I know and understand that medical advice obtained on the web is necessarily suspect, but here goes.
I’ve had, over the last two or three weeks 4 or 5 pretty serious panic attacks. That is: The feeling that things are spiraling way out of control, a feeling of elevated emotion and heart rate that, afterwards seems much greater than the situation needed. Illogical thoughts, paranoia, 100% adrenaline flight response.
The wife and I have had a pretty rough time of things over the last four years or so. I’m sure other people have had it harder, but the stresses have been coming pretty hard, fast and consistently since before we found out we were having twins. The stress has been on all fronts, parenting, family illness, pet deaths, stress at work, economic hardship, our dance card was full.
Over the last month or so, things have finally started looking up. There’s more plate than stuff to put on it, and I’ve actually found days where I had to work to keep from getting bored.
I think my body/brain is having a hard time coping with that. It’s used to working on react-mode for so long that now little stuff is just sending me into orbit.
Is this something that gets better? I’ve used Lexapro in the past (right after the kids were born), and while it worked well, I’m hesitant to keep falling back on it. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this as a google search shows a page that describes my feelings EXACTLY, then links off to a place to sell you lots of herbs and help books.
Panic attacks suck. I used to have them up until a couple of years ago when I changed medicine and they almost made life not worth living. When you aren’t having one, you are scared of having one. You say “fall back” on medicine like there is something shameful about it. I welcome whatever medical help people can give because the alternatives often enough on their own and there certainly isn’t anything wrong with being on psychiatric medicine that has few side effects if that is the case for you.
Other things that can work are:
Aerobic exercise like running - I was running 8 miles a day (fast) to try and get rid of mine. It helped but they were still happening to a lesser degree.
Cognitive Behavioral therapy - a psychologist changes how you process information. It is supposed to be good for this but I never tried it. I did regular talk therapy and that was about as helpful as meeting once a week to discuss a broken arm. It was a physiological problem that seemed to strike with little cause or warning.
Massage/Peaceful settings - they don’t hurt and they feel good but I don’t know how lasting the effects are.
Yoga/Meditation - many people swear by this as well but I never did it enough to know.
Panic attacks are a common problem and many people on this board have had them. There are standard treatments for it. Maybe your primary care doctor can guide to a good starting point.
Yeah, I really benefited from the Lexapro, I dunno why I’m reluctant to get back on it (or some other similar medication). I didn’t appreciate the changes in libido, but that was something I could deal with. I guess I was hoping that what I was going through was a temporary reaction to the change in my life’s stress level. Kinda like getting your sea legs back.
I wouldn’t consider my psycological makeup as being particularly needing of treatment. I’m not particularly susceptible to addictive/destructive behavior, not feeling particularly manic/depressive, but I AM panicky, of late, so I guess that qualifies. :dubious:
The Doctor is definately on the short list of things to do, again, I was hoping it wouldn’t require medical attention.
It may go away soon on its own or it may not. A lot of people have a long-term battle with panic attacks and it can end up being debilitating in ways that only those that have had them can understand. Panic attacks can go into a feedback loop that cause other panic attacks. Some people just wake up in the beginnings of the panic attack caused by nothing in particular and then it goes full-blown and scares the hell out of them. It is a bad feeling to think sleep cannot even keep them away. I went to the emergency room twice in my early twenties because of them. I was convinced that I was having some respiratory/heart malfunction and needed help right away. Even when I intellectually knew what it was, I secretly hoped that they could do something to fix it right away and I am someone that usually shuns medical attention.
If you have a treatment that you have tried and are pretty sure will work again, you are way ahead of most people. I would definitely take it. There is nothing wrong with psychiatric drugs especially since panic attacks are very “physical” and the result of the flight or fight response going haywire and acting inappropriately. Correct action right away can even prevent more problems down the road since panic attacks can really screw with you as time goes on.
Talk to your doctor, end them as soon as you can, and then have yourself monitored to see what you do in the long-term.
I had a series of panic attacks in the 70’s. There was a feeling of being less than a man which probably only made matters worse. They are frightening. I too felt as if I were having a heart attck and was in serious jeopardy. One of the docs told me that, the worst possible thing that would likely happen was that, I would pass out and that would end the panic attack. They wanted to put me on Valium, but I refused to take it. I was under a lot of pressure at the time, in my job, in my marriage, but the feeling of failure, that I was somehow inferior, because I couldn’t just deal w/ life, was inescapable. I made some life changes and the panic attack went away, but it was costly. I’d suggest you listen to the docs, try their suggestions and find out what works for you. I think it’s also important to remember that you can only do so much about the circumstances that affect your life, try to understand your limitations and accept the reality that your doing the best you can.
If you’ve had them before, and know for sure that’s what you’re having now, fine. I was having what I thought were panic attacks, and ignored them because, well, that’s what I do, I suck it up. The whole works, elevated heartbeat, cold sweat, feeling of impending doom.
One day I was in the middle of one when I was having a physical for some foreign travel, and the doctor asked me how long I had had atrial fibrillation. 180 mg of amiodorone a day, and no more A-fib. It turns out a lot of people can’t tell them apart.
I’ve had them on and off over the years and they are the worst I’ve felt. In the past I would find ways of coping and they would eventually wear off. However, about nine years ago I had them for a few weeks; they built on each other and I ended up not being able to eat or sleep.
I finally went to the counseling office through my HMO. The therapist said he couldn’t start talk therapy until I settled down, and they gave me Ativan so I could sleep and regain some control. It worked great in the short run, put everything back into perspective and allowed me to more realistically look at things. I only took it temporarily but I have it to this day in case of attack. Just knowing it is there calms me down without me having to actually take it.
I am also on a moderate dose of antidepressants which take the edge off depression and anxiety, and I rarely have panic attacks anymore. I have the kind of absolute thinking that makes them worse (“I will never get better”, “This is going to kill me”) and being able to calmly think things through and see the nuances and not the absolutes helps a lot.
The weird part is that during the attacks, and having everything be so close to the surface and shimmering, I’ve done some really interesting thinking about my life, like who I can turn to, what do I want to do to change things, what can I do to cope. I don’t think it’s worth the pain and hideousness, but I can see that creative types might produce some incredible stuff when all shaken up like that.
I’m thinking a two week old thread isn’t old enough to break the zombie rule…Just want to let y’all know that Lexapro, while good for depression it ALSO prescribed for Generalized Anxiety Disorder…which I appear to have…So, another six month stint on the stuff. We’ll see what happens.
As someone who has had them pretty much my entire life I can say the one thing I would do in your case is just make sure that you break the cycle. If that requires taking a medication then do it.
The problem I have is that I came to associate the panic attacks with certain stimuli so that eventually I became agoraphobic. I struggle with that to this day though I don’t really have panic attacks like I did before. If I could have broken the cycle before I developed the avoidance and anticipatory anxiety then I think I would have fared much better. JMO
I can’t echo this enough. Get, and take, whatever help you can get. Untreated panic disorder can go all sorts of ugly places, agoraphobia being the tip of the iceberg. Therapy and medication saved my life. I wouldn’t say I’m “cured”, but I function so, so much better nowadays than I did before seeking treatment. I still have to “work up courage” to leave the house, but I do so without fail now.
Yeah, I’ve been on Lexapro for depression/stress management in the past and respond well to it. I also think I got on top of this early enough to prevent serious damage. It was expressing itself as general paranoia and (!) marital trust. There was NOTHING to indicate a problem with my marriage, but I was consumed with feelings I’d rather not go into – but which seemed really stupid after coming down from the panic attack.
Now my issues seem to be controlling the amount of fear/anger…I’m doing better, and I can feel the changes already (I seem to react to Lexapro much quicker than they say to expect…They say it can take two three weeks to see a difference and I’ve seen a change in three to five days before)
This book saved my butt in the 80s when I suddenly started having panic attacks.
It was a little dated then, but it looks like it might have been updated. The woman who wrote it has several other panic attack related publications out there.
Not to denigrate the pharmocological route, but you might want to look into non-prescription drug solutions before going down that road.
