depression with agarophobia with panic episodes

[munn]

i am a medical professional started 5 months back with sudden onset dizziness feeling a sense of impending death,tremors,sweating.episode lasted for 20 minutes then settled.there after every day i used to feel same episodes when i used to reach hospital .after few days i was scared to go to hospital and used to remain at home whole.for first few days i remain well at home.but my concern about those episodes was increasing day by day and i started with features of deprerssion ,sitting in bed whole day.progressively i was not even able to move out of my home feeling that something worse will happn.initially i thought im having depressive disorder because i have similar episodes some 13 yrs back fr 5-6 months which then went off of its own also there is a family history of similar disorder.but taking antidepressents for 3-4 weeks i didnt get any relief .i thought im suffering from some medical illness .i did mri brain,cxr,ecg,usg all were normal.now im continueing with antidepressent and bzd but there is almost no improvement .i have been sitting at home for last 4 months and thinking everytime something is going to happen and i may die.whenever i go out in public i fell shaky sensation and think i may fall down,im restless almost all day and outside environment seems to be something strange to me and im not able to enjoy anything.

[ducky8]

It sounds like you have a classic case of agoraphobia.  
As a medical professional, I'm sure you know that you're going to have to start desensitizing yourself by taking those babysteps to get out of the house.  Also seeing a behavioral therapist who does cognitive behavioral therapy is important.

I always hated those stupid dizzy spells.  I think they scared me more than any other symptom.  And those "jelly legs" is never fun either.  But trust me, your legs WILL carry you where you want to go.  It's really wonderful that you know that there's nothing wrong with you physically.  That gives you a clear path to recovery.  

Start taking those steps to get better.  You won't be sorry........
DUCKY

[mjbrown]

I had the same problem about 4 years ago. I was put on prozac and xanax. The xanax helped a lot to overcome the agoraphobia and constant sense of impending doom, but the prozac did not do much in terms of anxiety or depression. I recently started up on lexapro, and have noticed some improvement in the past 4 1/2 weeks since beginning it. Antidepressants can take 2-3 months before they have their full effect, and some antidepressants might just not work for some people. After 4 months, it might be time to talk to your dr. about trying a different antidepressant and/or benzo (or upping the dose of benzo). The most important thing I learned by going through all of this is to not rely soley on the medication to "cure" you. The meds should be used as part of an overall treatment plan that should include therapy, exercise, relaxation techniques, etc. These things are extremely hard to do when you are such a state of distress, but you have to force yourself to do things as much as possible. Take it one day at a time. This will not last forever, but it sounds like your current treatment plan is not working very well for you.