Posted by Cairo on March 14, 2006, at 22:25:05
In reply to What Kind of Pattern Is This?, posted by blueberry on March 14, 2006, at 19:43:05
Sounds like an atypical depression pattern like I have, but with panic attacks only at night. I wake feeling fairly good, crash and burn in the afternoons, revive just before bedtime, but now have (had) frequent daytime and nighttime panic attacks brought on (unmasked?) by a trial of Topamax; clonazepam helps the panic attacks, propranolol is useful as an adjunct, and adding pregabalin two weeks ago is adding another measure of antianxiety to the arsenal (and is believed to lower norepinephrine) as well as helps my chronic pain somewhat, to boot.
Stay away from all stimulants including caffeine, chocolate, alcohol (1 glass of wine and I'm awake until 3-4am), preservatives, etc. and stress. If any of these intrude, I start with non-stop sweating, shakiness, moving on to full blown panic attacks if I'm stressed too much mentally or physiologically.
You should also consider a sleep study to check for apnea or UARS; panic attacks can be caused by apnea. While I still don't waken refreshed, I must say that I don't get nocturnal panic attacks using a CPAP. Dysregulation of the HPA axis can be a factor in apnea/UARS.
Good luck.
Cairo
poster:Cairo
thread:620334
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060310/msgs/620418.html