Should i believe the Dr?!

[Worried Girlfriend]

Hi every one,

I am brand new to this and need some advice.
My boyfriend has been suffering from anxiety attacks for nearly 5 years. Since then they have become more frequent and more severe. He generally gets up in a morning with an attack and it is there all day, when he tries to sleep he can't.

He went on a CBT course for 6 weeks which started to work and now does nothing!

The other day i rang an nhs direct (who sent a paramedic) as it was so bad, he had shooting pains in his chest and lost feeling in his legs, they said it was an anxiety attack.

This morning we went back to the Dr who put him on Citalopram and upped his Diazepam to a stronger dose for when it is needed, he is already on Propanalol twice a day. When he took the Citalopram he felt really sick and tried to rest, when i got home from work he was freezing cold to touch and again lost feeling in his legs so i called the surgery and was told by a Dr that he could be coming down with a viral infection. I don't think this is right...any ideas would be welcomed, does anyone else take these tablets together successfully?

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya,

I take citalopram and also used to take diazapam and propranolol. I used to take them alltogether with no side effects (well apart from each meds particular side effect) they worked well for me when my panic was really bad.

[Pipkin]

Hi there,
Sorry you're all having such a difficult time. You will definitely find that the anti-depressants take a while to work and, in the meantime, the anxiety symptoms can get worse - the symptoms you are describing are classic anxiety.
When I'm feeling really anxious, my partner knows that I will be thinking that there is something serious wrong with me physically and continually reassures me which really does help. When I'm feeling my worst, he always makes me get out of bed, eat and keep taking my meds, regardless of whether I try to convince him otherwise.
You will get through this and I hope coming onto this site helps you. It really helps me.
Take care
P

[Worried Girlfriend]

Thank you.
Myself and his son are very understanding (we hope) and constantly reassure him. When he is stressed about something, like his son not organising his night properly (what 13 year old does?), i try to talk to him about what it is that's making him anxious about the situation and talking him through it.

He seems to get more anxious when he is relaxing but was told this was 'normal'.

He is now very anxious as he was made redundant and has to get a job but would not be able to attend an interview. Is there any help i could get for him?

Alex

[Pipkin]

Alex, you're definitely doing the best thing for him by listening and reassuring. The fact you're on here shows how caring you are. I would just wait a week or so until the anti-depressants have started to work and then judge how he's feeling. He should go back to his GP at this point and discuss it with him. Take care and let us know how you're getting on. P x