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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Deciding how to help my daughter with panic attacks
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
Deciding how to help my daughter with panic attacks
by shoshana, Feb 23, 2004 12:00AM
My daughter is 18. She has been experiencing anxiety symptoms with panic attacks for about 6 months. Panic is her primary complaint. She has seen our family physician and was given a clean bill of health. No thyroid studies were done. She takes a birth control pill. She has been treated with paxil in the past for depression. Her panic attacks are worsening. 2 days ago she had a panic attack that landed her in the E.R. because her heart rate and blood pressure were so high and she "passed out" which she is not sure but co-workers said she did. She describes a sense of things closing in prior to a panic episode. No correlation to time of day, sleep, worries, general health etc. She states she can now start to tell when it will happen and has been practicing behavior techniques and self-talk to some success. She has over come previous fears that had to do with the safety of driving because her first bad one was while driving. We are not sure which way to seek treatment. Psychiatric or medical. She feels they are possibly related to her menses. Would a GYN or endocrinologist be helpful? Neither of us are against psychiatic care but we do not want to not treat something medical and just brush it off as "mental". Any advice re: use of Progesterone? She does not want to take anxiolytic therapy but is open to antidepressant or something like Buspar. She is willing to use cognitive therapy techniques as well, or a combination. Also, what is latest theory? Several people (knowledgable) have said she is feeling guilty, she is hiding something or maybe has a blocked memory.....see why we hesitate to got hat route? She is very willing to take charge and wants to take care of this and I completely believe in her ability to do so. She smokes, and probably drinks on occassion but does not do drugs. She is dramatic, hyper, intense, moody, and has symptoms of a mood disorder and maybe hypo-mania, but we have chosen there again, not to go that route and work on living and finding her own way. She is somewhat suggestable. She is impulsive, very bright and disorganized. Was tested years ago for ADD and ADHD and found to not have enough symptoms to warrant a diagnosis, but meets some criteria. Any advice is appreciated. We would like to know a suggested path to rule things out and what cognitive approaches have the best success.
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Feb 24, 2004 12:00AM
, Feb 24, 2004 12:00AM
Soshana, you certainly are well informed about the issues and what has to be sorted out. There is so much mental chatter going on within the mind of the kind of 18 year old you describe that my recommendation would be to go a psychiatrist or psychologist who does talk therapy and avoid all medications as much as possible. What she needs is a forum to sort things out. Just because of her age she is dealing with separation and independence issues, sex, etc, these things get to be overwhelming, and instead of sorted out with the highest part of her mind, are kept in hiding until they exert the pressure of the anxiety symptoms. Unless there is independent evidence of thyroid dysfunction, I would think that a likely candidate, nor would I suspect gyn or hormonal issues, since at this age there is such a wide range of normality.
DAVE
Zoloft 50mg + Buspar 10mg .. Zoloft depression/anxiety - Buspar Anxiety. Right there you have two medications doing the samething which can cause harsh reactions.
Also I'm still having a dizzy feeling and I've been off buspar for about 2 weeks.
Sounds normal or do you think it's one of those in your mind things from being so use to having the spinning sensation?