Help........am in crisis.

[Seethepony]

Help........am in crisis.

Hi Starlight, are your panic attacks the result of long-term drinking? One of the reasons I decided to get serious about not drinking was a series of horrific panic attacks that would usually strike the second I left the comfort of home. Usually in crowded places - supermarket checkout lines would be the ultimate nightmare for me.

The only cure I found was not to drink. And I managed to do that (95% of the time) by taking baclofen - and I'm sure everyone hear is fed of of hearing me say that! But for me it's been a miracle drug, so I feel obliged to give it a plug at every possible opportunity.

In any case you have my deepest sympathy - it's impossible to convey the horror of a panic attack to someone who hasn't experienced them. If anyone is interested, watch the first heart attack scene in "The Wrestler". It's like that!

Good luck, take it easy, and drink a lot of tea!

[Chief]

Help........am in crisis.

Sending you positive thoughts, hon.

You're doing great....stay off the drug...you can do it. I know you can.

:l

[vonvonic]

Help........am in crisis.

Hey starlight... Im new here by the way... I've had panic attacks all my life and about two years ago I began to develop agrophobia too...

The first time I got it was on beach on a sunny day...I think that once you get it once the memory of it triggers it afterwards...Its so messed up and complicated... I used to take valium and drink alot but after a really bad episode where I nearly lost everything (and I really mean everything)

I decided to get a hold on things and part of that was an agreement with myself that I would start to face my anxiety head on and take on the the pain...I always tell myself that these things pass... They always do..

I dont use anything now and I really feel stronger and more positive.... I still freak out...I have to pull my car over and get my head together but for some reason this idea that I must go through it no matter what or I'll never beat it has really worked for me...

The worst that can happen is never as bad as we make it out to be...

Stay off the pills as long as you possibly can and then stay off them a while longer....You are stronger than you believe...We all are

VON

[vonvonic]

Help........am in crisis.

Sorry one thing I forgot to say....My therapist told me that it's important to allow youself to day dream about being calm and strong...Its really good sometimes to take a really deep breath of fresh air and dream that its the most potent narcotic there is.... It sound wishy washy but I do it all the time now...

I hope it works for you..

[gyco]

Help........am in crisis.

hi star,somthin i no quite abit about,you were put on the meds for a reason,if your drinkin or doing other drugs with them [vallium,] your in another world been there done it,agraphobia,depends on which one you got,there are many,i had panic attacks,thro research it had a lot with how much i drank,which,i thot, helped the anxiety,it didnt,as i aged,then come the nerves,the central nervous system plays a big role in how we function,tis the brain,if it gets pissed off it can be nasty,12 years ive been goin thro this it,can ,f i may say,be a Hell,id talk to your doctor,or specialist in my case,by the way im doin quite well,imon nothing but hi blood pressure pills,and if i dont drink to much, dont need them,i do wish you well,depression is not fu gyco

[j-vo]

Help........am in crisis.

Star,
An herbal supplement for anxiety that I order online is called "Seredyn." I find it extremely helpful taken in times of high anxiety, or taken at lower doses throughout the day. I've tried many, many supplements, and I notice a great difference with this one.

[DeeBee]

Help........am in crisis.

Hi Star,
I have no advice but just wanted to add my support during this tough time.
You'll find a way out of this because you're determined!

[Accountable for Me]

Help........am in crisis.

I know that you are going through extreme Hell. Anxiety and the condition you are suffering is paralyzing.

Have you thought about going on an antidepressant? My doctor prescribed me Ciprolex 3 weeks ago. It is an antidepressant that also has an anti-anxiety & anti obsessional component to it. It is is used for people with 'social phobia' amongst other things.

[Starlight Impress Forever]

Help........am in crisis.

Thank you so much for your suggestions, guys.

I want to overcome my anxiety and depression without using drugs.......I have come to realise that I am actually quite phobic about medication that alters brain chemistry, so am opting to do this drug-free.

I have made my first little bit of progress today, as I posted in my thread in General.

Star x

[nancy]

Help........am in crisis.

anxiety

Hi Star

I don't come here that much anymore but logged in tonight and saw your messages.

People might disagree with me, but I have always thought of addiction as a symptom of an underlying psych problem rather than the initial problem itself. This might differ depending on the person of course and goes against addiction treatment dogma. I know of people who had a complete lift of psych problems once stopping booze.

It sounds like you have substituted these drugs for booze. So you are still self-medicating. Personally, I am suspicious of all these homeopathic remedies unless they have a placebo effect. Placebos often work.

I think you need regular and very good talk therapy. Can you get a referral? And a very good support group. You need still it sounds like to work on self-esteem. That's easier said than done. As for the drugs, I think there are good support and therapy services in the UK for weaning off benzodiazepines.

My advice to you is don't label yourself as any one thing. Get support where you can but you are a person first, before an agoraphobic, alcoholic, drug addict or whatever.

Wishing you luck and don't give up.

Nancy

[kelvie]

Help........am in crisis.

Hi Starlight,

Been there done that with panic attacks, still do sometimes, went thru a phase where it was a nightmare to leave the house if i was on my own (wonder if it was triggered by hormones after having 3 pregnancies fairly close together...) anyhow, stumbled on this today, thought of you, sorry its not kick ass alternative info, but decided to post it anyway.

"Tolerance to the anxiolytic effects develops more slowly but there is little evidence that benzodiazepines retain their effectiveness after a few months. In fact long-term benzodiazepine use may even aggravate anxiety disorders. Many patients find that anxiety symptoms gradually increase over the years despite continuous benzodiazepine use, and panic attacks and agoraphobia may appear for the first time after years of chronic use. Such worsening of symptoms during long-term benzodiazepine use is probably due to the development of tolerance to the anxiolytic effects, so that "withdrawal" symptoms emerge even in the continued presence of the drugs. However, tolerance may not be complete and chronic users sometimes report continued efficacy, which may be partly due to suppression of withdrawal effects. Nevertheless, in most cases such symptoms gradually disappear after successful tapering and withdrawal of benzodiazepines. Among the first 50 patients attending my clinic, 10 patients became agoraphobic for the first time while taking benzodiazepines. Agoraphobic symptoms abated dramatically within a year of withdrawal, even in patients who had been housebound, and none were incapacitated by agoraphobia at the time of follow-up (10 months to 3.5 years after withdrawal)."

source - benzo.org.uk : Benzodiazepines: How They Work & How to Withdraw, Prof C H Ashton DM, FRCP, 2002

Soooooo, i suppose, hope it won't last forever, esp if you continue to work with a holistic approach on the mind body thing. Personal experience, no matter how bad it got, i never did have a heart attack, brain implosion, pass out or whatever in public or private - and it really felt like i would. Decided to stop thinking of them as "attack" and sort of accept them as something that just "happened", a phase that would if not pass, at least lessen. Tried to "observe" and rate what was going on, on a scale of 1-10, 10 being omg I'm going to keel over, freak out, can't stop it escalating etc etc, 1 being it's not great but i can function. Then i tried to find ways of reducing any given phase and being really upbeat if i had even the tiniest result. Got braver and started to force myself to stay in the supermarket. Big breakthrough the day i had been dropped off at the dentist and had to wait over an hour to be collected, after that hour (the longest of my life !!) it was like i had broken thru' a barrier, the panic just wore off, the relief, the joy was amazing. Plus, i learnt to check i was breathing yoga style, from the diagphragm - found my guts were often so rigid with tension that i couldn't. Friend who did tai chi told me to rub my belly in circles, anti-clockwise, and funniy enough that helped...

All the very best to you with getting thru' this, courage

[bluespaces]

Help........am in crisis.

PHENIBUT crosses the brain blood barrier.
GABA does not really work as the molecules are too dense to cross.
PHENIBUT is the natural amino acid that they took to distort valium into the addictive, alterd substance that it is.
I was on some form of valium since I was 18...so for a good 10 years...and have gone through withdrawals alone...nearly dying...so I desperately got back on it to save my life.
But Phenibut has put me to SLEEP...when nothing else worked.
Due to my abuse in childhood I have done a LOT of research...sigh...so you might want to look it up.
I'm NOT a doctor...but I know a lot due to my life of pain.
Blessings & hope this helps...please 'Google' it...xxx