Let's talk about anxiety, and the related meds. Shall we?

reply to post by GoShredAK


No problem at all! I had to create a new account just to post this (couldn't get into my last one)

While I was seeing my doctor (on a weekly basis) for checkups, she also connected me with a therapist. The therapist helped but basically gave me tools of my own to work through the anxiety attacks. The panic attacks however, would come on all of a sudden and were 10X worse than my anxiety attacks. I could feel my adrenal gland emptying and my body would go tingley. Vision and hearing loss, heart palpitations, felt like my heart was pounding too hard to even breathe properly. I did a little more reading and asked my doctor to check for a Magnesium deficiency since my B12 were consistently normal. Bam. There it is. Leafy greens and a more balanced diet excluding white sugars and unhealthy carbs have given me so far 4 months Panic attack free. Also exercise does wonders.

I dont blame or judge anyone on medication to help with panic and anxiety. In most cases though, there are underlying factors that contribute to either. As a (second to) last resort for me, I felt like I needed the medication because the panic and anxiety were starting to rule my life. I was too afraid to go out in public, because I was terrified that I would have an episode in front of other people. Only 3 people have seen me through an attack. And its physically draining for HOURS after.

reply to post by GoShredAK


The strawberries are crucial!! A member of my family had epilepsy. Through brain-mapping and related exercises, smelling strawberry essential oils would stop an epileptic seizure. Again, increases Serotonin!

Banana-Strawberry Smoothies anyone?!

L0125D
reply to post by GoShredAK

 

The strawberries are crucial!! A member of my family had epilepsy. Through brain-mapping and related exercises, smelling strawberry essential oils would stop an epileptic seizure. Again, increases Serotonin!

Banana-Strawberry Smoothies anyone?!

Lol, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to downplay the strawberries.

That's awesome, and you have inspired me to add more strawberries to the juicing ..(apparently you can't juice bananas?)

But I eat a lot of them

Now, I drink a lot of beer

Doesn't that provide a nice amount of Bvitamins?

Also since beer is a diuretic, isn't it useful in aiding the flushing of radiation from ones system?

Supposedly that's how some Chernobyl people survived, because they were depressed and drank a lot of beer. Any truth to that ATS?

Might come in handy with Fukushima and all....:

A good way to justify my excessive beer drinkage anyway

reply to post by GoShredAK


I had little experience with anxiety until i was in my forties and was struggling with another bout of depression, I was given Effexor, within four weeks i couldn't leave my bedroom, it was the only place i felt safe, when my son eventually managed to get me out of the house, i had full blown panic attacks. I stopped taking it immediately. Its hard to explain how bad i actually was, every minute of every day. It took a year or more to get over the worst of the side effects, but I have never been the same since, the medication stole some part of me five years ago and i am still far from right.

reply to post by eccentriclady


I'm really sorry to hear that.

These drugs are freaking evil. They put me on "Pristiq" which made my anxiety and panic a lot worse too. It was a hellish experience.

Stay strong, and stay positive!

I guess I am a lucky one?

I have Bipolar and GAD. Both diagnosed and quite true

After starting Zyprexa and Zoloft my life is so much better. Haven't had a single side effect after a year of Zoloft and three years of Zyprexa

Really, there are bad cases of side effects of psychotropics, but there are also many people who take them and don't have side effects

As a therapist myself (not psychiatrist) I always recommend people don't turn their nose up at meds, but weigh the options

originally posted by: KyoZero
I guess I am a lucky one?

I have Bipolar and GAD. Both diagnosed and quite true

After starting Zyprexa and Zoloft my life is so much better. Haven't had a single side effect after a year of Zoloft and three years of Zyprexa

Really, there are bad cases of side effects of psychotropics, but there are also many people who take them and don't have side effects

As a therapist myself (not psychiatrist) I always recommend people don't turn their nose up at meds, but weigh the options

No! This is the only way!

just kidding

I respect that you recommend weighing your options before going on meds.

Now, I drink a lot of beer

Doesn't that provide a nice amount of Bvitamins?

Also since beer is a diuretic, isn't it useful in aiding the flushing of radiation from ones system?

Supposedly that's how some Chernobyl people survived, because they were depressed and drank a lot of beer. Any truth to that ATS?

Might come in handy with Fukushima and all....:

A good way to justify my excessive beer drinkage anyway

So, A brief update regarding that post:

I have made a drastic change in my paradigm which is centered around massive reduction in alcohol consumption.

I've basically quit drinking. I couldn't take the mental and physical damage any longer. It was bringing all my anxiety symptoms back as well.

I also feel alcohol was absolutely hindering my spiritual growth.

Thanks for reading

originally posted by: GoShredAK


No! This is the only way!

just kidding

I respect that you recommend weighing your options before going on meds.

thanks

and yes I would be the first to say that while meds helped me they may harm others

Fully back in it.

Rebound anxiety like a mofo. It's all my fault.

I was feeling on top of the world.

Healthy and athletic, yet still having some control of breathing issues reimerging inexplicably.

I think severe diet change (for the better) may be the cause?

Either way this prompted me to re-up on my 3 year old Xanax prescription, which I abused, which led to further abuse of other negative influences. Boy did that get real, real quick (hence my new signature).

I feel I've been doing a very good job of detoxing, as well as weaning off of the Xanax at the same time.

Yesterday, I felt like my old self, supercharged, it was a beautiful feeling.

Today I was moments away from full blown, "I think I am literally dying this time" panic attack. Once it got completely unbearable for myself I took .5 mg of Xanax and breathed/thought my way out of it.

a reply to: GoShredAK
Interesting description - "rebound anxiety". I hear that! Never know when it's going to come up from one day to the next, one month to the next, or one year to the next. Xanax has its place, and if you need it take it.

I did the alcohol and Xanax addiction trip, and went through rehab four years ago. They gave me a high dose of librium for two weeks due to the danger of seizures during withdrawal from that combo. Felt like a cranky zombie. It took about a year after that for my mind to clear, and I slowly started getting my health back. Got off the Cymbalta and, for the first time in many years, I wasn't taking any meds.

A few months ago out of nowhere I started having anxiety attacks for no reason. Life was calm, but my thoughts and emotions were battling. It got worse and worse, I had no control over it (despite breathing exercises, herbs, tinctures, meditating, etc), and I began to think about having a drink just to get some relief. Luckily, I had learned that it doesn't work for me. "If one is good, then two is better" would suck me right back into the addiction.

I saw my doc, and he gave me Buspirone (Buspar), a non-benzo anti-anxiety med. Like most psychotropics, it takes 4-6 weeks to really start to work, so he gave me .5mg Xanax as backup. I was very leary, having been addicted to them before, but needed relief.

There are some tricks to taking Xanax to avoid addiction, and I'd like to share them in case they're helpful to you or anyone else who reads this.

1. Only take them when you really need them.

2. Take one when you first notice the symptoms of an anxiety attack. Xanax is like pain meds in that it works better taken when symptoms first appear and before they get bad. Wait too long to take it, and you may need another one or two doses before it really kicks in.

3. Do not expect to get high or take it to feel good. The objective is to take the edge off the anxiety and nothing more than that. This is the one that gets most addicts.

As for the Buspar, the verdict is not in yet (for me). I know of two other people who are doing quite well with it.

Man am I late to this party!

In case nobody covered it yet, the "Z" drug you couldn't remember was probably Zoloft. Yet another SSRI/SSNRI from the endless arsenal of big pharmas lazy practice of just changing the Fluoxetine compound by one or two molecules and patenting it as a new drug.

For a very long time I was an ardant warrior against this class of drugs, but I can no longer be one. I currently take a very low dose of a medication called Celexa and it works very well for me. The only problem is that I had to go through a few dozen variations of the SSRI/SSNRI drugs to find one that I could tolerate. It was a search that took about twenty years and caused me much, much illness along the way.

For anxiety control I take two milligrams of Klonopin per day. But here's the sort of Occams razor that applies to anxiety medications, as I have discovered and learned: If they make you feel high, woozy, or sick - then that is not the right medication for you. The Klonopin does not make me feel euphoric or sedated or high. In fact it makes me feel "normal". The way I remember feeling before my PTSD finally reached a point where it got totally on top of me.

Having thirty years of experience with anxiety issues I can tell you that there is no "one size fits all" fix. Each and every individuals body chemistry and psychiatric state is unique. Some folks do better off meds, others do better on meds. It's a highly personal and subjective thing.

The single and most important message to get into the hands of those who suffer is this:

You are not alone and there is hope. You can get to a place where you feel like yourself again.

a reply to: DreamingsFree

I for one appreciate the Xanax advice, as I am going through withdrawals and attempting a taper/detox currently.

Will never abuse again!

I have reached several of these conclusions myself (Thank God), albeit the hard way, and am never turning back.

Though I am aware of the dangers associated with a self administered aggressive taper. Scary, and sucks! I'm going for it anyway. I hate not being myself.

As I stand here today, typing this at work in between customers, I have gone 42 hours without any Xanax or any other medication whatsoever.

Definitely feeling off, yet optimistic.

In the meantime I have been forcing myself to work out four times as hard, and to suffer through some serious anxiety because I don't want to prolong this unnecessarily.

my last dosages of Xanax were .5 mg every 24 hours at bedtime, and I only abused them for about a week before I began taper/detox.

I see the light at the end of the tunnel! hopefully its not on oncoming seizure

terrible joke.

originally posted by: calstorm
reply to post by GoShredAK

 

Sugar! I blame sugar. I had anxiety for years. Cut sugar out almost entirely so two years and bam, anxiety attacks were gone.

Lots of truth in that.
Most of the serotonin in in the body is produced in the gut.
It is severely reduced when the digestive system is out of whack.
Sugar feeds the unhealthy bacteria in the gut and throws off the proper balance for health.
Screws up the fundamental body chemistry.

originally posted by: badgerprints

originally posted by: calstorm
reply to post by GoShredAK

 

Sugar! I blame sugar. I had anxiety for years. Cut sugar out almost entirely so two years and bam, anxiety attacks were gone.

Lots of truth in that.
Most of the serotonin in in the body is produced in the gut.
It is severely reduced when the digestive system is out of whack.
Sugar feeds the unhealthy bacteria in the gut and throws off the proper balance for health.
Screws up the fundamental body chemistry.

That is very interesting, maybe this is where I get my edge that will lead the way to success.

I am a health nut for sure, despise sugar, and consume a whole bunch of wonderful good bacteria. I feel it gives me an advantage and maybe my body can withstand a little bit more.

a reply to: Hefficide

Thanks for stopping by Hefficide!

gosh, I couldn't imagine going through so many legit ups and downs...our minds can be such enemies!

I like the last quote for sure.

Thanks again.

a reply to: GoShredAK

You really have been through the gauntlet, OP. That's amazing. The fact that you've weaned yourself off everything is more amazing. I am curious as to how you're doing now with the attacks….

I do not suffer this, thank God, but I've some experience with the meds you bring up, as an offshoot of other physical problems when I've been diagnosed the benzos you mention for minor anxiety related to the physical problems. So I am very familiar with them and know how dangerous and debilitating they can be if they get hold of you.

I sincerely admire your survival, after experience with all of them.
tetra50

a reply to: GoShredAK



Doctors kill more people annually than hard drugs and they get well paid to do it , i knew i should have stuck in at school

a reply to: douglas5

Good stuff Doug. Ain't that the Truth of it all. I would wear that shirt.