Panic Attacks

Ever since I had a cocaine overdose I have been experiencing Panic attacks.  I don't touch any drugs at all anymore.  It's been 3 months and I still get horrible panic attacks.  Especially when i go out drinking... the next morning I have a horrible panic attack.  I use to be able to drink with no problems!Doctore prescribed me Zoloft but im on some other meds right now for an ear infection so Im going to wait.  I just want to know more about Zoloft.  Does it help any?  Or make it worse?  How bad are the side effects? I use to be a great musician and was very active... now I dont want to do anything... I havent picked up my flute in months and i just think about death everyday!  Im so scared of how or when im going to die.  Im only 20 and i fear death everyday.  I have become lazy and very unmotivated in Everything.  I havent had a boyfriend in yearsss.... and i have no sex drive what so ever.  The only time i have any fun is when i go out and shoot pool and h ave a few beers.  Is this all linked to anxiety/depression?  Or did the cocaine screw me up?  I hope im not going crazy  :(  Please lend some helping advice... CKivlan http://MiStiCiLLuSiOnZ.tripod.com {when i use to be happy)

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

There are many drugs for panic attacks and depression, which you seem to have. Zoloft is one of the best...usually the side effects are quite tolerable and shouldn't be a problem.  But in addition to medication, you should see a therapist to help you understand and overcome your fears. You might start online with the masteringstress program(above).

[D ave Replogle]

u ARE YOUNG TOO LIKE ME I AM 29 YEAR OLD MALE AND THEY HAVE DONE EVERT TEST KNOWN TO MAN ON ME AND CAME BACK NORMAL GET SICK FEELING LIKE I AM GOING TO DIE AND CANT GET RID OF THIS FEELING NEED HELP SOME ONE MY AGE THAT UNDERSTANDS MY PAIN PLEASE

[CKivlan]

I know... it is a horrible horrible feeling.  Every time I have an attack i take a XANAX.  They help for the time being.  At night time, do you ever have problems sleeping? I drink this tea that really helps.  It calms you down... i drink the tea and take a bath and then im able to fall asleep.  Chammomile Tea!  OR LINDEN tea... or BOTH!  That tea works wonders!  Depression.... I haven't been able to cope with it... I feel like im dying everyday!  Everyday I say to myself...this is the day I am going to DIE! I can feel it.  I am going to begin to take Zoloft in a couple weeks.  Paxil SUCKS! {axil made me feel 50 x's sicker. K.I.T.

[Johnny3]

I'm 20 and have been suffering from panic attacks, anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive thought patterns, and extreme uneasiness after having suffered an unknown illness in which I developed fever, fatigue, diahrrea, rapid heart beat, and difficulty breathing for a period of 2 weeks. The panic attacks turned into anxiety-attacks, in which I no longer felt that I was dying, but felt extremely uneasy to the brink of going totally crazy. This all occurred in a tropical 3rd world country. I went home as soon as possible and began taking clonazepam and fluoxetine (for 2 months now). I do feel better now but still experience unexplained anxiety attacks, obsessive thinking, and uncontrolled thought patterns. Especially since I tried lowering the dosage of the drugs. My personal life was healthy and happy until I suffered the illness that caused all these mental problems, with the exception of a traumatic allergic reaction that occured 2 weeks earlier, in which I was in the hospital, but felt normal after 2 days. Could this illness and the mental problems be caused by Marijuana? Are there other cases of severe allergic reactions to marijuana? Or, as the doctor suggested, was the marijuana incidence a coincidence, and the problems caused by maybe a virus or another type of infection affecting the brain. I never found any sign of infection in all the blood tests I took. What is the cause of this? Damage to the "neurotransmitters", or a chemical imbalance, some sort of parasite, or what??? Should I continue taking the medicines forever? They cause me heart burn, headaches if I drink a single beer, and a feeling of not being normal. I would very much like my mental state to return to the pristine condition it was formerly in.

[CKivlan]

WoW... the reason i have my panic and anxiety attacks was due to ONE NIGHT OF PARTYING! I got real real real drunk.... lots of cocaine {which I do not touch anymore}.  Ever since this day { St.Paticks day} I also have uncontrolled thinking and constent thoughts of death!!!  I try to go to sleep and 1000 things run through my head and they are all crazy things that make no sense.  It takes me 2 hours to fall asleep at night.  I come home SO TIRED and im dying for sleep...but when i lay down... forget about it.  My social life has disapeared!  I use to hang with everybody!! I live in SOUTH BEACH... I know EVERYBODY!  I was like the ~*party queen*~.  Now...I only speak to maybe 3 old friends... I dont go out anymore.. I have no sex interest at all whatsoever!   I am only 20 years old and I always feel like im dying. I gave up my music {10 year flute player}. I always feel like somethings wrong on the inside!  I cant even get drunk anymore.  I am irish and can drink for days!! Now... I have a few beers... wake up the next day and have BAD BAD Panic attacks.  FROM BEER????  I understand exactly how you feel.  I wish to GOD it would just GO AWAY... NEVER COME BACK... ILL NEVER DO DRUGS AGAIN!! PLEASE GOD>>> ONE MORE CHANCE FOR LIFE!!

[Johnny3]

From what i know, a lot of these drugs affect the way in which chemicals are transmitted through the brain. The neurotansmitters are damaged in the same way as they are in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. So you feel AFRAID like hell of absolutley nothing and you can't control your thoughts. I can't drink alcohol anymore either. I used to be a big drinker. Now the slight intoxication of 2 beers makes me panic and gives me headaches. Sometimes even exercising makes my mind panic, just anything in which the body feels abnormal causes me to start thinking about death. Everynight when I go to sleep I can feel my heart start pounding. The meds help I think, I take them before I go to bed. Be a med head for a while, it feels like **** but I think it gets those chems flowing again.

[DMDM]

Wow. I can totally relate.  Believe it or not, I used to feel the same EXACT way as you. It started when I was about 19. After a ton of therapists, meds, and anything else I thought would take away some of my fear, lonliness, or what ever else, I finally was able to find some help. It took me almost ten years to do it, but I finally did. I was a lot like you, I knew a ton of people everywhere I went, could party for days on end, and really really enjoyed drinking. But I was losing all of my friends, and like you, I'd come home at night and freak out because I couldn't get to sleep. After a while, I couldn't get drunk anymore either. After months of wishing I could get my life together or back, losing almost all of my friends, and wishing on a daily basis that I would go to sleep at night and never wake up, I finally gave in and decided to try it someone else's way and quit drinking. I was terrified.  I thought that drinking was the only thing I had left and I thought I really loved it and even needed it to burn off steam. But I tried an AA meeting. I was really scared, but I started going and I found out that everyone there understood the way I was feeling for so long. That was two years ago. I won't lie to you, my life's not perfect, and I still have some problems, but it's a HELL of a lot BETTER then it was two years ago. I'm not on the meds and don't need to see a shrink anymore. And the anxiety and depression are almost gone. People actually go out of their way to make friends with me today! It's still hard to believe. :-) THAT was something I could only dream of. AA worked for me. I'm not saying it will work for you, but it might be worth a shot, right?

[ladybug13]

A lot of this ounds extremely familiar to me.  I have just recenty (and by recently mean the past 3 months) been going through very similar feelings.  The only thing different is that I never feel like I want to die, nor do I hope to die.  But I do get scared that that is what is happening to me in a slow way.  It all started when I was out to dinner on night, and I haven't been the same since.  First doctors said sinus infection, then ear infection, flu, food poisoning...I have been to the hospital, had cat scans, inner ear tests, and I am still in the process of getting more tests done.  But in the mean time, I have been to see a psychiatrist, and have been prescribed an anxiety/panic disorder drug.  I was experiencing dizziness (but not the room spinning kind), nauseau, headaches, weak muscles, blurred vision, you name it.  And it always seemed to happen when I was out in a public place or at work.  When I got home, I started felling better.  It's been very scary not knowing what's going on, but I am on my way to figuring it out.  I just want to feel normal again.  I want to go out to dinner, or a movie, or a concert, wothout being terrified that if i do, I will start feeling sick again.  I am sure you all can sympathize!  It sucks!!!!!!!!!

[D ave Replogle]

Yes i am a 29 year old male and this anxiety SUCKS i wish they would have found something wrong with me phyisically but through all the test i have been through they have found nothinmg and blame it on anxiety man i wish this would never happened to me sometimes i feel like killing someone or myself but the hell u go if you dont no that bye now MAYBE GOD IS SENDING ALL THE ANXIETY SUFFERERS A SECRET MESSAGE OR SOME THING BUT I HAVE PRAYED TOO HIM AND HE HAS NOT ANSWERED MY PRAYERS AND I DO BELEIVE IN GOD BUT WHY WONT HE ANSWER ME IN MY DEEPEST TIME OF NEED I DONE SOME BAD THINGS IN LIFE BUT NOT ENOUGH TOO DESERVE THIS  am i asking too much i want to be normal again please nobody understands my pain each day when i get up  i feel like i am not normal or not real i dont no i am seeing a shrink that seems too hel;p some maybe need too swicth shrinks i dont no DOES ANYBODY CARE ANYWAY WELL ILL SEE YA ALL LATER GOT TOO TAKE A DUMP FOR THE NITH TIME TODAY LOVE3 YA ALL DLR

[boo]

i am 27 yr. old, and i have ptsd w/pd. i have panic attacks all of the time, can never hold still for 5 sec. around anyone cause of social phobia.i have 2 kids, and am starting a business very soon. am nervous all of the time. my brother has pd also, much worse than mine.everyone should realize all of the changes in our world. example: aids, cancer, heart attacks, etc. it is everywhere. no wonder we can't relax, we can't even kiss someone w/out thinking of death. we can't even watch tv w/out worrying about  from heart disease, cancer, herpes, etc. our world is giving us too much info., they are scaring us too death. no wonder we can never relax.

[angel_baby]

I have been having panic attacks for two years now and I was given Xanax to treat the problem. I went out one night and a "friend" of mine spiked my drink and I have had these horrible feelings like I am going to die. I had attacks for about 2 months and I thought that the drugs had damaged my brain and I was suicidal while dealing with this. I nearly lost a job because of this. A doctor put me on Xanax - he didn't want to put me on an SSRI as he thought that I was not that "serious". He made me feel like I was making it all up. I did not know that Xanax was addictive and I have had so many attempts to come of Xanax. Last year it got to the point where I did not go outside without someone else which destroyed my life and I used to catch cabs too and from work as I used to think that I would have an attack, colapse and no one would help me. I have never been so scared in my life and I don't know how to get over this.

[corky]

i am only 18 years old and i have so many attacks its gotton crazy...it is now 3 am in the morning and as i type this im having one...my main reason on commenting is because im hoping someone will read this and tell me if im having the same symptons...mine are...numbness in the arms and legs and face...rapid heartbeat and cant sleep...if this is similar to your problems please let me know.....

[apup4life]

Man can I relate!!!   I am 29 years old and I suffer from severe panic attacks....to the point I don't want to go out of the house for fear of having one.  My doctor has me on Zoloft and it has helped me alot.....with very little side effects.  The only thing I have noticed recently is my eyes are bloodshot all the time.......is it from the medicine?  Or am I going to have a panic attack thinking it is brain hemmorraging or something else.  I feel like a hypochondriac and I have no idea what causes it.  You are not alone my friend and I as well as the rest of these people feel your pain.

[lysa]

i dont know if the symptoms i have are normal.i make things worse by dwelling,but my whole body tenses and my throat closes up.i cant move for 5 to 10 minutes after a bad attack.

[richardh]

I suffered from panic attacks for many years. I found my experience to be diet-related. For anyone interested my web site is at www.readingyourbody.com

[Johnny3]

ok, I'm feeling much better. Before I had panic, anxiety, depression, and many physical effects-all which felt very unnatural and NOT related to anything happening in my life. Now, I can function somewhat normally. But, certain triggers set me off. Sometimes something someone says, specific songs, TV, or just a thought. I can usually feel it physically coming hours before I am set off. It is usually an idea about pain or suffering or dying that sets me off. Sometimes I think 'I'm a mess and there's nothing I can do about it'. I try, but it seems like the only thing that works is just to try to avoid these thoughts. I'm afraid to drink alcohol any more. And I'm afraid every night when I go to sleep. I sometimes get a very strong, rapid heart beat which makes me feel overheated, extremely uncomfortable and unable to sleep.It comes with difficulty in breathing. Sometimes I get nerve twitches, my whole body twitches for a second uncontrollably. It feels kind of like an electric shock. That can wake me up in the night or prevent me from sleeping.
What is the cause of this? I'm thinking brain damage. The only drug I ever took is marijuana-and had a violent reaction to that. At the same time I had a stomache parasite and ended up with a fever of 106 F. I think any of these could have caused brain or heart damage. Does anybody having these problems have ideas of what the cause might be. Everyone who has mentioned a cause seems to be different from each other. Could Cocaine, different drugs, health problems, etc. all cause similar brain damage? Do you feel that you are recovering?
I do feel that I am recovering. But I don't think I'll ever be the same again.

[Ruddy]

Hello,

I'm in the same boat as everybody here. If you only heard this once...here it is again. Battle you fears "Think Positive" that its only panic attacks. Here is what everybody can do...

1-Join a gym.
2-Take long walks.
3-Read and write.
4-Visit family or friends.
5-laughter...the best medicine!

You will develope a more positive attitude to life! Dont let it crush you mind! Remember that old song...dont worry be happy! Go find it and play it!!!

[Ruddy]

Hello,

I'm in the same boat as everybody here. If you only heard this once...here it is again. Battle you fears "Think Positive" that its only panic attacks. Here is what everybody can do...

1-Join a gym.
2-Take long walks.
3-Read and write.
4-Visit family or friends.
5-laughter...the best medicine!

You will develope a more positive attitude to life! Dont let it crush you mind! Remember that old song...dont worry be happy! Go find it and play it!!!

[joeybaby]

CKivlan - same posisition, i used to take a lot of drugs, weed, coacaine, pills, dope, majic mushrooms, speed and acid, ever since one night i had a major major bad night around 6 years ago and i just went home and stayed in for around a year, i still went to work but didnt see any of my drug taking friends anymore!

Now i have to say things are better i go out a lot but what i feel / felt un-easy about is going out drinking with friends (other than my girfriend who i feel safe with) like xmas parties etc, i always get major panic attacks and just feel so stupid.

so now i dont go out drinking, i will go for the odd beer, but always use the im driving excuse, i have no problem drinking at home, i feel safe at home. Ive never even told anyone about this before but you all sound in the same boat as me!

i dont want to take any medication and i reliase it was my fault this has all happened, i only wish i never took drugs.