Panic attacks..

[ge0rgette2]

I have to agree with you zurgs!

That stress enhancer is gone, not a word from him lol

My son has been sick and not speaking to his friends so I'm unsure how he's making out..

On another note, with my panic attack, I had horrrrific back pain - on and off for about 5-6 weeks, wrote it off as I needed a chiropractic adjustment, needed to sleep better, sit and stand better, you name it, I blamed it.. Over that Friday of this attack, the pain shot down my leg, and I panicked. I have suffered sciatic issues in the past, but THIS WAS NOT the same.

Over the weekend, I was in more pain.. after not being able to urinate during the weekend, I spoke to my urologist who told me to go straight to the ER.. That was yesterday morning.. I was in the ER for most of the day, arriving home around 9pm last night. Kidney stones, is what I was thinking and with a CT and blood work done, it seems I have an ovarian cyst.. talk about panic once again. Was discharged and need to follow up with my 'female' doctor.

So, I'm stressed once again... But trying to breathe through it!

TMI right?? )

 

[NYEmomma]

*hugs*

I've suffered from panic/anxiety disorder on and off for 10 years. Mine is highly, HIGHLY related to hormonal changes.

This past fall when I was on fertility medicine (and then my body went bezerk and released 2 eggs ) it just got absolutely out of control and I finally talked to my doctor about it. Prior to that, the only person that knew I suffered from panic attacks was my husband.

He prescribed me Zoloft and gave me the name of a therapist. I've been doing Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (along the lines of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) with a therapist for 3 months now and it has helped me SOOOO much.

It's really been empowering to understand why my body does this and to learn techniques to control them on my own. I've also been learning a lot of relaxation techniques.

I've actually weaned off of the Zoloft and haven't taken it at all for the past week... I needed to get off of it before I entered my third trimester.

I've had some rough moments since stopping the Zoloft and had one panic attack, but I was able to get it under control before it go bad and it didn't result in this elevating level of anxiety.

Just this weekend, I talked to a therapist that specializes in PPD to develop a plan for my mental healthcare after I give birth. She's going to prescribe Buspar for the anxiety attacks and then we'll be doing vitamin D3 for the anxiety.

Does anyone have any experience with Buspar?

 

[ge0rgette2]

Beat of luck to you.

Whats Behavioral therapy? Ive met with a therapist few years ago when the panics attacked. She only wanted to talk abOut religion and i never went back.

 

[NYEmomma]

I have to agree with you zurgs!

That stress enhancer is gone, not a word from him lol

My son has been sick and not speaking to his friends so I'm unsure how he's making out..

On another note, with my panic attack, I had horrrrific back pain - on and off for about 5-6 weeks, wrote it off as I needed a chiropractic adjustment, needed to sleep better, sit and stand better, you name it, I blamed it.. Over that Friday of this attack, the pain shot down my leg, and I panicked. I have suffered sciatic issues in the past, but THIS WAS NOT the same.

Over the weekend, I was in more pain.. after not being able to urinate during the weekend, I spoke to my urologist who told me to go straight to the ER.. That was yesterday morning.. I was in the ER for most of the day, arriving home around 9pm last night. Kidney stones, is what I was thinking and with a CT and blood work done, it seems I have an ovarian cyst.. talk about panic once again. Was discharged and need to follow up with my 'female' doctor.

So, I'm stressed once again... But trying to breathe through it!

TMI right?? )

One thing to be aware of, that might help you (that I've recently learned thanks to my therapist ), is that when you start having panic attacks, you become hyper aware of your body.

So all those feelings that you experience when the panic hits... for me it's nausea, shakiness, rapid heartbeat, etc. you start to associate with a panic attack. And it's like your brain is on the lookout for these symptoms, and the minute you feel them it goes, "bam! Time for a panic attack!"

For me, I was feeling nauseous in my first trimester and it caused me so many panic attacks because instead of nausea being a SYMPTOM of my attack, it turned into a CAUSE. Know what I mean?

So a good way to try to quell the panic once it starts, is to take a self assessment. Are you feeling like this because you're having a panic attack or can you blame it on something else. For me, if I start to get shaky and then the panic starts coming on, I do a quick self assessment and ask myself, am I shaky because I'm having a panic attack, or am I shaky because I need to eat something and my blood sugar is low?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Beat of luck to you.

Whats Behavioral therapy? Ive met with a therapist few years ago when the panics attacked. She only wanted to talk abOut religion and i never went back.

It is just a plan for learning how to manage your anxiety so it does not get to the "panic level". Or when you hit the panic level you learn techniques to bring yourself out of it. Like visualization, square breathing, & other stuff.

My 15yodd saw a great counselor who worked with her. Now it is NOT a cure. It is a program that you "work" to manage yourself.

As you get better, then things become easier to manage and so on. Success builds on itself.

 

[ge0rgette2]

Thanks!

Why take d3 vitamin?

 

[NYEmomma]

Thanks!

Why take d3 vitamin?

That's for depression. I had post-partum depression with my daughter & while there were a LOT of circumstances that contributed to it that my therapist (and myself) are confident will not replay themselves, vitamin D3 is a mood booster and is safe to take, so I'll be taking that now and continue taking it for the foreseeable future. I'm also contemplating getting a light box for this coming fall & winter. DH has seasonal affective disorder so it would help him out too.

 

[sasywtch]

It is just a plan for learning how to manage your anxiety so it does not get to the "panic level". Or when you hit the panic level you learn techniques to bring yourself out of it. Like visualization, square breathing, & other stuff.


As you get better, then things become easier to manage and so on. Success builds on itself.

That sounds like what my psychiatrist was having me do. Work myself out of it. I had to find what was good for me. Others in our group did well telling themself to breathe, relax but with me, That made it worse. My technique is to get my mind off all of it. No talk of relaxing, breathing, etc. I have to get my mind away from it. That's not true for others.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

That sounds like what my psychiatrist was having me do. Work myself out of it. I had to find what was good for me. Others in our group did well telling themself to breathe, relax but with me, That made it worse. My technique is to get my mind off all of it. No talk of relaxing, breathing, etc. I have to get my mind away from it. That's not true for others.

Visualization is great. I used it at the dentist the other day to keep myself from passing out. That works for me. I focus on my dog's face and playing ball with her. She has such a happy face & within a minute, I was good.

You do have to figure out what works for you.

My 15yodd has to breath + visualize because she has syncope and will pass out. It does not take much for her to pass out.

So I am sure I will be passing out later because she has joined up to work the play as a "Tech" on the lights!!!!

 

[136368]

Beat of luck to you.

Whats Behavioral therapy? Ive met with a therapist few years ago when the panics attacked. She only wanted to talk abOut religion and i never went back.

There are many different types of behavioural therapy. The current popular one is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) which is focussed around the mental processes and the logic behind behaviour. You'd be set tasks and homework aimed at making you rationalise your own fears, emotions and so on. I found it to be strong stuff, a great accompaniment to medication - would DEFINITELY recommend it either as monotherapy or as complitherapy.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

There are many different types of behavioural therapy. The current popular one is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) which is focussed around the mental processes and the logic behind behaviour. You'd be set tasks and homework aimed at making you rationalise your own fears, emotions and so on. I found it to be strong stuff, a great accompaniment to medication - would DEFINITELY recommend it either as monotherapy or as complitherapy.

Good explanation. My younger dd's counselor did this as well. She was a fan of the "Pro/Con" list. Of course that may have just been specific to my dd since she is a perfectionist personality with some OCD issues.

Basically listing out the "con" and then rationalizing the "pro". Everytime you felt the "con" coming on you pull out the sheet and focus on the pro to the con.

It really helped. Now however she does NOT do everything she is supposed to to keep it "working" however she is aware of what she needs to do to keep herself on track and honestly that is terrific in of itself.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

Just wanted to hug the group. I've had pretty bad anxiety all my life. As a child, they tried to put me in therapy during my parent's divorce, but I refused to speak. I really didn't speak to anyone other than my family until I was about 7 or 8. As I got older, they assumed I was just having a tantrum or acting out--when I really felt like I couldn't breathe and knew something was wrong. Fast forward to age 19 when I was on my own with my own insurance... I got it checked out. They had me on Lexapro and Ativan right away. I at some point during insurance changes dropped the Lexapro because of costs. Tried Celexa, but it made me a zombie--wanted to fall asleep all day. Tried Prozac, made me throw up. Was prescribed a few others along the way--didn't fill them. Went back to Lexapro. Decided I was going to manage it myself--and now I stand alone with Ativan for sudden attacks. I try not to rely on the Ativan and try to manage by going to get a massage, or taking a hot bath, or cleaning. I do my best cleaning in a state of panic--like I'm on speed. I actually had one last night, and a hot bath and a cup of tea settled me in about 30 minutes. I had so much to do, that if I took the meds, I would be asleep in an hour, and I would lose a valuable 4 hours on my only night off. I also must remember this time to pack meds in my carry on. Last time I put them in my checked bag, the airline moved my seat from the aisle to the window--and I couldn't breathe for 2 hours--I was almost positive I wasn't going to make it. I called to advise them of my issue, and asked that they don't change my seat this time.... but they told me they can't guaruntee that (which makes no sense why you pick a seat on Delta if they change it anyway).

Hugs to everyone who suffers, or that has a family member that suffers. I don't think everyone understands panic/anxiety, which makes it worse for us when they think it's minor or that we're pill poppers.