I have had 2 panic attacks in just 3 days both times I ended up in the hospital. I have been told I have anxiety and there is nothing wrong with me but I feel just the opposite. I feel like I can't breath my hands and face go numb. I begin to freeze and I get muscle twitches all over my body that feel like someone is pinching me. My throught has a lump in it and I feel like I am going to cry but I dont feel sad I feel scared. I feel like I am in another zone. I was given a prescription of zanax and I am scared to take it because it seems like everything I take causes another problem. Adderall induced my biggest panic attack. I had had them before but never this bad. I had been taking ritalin and I never had an attack with it until today - after it wore off. I don't know what to do. My psychiatrist wont return my calls and I feel like a complete idiot. My husband yelled at me and said I was making it happen and I just need to calm down.

I'm sorry you're going through this. Yet, it seems all too familiar to me. I've just been through 2 anxiety attacks in the past couple of weeks, and can be scary as all hell!

Please read the thread on my recent anxiety attacks for the criteria to be diagnosed with a panic attack, or Panic Disorder. http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7241

You should know that while none of this is your fault, it can be fixed!

I too, was prescribed Xanax, and I too, was concerned with taking it. However, it is one of the few meds for anxiety/panic disorder that work very quickly. I will also be posting a chart in that thread, of all meds currently used to treat panic attacks.

You should also realize that the quicker you get these attacks under control, and find out what your particular trigger is, the quicker you will get back to being yourself.

If need be, please print out the criteria, and the med chart, and take them to your doctor. If he wont return your call, then by all means, ask to speak to the doctor covering for him. or find another doctor who is more responsive!

Lastly, please try not to blame yourself, or worse, make others (like your husband) make you feel like this is within your control. Obviously something is setting you off to have these attacks. That's for you and your doctor to figure out, with meds as a stopgap to prevent another bad attack.

Did the doctor prescribe them PRN? (Taken as needed) or full prescription? My doc prescribed them so that I am to take one pill (or a half) whenever I feel an attack coming on. I've learned one of my initial symptoms, and carry a pill with me wherever I go.

Big hugs hon. There are many on these forums that have found themselves where you are today. We're all here to support you.

Well the doctor I went to gave me .25 mg and said to take it 3 times a day as needed. I took one last night when I was having one and it worked. The doctor said if the symptoms of irregular hearbeat and papitations did not stop with the xanax then it could be a heart related issue. Well now I know it is not my heart it is my mind. However I wonder if my chemistry going off the ritalin back into "add land" is just to much for me and causes me to have these attacks. I just don't know at this point. I do know that I dont want to take another dose of Ritalin in the middle of the day because then I would not be able to go to sleep. I have not had an anxiety attack while on the ritalin - that I know of. Unless the ritalin is lasting much longer than I realize. I concluded that it wore off in 6 hours becuase I feel a headache coming on and I get hungry. It is shortly after this that I get anxious and fidgety and I get groutchy and sad. I think the rapid transition is what triggers the attacks. I could be wrong though. My doctor still has not called me back. At least I feel like I have something to take if I need it. I do have an appointment on Monday to see him. I will see what he says then if he wont return my calls. On another note the xanax made me feel very laid back and care free - I giggled alot when it first kicked in. I just wanted to keep on smiling... It was very strange - in a good way. This morning I felt like I had the best sleep in my life! WOW!

It's great to hear that your anxiety is treatable. You husband reminds me of a stupid boss I use to have when I worked in outside sales. I started freezing up on cold calls. His solution was to go on cold calls with me and teach me how to do them better. When he was with me the pressure, of course, would trigger severe anxiety and I would do worse than when alone.
He said "I just needed to do more cold calls and work through it.
I was just psyching myself out."
What he forgot was that I was in sales when he was still in High School. I've been working with people face to face for more than 20 years. It wasn't technique or guile or confidence. It was Physiology. (I didn't know about the med related anxiety then. But I did know he was an idiot).

I know now that Ritalin, being the addictive type of med, can cause all kinds of stuff to happen. I've never had panic attacks in my life. Even doing cold calling sales. Never until I started taking Ritalin. Since then I've had 2 attacks serious enough to seek medical help....for what I thought at the time was heart attack.

Since becoming a member of this forum a couple of months ago, I have gathered more info then the previous 7 years of ADD research.

One of the things I've discovered is the medications we take to regulate our ADD have as many negative side effects as not being on the meds at all. Thing is: the negative side effects of being on the meds usually cause the ADD'er to suffer whereas the side effect of ADD cause us and everyone else to suffer in a linear society.

FightingBoredom
Thanks for your reply. I have had ADHD since the day I was born! No kidding my mom said I never would sleep even as an infant. I was and early walker and talker. Then as I got into school. I suffered so badly. I could not keep friends my grades were alwful and I was not able to stay on task. I think if I did not have the perfect mother who loved me for me and supported me I would be a very depressed adult. I think I started getting anxiety in 4th grade because I remember feeling very nervous about getting into trouble or failing my tests and who would I play with at recess. I worried all the time and that just made my ADHD worse and it was a vicious cycle. My concentration was poor to begin with. In highschool I became rebellious and just gave up on everything. My life has been a series of bad decisions. I have gone from job to job - marriage to marriage - friend to friend and so on. I felt that if I could manage my ADHD then my anxiety would subside but it appears that is not the case. The Ritalin works for only so long in the day and then bang it is back to the same thing. Maybe with time - I will adjust or maybe not - I dont know but I do know that weather I took the Ritalin or not I would still have anxiety from time to time so I may just need both medications for now.

It just seems like there has to be an answer. Something has to work. The keys are out there to unlock the problem... I just have not found the right keys yet.

When you undergo therapy the trial and error part is the worst but once a solution is found then it makes it all worth it.

Yep, Ritalin fades away early in the day for me too. It sounds like it's Ritalin and not just me. When I take more than 40mg in a day sometimes I get severe migraines so that really stinks!

As far as the therapy being trial and error... you got that right!

Trial and error with doctors, Trial and error with meds, Trial and error with supplements, Trial and error with behavior mods.

I have begun to look at it this way. I have more coping skills than most people because I HAVE to have them. Many of these skills are excellent for many careers including counseling ADD'ers.

For all of the frustration that our non-ADD partners have to endure they have no idea what it's like to be on this side of the fence. They will never truly know that we are some of the strongest, brightest people on the planet. They will get a taste....but only another ADD'er knows what it feel like to be this close to superhuman! So, we get a few other things along with the deal....but what a ride!

Know what I mean?

Yes I know what you mean! Some people are just ignorant and heartless. I know that I am different and that is okay. I just feel like because I am different, I have more compassion for people in general more than some others have for me. If that makes any sense.

Originally posted by akiss4u
Yes I know what you mean! Some people are just ignorant and heartless. I know that I am different and that is okay. I just feel like because I am different, I have more compassion for people in general more than some others have for me. If that makes any sense.
YES, this makes sense!

I think this is why I am on Zoloft. The world can be a depressing place. Especially if you watch what people do to each other on the news. I take too much of this stuff to heart when I have no control over it.

One thing I try to always remind myself about is the effect I have on other people. I learned a long time ago that I have a very strong impact on others. To me, everything I do seems easy and menial. To others I am much more that! So, my suggestion to you, and ME is that we remind ourselves that, though we may never understand why, others will always expect more from us because they have seen us in greatness. It's just damn hard to be great ALL the time! :rolleyes:

Zoloft made my ADHD worse and I never slept on it. I was not a good candidate I guess. I dont feel like people expect me to be great - I feel just the opposite I expect too much of myself. I always take on more than I can handle. I put myself in bad situations and then I end up out of control and hyper. I don't concentrate or think things through. I react without thinking. OR I do just the other extreme which is thinking too much and concentrating on one thing for too long and neglecting everything else. This is what my problem is with the ADHD and then I end up with panic attacks.

OMG, I know exactly what you mean!

The good news is you WILL learn to manage this.
I think one of the hardest things for me to practice is saying NO.
I bet you are the same way. Because you are empathetic towards others and want to be helpful you say yes to things. Then try to figure out how to juggle everything so you can get it done.
Wow, do I know how this feels. Then you have TOO much on your plate so you either freak out and don't sleep trying to get it all done. OR you forget about everything and think "If I just get the biggest project done everything will be ok".

Am I close?

Cause if I'm close then the next events that happen are a few of the things you agree to do don't get done. You think those people
think less of you so you think less of yourself. You get down and nothing gets done so life spirals out of control. You hit the bottom, dust yourself off and start over swearing you are never going to do that again.... for the umpteenth time......

Let me know if any of this hits home because I'm talking about ME but I suspect that this is common in ADD'ers.
Knowing some of this hits home with you would make me feel like I have a clear understanding of more than just me.

Oh, one question I have is how do you manage or schedule time?
For example, do you schedule time into everyday that is just for you?
One cool thing I learned somewhere in the past 10 years is to schedule everything you can in your day. Even brushing your teeth at first. This way I found it easier to say no to someone and not feel guilty because I KNEW my schedule was pretty booked up. Hey, sometimes I couldn't even remember that some of the things on my schedule were blank hours that I put in my day for catch up time or even goof off time.
It takes some work and discipline the first few days but it is totally fun once you start realizing you have more things in control and you have scheduled time for yourself that you actually end up enjoying!

akiss4u,

Have you tried Strattera? Its a non-stimulant, so maybe it wouldn't cause too much anxiety.

Just a thought!

-Britawn

No I have not tried straterra because the doctor said that medication can take up to 60 days to notice it's effects. I just started a new job - and I have gone through so many that the doctor felt something more immediate would work better because of my job situation. I tried the adderall again today and so far so good. I only took 5 mg's though 1 dose at 8am and then another dose at 12. The thing is... with the first dose I felt practically nothing and then just 10 minutes after I took the 2nd dose it seemed as if the first dose had just kicked in. I dont know but it is 2pm and I feel just fine - much better than the Ritalin. No anxiety no headaches yet! I just wonder if I need to take it very early in the morning. My pulse is good - my heart feels fine I do have a little energy but it is not like the ritalin. This med is more mellow less harsh. I just pray I can find the right does and timing - without anxiety and headaches.

Taking Adderal by itself usually makes someone with anxiety have increased anxiety. I also have ADD and panic disorder and I personally have found AdderallXR 25 milligrams and Zoloft 50 milligrams taken together very effective. They kind of balance each other out. Also it seems when I have a lot of caffeine plus a lot of stress in one day it makes me have panic attacks and when I'm PMSing for some reason I have panic attacks so I usually take 100 mg of Zoloft around the time of my monthly present. After my monthly present has been delivered I go back to 50 milligrams. Sorry I'm rattiling too much I just know how disorienting panic attacks can be especially with ADD.We're disoriented enough without them.:D lol