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I appreciate this forum more than you could know


wuzzzer

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I'm going to be really honest and possibly ramble on so bear with me. 

 

Almost exactly a year ago I had what was diagnosed as a panic attack that sent me to the ER.  I had never experienced anything like that before and I thought I was going to die.  My body was shaking uncontrollably, I was having chills and my breathing was very shallow.  I have a history of anxiety and depression but this was a whole new ballgame. 

 

I was prescribed a daily anti-anxiety drug and also Atavan as needed for severe cases. 

 

This last week and a half was really, really bad.  Four days in a row with panic attacks with one where I made my wife drive me to the ER so I'd at least be in the parking lot if things got worse.  It got so bad I was having muscle pains in the center of my chest from tensing up so much.  I had a phone visit with my doctor today and it was good to talk to him about it.  He made some adjustments to my meds and i already feel a lot better.  Fortunately I already had a physical and med check scheduled for this Thursday also.

 

Anyway, of all the forums I belong to this is the only one I actively check several times a day.  It helps take my mind off of things and I really enjoy the discussions and camaraderie this forum provides.  Hopefully at the next Pilgrimage I'll be able to meet some of you and thank you in person. 

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With you bro; my sheet is a dumpster fire as well. Let's do what we can do to maintain little less crap in life. PM if you would like to talk.

While this may not be related to your situation we all have our issues to bear and have to deal with.
12 year old daughter gang raped and I post this on social media as fact that if I ever find those responsible it is without doubt I will hold them accountable. 
Loss of job
Divorce
 

 

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Went through a tough time myself a few months ago. The good people here on the Forum were very supportive, and I am still thankful. This is a good place. Do what you need to hang on; things eventually get better.

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Thanks everyone.  It's the kind of thing that makes me feel better when I talk to others about it.  I just wish the weather was nicer so I could spend more time outside.  It's supposed to be almost 40 tomorrow so I'm saving the shoveling of the snow we got today until tomorrow.  🙂

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38 minutes ago, wuzzzer said:

Thanks everyone.  It's the kind of thing that makes me feel better when I talk to others about it.  I just wish the weather was nicer so I could spend more time outside.  It's supposed to be almost 40 tomorrow so I'm saving the shoveling of the snow we got today until tomorrow.  🙂

Jeez you got that right. Between the short daylight and cloudy days I truly abhor this time of year. Fortunately we’ve had just a few snowfalls of merit and they’ve cleared up. In fact weather wise we’ve had more rain than snow than I can recall. But boy the sunny days just light up your soul. We try to get out and walk twice a day regardless. That’s a wee challenge for me since I had both hips replaced in the last 3 months. But one must plow forward........😎

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@wuzzzer  hang in there brother ... I know what you're going through.  my life has been SERIOUSLY affected in the negative due to this relentless head trip.  I don't get like you described as feeling like I'm going to die; but I'll get literally paralyzed by fear to the point where I just don't know what to do. Many simply don't understand what we're going through. I've talked my brother through one of my episodes and when I'm describing it, it does sound silly and the things I'm fearing are technically possibly; but most likely would never happen. That doesn't help in the midst of an attack though. I even had people that are close to me get angry at me when I was having an attack,  it's like telling someone with cancer ... just don't have cancer. Telling me to just stop worrying or being fearful is like a slap in the face ... as if we CHOOSE to live this way. of course I'm the butt of family jokes now, I don't think they intend to hurt my feelings; but so far nobody understands how tortuous this all is -- it stopped being funny long ago. 

I'm glad that you find comfort talking about it and I hope your support system is strong and patient.  

Loved the Ativan; but am allergic to two other drugs that were given to me to try. Ativan didn't stop any attack; but I'm sure it helped lessen them. I would take one when I was going into a situation where I was uncomfortable and found that it often put me in a good mood ... I felt like the old me ... or would that be the younger me when I was normal (okay, I probably never was normal; but I used to be closer to normal than I am now).

Peace and take care ... praying for you my friend. 

 

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I don't know if this will help any of you going through severe anxiety attacks, but one of my brothers described attacks he had similar to wuzzer's around 5-7 years ago.  He said it scared him like he was going to die.  He didn't really know what brought it on and had no history to help explain it.  His doctor prescribed a small dose of Xanax.  He said it worked very well, and in fact he weaned himself down to just taking a half a pill to keep the attacks at bay.  I don't recall if he said anything happened far enough in advance of the attacks to make him know to take the Xanax as needed or if he took it around the clock.  After a while of taking small dosage Xanax, he finally stopped taking any of it and has been fine ever since.

 

As far as anxiety goes, I have to wonder whether the anxiety comes from the heart palpitations or whether anxiety triggers the palpitations.  If the attacks are really sudden and severe, don't assume it's necessarily a mental or mood issue.  Also, different drugs work differently on different people.  Don't be afraid to ask your doctor to experiment with different ones until you find a right fit.

 

Good luck!

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