morning ritual

[gret]

This is my first time posting and I hope it works! It's taken me a few weeks to get my nerve up to write. I've been comforted by reading in this website over the last month. I'm so glad I found it. Anxiety seems to have taken over me. It's a shame too because it's summer and I'm supposed to be enjoying it since I'm a teacher. I wore a heart monitor for the entire month of June because I was having a lot of palpitations. They didn't find anything but did put me on Paxil CR. I had been on it a few years ago and it worked fine. Two days after I started it though I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and had the worst attack I've ever had and thought it was the end. I attributed it to the medicine and stopped taking it but now I have an attack each morning at the same time. I used to have panic attacks shortly after going to bed, but now I sleep through the night only to wake up to one. Since that initial awful attack, I have had four more at the same time. The difference is that I've been using breathing techniques and distraction techniques to calm myself. I'm trying to figure out if this is all a mind thing or if something physical is triggering it.............that ugly little voice that gets me into trouble. I just hope this isn't my new morning routine. I want it to go away. Any thoughts or ideas? Thank you.

[mandg]

Gret,
Mornings are always the worst for me too. I usually wake up in a blind panic and can't fathom out why. I find if I push through it and tell myself it will improve with that first cup of tea that I can just about cope. It's very usual for the Paxil to make your anxiety worse before it gets better. I have just made it through 2 weeks of a similar drug and am just about starting to feel the benefits. i would persevere as if you know it's going to kick in and work you can weather the storm until it does.
Don't lay and panic in the morning, get up and do something to take your mind off it.

Good luck.

Mandy

[polly daydream]

Hi Gret, I would try to persevere with the drug as most antidepressents start with heightened anxiety, I started on a similar drug two weeks ago and hopefully have got over the worst. I had a few bad panic attacks at the start which were mornings aswell. I also suffer from palpatations.

Let us know how you get on.

Best wishes,
Polly

[carol1969]

I had heightened anxiety when i first starting taking citalopram but it calmed down after a few days and i feel alot better now. I would keep taking the meds until they kick in and you will feel alot better.
Carol x

If you have peace of mind you have everything

[Margaret]

Hi

Mornings are definitely worse for me - wake up either with a badly knotted stomach or fluttery and it develops over the next half hour into a really strong anxiety - getting up and "doing" is how I deal with it - going for a walk is a real help too - I live near a canal - and seem to have paced its towpath non-stop every monring for the past fortnight - but it really does help - especially seeing peopel and being able to have a brief and normal conversation. And then, some mornings I'm OK - so I know there must be light at the end of the tunnel!

Margaret