Panic Attacks

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Linybaby

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When I was a young child I had Lyme disease and started getting panic attacks due to the illness. My mother at the time had the disease to and also suffering from the attacks.

She was great teaching me how to over come them and also preventing them from getting worse when we felt one coming on. This was back in 1993-1994.

I have had them ever since. Sometimes worse than others. I was stricken by another neurological disease, gullian barre syndrome at the age of 18. Well needless to say the panic attacks never went away. That was in the year 2000.

Since then I have gotten married, had 2 children, which are 3 and 22 months. I am a stay at home mom. Well lately since both of my children are very much on the go, money is tight, health issues with my children and myself. Now my mother has something going on that we just found out yesterday. I am having panic attacks left and right. I can’t just take the time anymore to sit and calm myself down like I always have.

I don’t have a regular primary doctor. I have been seeing this primary/urgent care doctor that I have seen a few times (2 or 3 times).

I feel like I need some type of medicine to help me get through this but afraid that he might see me as a pill popper, which I am not. I hate taking meds.

Any advice? anyone been in my situation?

I have been praying to Jesus to help me and although he gives me signs that I will be ok these panic attacks are scary.
 
You should follow up with a physician. Discuss your feelings with him. He is the health care professional. I’m praying for you.
 
Linybaby said:
When I was a young child I had Lyme disease and started getting panic attacks due to the illness. My mother at the time had the disease to and also suffering from the attacks.

She was great teaching me how to over come them and also preventing them from getting worse when we felt one coming on. This was back in 1993-1994.

I have had them ever since. Sometimes worse than others. I was stricken by another neurological disease, gullian barre syndrome at the age of 18. Well needless to say the panic attacks never went away. That was in the year 2000.

Since then I have gotten married, had 2 children, which are 3 and 22 months. I am a stay at home mom. Well lately since both of my children are very much on the go, money is tight, health issues with my children and myself. Now my mother has something going on that we just found out yesterday. I am having panic attacks left and right. I can’t just take the time anymore to sit and calm myself down like I always have.

I don’t have a regular primary doctor. I have been seeing this primary/urgent care doctor that I have seen a few times (2 or 3 times).

I feel like I need some type of medicine to help me get through this but afraid that he might see me as a pill popper, which I am not. I hate taking meds.

Any advice? anyone been in my situation?

I have been praying to Jesus to help me and although he gives me signs that I will be ok these panic attacks are scary.
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If you have panic attacks, you might want to see a psychologist, get a diagnosis, and see a psychiatrist about getting medication.

Now, perhaps a regular MD can even give medication, but it’s not his area.

Someone I know used to get panic attacks. He went to his MD, and she gave him an antidepressant, and he felt better. The attacks stopped. However, in addition, he also had obsessive-compulsive disorder, diagnosed by a psychologist, later, but he preferred to go to his MD and not bother with a psychiatrist.

So, this did nothing except take out just one of his symptoms, and there were things underlying all this. He was having the panic attacks in the first place, because he had to change something in his job and move. He was panicking due to the change. Really, the OCD was the problem causing the panic attacks. The MD gave him medication but never got to the underlying problem, which was the OCD!

So, he ended up a happy OCD! Had he gone to a psychiatrist and gotten medication, I think both the panic attacks AND the OCD would have been addressed,

So, if you’re having panic attacks, I’d recommend going to a psychologist, who, if needed, would refer you to a psychiatrist for this rather than an MD. Psychiatrists have experience in this area, specifically. If one medication doesn’t work, they know others, have experience of a lot of people in this same position.

So yes, medication can probably help diminish, if not stop, these attacks. Many medications now are not addictive. Medication has improved a lot even in the last decade!

Now, some people don’t want to go to a psychiatrist, due to the stigma attached, but they are the experts in this field. I have no hesitation encouraging people who have depression, even, to see a psychiatrist. I encourage they get diagnosed by a psychologist, because it’s so easy for an MD to give an antidepressant.

However, with the example of depression, it’s so often associated with other conditions. So, if an MD gives medication for depression…what if the depression is being caused by something else? If it is, then the real problem isn’t getting tended to.

So, I’d recommend seeing a psychologist, getting this diagnosed properly to begin with, and going from there.
 
I am not depressed, I am the opposite, very very happy with everything in my life. Jesus has given me so much to be thankful for…my lovely home, a wonderful husband, two terrific children.

These panic attacks are side effects from my medical history. I know how to deal with them but right now with two busy children in the house, I can’t sit quietly and pray and relax. (Not yoga or mediation)

I am afraid that my doctor will think its depression when its not! I am afraid to tell him, I guess.
 
A medical group or clinic physician (internist) is an MD who is able to refer to a psychiatrist (another MD) or a psychologist (not an MD). A psychiatrist is specifically trained to make the diagnosis of a psychiatric nature and script the appropriate medication.
 
Linybaby said:
I am not depressed, I am the opposite, very very happy with everything in my life. Jesus has given me so much to be thankful for…my lovely home, a wonderful husband, two terrific children.

These panic attacks are side effects from my medical history. I know how to deal with them but right now with two busy children in the house, I can’t sit quietly and pray and relax. (Not yoga or mediation)

I am afraid that my doctor will think its depression when its not! I am afraid to tell him, I guess.
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I was using depression as an example but didn’t mean to say you were.

If there are all these conditions, that you are NOT depressed, that this is a side effect, then all the more reason to call in a specialist who would know more about these issues.
 
ClearWater said:
I was using depression as an example but didn’t mean to say you were.

If there are all these conditions, that you are NOT depressed, that this is a side effect, then all the more reason to call in a specialist who would know more about these issues.
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Sorry I reread your post, I understand now. Yes, I do need to talk to someone, just afraid how they will take it! Thanks
 
There have been many posts here regarding panic attacks and since I have suffered from them also I just want you to know you are not alone. There are many ways to get treated but you have to start with a trip to the doctor. Pray for Gd to lead you to one who understands the complaint and can diagnose and treat you effectively. I will pray for that for you also.
 
Linybaby said:
I am not depressed, I am the opposite, very very happy with everything in my life. Jesus has given me so much to be thankful for…my lovely home, a wonderful husband, two terrific children.

These panic attacks are side effects from my medical history. I know how to deal with them but right now with two busy children in the house, I can’t sit quietly and pray and relax. (Not yoga or mediation)

I am afraid that my doctor will think its depression when its not! I am afraid to tell him, I guess.
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Just for the record: many people who have much to be thankful for and happy about suffer from depression; it’s often a medical condition just the same as diabetes or a broken leg; it’s just not physically as visible. 🙂 Even if you don’t have ‘clinical’ depression, anti-depressants can sometimes treat things not first thought of.

God bless.
 
I suffer from panic attacks. I also have an autoimmune disease called Neuromyelitis Optica.

I went to my doctor who told me that I would treat a chemical imbalance in my kidneys if I had one, why won’t I treat a chemical imbalance in my brain?

So I followed her suggestion and I’m now on Celexa. It is an antidepressant, but I use it for my panic attacks. It has helped.

She also gave me some pointers - it has helped me to cut down on caffeine, drink lots of water to keep myself hydrated, get plenty of exercise (it’s hard with kids, but doable), get plenty of sleep (so important!) and tap to get that excess energy out of my system. When I feel a panic attack coming on, I tap my legs or just wiggle my fingers, anything to keep moving and believe it or not, as silly as this sounds, it has helped me and it doesn’t draw attention to me because people just see it as fidgeting. Deep breathing has helped too. Also, knowing that I’m not in imminent danger and that I really can escape from the situation has helped me as well.

I used to have an average of 2-3 panic attacks a WEEK. Now I’m down to having them about once a month, probably closer to once every couple of months. That’s huge for me. My panic attacks keep me from enjoying life, so going on the Celexa was a life saver for me and I’m now doing things that I haven’t done in years due to my fear of having a panic attack.

For what it’s worth, my husband is a family doctor and has said in the past that the number one thing he sees for women is anxiety. Know you’re not alone. 🙂
 
may God bless you ! I’m 52 and had P_A since I was 14 now! I have the right meds and Doc. to help me… I will say that without prayer and God I know it would be a lot Harder…So seek out the correct Doc… who deals with these issues … I still believe That prayer has been a big help talking to my Priest also helped … The hard thing is to have patience we all want the quick fix… For me it comes and goes but I fight it with the help of are Dear Lord and Priest the Doctors and Med… Hope this helps !!! Try to stay positive …Peace be with you and may your days be filled with confidence and the holy spirit…
 
Linybaby said:
My mother at the time had the disease to and also suffering from the attacks.

She was great teaching me how to over come them and also preventing them from getting worse when we felt one coming on. This was back in 1993-1994.

…

Any advice? anyone been in my situation?
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What advice did your mother give you? Just out of curiosity…
I’ve had Panic Attacks forever, I remember having them as a 4 year old…

But I had my by far most horrible one this year in early february. I watched a sci-fi horror movie and it got to me mentally, catapulting me into a thought process that resulted in the absolutely worst Panic i’ve ever expirienced. I ran around the appartment like a madman struggling to breathe, pray, scream, cry. Hyperventilating and absolutely sure that I was about to die… Wow that was some ride. 😊

Prior to that i only had light attacks once a month or so, but after that one in february they got cranked up to almost twice daily for 3-4 weeks… But then they eventually cooled off and now im back to “normal” monthly manageble ones.

I read once that the classic “paper bag” works because while in panic-mode one gets too much oxygen and the paper bag helps us regulate the level of oxygen by getting more Carbon dioxide in to calm down. I don’t know if the “paper bag” thing is some kind of placebo effect or if it works but it was basically what saved me that time in february. Man I was in shock for like 2 hours after the incident :rolleyes:
 
I have panic attacks. Definitely go see a doctor. One of the best things my doctor and I have done was just simply having a prescription for a shot acting medication that I can take only when I really need to. The very fact that I have the medication just in case I need it goes such a long way. Before having it available I would really avoid certain situations just because I might have a panic attack. I RARELY take the medication, but I find myself trying more things and really trying to overcome the panic attacks on my own because I have that medication in my purse just in case my attempts to control it do not work out. I’m very happy with the approach and my doctor is very happy with it as well.

Of course, everyone is different, and your solution will be personalized to what works best for you. Know you are certainly among many that get panic attacks, and keep working on them. They ARE something that you can reduce over time through one or a combination of therapies.

Don’t be afraid to take medication if your doctor recommends it. I have a neuroscience background and when you really study the brain you learn to appreciate the fact that as amazing as it is, it can certainly have it’s problems from time to time. The brain is a body part just like anything else and sometimes it does not work correctly. Medications are truly a gift from God when they are used properly.
 
there are some very good suggestions for panic attacks. Mine are triggered by the stigma of stress. An inability to relax, had a lot of trauma as a child. When the parasympathetic nervous system in your body is tricked into a stressful situation it prepares you for what it perceives as a panic situation, eg. an eminent auto accidents. Fear activates the adrenalin gland, when this happens the body prepares itself for the apparant sensed danger. This can happen without warning. There are four steps you can take: Face the fear, 2- accept the fear, 3-floating, not fighting nervousness, fight it and it gets worse 4- let time pass, don’t get in a hurry. You will enter a fight or flight reaction, ignore it the best you can. There is no crisis to cause the panic, it is a reaction to stress. If one has suffered a lot of stress in their life, they are predisposed to panic. If they are subjected to a situation that caused panic in the first place and they are reminded of that situation by something associated, psychologically it can trigger panic by association. When you feel panic, its the adrenalin thats making you skin crawl, causes hyperventalating, and even fainting. In endoginous panic, (self-sustaining) this may rquire medication,such as Xanax (benzodiasopine) a relaxant. Sustained stress can trigger an attack, avoid as much as possible. Also develop a strong trust in God, meditate on scriptures about trust, pray. Try to control the imagination, we may think that the situation is worse than it is. The more you can ignore the symptoms, as not serious, the better you will be able to cope. There is an excellent book by Doctor Claire Weekes titled “Hope and Help For Your Nerves” God bless you and heal you.
 
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