Anxiety 10/2/2011

[Gary10]

I just woke up again with anxieties again and had to take 1/2 of a Xanax .25mg. It seams like I  wake up at the same time 4:30am and have to self medicate. Is this going to be the new norm for me. I hope not.

[GA_need_help]

Hi,
Could you talk a little about how you worked through it? I am going through a taper, and I get unbelievable anxiety! I am trying to learn to cope!!!  Many thanks. Marie

[Gary10]

Thanks,I glad I'm not along out there.it seems like it's never ending.

[Junebug05]

You are definitely not alone!  I'm glad that you had such a great weekend!  Just wish your sleep issues would resolve themselves.  It's miserable not being able to sleep.

I haven't been sleeping very well as I'm alone in the house at night and I really don't like that.  I lay awake until I just can't keep my eyes open.  Oddly enough I'm just falling asleep around the time that you are be awakened with anxiety.  It's never been good for me to not get a decent amount of sleep, it seems to amplify all the symptoms.  Right now it's the palpitations that are driving me up the wall.  I know that they are not dangerous, but once they really get going and happen one right after the other it's hard to believe that and I get really anxious.  

Hope things get better for you soon!!  

[Gary10]

Hey everybody hope this weekend went well for all of you,my weekend was awesome ,got to o home and spend some time with my family,but back at work out of town, I only get o go home on the weekends.SLEEP-still the same like clock work between 3:30 and 4:30 every morning and anxiety to boot.Take my Meds and try to go back to sleep but no luck. Well I'm here if you ever need a (ear).Heart Palpitations on top of anxiety ,panic attack and a whole lot of stress.(heck I'm falling apart)lol.it's nice to here you and everybody else,it sure helps a lot knowing I'm not along out there.

[Junebug05]

I'm not sure that Claire Weekes books are available in bookstores anymore, so your best bet to get them may be Amazon.  There are a lot of other books out there too, these are just my personal preference.  Maybe if you started a new thread about what books people like to read you could get a better idea of what's out there.  

I'm doing ok.   Some days I do really well, and others not so much.  But I've dealt with this for over 20 years, so I know that in time it will get better.  I've dealt with the very worst of this anxiety business and pulled myself through, so I'm sure I can do it from where I am now, which is nowhere close to as bad as I've experienced.

Are you sleeping any better?

[Gary10]

Hey Junebug05, I sure will pick up her books. I hopping this goes way soon
It's driving me crazy. From being so heathy  to having anxiety and panic attacks  and not to be able to eat soild foods over night.I just want to go back to being normal. For the last 3mths
Have been awful. Some days are better then others. I hope you are doing well.

[Junebug05]

Yep, have had that one too, unfortunately.  It was many years ago, and I basically lived on soft foods for months.  My doctor at the time told me it started because I was tensing my neck and throat muscles and it made it feel like I couldn't swallow, then each time it felt that way I'd add a little anxiety and tighten those muscles even more.  I was positive that I had something terribly wrong with me, but as I worked on relaxing my throat before I swallowed, it did get better.  I ate a lot of soft foods and started adding things with more substance, just chewing it really well, and it gradually got better.  Once it went away, it never came back.  
Have you ever read any of Claire Weeke's books?  She writes about a lot of these issues...very comforting read...I still pull them out and get a boost every now and then.  

[Gary10]

Hey everybody,guess what time it is 3:50am.lol I'm up again
Iike clock work and anxiety with and bad dreams to. I'v learn to deal with this some what.I have a question to ask y'all ,I also have problems swallowing
Solid foods,I went from 192lb to 175lb in the last 2 1/2 months. I'm scared to eat solid foods because if fell likes it get stuck. I had a EDG done and everything was fine. The doctor thiks is part of my anxieties, man I would like eat nice ribeye right about now. But soup is good for now lol. I hope everybody is done well with ther own issues . I really what to thank each and every one of you who take there time to respond back to me this has been great for me to talked about this, I look forward to reading your response when I wake up and have anxiety it help me out so THANKS.

[Junebug05]

Gary,  I'm glad that the support you are getting here is helping you some.  I know that it always helps me to hear from others who are going through the same things I am.  It's comforting to know we are not alone.

I've had the nightmares too, and just assume they are another part of anxiety.  The thought of it being the meds (I take xanax too) never crossed my mind though, so I suppose it could be that.  I do know that when my anxiety is worse, so are the dreams.  
Hoping you sleep through the night!!!  :)

[Gary10]

I having nightmares every night,I use to not have dreams at all or I wouldn't remember them, now I have dreams every night, I wonders if it is because of my anxiety and panic attacks or from my Meds. Lord I wish I could sleep thru the night for once.

[Gary10]

Since i'v been posting and you guys have been responding it's help me out a lot so THANKS to all of you for you support and help.

[Gary10]

Junebug05 thanks for the advice and your support, hope life is better you.

[Gary10]

O no I took celexa  20 mg and it made my anxiety levels go through the roof. Me be the dosage was to high to start off with. I deal with anxiety and panic attack i'v learn some what to control them, some times it works and some times it doesn't .I really need to find what Meds work for me,I'm one of those guys that don't like to take Meds . But Xanax is my friend now.lol.
This morning stated off bad and rest of the day was better.

[CanuckGuy42]

You may also want to look into an SSRI like Lexapro (Cipralex outside the US) ... SSRI's take a while to ramp up on but if they work, they can stabilize your anxiety symptoms. They are meant for more long term use than benzodiazepines. Klonopin or any of the other benzo medications are most often prescribed (here in Canada anyway) for "quick fixes" for anxiety attacks and the like...but you should ask your doctor about withdrawal symptoms on these if you are on them for any prolonged period of time. I was told by my psychiatrist that they can be addictive whereas SSRI's are not and are easier to come off of (with the right tapering schedule) should you decided to stop them at anytime down the road. That said, many people who do not tolerate SSRI's well are on benzo medications.

Anyway might be worth looking into. I am on Cipralex (Lexapro) and very happy with it thusfar after a ramp up period of about 4-5 weeks as my system aclimatized to it. Which is typical of all SSRI's as I understand.

[Junebug05]

I've been in therapy a couple time, and it helped a great deal.  It's worth it just to learn the coping skills that have helped me through this.  I also read as many books on the subject that I can.  Each one offers a little bit different way of handling anxiety.  There are some techniques that work for me and others that don't, so I try them and kind of build my own set of skills that work for me.  

I had a lot of symptoms of anxiety when all of this started too, but once I learned how to deal with it, the symptoms went away or at the very least lessened to the point that they didn't bother me, so maybe the ones you are experiencing now won't always be a problem.  

I've been really bad off with the anxiety, completely agoraphobic at one point, and I've worked through it.  With the right help, you can too!  Hope this helps you and I'm around if you want to talk.

[Gary10]

I realize I'm done things that I normally would not do like now I have to have bottle of water and some gum in the car with me every were I go.because of dry mouth starts up then I start thinking about my anxiety,then here it goes the anxiety strats up.this has been a daily thing for me for the last 3 months and does this every go way.I don't want live my life like this the rest of my life. So I hope it does.

[Gary10]

Thanks for ya'lls help.I will discuss this with my doctor next time I'm at home. No not yet about the therapy,I really what to go but I'm finishing up a project out of town,I have several more weeks and I will be done and I'm going to take some time off and seek some help.does therapy really help?.or is this something I have to control on my own.

[Junebug05]

Hi Gary,
I went through the exact same thing several years ago.  Woke up every single morning at 4am, shaking uncontrollably and panicky.  I'd curl up in a blanket in the living room while the rest of the family slept and was miserable!  I do take xanax, and have for years and it worked for me, but it doesn't work the same for everyone.

I agree that you should discuss this with your doctor and see if there is something that would work better for you.  Just so you know, it wasn't my new normal, as my anxiety got better, I began to sleep through the night just fine.  

Are you doing anything else to help get a handle on your anxiety like therapy?  Just curious.  Hope you will start to sleep past 4:30 soon!!!

[lynn57]

I agree with mammo.  When I first encountered anxiety, I took Ativan at night.  Like clock work I would wake at about 4:00 am all panicked and feeling like a sudden adrenalin rush just hit.  The Klonopin took all that away.  I sometimes still wake early but its nice and peaceful.

[mammo]

If you haven't discussed this with your prescribing doctor....you need to.  Xanax is a medication that is prescribed to "take as needed" because it doesn't stay in your system more than a few hours.  It sounds like you need a longer lasting one that will stay in your system to prevent you from waking up with the anxiety.  There are medications like Klonopin you can take 2 times a day and it controls your anxiety 24/7.  With Xanax the anxiety is already happening and then you take one.  Let your doctor know what is happening and see what he suggests because it sounds like the Xanax is not the right medication for you.