I included the following from the Remedy Find newsletter because I find their experiences of anxiety, depression, insomnia and panic to be very drug-solution orientated. I like "RemedyFind" and the information they give. I think it is very useful to be able to read about what experiences others have had with drugs, therapies and remedies. I find, however, their newsletters deprressing to a point where they could actually be demotivating! Read it and see what you think! I took it from this link: http://www.remedyfind.com/newsletters/Aug_06_AnxietyDisorders.html I first noticed anxiety when I was in my early 20s now that I think about it. I was playing competitive sports and I would be so focused on "winning" I would try so hard and usually end up making an ass out of myself. One time I hit a ball almost over the back fence during baseball and I ran so hard I ran in place sliding on the dirt then landed on my face. I became a bit afraid of competing after similar events happened. Nothing physical had happened yet as far as anxiety goes, then one day I went to a plastic surgeon about 2 years ago and I had taken ephedrine to stay awake because I could not sleep the night before. I drank a caffeinated soda right before I went in and I received several shots of numbing medicine in my face which contained epinephrine (adrenaline). I remember the room pixellating and going black, and almost passing out and then a horrifying sensation that I was leaving my body. My heart went over 190 bpm and I leaped up and threw the doctors dressing off of me and tore off the vital monitors. The dr. rushed back in and asked what happened and when I explained he andthe nurse helped me calm down and he finished the procedure. After that I was still taking ephedrine…it was a weight loss drug and I was only taking half the dosage recommended. I noticed that after that whenever I took it and drank soda, the same thing happened. It was terrifying. I stopped taking the weight loss drug and it stopped happening in frequency but never fully stopped. I had a Holter Moniter on me, I have had an echo-treadmill to see if my heart was messed up. They found nothing and diagnosed me with panic disorder. I became extremely depressed because I did not like being tethered to "drugs" to keep me sane and I did not understand why this was happening to me. I saw several different doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists who all said the same thing-panic disorder. The feelings came out of the blue and I felt a jolt of adrenaline-which scared me-which triggered me to almost panic. Anything that made me even slightly anxious would set me off with a racing heartbeat, feeling that I was going to die which lead to the fear of death, the fear of another panic attack and at one time I could not even leave my house. I always wanted to be in a safe area that I would not have to "flee" from if it happened. It has not happened to me to any degree that would make me frightened for about 8 months or so. It started going away when I began taking Lexapro and Xanax, then it came back but not as bad. I was on Paxil briefly and discontinued it because it made me feel creepy and it scared me. I began to fear prescription drugs or became somewhat of a medi-phobe. I took Zoloft, Klonopin and an occasion Xanax for a few months and felt a lot better but could not deal with taking several Klonopin pills a day. I discontinued them and I went to see a doctor who is very understanding and helpful. Panic attacks are largely a learned behavior. Your brain learns to prepare the body to defend itself-against whatever it perceives the threat is-which is almost always bogus. At one point during the height of my anxiety problems I could not even shower because in the middle I would become afraid of nothing, my heart would race and I’d have to leap out of the shower and lay flat on the bed and calm down. Anxiety makes you hyper-aware of your bodily functions-particularly feelings in your chest. Anxiety can almost mimic a heart attack. What was happening to me for a long time was that I was hyper aware of my heart rate and I would check my pulse every few minutes all day long. It crippled me. My lifestyle did not help one bit either. I was forced to move around to areas I hated with no feeling of security, financial problems at the time escalated them, things I could not control, waking up angry every day, fearing the day, hating life in general..it all played a huge part. What finally broke the cycle for me was I had to first convince myself I was not going crazy. I bought a portable battery powered heart/ blood pressure cuff. Every time I felt funny I used it and I learned that 99 percent of the time my blood pressure was within normal range and my heart rate was as well, except when I was very anxious, it sped my heart rate up, which is perfectly normal. I went up to 150 mg of Zoloft per day and after a few weeks felt a lot better. I am still hyper aware of my body however. Every time my chest hurts, whether it be heart burn, gas, etc. makes me want to check my own vitals but I know that it is just learned behavior and that kind of behavior is incredibly hard to overcome. I am way better than I used to be. I do still get very anxious, especially 10 days out of the month..the few days before my monthly and during. My heart feels like it skips beats a lot and I try to ignore it but sometimes it upsets me. About a month and a half ago I was feeling WAY better then my horse died and I lost 2 cats and I went downhill for several weeks until recently. I know I have a long way to go with this. Staying away from caffeine helps, but that is hard to do. I slipped and have had cigarettes here and there-which doesn’t help. I feel that once I have a few more ekg’s done DURING the time my hart feels like its skipping and its found to be benign (which it most likely is) I will feel better. I do not like being tethered to 150 mg a day of Zoloft but right now it is best, even if it is having a placebo effect on me.
I keep Xanax on me now for emergencies only and an occasional Inderal -10 mg (which wouldn’t hurt a child). Inderal helps me throughout the day if I need it. The Xanax I have not used in a long time. I hear it is very addictive and my Dr. told me to not take it regularly. My Dr. referred me recently to a psychologist and I saw him once. He believed that a lot of my anxiety stems from lifestyle. I must admit my lifestyle semi-sucks but it is better than it used to be. Once I learn to relax naturally I think I will be able to be weaned off of the Zoloft. Anxiety has turned me into a person that I am not. I was outgoing, I did things, I traveled a lot, I made a lot of money. I did modeling, I did some pay per views, and posed as a "date" on a dating show for Vtv Washington, DC. (yes most of those dating shows are fake). Anxiety turned me into an angry, fearful, depressed and semi oppressive person. What I did then with relative ease and enjoyment I freak at the thought now and my goal is to get back to the person I was. The happy me. Maybe someone can find my experience with this helpful. By the way I am 31, not overweight and according to the Dr. have a clean bill of health with the exception of anxiety. My advice to anyone fighting with this would be to not give up-something WILL work and it takes patience and whatever you need to do to rectify it-do it because life it too short and if you do not take control, you will waste a lot of your life on something that can cripple you.
Tags: anxiety, doctor, side effect profile, insomnia, celexa, citalopram, anti-depressant, ssri, GAD, Venlaflaxine, effexor, panic attack, phobia, stress management, agoraphobia, remedyfind