Chiropractor Helped Me Yesterday With My Panic

I have had panic attacks off and on since 1995.  More off than on.....thank God!  When they first started they would typically come if I was overly tired, stressed out, dehydrated, or had drank too much caffeine or ate too many sweets.  After about six months of these horrible attacks, I sought out a psychologist and Cognitive Behavior worked wonders for me.  No medication whatsoever! Over the past six years I have had only a handful of panic attacks and was able to manage them without having to call 911, or rush myself to the hospital thinking I was having a heart attack.

So now 2010 comes and these so called panic attacks have taken on a new life form.  They typically come in the middle of the night complete with blurry vision, double vision, a terribly sore eye socket, and what the doctors say appear to be stroke like symptoms rather than heart attack symptoms.   After being admitted to the hospital three times in three months for stroke like symptoms, my doctor told me it was time to go on medication.  They have diagnosed me with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Attacks, and PTSD.

My doctor put me on Celexa and Lorazepam which had horrible side affects for me.  The Lorazepam had me wired.  It relaxed my body, but it made my mind race worse than the actual panic attacks.  It is supposed to put you to sleep, but it kept me up for hours.  I was only taking .25 mg at a time.  I then became depressed and feel it was the medication doing it.....or the almost nightly panic attacks and the lack of sleep.

When I described the panic attack symptoms to the psychologist, the part about the blurry vision coming at night and then triggering a panic attack, he told me that it sounded odd.  Right away my mind thought......OMG......these aren't panic attacks at all.....I'm really having a stroke.  I came home and found this website and stumbled up on a post that talked about blurry vision and that one of the causes can be that your C1 and C2 are out of alignment.  And then it hit me.  The panic attacks that came after six years of not having any, the fact that I had been humped over a computer for the past year underwriting loan files, and the fact that the blurry vision came first and then the panic attack was coming.  It all started making sense to me.

I called my chiropractor right away yesterday morning and made an appointment.  I hadn't been to see him in about four years and I told him that I was a mess.  I was really close to checking myself in to a mental hospital just so I could get a night of sleep.  He immediately started examining my neck and back and said that my neck and back were really bad.  He gave me accupuncture in my neck, was able to give my neck an adjustment, and adjusted my middle back.  I can't believe it......the eye socket pain that had been there for three months was gone within one hour.  I was able to move my neck from side to side without any pain and the anxiousness I have felt constantly for two months started to fade away as the day went on.  He explained to me that when your C1 and C2 are squished together it sends signals to your brain that can trigger panic for people with a history of panic attacks.  He also said that the C1 and C2 being out of alignment like mine were could definitely be the cause of the blurry vision, which was scaring me and sending a fight or flight response to my brain thus triggering the horrible panic attacks.

I'm not saying this is a magic cure for everyone who suffers from panic disorder, and I'm not saying it has been a magic cure for me by any means.  I'm just saying it is definitely worth looking into for anyone who is suffering from panic attacks.

I am hoping that by adding regular visits to the chiropractor in addition to my cognitive behavior therapy and a lifestyle consisting of good rest and nutrition, I might be able to again learn to regulate the anxiety without medication.

Pegi

[heathabelle]

thanks. im going to look into this.

[Paxiled]

Did you get headaches after the blurry vision?  Because it sounds like a migraine, or a migraine-like condition.  This is also a vascular event, as strokes are, but less deadly.  Often, chiropractic adjustments can alleviate migraines, as can dietary changes, meditation, and all sorts of things that regularize circulation.  

[BellaWillow]

Good luck Heathabelle.  I hope it will help for you as it has for me so far.  Panic attacks are no fun.  I don't think people realize how horrible they are until they have experienced them, especially on a regular basis as so many people on this forum do.  

And Paxiled.....to answer your question about the migraines. One of the nuerologists in the hospital thought it could be migraines because they were obviously looking for something to diagnose it as.  The only thing is that I don't get the actual headache.  I only get the visual disturbances that go along with migraines.  

The neurologist felt the back of my neck and asked me if I had numbness in my head.  I said yes.....I've had that for almost a year now.  And then just when I thought he was onto something and was going to tell me what was going on with me.  He just said "oh".  

I'm telling everyone.......go see a chiropractor.  It may not be the answer for everyone, but it sure saved my life.  

[remar]

I agree that chiropractors can help some people with their anxiety. I always feel so much calmer after seeing mine. Of course my adrenals are always out so she adjusts that area. Your spine effects every part of your body and if you are not in alignment it can cause all sorts of problems.  Remar