In early december after pretty much having a complete breakdown from panic disorder i had someone take me to the ER . The ER doctor treated me like a junkie the second i met him because im on an ad/hd medication and then despite the fact that he did a nida 5 blood test and found out i had perfectly normal amphetamine metabolites in my blood for someone who is prescribed 45mg of dexedrine daily he still refused to sedate me and then mockingly asked "have you ever tried zoloft". Not realizing at the time this guy had a plan for me allready i reacted accordingly "of course i have...how is that relevant to my panic" after a few moments of staring blankly at his paper the doctor asks in the sweetest way he could "how about i give you a shot that will help you sleep and you can go home". This is where i screwed up, i was so scared and out of it i actually fell for it and said "that would be fine".

A few minutes later a male nurse comes in who apparently is in on the funny joke they're about to play on me. He starts filling a needle from two vials and i ask "what is that" and he says "benadryl and diazcough, we use the second one alot to calm people down". I swear to god i heard him say diazepam the chemical name for valium but in reality he said "droperidol" a very nasty anti-psychotic from the 60s that they use on cases of extreme methamphetamine psychosis. So i get the shot and instantly know its not diazapam, i could literally feel in a way all the dopamine being sucked out of my neuronal cleft and within minutes i was a shuffling, mumbling zombie.

I had a cab called for me because i couldnt even see straight enough to dial the phone. Then i stood outside for at least a half hour in the 20 degree weather alone, falling asleep standing up. Yes i was literally so screwed up i was sleeping for 5 minutes at a time while standing. I some how got home and slept for 16 hours and still felt drugged for the next two days.

Days later i informed my doctor and he was completely livid. There was much talk of lawsuits and i think the ER doctor was even informed that i may potentially do something dangerous to him if he were to ever attend to me again. As far as i know no action was ever taken against the doctor.


I decided to end my dexedrine treatment after that and go into therapy/take xanax to control my panic. Two months later im back being treated for my AD/HD and panic free (knock on wood).

Holy H-E-(double hocky sticks)! :eek: It sounds like you are lucky to be alive. It's a good thing they didn't decide to lock you in a rubber room and continue the droperidol. It sounds like something from "One flew over the cuckoo's nest.

How horrible on top of the panic problems. I've been to the ER for panic attacks before. Not fun even without Nurse Ratchett.

The most dangerous thing you can do to that doctor would be to sue him. It would hurt him more than giving him a bloody nose. Frankly, I would consider it. Thank goodness your own doctor is so supportive.

I sued a lawyer for malpractice over my divorce and I won. But then again, it was horribly stressful. But a person can dream!

Really, really sorry, you had to go through that, D.B. Let me give you a BIG HUG! And a couple pats on the back.

I finally got my diagnosis Monday from a new neuropsychologist (after 30 years of going from Doctor to therapist to psychiatrist and around and around again). Posted my diagnosis thread in the bipolar section.

Bipolar II, inattentive ADHD, GAD, PTSD. I will go to the psychiatrist a week from Monday and start with a mood stabilizer. Really hoping to be able to relieve the anxiety.

So you are being treated for ADHD but not with stims? What is your therapy like to control panic?

Be well, Dude!

[QUOTE=jeaniebug]
So you are being treated for ADHD but not with stims? What is your therapy like to control panic?
/QUOTE]

Thank you for the kind words. No, im currently taking dexedrine again and my panic is a mystery. I was seriously sedated for two months straight 3+mg of xanax a day and weekly therapy. Then three weeks ago i got an incredibly bad flu and was sick for three days and woke up and the panic was nowhere to be found. I did all the things i could imagine to provoke it and it just wasnt home...it had vacated and i havent heard from it since. I've told this to three different doctors and each time they stare at me completely dumbfounded. I went from an obvious physical neurotic wreck to normal.

I dont belive in any higher power but this is the weirdest thing i've ever heard of as far as mental disorders. My brain apparently realized something was wrong and for lack of a better word rebooted that part of my brain.

oh my goodness gracious me...

I am shocked at how they treated you...
I am sooo glad your *panic* has gone on a long long vacation..way way away from you
xxxxx
hugs

D.B. Wow, that is wonderful! Great News! Is that a "silver lining?" If the anxiety is gone, I would stay away from lawyers and lawsuits, because that WILL put you in a rubber room.

What kind of therapy did you do?

I'm glad you are back and feeling better! ;) :)

What kind of therapy did you do?

Just normal old CBT.

Just normal old CBT.Hmmm. Yea, tried that. (For 30 years off and on). Although my anxiety has only been part of my depression for the last 10 years. In that time I've also tried group therapy, guided meditation, "clearing" my chakras, chanting, deep breathing, visualization, hypnosis...yada yada yada. Xanax (only when needed) is the only thing that helps.

But I will be starting a mood stabilizer soon (lamictal), and people have reported that takes away their anxiety in some cases. Especially in the case of a bipolar dx, which I now have. Call me "Mildly Optimistic!" . . . To be continued.......:eyebrow:

I have mixed feelings about xanax. It was great for my insomnia for a while..but it is addictive and can be hard to get off if you've been on it for a while. Unfortunately the longer you are on them it seems the more you have to take to get some benefit. If they are not combined with alcohol etc they otherwise seem to be a safe drug. I don't like being addicted to meds though.

I have benzo withdrawal down to an art form i've done it so many times.

Yup. Xanax will make your panic worse when it wears off, DB.

Man. Based on your ER story, you sound like you deserve a lawyer. What a nitemare.

re: anxiety

I have found CBT to be ineffective. Why? My anxiety experience isn't rigid thinking ("cognitive") or actions that are ("behaviour") manifesting. My own problem is more like old feelings coming up being triggered by small things that used to be a big deal. (Reminiscient of old triggers.)

My own problems with anxiety are the physical symptom experiences (traumatic re-experiencing) and emotional symptoms (feeling overwhelmed).

Given this: my own therapeutic tool that works best is the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, or "SP".
The problem is, though, that almost no-one does it [yet]. It is pretty new.

It deals the FEELINGS/EMOTIONS and the PHYSICAL/BODILY EXPERIENCE/SYMPTOMS of panic situations.

[SP actually coaches people into how to Modulate their hyperarousal experience of panic and anxiety. Lots of people wind up in the ER for this sort of nervous system activation during panic attacks.]


www.sensorimotorpsychotherapy.org (http://www.sensorimotorpsychotherapy.org)

DB, I am so sorry for what you went through. :( It seems like you ought to be entitled to a lawsuit -- I mean if I understood right the guy totally tricked you and gave you a medicine to improve his day but not yours. That's so lousy -- an awful lot of ignorance, not to mention delusions of godhood (referring to the doctor of course) out there.:mad:

I'm glad your cold cured the panic attacks - wow, there is sure a lot we still don't know about the mind/body interaction! Anxiety is a really common add on with ADD -- I've dealt with panic attacks before too -- not much fun. My therapist tells me that because our filters are so weak we're more at the mercy of those kinds of things. Hope things stay better for you!

Scattered

Sounds like the doc needs a syringeful of antipsychotics pumped up his a**!

Even if no lawyer, I'd somehow find a way to get that story into the press and bring him down hard!