Yes, boys and girls...the BIG tough guy has recently suffered from two very bad anxiety attacks...and doc has just prescribed Xanax.

Anxiety/Panic Attacks can be identified by some of the symptoms that accompany it.

For a detailed list of these symptoms, and the criteria for diagnosing it and Panic Disorder, please visit www.bigsplace.com/panicdc.html

I incorrectly assumed that the symptoms I was feeling last week, and the week before that, were reactions to strong antibiotics. I now know differently.

I'll be working closely with my doctor to develop strategies to help me deal with these anxiety attacks, before they turn into something more serious (which can happen if left unchecked).

Stay Tuned!

OMG I'm so shocked!!!!!!! You mean your not perfect after all?:p

Seriously, Anxiety is a lot more dominant then most people would guess and can be devistating to even the most experianced anxiety sufferer. I alway's tell my doctor I'll die of a heart attack because I'll just sit back and assume it's an anxiety attack. I'm one of the one's who get chest pain, shortness of breath and start sweating like a pig at a luia (spelling is not my fortay).

I have had wonderful result's with Xanax myself. Although, I haven't taken it in over a year now. I use Yoga (I buy the book's, I'm way to insecure to be rolling around the floor in front of other's--images of beached whales pop into my head everytime I tried a class). Also make sure and acknowledge your worries don't push them to the back of your mind, they tend to take over your entire body if you don't give them their due.

I'm wondering though what kind of symptoms you experianced? Perhap's there are other members who have had the same symptoms and found a way to work with them or control them.

Let us know how your doing and give yourself a big hug.
Cherity

Here are the panic attack symptoms. I've highlighed in red the ones that I experienced.

A panic attack is a discrete period of intense fear or discomfort, in which four or more of the following symptoms develop abruptly and reach a peak within ten (10) minutes:

a. palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate
b. sweating
c. trembling or shaking
d. sensation of shortness of breath or smothering
e. feeling of choking
f. chest pain or discomfort
g. nausea or abdominal distress
h. feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint
i. derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself)
j. fear of losing control or "going crazy"
k. fear of dying
l. parasthesias (numbness or tingling sensations)
m. chill or hot flushes

Oh yeah...I guess I have to hand back that "Perfect Person" membership card :rolleyes:

Originally posted by BIG
Oh yeah...I guess I have to hand back that "Perfect Person" membership card :rolleyes:

Yes, but hand it back to whom? :confused:

Sorry to hear you're having trouble, Big. I hope the Xanax does the trick. I've always had some trouble with anxiety too, but haven't had to take anything specifically for it yet ... knock on wood... ;)

I've never really had an issue with severe anxiety before, so this is a new one for me as well.

I took a 0.5 mg Xanax yesterday at around 4:30pm, and though it is proclaimed to be a fast acting med, I felt nothing until about 6:30pm. By 10:00pm I was exhausted and ready for bed.

Next time, I'll cut the pill in half, as the 1/2 mg appears to be too much for me (at least for now).

I only plan on taking it at the onset of panic attack symptoms, as there is no way I could function on a daily basis on Xanax.

Andrew,

I'm hoping that you have studied up on Xanax. Everything I have learned in my med classes and inservices points that this med may not be the best for PRN usage. From what I understand it takes a full week of continued usage before the full benefits of the drug are noticed and a little longer for side effects to wear off.

I'm NOT trying to tell you what to do just probably putting my nose were it doesn't belong...but, it's done out of love.

p.s. there are also websites for drug interaction's Xanax does not interact well with a lot of common everyday meds.

OK butting out now.

No expert at all on this Big. Just want you to know I am behind you and sending good thoughts your way. Hope the meds work out.
Jim

Thanks for the heads up, futs. Interesting what you've read about Xanax. I'm actually seeing a psycho-pharmacologist (psych who specializes in meds & their interactions), but I'll definitely bring this to his attention!

Thanks for your support, Jim!

Andrew first of all I am not implying in any way that your psycho-pharmacologist is in any way wrong. Just letting you know what I have learned about this med thru inservices. You can read a lot of it yourself I double checked. Just type Xanax into your search engine. Like I said I, myself have had wonderful result's from this med but I took it short term and twice a day.

p.s. I don't care what anyone else say's withdrawal's are a pain in the ***. IMHO they were anyway's.

Andrew et al.
I had panic attacks when I was younger. I got beat up badly when I was 17 and for years after I would panic in various situations with similar symptoms to those you have posted.

One day while I was driving to work waiting in a left hand turn lane for the light to let me go I had a rush of panic and ended up standing on the meridian like a dolt unable to get back into my car right away. It scared me to think that I was in such a situation.

I had read in a sports medicine book I still have, about exercise proving helpful to many psychological ailments and that was enough to get me back into the car and then drove directly to a shoe store for something suitable for running. I didn't stop running for several years.

I then migrated to a bicycle and from there to doing nothing much. Now I'm back making regular sweat and heaving chest motions as my old bod reluctantly comes back to life.

I don't know why or how but the panic attacks subsided and I now never have them. I don't have to get off buses long before my stop.. I don't have to fear. I hope you get there too.

Easy does it pal. I wish you well as I'm sure many here do. Follow your gut.

Respectfully. Ian.

I take Xanax for panic attacks. I take it PRN. And I definitely feel benefits from one dose. I'm such a lightweight I take 1/4 to 1/2 of a .25 mg pill! It's definitely a strong med, IMHO. I find it does act quickly for me . . . usually 15 to 20 minutes. I also take a small dose if I have to fly on an airplane. I *hate* flying!

Took me well over a year to figure out what was wrong with me when I first started getting these attacks. All the docs thought it was some sort of sugar problem. Finally a shrink diagnosed it.

BTW, that was back in the 80's and my attacks have really subsided over the years. Lexapro is a HUGE help as well.

OK got more info on Xanax. I talked to our DON and she said the the nursing home's pharmacist alway's has bad thing's to say about any sychotropic (hope I spelled that right) and narcotic med, he does not believe in them and think's people can meditate themselves out of panic, anxiety and pain. HUH makes you wonder if he ever actually suffered from any of these symptoms. I don't know about you but when I have a panic attack the first thing to shut off is clear thought process's. Sorry, about the misdirection. But, I do still know withdrawal's can be a pain in the *** for a lot of people.

Hugs and good luck
Cherity

I CAN totally relate! I've had 2 major panic attacks that I thought were heart attacks. The first one I spent the night in the hospital and had all of these stress tests and sonograms done. Nothing!
It wasn't my heart.

The second time I spent a few hours in emergency. Nothing. It wasn't my heart.

Turns out, a few days after I joined this forum I start reading how one of the side effects of Zoloft is panic attacks.
Which is depressing..... so I take more zoloft..... and blam! panic attack......which is depressing.....so I take more Zoloft...... and blam!......

I would definitely like to hear how that drug works for you!

That's the funny thing with spychotropic meds a lot of times the side effects include what your taking it for. *shakes head* doesn't make a lot of sense but I say if it works go for it, stay with it, succeed and heal.

Thanks for the responses Ian, Kimo, FightingBoredom, Futs and whoever else I missed.

I'm going to continue to research Xanax, and other meds, and when I get home tonite, I'll try and post a med chart I found.

Thanks for everyone's good wishes. So far so good...no more attacks :)

Hope you find what works quickly..
Cheers! Ian.

I just remembered to tell you that when I was in the hospital both times they said I was dehydrated.
BIG, I wonder if this may be the same in your case?

Anytime I feel the panic building up I first reach for a Gatorade.
I figure it's worth a try and so far it has helped.
Though I'm not taking much of a scientific approach to it.
My chiropractor told me some time ago that most people try to rehydrate with lots of water and it usually doesn't work. The problem isn't just the fluid it is also the electrolytes which is why he suggested pedialite or gatorade for rehydration.

Hydrate people!

I think I'm going to try that myself FB. Most times during an anxiety attack it's when I've just got done doing something extremely physical.

Originally posted by Nucking_Futs
I think I'm going to try that myself FB. Most times during an anxiety attack it's when I've just got done doing something extremely physical.

Let us know how it goes.

Big-
How awful for you. I hope the xanax helps. I had atypical panic attacks and anxiety. Paxil helped a tremendous amount. Hang in there Big. I think you're about due for some GOOD news.
Love,

Well Andrew, your still perfect.

I was on the Xanax for anxiety myself. I did not phase me one bit. One warning though, no drinking on this medication at all.(I am not sure if you drink or not).

But I was given it to help curb anxiety and come to find out the anxiety problems I was having was related to a medication I was on when my Tourettes was severe. When I get off Proxlin, the type of anxiety I experienced went away.

Well another doc in the team had an idea later on and we tried it and decided that most of my tics are related to being anxious so we wanted to try Klonipin. Right now I take 2 mgs of Klonipin. I take a medium dosage of it. A high dosage is about 4 mgs. But the doc only wanted me to take 1 mg at night and one mg during the day if needed. I now take 2mgs at night for sleep. However, tonight I only took 1mg for sleep and I am awake at 2:30am doing this post. I am trying to follow docs orders.

But the Klonipin has helped my anxiety. I am mostly anxious at work and the main thing that causes it is noise and I know some of you may have heard me complain about that before. If I get sensory overload from noise, the anxiety kicks in. But it is more of this feeling of wanting to crawl into myself. I actually have closed my office door and laid down in the floor and curled up in a ball until it goes away. But I must say, I am dong much better now.

I take naps at work to relax my mind and even walk during lunch. I find getting away from the situtation I am in is a big help and I am thankful my supervisor is understanding of this.

But the thing is the type of anxiety I feel does not fall under the cartegory of a paniac attack, at least I don't think it does.

But I wish you the best and BIG hugs

Excellent med chart for anxiety/panic attack meds. (http://www.adaa.org/AnxietyDisorderInfor/chart.htm)

When I 1st begin taking Celexa for anxiety it totaly knocked me out. It felt as though I took a couple on benedryl and that was only half a tablet. It took about a week for me to adjust to the med.

Originally posted by BIG
Excellent med chart for anxiety/panic attack meds. (http://www.adaa.org/AnxietyDisorderInfor/chart.htm) This is a great chart Big and I want to thank you for all your support in my panic episodes. I also want to thank Brianne and Scott, for staying up all night with me on PM when I had my first major attack! It is so nice how a person's writings of kind words can be so soothing. I know I don't know any of you in the forums personally but you all have a special place in my heart.

Panic attacks are like experiencing death without dying. I have come close to death a couple of times on a hospital bed and I know I almost died and that is the same feeling as a panic attack. Panic attacks are much worse than general fear because they escalate out of control and are uncontrollable. Your mind takes over your body and it is a very REAL problem.

If I were to have one while driving I could get seriously hurt or hurt another driver.

I took xanax for the first time last night and it was all I needed to get back to normal... what ever normal is.

Like any drug if you abuse it then you're gonna lose it. "It" meaning its effectiveness and your sanity! LOL.

I have not needed to take it again today so I hope I can have a day without an attack. In addition to now having a medication to control this panic, I also have a sense of security to know " hey if I get an attack just relax I have something to stop it." For me that takes away my fear of wondering what will I do if I get another attack. That fear of not knowing when it will strike and where it will strike is enough to cause an attack!

Originally posted by akiss4u
In addition to now having a medication to control this panic, I also have a sense of security to know " hey if I get an attack just relax I have something to stop it." For me that takes away my fear of wondering what will I do if I get another attack. That fear of not knowing when it will strike and where it will strike is enough to cause an attack!

Same with me. That sense of assurance, that there is something there to help, is almost more valuable to me than the med itself. Like you, I have only had to take Xanax once (knock on wood), and am comforted knowing that I have it with me, should I experience another anxiety attack.

Glad you had a good experience with your medication...it sounds like it did what it was supposed to :)

Big supportive hugs.

Originally posted by Energizer_Bunny
.... Right now I take 2 mgs of Klonipin. I take a medium dosage of it. A high dosage is about 4 mgs. But the doc only wanted me to take 1 mg at night and one mg during the day if needed. I now take 2mgs at night for sleep. However, tonight I only took 1mg for sleep and I am awake at 2:30am doing this post. I am trying to follow docs orders.

But the Klonipin has helped my anxiety. I am mostly anxious at work and the main thing that causes it is noise and I know some of you may have heard me complain about that before. If I get sensory overload from noise, the anxiety kicks in. But it is more of this feeling of wanting to crawl into myself. I actually have closed my office door and laid down in the floor and curled up in a ball until it goes away. But I must say, I am dong much better now.

I take naps at work to relax my mind and even walk during lunch. I find getting away from the situtation I am in is a big help and I am thankful my supervisor is understanding of this.

But the thing is the type of anxiety I feel does not fall under the cartegory of a paniac attack, at least I don't think it does.

But I wish you the best and BIG hugs

Ditto, on all the above, EB! Except I'm supposed to take .5 mg in the am, and 1 mg in the evening....lately it's been 1 mg on the way to work, and another at home..... Of course, you and I have talked about this via email.... :D

xo
smooch

SO, BIG.... How is it going with the Xanax?

I just was given the mandate that I have to do some stand up training delivery. Though I've done it in the past for whatever reason I now get panic attacks over it.
It was always a struggle but it was usually material that I was a subject matter expert in so I overcame the anxiety with boat loads of self confidence. But it was exhausting.

Now the thought of even preparing for it takes my breath away.

And the crummy thing is this is a job I started 3 weeks ago and this wasn't in the job description. If I don't do it I will be seen as someone who doesn't want to roll up their sleeves and work or I'm not flexible...... I think it's time to try Xanax!

Has it really helped you?

Paul

So, here's the skinny on how it has helped ME.

The first attack I sensed, I took a whole Xanax tablet...Knocked me for a loop...too much.

Next attack, I took 1/2 a tablet...much better. Made me a little tired...but better.

Third time...really helped take the edge off...not as tired...much easier to get back into a decent mood.

I do alot of public presenting...and though I don't have a problem with it...this certainly helps, knowing I have this in case I feel another anxiety attack coming on.