Panic attack triggered by alcohol or DT's triggered by lack of alcohol?

[Hemmy]

I was on them back in the mid to late 90`s for quite some years. I drank to deal with anxiety/panic etc then was eventually given these capsules, 6x192mg per day and would be given a months supply at a time. The first time i took them i was hooked, felt like a triple vodka within a couple of minutes and a sort of ecstatic fast relax would hit me.

Yeah, I find my lunchtime dose is a real "aaaahhhhhh" moment. I realise it's a dependency, but it's a better cleaner one than alcohol. The better of two evils. I couldn't live a normal live on 6 a day though. On the rare occassions when I'm super agitated I'll pop an extra one - but it's a battle of the coffee and energy drinks to keep myself awake after that.

Can`t believe i was able to get them on script after all this and eventually i did try and kill myself on them and was found in the street where the paramedics had to restart my heart on the spot and urgently get me into life support at hospital.

It's certainly concerning that they were continued to be issued when they were being over used. I got pulled up once for putting a script in too early, so something has gone wrong with your medical support.

My anxiety, panic and agoraphobia is at it`s all time worst and i`m now drinking trying to cope and if i had the chance would no doubt take heminevrin again because i know they are so good but also can be fatal.

I'm taking them for my anxiety and it works for me - along with plenty of care and moderate will power not to over use them. Personally, I'd rather be taken them than using alcohol as my supporting crutch. They could be fatal, if use and abused like any other drug I suppose.

i`d hate to think that you could end up in a bad way when it`s time to get off of them, was hell for me, literally.

Yes that does concern me, even the GP has stated that it will take a long time to wean me off them. On my Google travels I did see some articles that suggest that it could be knocked off the list of UK prescribable drugs at some point. So I may not have a choice.

Was like a junkie going cold turkey, diazepam were nothing in comparrison to what heminevrin gave but i guess i`m glad that i`m no longer taking any of them in reality as was hell to get through the withdrawals and addiction.

Blimey. It's a vicious circle, hooked on one drug only to get hooked on another.

[Martin Burridge]

You should see your GP about this. There are a number of possibilities that I know of.
Alcohol boosts your serotonin levels. The next day there can be a dip in your serotonin levels while your body tries to balance things again. This can caused increased anxiety.

The other possibility is that the alcohol is affecting your heart rythym. This is called cardiac arrythmia. I suffer from this and the breathing problems you describe are very similar to mine. Its usually happens the day after drinking too much. Caffeine has a similar effect on me buts it usually within 15 minutes of drinking it.

The way to tell whether its a panic attack or something physical is whether you have the urge to flee or look for safety.

I dont suffer from panic attacks (Im a therapist) so I dont get the urge to flee so I know mine is physical not psychological.

Whether its anxiety or a physical problem I suggest you cut down on your drinking and see your GP.