Anxiety Problem?

[jen_r]

I haven't been on here in a while. My life has taken a sudden dip and I deffinetly need some advice here.

 

Over the summer I had a random panic attack while driving on the highway. My vision got distorted, everything seemed like a video game and I felt as if I was going to faint. I had this intense pressure in the back of my head and just lost it. I had to have parents come meet me and drive my car home. Ever since that episode I haven't been the same. My anxiety has shot through the roof. I am constantly dizzy, naseous and light headed. I've had an MRI, seen a psychologist, a neurologist and they all seeem to think it's just anxiety but I'm not so convinced. I've had to quit my job because of this and I'm really losing all hope that I'm ever going to be "me" again.

 

I have been given a number of prescriptions, all of which I am too afraid to take. I keep reading up about them online and it deters me from taking them. Has anyone here taken anything for anxiety and had it work for them?? I was also supposed to start taking Gabapentin last night but I worked myself up and didn't take it - any thoughts on that drug?

[EspressoTorte]

I started taking Buspar 3 years ago, and wish I had it long before that. As long as there aren't adverse side effects for meds, don't let it stand in the way of you getting well.

[Feelin Frisky]

Yes, gabapentin is sound medicine for your symptoms. I know a lot about it and the chemistry of panic attacks. Briefly, the brain is awash in a substance you produced called gaba-amino-butyric acid. It's a critical component that helps the movement of elements and molecules move between cells. If your production of this acid drops or falls low (like mine did), atoms of chlorine get trapped in your brain neurology causing a "panicky" feeling. As far as I know, the only safe medical way to improve this system is to take the prescribed gabapentin. The first four letters of gabapentin tell you that it's working on the gaba-amino butyric system and can help without introducing any intoxicants or addictive substances. It's safe. Do not self medicate with anything else or take and health food store remedies like GABA supplements. Taking those things is how I accidentally depressed my natural production of GABA and after much suffering, gabapentin a/k/a "Neurontin" provided an answer. Do not expect miracles from it--it takes time to build up in your head, so take it as prescribed and try not to obsess about things. Good luck.

[cerridwen]

I've taken things for anxiety in the past and they worked.

However, like you, I'm not keen to take medications if alternatives can be found.

 

For me, exercise and sports manage it for the most part.

I still have breakthrough episodes that lead to insomnia and racing thoughts.

But by and large, swimming tons of laps, Trikking miles, or going for runs, help.

 

What do you do to manage your stress now?

Do you live a healthy lifestyle or one that exacerbates your issues?

What have you tried and what has failed for you?

 

Another however...

 

I believe for some people, medications are appropriate.

If you've exhausted other solutions and your quality of life continues to be poor, they maybe worth a try, don't you think?

What is it you fear?

[whichwayisup]

I haven't been on here in a while. My life has taken a sudden dip and I deffinetly need some advice here.

 

Over the summer I had a random panic attack while driving on the highway. My vision got distorted, everything seemed like a video game and I felt as if I was going to faint. I had this intense pressure in the back of my head and just lost it. I had to have parents come meet me and drive my car home. Ever since that episode I haven't been the same. My anxiety has shot through the roof. I am constantly dizzy, naseous and light headed. I've had an MRI, seen a psychologist, a neurologist and they all seeem to think it's just anxiety but I'm not so convinced. I've had to quit my job because of this and I'm really losing all hope that I'm ever going to be "me" again.

 

I have been given a number of prescriptions, all of which I am too afraid to take. I keep reading up about them online and it deters me from taking them. Has anyone here taken anything for anxiety and had it work for them?? I was also supposed to start taking Gabapentin last night but I worked myself up and didn't take it - any thoughts on that drug?

 

Cognitive behaviour therapy. It saved my life! Try it (google CBT therpists in your City). Do yoga, deep breathing, talk about your anxiety to friends and family. Understanding what it is, not being afraid of the anxiety (letting it pass through you) is helpful, so with the help of CBT you can work through this.

 

Stay away from caffeine and sugar until you feel better.

[Feelin Frisky]

You have been prescribed medicines by physicians, please simply take them. If you're concerned about any of them, please say what they are. I have a lot of personal knowledge and experience with them and it IS TRUE that when it comes to anxiety and panic disorder symptoms some doctors can prescribe sedative medications that are addictive and will complicate your life if you take them too much. But the medicine you asked about is not in the class of the problematic sedatives called benzodiazepines (which include products such as alprazolam a/k/a XANAX, lorazapam a/k/a Ativan, diazapam a/k/a Valium, colonazapam a/k/a Klonopin). The benzodiazapines I mentioned are sedative which blanket the entire central nervous system like an alcoholic beverage and do nothing to improve the chemical condition causing your panic or anxiety. Gabapentin is a benign agent that will boost your GABA system as I described in my previous post. Your loss of your job and other issues you describe are too significant to lollygag off with advice about exercise and life-style choices--you have been diagnosed with a chemical issue by virtue of your prescription of gabapentin. Please take this medicine and then consider the other advices about good life-style choices. Thanks and good luck again.

[jen_r]

Yes, gabapentin is sound medicine for your symptoms. I know a lot about it and the chemistry of panic attacks. Briefly, the brain is awash in a substance you produced called gaba-amino-butyric acid. It's a critical component that helps the movement of elements and molecules move between cells. If your production of this acid drops or falls low (like mine did), atoms of chlorine get trapped in your brain neurology causing a "panicky" feeling. As far as I know, the only safe medical way to improve this system is to take the prescribed gabapentin. The first four letters of gabapentin tell you that it's working on the gaba-amino butyric system and can help without introducing any intoxicants or addictive substances. It's safe. Do not self medicate with anything else or take and health food store remedies like GABA supplements. Taking those things is how I accidentally depressed my natural production of GABA and after much suffering, gabapentin a/k/a "Neurontin" provided an answer. Do not expect miracles from it--it takes time to build up in your head, so take it as prescribed and try not to obsess about things. Good luck.

 

I've been on is the past 2 days. I feel off. I just constantly think about what the drug is doing to my body and it freaks me out. Obviously I am not a candidate for taking drugs. You think I should stick it out? I mean, the drug cant possibly take affect in just 2 days, right?

 

Have you ever taken this drug?

[jen_r]

Cognitive behaviour therapy. It saved my life! Try it (google CBT therpists in your City). Do yoga, deep breathing, talk about your anxiety to friends and family. Understanding what it is, not being afraid of the anxiety (letting it pass through you) is helpful, so with the help of CBT you can work through this.

 

Stay away from caffeine and sugar until you feel better.

 

I have been trying yoga, it helps while I'm there - I feel really relaxed. CBT helped you? Was your anxiety mild or severe?

[jen_r]

I've taken things for anxiety in the past and they worked.

However, like you, I'm not keen to take medications if alternatives can be found.

 

For me, exercise and sports manage it for the most part.

I still have breakthrough episodes that lead to insomnia and racing thoughts.

But by and large, swimming tons of laps, Trikking miles, or going for runs, help.

 

What do you do to manage your stress now?

Do you live a healthy lifestyle or one that exacerbates your issues?

What have you tried and what has failed for you?

 

Another however...

 

I believe for some people, medications are appropriate.

If you've exhausted other solutions and your quality of life continues to be poor, they maybe worth a try, don't you think?

What is it you fear?

 

I don't really manage my stress. I feel paralyzed by whats going on and barely even leave the house. I feel like I'm slipping into depression over this and it's scaring me that I can't just pull myself out. I'm just worried that theres something wrong with me, like "do I have mental problems??"

The ONLY thing that gives me hope is that I was never like this before...It's not like i suffered from anxiety issues or depression issues from a young age. It's all very sudden.

 

But, my fear with drugs is just KNOWING that I'm on a drug that is altering me in some way. But, I am trying the Gabapentin. It's been 2 days and I already don't like the way i feel. :/

[whichwayisup]

I have been trying yoga, it helps while I'm there - I feel really relaxed. CBT helped you? Was your anxiety mild or severe?

 

Yes it did - A LOT!

 

When I first started CBT my anxiety was really bad but as time went on, each week I got better at handling the anxiety, understood what it was and learned how to breathe through attacks, and to control "it" instead of "it" controlling me.

 

I joined online anxiety forums which helped too, read books, and most of all, talked about it with close friends and family. Anxiety issues and mild depression can be quite isolating, so please make sure your family is supporting you. Have a friend you can call anytime, day or not, just incase you need to talk. talking helps lessen anxiety too, as does writing/journaling thoughts and feelings.

 

My motto is, what you put into therapy is what you get out of it, so definately look into seeking this kind of treatment.

 

Give the meds another week or so but if you feel worse, go off of them, talk to your Dr. Try bach flower aka rescue remedy, it's natural no chemicals in it so there's no side effects.

 

Get out of walk, call a friend or a neighbour to be with you if you can't go on your own. Avoiding places, situations etc., is dangerous as it's a learned behaviour and it's letting the anxiety take over. Even if you go for a brisk walk around the block it helps! That's why having someone with you is helpful if you're feeling anxious (with dizzy symptoms or just feel 'off') having someone there just brings some peace of mind.

 

Feel free to ask me anything or PM me if you have enough posts to do so.. I know how hard anxiety is and what it does to the mind!

[Feelin Frisky]

I've been on is the past 2 days. I feel off. I just constantly think about what the drug is doing to my body and it freaks me out. Obviously I am not a candidate for taking drugs. You think I should stick it out? I mean, the drug cant possibly take affect in just 2 days, right?

 

Have you ever taken this drug?

 

Yes, it helped me out of a terrible state I had created by taking a health store "supplement" that was said to be "nature's natural relaxant". I learned after a hell I went through which gabapentin and Buspar were the only things that helped me slowly regain my normal composure and ability to sleep. I took an over-the-counter "supplement" called GABA. What I didn't know was that by taking it, it tricked my brain into producing much less of the natural GABA that I need to function. When I stopped taking the supplement because I ran out and didn't bother buying another bottle, on came this panic and anxiety disorder the likes of which I had never experienced. I could not go to sleep without my brain interpreting it as dying and I was flooded in my gut with fear chemicals. Lack of sleep adds up to make a person a totally non-functioning mess.

 

I did not yet know that I had caused my problem or how this all worked. I went to a doctor and got the usually sedative approach which worked to get me to sleep, but did not repair my problem and created a dependence. I described those meds to stay away from in a previous post.

 

Finally I started doing research on the Internet and found information on how the body makes its own GABA (gaba-amino butyric acid) and what it does to keep the brain in normal chemical function. It dawned on me that I had depressed my own system by taking artificial GABA and now I was greatly deficient and needed to build back up production without taking artificial GABA. The answer is the drug called gabapentin (which is also sold as "Neurontin"). This drug is prescribed to boost GABA production and not introduce artificial GABA which slows production of natural GABA. This chemical our brains float around in called GABA, is essential for transmission of nutrients and the elimination of by-products in our brains and nervous system. If you don't make enough, toxins will build up and your brain and body will set off alarms. That's what you feel as anxiety and panic. There are only two approaches to dealing with this medicinally--one is to merely sedate the symptoms and the other is to fix the problem. Gabapentin helps to fix the problem or at least prevent the problem.

 

I don't feel that it causes much in the way of a medicated feeling. It's effects may make you feel calmer and you may think of that as slight drowsiness. But this medication will not intoxicate you or make you feel lethargic in the long term. What you are looking to do by taking it is have it push your own production up of your own GABA and that takes time. This is not an instant relief measure--it's a therapy that you have to give time. My doctor introduced it in smaller doses and then added to it and I did not feel any sedation. I just noticed after weeks that the nightmare of the fear juice was going away and I could sleep and be myself again. Don't give up before the relief starts revealing itself and you start liking yourself again. If you should stop taking the gabapentin, step down slowly. It should not shock your system back into low or no production of GABA. But if those symptoms return, you'll know for sure that you have something wrong with your natural production of GABA and that the medicine that deals with the condition right now is gabapentin. I couldn't make this up if I tried.

[jen_r]

Yes, it helped me out of a terrible state I had created by taking a health store "supplement" that was said to be "nature's natural relaxant". I learned after a hell I went through which gabapentin and Buspar were the only things that helped me slowly regain my normal composure and ability to sleep. I took an over-the-counter "supplement" called GABA. What I didn't know was that by taking it, it tricked my brain into producing much less of the natural GABA that I need to function. When I stopped taking the supplement because I ran out and didn't bother buying another bottle, on came this panic and anxiety disorder the likes of which I had never experienced. I could not go to sleep without my brain interpreting it as dying and I was flooded in my gut with fear chemicals. Lack of sleep adds up to make a person a totally non-functioning mess.

 

I did not yet know that I had caused my problem or how this all worked. I went to a doctor and got the usually sedative approach which worked to get me to sleep, but did not repair my problem and created a dependence. I described those meds to stay away from in a previous post.

 

Finally I started doing research on the Internet and found information on how the body makes its own GABA (gaba-amino butyric acid) and what it does to keep the brain in normal chemical function. It dawned on me that I had depressed my own system by taking artificial GABA and now I was greatly deficient and needed to build back up production without taking artificial GABA. The answer is the drug called gabapentin (which is also sold as "Neurontin"). This drug is prescribed to boost GABA production and not introduce artificial GABA which slows production of natural GABA. This chemical our brains float around in called GABA, is essential for transmission of nutrients and the elimination of by-products in our brains and nervous system. If you don't make enough, toxins will build up and your brain and body will set off alarms. That's what you feel as anxiety and panic. There are only two approaches to dealing with this medicinally--one is to merely sedate the symptoms and the other is to fix the problem. Gabapentin helps to fix the problem or at least prevent the problem.

 

I don't feel that it causes much in the way of a medicated feeling. It's effects may make you feel calmer and you may think of that as slight drowsiness. But this medication will not intoxicate you or make you feel lethargic in the long term. What you are looking to do by taking it is have it push your own production up of your own GABA and that takes time. This is not an instant relief measure--it's a therapy that you have to give time. My doctor introduced it in smaller doses and then added to it and I did not feel any sedation. I just noticed after weeks that the nightmare of the fear juice was going away and I could sleep and be myself again. Don't give up before the relief starts revealing itself and you start liking yourself again. If you should stop taking the gabapentin, step down slowly. It should not shock your system back into low or no production of GABA. But if those symptoms return, you'll know for sure that you have something wrong with your natural production of GABA and that the medicine that deals with the condition right now is gabapentin. I couldn't make this up if I tried.

 

I am only taking 100mg of gabapentin. I am going to give it a try for the rest of the week. The thing you said that scares me is if I want to stop taking it, i basically have to wean myself off. Ill have to ask my doctor for a lower dosage? And sorry for all the questions, but are you still taking it?

I'm so friggin stressed out...I actually went to the ER today. They told me that I have muscle spasms in my neck that could be causing the pressure in my head. Also got blood drawn to check for lukewarm disease.

 

Thank you so much for responding in length, your actually making me feel a little better.

[Feelin Frisky]

I am only taking 100mg of gabapentin. I am going to give it a try for the rest of the week. The thing you said that scares me is if I want to stop taking it, i basically have to wean myself off. Ill have to ask my doctor for a lower dosage? And sorry for all the questions, but are you still taking it?

I'm so friggin stressed out...I actually went to the ER today. They told me that I have muscle spasms in my neck that could be causing the pressure in my head. Also got blood drawn to check for lukewarm disease.

 

Thank you so much for responding in length, your actually making me feel a little better.

 

You need to keep taking it for you to tell if it helps you--it is not really "medicating" your anxiety. It is boosting production of the gaba acid I mentioned. That gaba acid is low often low in anxiety suffers. Your doctor is trying to increase your gaba acid so that toxic by-products of normal biology like chlorine atoms don't get caught in nerve cells and set off the alarms you experience as anxiety. Please don't cut yourself off from the potential benefit over some bias against ALL medicine.

 

My doctor had me taking 300 MG in the morning and 300 mg at night. If you're taking only 100 MG a day, you are barely being treated at all. In no way did I feel the presence of the drug when I took it or absence when I finally stopped. The only reason I said to "step down" your dosage is for your natural system to adjust to the lack of a booster so that it is just gentler. You won't "feel" it one way or the other. You can only take stock over time if the gaba-pentin was helped your gaba system improve and if that was really the problem or not. You can Google gabapentin but be very careful not to accidentally go to sites who are selling GABA "supplements". Those are what created my condition. I don't need the gabapentin any more and don't take it.

[oldguy]

I would take the medication to bring some relief & then continue to press for a reason this is happening to you. Maybe think of the medication as a band-aide for now.

[jen_r]

You need to keep taking it for you to tell if it helps you--it is not really "medicating" your anxiety. It is boosting production of the gaba acid I mentioned. That gaba acid is low often low in anxiety suffers. Your doctor is trying to increase your gaba acid so that toxic by-products of normal biology like chlorine atoms don't get caught in nerve cells and set off the alarms you experience as anxiety. Please don't cut yourself off from the potential benefit over some bias against ALL medicine.

 

My doctor had me taking 300 MG in the morning and 300 mg at night. If you're taking only 100 MG a day, you are barely being treated at all. In no way did I feel the presence of the drug when I took it or absence when I finally stopped. The only reason I said to "step down" your dosage is for your natural system to adjust to the lack of a booster so that it is just gentler. You won't "feel" it one way or the other. You can only take stock over time if the gaba-pentin was helped your gaba system improve and if that was really the problem or not. You can Google gabapentin but be very careful not to accidentally go to sites who are selling GABA "supplements". Those are what created my condition. I don't need the gabapentin any more and don't take it.

 

I must say...I don't know if today is a good day or what, but my anxiety is non-existent at the moment. I went to my physical therapy appt, the drugstore and washed my car myself! I don't want to jump the gun here because I could just be having a good day, but...if this is due to the gabapentin I am beyond happy. I'm going to continue taking it. It is causing me to be up all night and not sleep well, but maybe I will adjust.

 

So in your case, you took if for a certain amount of time and then once you were off of it your body just learned how to "be" without the medication? No more anxiety?

[Feelin Frisky]

I must say...I don't know if today is a good day or what, but my anxiety is non-existent at the moment. I went to my physical therapy appt, the drugstore and washed my car myself! I don't want to jump the gun here because I could just be having a good day, but...if this is due to the gabapentin I am beyond happy. I'm going to continue taking it. It is causing me to be up all night and not sleep well, but maybe I will adjust.

 

So in your case, you took if for a certain amount of time and then once you were off of it your body just learned how to "be" without the medication? No more anxiety?

 

No more anxiety for me. I caused the problem as I explained above and shut down my natural production of the important neurotransmitter that Gabapentin boosts back up. In your case you may have some other reason why your production of GABA was low, but you doctor believes gabapentin is the right way to deal with it and I know that he's right to go that way. Since you suffered quite a bit for a long time, you might just wanna following the prescription directions and only stop if you really find it bothers you. It does not usually keep people awake and is given to many people with "never chatter" in other parts of their body to quiet the noise so they can sleep. It doesn't make me drowsy but I did feel like I slept heavier and more restful and got more out of sleep when I took it.