Is there ANY help out there.................?

[WhatIsNormal]

I refuse to lay around in my bedroom with the curtains closed watching life pass me by. And I refuse to let my panic cripple me completly. I want to fight this thing. But one thing I am sure of is I need help. I don't have any family support, and finding treatment for this has been a **** shoot. I am exhausting all of my options. I need help. What is out there for anxiety/panic disorder? This is so frustrating, because I am willing to do whatever I have to do to get better, but I haven't found much support in the medical community. I was seeing a therapist once a week, and felt that was not enough. So with her support I joined a day treatment program. I found myself in group therapy with very very low functioning individuals (mostly elderly schizo. or mentally retarded) That was very ineffective. So now I am off to my DR. to beg for help. Does anyone have any suggetions. Plz, I need to get better. I can beat this, with the right help. Thanks!

[tinkerbelle713]

Hello. First off: yes you can! You go girl, fight it ! That attitude is the first step in finding the way out. My anxiety is not as severe, only every couple of months or so, then I'm out for the count for a couple of weeks. I now take xanax when I need it, half in the morning & half in evening. It is a low dose. It helps me though. You probably have to try different meds, befor you willfind the right one for you. Good & effective therapy is really needed too. I hope you can find a caring and competent therapist.
My best wishes to you, if you ever need to talk, send me a message.  :)

[WhatIsNormal]

thanks for you'r comments. I should have mentioned before, I am on meds. Celexa and ativan. Even with the Ativan 1mg 2-3x's a day I still feel alot of anxiety and panic. Tried Topamax, klonapin, zoloft, lexapro, paxil, and effexor. No luck!

[CMSliwa]

Wow.. I just wrote you a whole story and it totally just got deleted... I'm a little ticked.  Jeez..  GRR!

Let me tell you my experience.

When I was 13 I had my first panic attack.  I had always had symptoms of anxiety and depression before that, but everything got worse after that first panic attack.  It feels like I fell into a dream... I feel lightheaded, like I am floating, and everything feels so unreal.  After that first panic attack, I was stuck in a world only of panic attacks.  I stayed in my room.  I could not go outside, go ANYWHERE without having a panic attack.  Even at home I had panic attacks.  For 8 months I went everyday with having AT LEAST 10 full-blown panic attacks a day!  And when I wasn't having an attack, I was constantly on the verge of one.  Life got so sh***y.  I couldn't go to school... I couldn't go to the mall, or the movies, or anywhere, like my friends could.  I got so jealous.  I just sat at home all day crying and scared.

It got so bad.  I refused to take meds because I was afraid to.  I could not go to school and a legal issue was arriving out of that.  I was finally hospitalized.  They forced me to take medications.... and my life changed.  2 weeks later I went home.  And guess what?  I could go to the mall, go to school, go to the movies, or just go in a big open field!  I wasn't cured, but I was able to function and act like a young teenager should.

My suggestion to you is to ask your doctor to refer you to a phyciatrist.  You could ask to be put on a benzo... like xanax, lorazepam, etc.  It is like a tranquilizer.  It relieves the physical symptoms of a panic attack within an hour and keeps you calm.  You should also ask to be put on a SSRI, like Zoloft, Prozac, Lexapro, etc, which will slowly raise your serotonin levels.  It takes 4-6 weeks to feel the full effects of these meds, but in the long run, it will help the anxious thoughts and feelings.  But until then, the benzo would keep you calm and able to function.  I don't know if you are against meds or not, but they saved my life. I am now 18.

I actually made a huge mistake though.  My father comitted suicide a year ago, and I thought my meds had stopped working because I was feeling bad anxiety and depression again... (which was the grief.. I didn't realize that anyone would have these feelings after losing a parent.)  

2 weeks ago I had a major anxiety attack leading to constant panic attacks.. and I am like I was when I was 13.  I am home-bound and scared.  I am unable to eat, sleep, get up, and function.  I have started taking the lorazepam again.. which is keeping my body more calm, but my thoughts are still so anxious.  (I have a huge phobia of vomiting,,, emetophobia, which I think is the reason I have anxiety and panic attacks. So for the past 2 weeks I have been starving because I am afraid to eat anything more than saltine crackers and bread.)  I have started taking Prozac again for the 2nd time, but it won't kick in for a while.  This shows how much the medications changed my life and helped me function and live more like a teenager should.  I can't wait for the prozac to kick in again... so I can eat again and not feel nauseous and starved all the time.  SSRI's do not cure phobias, but they lessen the anxious feelings and thoughts and symptoms, both emotional, physical, and cognitive.  

I hope my own experience will help you.

I am actually gonna try 2 new treatments.... hypnosis and neurofeedback.  Maybe you should look into those too?  The neurofeedback is supposed to help train you and your brain to control thoughts and feelings.  I am excited to try this treatment.  Meds have helped me greatly, but they only got me so far.  I need to get rid of the phobia to fully live my life.

I would love it if we talked.  I would love to know how you are doing and how this started.  Please email me so we can talk a little.  I am going through a tough time again right now, and I hear your story and think "that's how I was."  I would be interested to know your fears and how the panic started.

So if interested, please email... caitlin.***@****  .  I am very open.

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions or need any help.

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

hi, yes there is lots help, sounds like you need some meds jst to get you on your feet. first have to been like this or has this just started happening. ask dr for meds you can take that will get you on feet. i have took klonopin and its a great med to help take it twice a day , when your on your feet and know its just anxiety not going kill you than you can slowey come off if you can. you can try ssri they help a lot of people but yes do see a dr soon. here if you need to talk .