Who has suffered a panic attack?

[Apparition]

Losangelena, excellent story. I'm glad to see you have recovered and are in a better place now. I'm slowly getting there but still need to work on myself a lot. May I ask how you weened yourself off Xanax? I need to ween myself off medication as well. Though, it's pretty addictive and I'm completely dependent on it, which I despise. I was never one for taking medication and this has put me off completely now, but I need to take it otherwise I'll have horrible withdrawal symptoms and when I went through that it was the worst time of my life. I do not drink as much as I used to, I only drink on occasion, such as parties (which are rare in my family). I need to cut out eating crap because I get lazy when I get out of work since I get home very late and I usually just make a quick meal, usually not healthy.

 

You diagnosing yourself with cancer and heart problems sounds exactly like me. Scary to read almost. Anyway, it was really nice reading your story, I hope to hear more from you about that difficult time in your life and how you overcame it. I'm sure there's more to add.

[Giggle]

I have been having trouble since my mom died. I saw an herbalist who prescribed me some homeopathic remedies. I've been doing sooooo much better since.

[whichwayisup]

I have been having trouble since my mom died. I saw an herbalist who prescribed me some homeopathic remedies. I've been doing sooooo much better since.

 

What kind of remedies have they given you? Are there any side effects?

[Giggle]

You really have to see a homeopathist because you have to describe how the anxiety affects you and steer them to what is right for you. One question she asked was whether I feared death. The affects for a longer term prescription is very slow to notice. It took a few months to notice that I was having fewer bad days. They don't have side effects. I was on them for about 6 months every day twice a day, and more often on the days that I was having issues.

 

Last year I was curled up on the couch in tears scared as hell I was going to end up in a padded cell. Felt like I was going crazy and I have 5 kids... I'd wake up going omg omg, for no particularly good reason. I was freaking out over doing my taxes and I knew it wasn't going to be bad..I knew I wasn't going to owe anything, but I was filled with dread and anxiety.

 

This morning I've taken some again cause I could feel some anxiety kicking up but this is just a normal blip. Last year was awful. However kinda like with migraines if I don't take caffeine as soon as I notice them..I'm afraid it could get worse. The memory of how bad it was can scare me.

[losangelena]

Losangelena, excellent story. I'm glad to see you have recovered and are in a better place now. I'm slowly getting there but still need to work on myself a lot. May I ask how you weened yourself off Xanax? I need to ween myself off medication as well. Though, it's pretty addictive and I'm completely dependent on it, which I despise. I was never one for taking medication and this has put me off completely now, but I need to take it otherwise I'll have horrible withdrawal symptoms and when I went through that it was the worst time of my life. I do not drink as much as I used to, I only drink on occasion, such as parties (which are rare in my family). I need to cut out eating crap because I get lazy when I get out of work since I get home very late and I usually just make a quick meal, usually not healthy.

 

You diagnosing yourself with cancer and heart problems sounds exactly like me. Scary to read almost. Anyway, it was really nice reading your story, I hope to hear more from you about that difficult time in your life and how you overcame it. I'm sure there's more to add.

 

About the Xanax—well, 1.5 mg is a pretty small dosage to start. How much are you taking? I knew I wanted to stop taking it, it wasn't doing much good anyway, and I knew that with all the therapy and other coping mechanism, I could probably weather my symptoms and not need it. I think it helped that I always took it, in .5 dosages, three times a day rather than whenever I wanted it. Anyway, I just gradually started taking less, trimming off a quarter to start, then a half, for several weeks at a time, until I was barely taking anything. Eventfully I took what was left and flushed it.

 

Definitely talk to your doctor about wanting to wean off. Then look up a triation schedule online. Slow and steady and deliberate. That's how you wean yourself off. It can't just be random. I saw a guy for a while who was horribly addicted to Ativan, and I believe it was the root cause of all his other addictions. But he also never had the discipline to work at it either.

 

I'm happy to give more info, but would rather you ask specific questions rather than me just blathering on. Two general thing I woul say though, is that if you want to get better, you're really going to have to commit to change. I think a lot of people who suffer from panic attack or anxiety see it as something happening TO them, and not something they're driving themselves through lifestyle and/or mindset. I hate panic attacks so much that I would do virtually anything to get rid of them, but even with a variety of active treatments, it still took a year to feel 100% better. So yes, it's a commitment. Secondly, you've got to get help, be it a doctor, a therapist, a trusted friend. You need a support network of people who know the truth about what's going on with you so that they can help when you're in a bad place. I had a doctor, a therapist, a homeopath, a nutritionist, a life coach, and a handful of 24/7 friends. My boss knew what was going on, and was extra lenient when I was late for work because I was too freaked out to get out of bed. Maybe that's overkill, but point being, you can't do this by yourself.

Edited December 24, 2015 by losangelena