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I took Celexa for a year, it did nothing. Then they put me on Zoloft, it worked for awhile and then my panic attacks came back in a huge way, now I am on Cymbalta, been on it almost a month. So far I feel ok, it took away the nervousness I felt everyday, my heart isnt racing either like it was. My panic attacks have really decreased, thank god!!! Oh and I have 3 cats..lol. They help me when I dont feel well, they know and will stay with me. I love my babies.
Shaken&Disturbed, I know just how you feel. Driving is such a hard thing for me to do. Everytime I get in a car whether I am driving or not, I get really anxious. I havent been on a plane in 16 years. I dont think I could handle that. I like the option of being able to pull over if I need to. One of the worst feelings that you get with panic/anxiety is the feeling being out of control, and it does make you feel ashamed and guilty and a long list of other bad feelings.... But it isnt your fault. That is what you have to remember!! You didnt wish for this disorder, and now all you can do is deal with it the best you can, whether it is through meds, CBT, or whatever else there is out there. I have been dealing with this for over 20 years now. I am still here kickin...lol. Just know you arent alone in your journey, there are sadly a lot of us out there. We are here to help each other, so please post as often as you like. The people here are great.
I also just came across this article on MSN, I thought it was interesting, maybe you guys will too...
Suzette, how is the new medication working for you? Do you feel better? I hope so for your sake. I can't imagine how you must have been feeling before. I know if I forget to take my medication, I can feel the panic seeping back into my brain, I can't imagine how bad that would be several times a day.
The Cymbalta has helped me a lot. I dont feel the nervousness that I had every moment of everyday, so that is a good thing. My panic attacks have decreased. I am hopful of this new medication. I havent had any side effects either, which is always a great thing!!! I am the same way when I am on a med, if I stop it for a bit, then the panic really comes on. I am not sure I like the idea of having to be on medication forever, but it is way better than having to feel anxious/panicy. I hope you are doing well too Lindsey, and thank you for asking how I was doing. I appreciate it very much.
The Cymbalta has helped me a lot. I dont feel the nervousness that I had every moment of everyday, so that is a good thing. My panic attacks have decreased. I am hopful of this new medication. I havent had any side effects either, which is always a great thing!!! I am the same way when I am on a med, if I stop it for a bit, then the panic really comes on. I am not sure I like the idea of having to be on medication forever, but it is way better than having to feel anxious/panicy. I hope you are doing well too Lindsey, and thank you for asking how I was doing. I appreciate it very much.
Suzette
I hate taking medication also but not as much as I hate how I feel without it. There are some pretty difficult side effects on Paxil at least for me but nothing near as bad as life without it.
I am glad to hear you are feeling better. You have been in my thoughts considering how severe your anxiety has been. I hate to hear anyone else is feeling this way. The terror is so hard to deal with.
Although my panic attacks have gotten much better in the past few years I am finding now that I am getting them when I have higher levels of stress, especially when I am dealing with many things at once. Tonight is the first time I have had to take medication in almost 10 months, now I just hope I can get my mental health under control. Nothing worse than when you feel you don't have control over you mind and body
Also I have always been told by doctors that anxiety usually goes hand and hand with depression, do many of you feel that you are affected by both?
I used to only have the anxiety but now that I am getting older I feel down and hopeless much more often, again I would like to treat both of these with minimal drugs and really learn how to cope with my life. Any suggestions for everyday strategies?
Oh also I have really bad sleeping problems mainly night terrors and irrational behavior. My Father also suffered from this but not quite has bad I wonder if they are all connected.
Although my panic attacks have gotten much better in the past few years I am finding now that I am getting them when I have higher levels of stress, especially when I am dealing with many things at once. Tonight is the first time I have had to take medication in almost 10 months, now I just hope I can get my mental health under control. Nothing worse than when you feel you don't have control over you mind and body
Also I have always been told by doctors that anxiety usually goes hand and hand with depression, do many of you feel that you are affected by both?
I used to only have the anxiety but now that I am getting older I feel down and hopeless much more often, again I would like to treat both of these with minimal drugs and really learn how to cope with my life. Any suggestions for everyday strategies?
Oh also I have really bad sleeping problems mainly night terrors and irrational behavior. My Father also suffered from this but not quite has bad I wonder if they are all connected.
I agree with what your saying about depression but I can tell you the depression for me has never been as hard to deal with as the anxiety. Its the panic attacks and generalized anxiety that cripples me the most.
Although my panic attacks have gotten much better in the past few years I am finding now that I am getting them when I have higher levels of stress, especially when I am dealing with many things at once. Tonight is the first time I have had to take medication in almost 10 months, now I just hope I can get my mental health under control. Nothing worse than when you feel you don't have control over you mind and body
Also I have always been told by doctors that anxiety usually goes hand and hand with depression, do many of you feel that you are affected by both?
I used to only have the anxiety but now that I am getting older I feel down and hopeless much more often, again I would like to treat both of these with minimal drugs and really learn how to cope with my life. Any suggestions for everyday strategies?
Oh also I have really bad sleeping problems mainly night terrors and irrational behavior. My Father also suffered from this but not quite has bad I wonder if they are all connected.
redwhiteblue, I am sorry that you are having trouble with your anxiety right now. My anxiety usually flairs up during very stressful times too. As far as being depressed, its funny, I never thought I was depressed, just anxious. But now that I am on yet another med, I feel so much better. I am really liking this Cymbalta the Dr put me on. My mood is much lighter and my constent feeling of nervousness is gone. I am not so much on the attack anymore. Meaning that since I was so nervous all the time, it didnt take much to get me angry or set me off. All of that is gone. Like I said, I feel lighter, like all of that anger has been lifted from me.
As for strategies, that is hard, because depending on how bad my anxiety cycle is, that determines for me how well I can practice some of the strategies I have learned from all the people I have seen over 20 years of having this problem. If I cant even calm down long enough to breathe right, then I cant do anything but take one of my little pills, which I hate doing. But when I can calm down enough, I do my self hyponisis(sp?)that helps me a lot, it is very simple to do. If you want to try, let me know and I will tell you what to do. Practice your breathing. That is a huge thing in controlling panic/anxiety. Go to a quite place if you can to get away from the situation that is making you feel anxious. Even just a few minutes of quite time can really help.
My sleeping pattern has been awful since panic came into my life. Just recently I was going on I think it was 3 or 4 days with no sleep. My anxiety was so bad it was one attack after another. I finally had to go to a Doctor, and that is where he put me on Cymbalta. My sleeping has gotten better too. But I understand about the night terrors. I am sure they are all connected in some way. I wish you luck in feeling better, I know what you are going through and how awful it can be. Keep posting here and let us know how you are doing.
That is so awesome about your meds, it's great when you find something that works!
I would love to know more about the hypnosis I am a big believer in it.
Thank you for the support it is really nice to know I'm not alone.
Redwhiteandblue - Believe me, you are not alone with the panic attacks, there are many, many people with them, both diagnosed and not diagnosed.
I went to a hypnotherapist when my panic attacks were really bad. He taught me self-hypnosis which did help and still does when I get really uptight, it helps to relax me and my mind and "visualize" a positive outcome/good feeling type of thing. I also find relaxation/meditation tapes/CDs to help immensely.
Journaling also helped me and still helps if I start feeling "out of control" - it helps me to focus and usually helps me to "see" where the feelings are coming from - sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for them, sometimes there is and the journaling helps with that.
There is life with and after panic disorder. Different things work for different people and sometimes you have to try various things until you find what works for you.
Visualization is a great tool to use. I will write down the steps that my hypnotherapist gave to me. Obviously dont do while driving or any other activity, you need to be totally relaxed and either sitting in a very comfortable way or laying down. You need quite and if you can make the room you are in kinda dark with a candle going, that helps too.
First off, lay or sit and then stare up with your eyes until you can look any higher, do this while taking 5 deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Then close your eyes.
Start counting back from 25. Take a deep breath through your nose and say the number in your mind, you need to also see the number some way, whether it is by sky writting or in the sand or whatever, it is very important that you see it in your head. Then as you see the number, say it softly and say like calm or peaceful, or something like that as you exhale through your mouth.
Do this till you get to 1. Then count up from 1 to 5, only this time say things like happy or great or some kind of really positive word, then after you get to 5, open your eyes and you should feel pretty good. It takes some pratice, but it really does work and help.
redwhiteblue, you are definetly not alone with this. There are some really great people on this thread that can offer up some personal advice for you, that might help. Sometimes it is nice to know you have a place to go to just even vent..lol. Dare, gave you some good advice on the journaling. Writing is very theraputic. Yes, I am glad this medication is working too
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. I dont think I could handle that. I like the option of being able to pull over if I need to. One of the worst feelings that you get with panic/anxiety is the feeling being out of control, and it does make you feel ashamed and guilty and a long list of other bad feelings...
. But it isnt your fault. That is what you have to remember!! You didnt wish for this disorder, and now all you can do is deal with it the best you can, whether it is through meds, CBT, or whatever else there is out there. I have been dealing with this for over 20 years now. I am still here kickin...lol. Just know you arent alone in your journey, there are sadly a lot of us out there. We are here to help each other, so please post as often as you like. The people here are great. 
. Practice your breathing. That is a huge thing in controlling panic/anxiety. Go to a quite place if you can to get away from the situation that is making you feel anxious. Even just a few minutes of quite time can really help.