety many times a day.
Thanks for the replies. I’ve been to the doctors today and I have been given Sertraline (zoltoft) 50mg. I’m very scared to take it due to the side effects I may experience and I don’t want to feel any worse than I already as I feel like i’m on deaths door as it is! I’m so hesitant to taking it and I don’t want it to affect me at work or even stop me from going into work 
You start 50 mg, I think it is too high. If you are affraid of the side effects, you can start at 1/2 dose (25 mg) for a few days. With Duloxetine, I had side effects for 2 weeks. It took me 4 months to feel just better: less headaches, less anxiety, more energy. Xanax helped me alot. Some people are afraid to take Xanax because of addiction, but follow doctor’s directions will be fine. I need to take Xanax, so I am able to have almost a normal life.