![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by worrier on September 1, 2003, at 16:31:52
Hey all, its been awhile since I've posted much, been way too muddled to respond to much. To be honest, things seen to be going downhill at a rather rapid clip and I'm not sure why. Hope someone out there has some insight or advice. For those who haven't read any of my prevoius posts. let me give a brief summary(to the rest of you I apologise for all the rehashing). I've had panic attacks for nearly 20yrs (I'm 42 now). They started when I was in grad school (biopyschology, how ironic) and my mom was quite ill (she was sick for 8 years before she died....stressful time, yes, but I did o.k.). Never sought help for the panic attacks as I could just ride them out or talk/breath myself out of them. They were an annoyance, but not much more than that...always happened at home when I should have been relaxed. Anyway, last year they started to happen much more frequently and much more intensely. About that time I had my yearly ob/gyn check up which showed anemia. The Dr. suggested a complete physical, which I hadn't had in years....so off I go to to dr. Turns out the anemia was a lab error, but I did mention the panic attacks. She gave me sample packs of prozac which made me really weird and disconnected after about 3 weeks...when I went back for my recheck she swithced me to paxil. Didn't notice much at all on 10mg, then increased to 20mg daily as directed. After about 2 weeks on 20mg I had the absolute worst panic attack of my life...honest to god thought I was dying..I had hot flashes,profuse sweating,vomiting, the absolute knowledge that something truly horrible was about to happen, though I had no idea what it was going to be. I had experienced much of this in many panic attacks before, but this was multiplied by an order of magnitude(or 2 or 3) and it lasted way into the next day until I finally convinced my husband to take me to the ER(never done that before). They gave me xanax which brought me down enough to sleep a bit. I called my md and told her what happened and she said I had to expect some "breakthrough anxiety" and to increase my paxil dose to 30mg per day. She gave me 30 .25mg xanax and said to use them only very occasionally. Also made it clear she'd never give me any more of them. So like p perfect fool I took the 30 mg of paxil and nearly went right off the edge. Didn't sleep for literally days, had to be literally pacing to keep from feeling like I was going to die. I felt like if someone had touched me I would have shattered into a million pieces. Went back to the dr. she took me off paxil, gave me Effexor xr (which I never took) and without asking or telling me tested me for illegal drugs. At my final recheck, she asked me if I was taking cocaine (no, and she had the reults of the drug test) said I was probably bipolar and should see a pdoc....I had already made an appt. He said my symtoms where the result of too much seotonin and to stay away from SSRIs. Started me on .5mg xanax 2-3 times a day. This helped take the edge off while (I thought) I was waiting for the paxil effects to wear off. Here we are well over a year later and I still have this horrible physical anxiety. There seems to virtually no mental component to it at all. He swithced me to xanax xr 2mg once daily and .5 to 1mg of reg. xanax at night. Helped a bit, the xr is much smoother. Anyway, had to mds reccomend a different pdoc, so I went for a second opinion. With him I've tried Gabitril with the xanax..no effect except the gabitril seemed to make me really dopey and irritable...now I'm on remeron and xanax...its only been a week, but things don't seem to be getting any better. To be honest I am beginning to feel like I'm at the end of my rope. Not that I'd consider suicide, but I sure don't look forward to another several decades of feeling like this. I could have made this long, babbling nonsense much shorter by just asking this...anyone had similar experiences? Anyone had success with remeron and if so at what dose and how long did it take to kick in? And anyone got any other suggestions or ideas? My motvation is virtually gone, friends and family are sick of hearing about it and I'm sick of feeling like this. Sorry to take up so much time, but you guys have been really helpful in the past. Best to all, Worrier.
Posted by Arrianna on September 1, 2003, at 22:42:02
In reply to Advice,suggestions,support,etc., posted by worrier on September 1, 2003, at 16:31:52
Wow! Sounds like you've been through way toooooo much hell! I'm really sorry to hear that your experiences with AD's have not worked out. Don't feel bad for writing so much. Sometimes, we just need to verbalize.
Anyway, don't know how much help I can be to you. New to AD's. Started taking Lexapro about 2 months ago (first AD ever been on) for anxiety and panic attacks. I know how debilitating and scary they can be.
We are all different, and what may work for one may not work for another, but it doesn't seem to me that one should experience anxiety and panic attacks on a med. But, then again, I'm not a doctor. Luckily for me, my anxiety instantly improved on the Lex. Not saying that you should switch, but it's a thought. Have heard alot of success stories with people on Lexapro.
I really hope things get better for you. You shouldn't have to live this way. Please hang in there and seek out as much help as you need. Do what is right for you.
Hugs,
Arrianna
Posted by elbee on September 3, 2003, at 0:48:53
In reply to Advice,suggestions,support,etc., posted by worrier on September 1, 2003, at 16:31:52
Hi worrier,
What you are going through sounds very unpleasant. Sorry all that's going on. I don't know if I can be of much help, since my experiences are somewhat different. I hope so though & hope things get better for you!Hopefully from what you said your physician has already been thorough in ruling out physical causes that could be behind your panic attacks anxiety.
I have bipolar disorder and definitely cannot sleep, pace, and sometimes feel very anxious on them. However, I don't have panic attacks...Maybe you are sensitive to the antidepressants. However one question I would want answered more thoroughly is whether this is the problem or whether this sensitivity could indicate a propensity towards a mood disorder?
I just know from my own experience that finding the right drug or drugs that help can be a matter of noting which ones don't work too. So I hope your bad experience ultimately leads you in a positive direction.
You don't sound like you feel very good & you don't sound too positive about the meds you're on. Sometimes I wait a few more weeks for them to "kick in," but it depends on how bad I feel, too. I've tried Remeron & as I'm sensitive to ad effect, I fairly soon (1 week or so) noticed a mild antidepressant effect. For me though, when I've felt so torturted and crazy, the mood stabilizers (depacote, lithium) were what really brought me peace. But your situation certainly is different than mine & everybody is different. I'm sure someone with panic attack experience would have much better advice.
It is hard to see when you are in the midst of real agony, but I believe you will find medication & answers that will work for you. Keep on pushing for answers that fit you & hope your friends and family are "in tune" enough to provide helpful perspectives.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.