Anxiety/panic...follows my cortisol cycle

[Gretagetwell]

Hi, My life for the last year has been plagued with morning anxiety. Today is actually the one year anniversary of my taking a leave from work, because this issue was becoming such a problem for me. The symptoms actually started around the holidays in 2014.
I have used antidepressants for years and generally they were very helpful. Every so often had to change because my system got too used to them. But otherwise fine. I also would take 1 mg of clonazepam at night.
So when I started feeling out of sorts in 2014 I figured I probably needed a change in medicine. I had been on effexor xr for 7 years. First we tried upping the dose. That did not work, so I started trying some of the newer antidepressants that fit my genome testing. Through 2015 I tried new medicines. All along the anxiety kept getting worse. It morphed to panic attacks. I have seen an endocrinologist about this and continue to work with him. My anxiety now follows my diurnal cycle. I have anxiety from between 7:00 - 10:00 am until 4:00 - 6:00 pm every day. I have had 3 days in the last year where I did not have this (2 in June 2016, 1 in Aug. 2016) Diurnal Anxiety is what my endocrinologist is calling it. He is trying different things... nothing has worked (I have been his patient since February 2016). I am here on this forum to find out if anyone else suffers from this and have you found anything to alleviate it or knock it out. I can no longer work, that is how bad this is. I have fainted during a panic attack. It is so very scary. In the evenings I am usually fine, unless exhausted from anxiety all day. Please help.

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya Gretagetwell and welcome to NMP :welcome:

Why not take a look at our articles on our home page, they contain a wealth of information and are a great starting place for your time on the forum.

I hope you find the as site helpful and informative as I have and that you get the help and support you need here and hope that you meet a few friends along the way :yesyes:

[fduop]

Good morning Gretagetwell. I really hate seeing you in this situation. The only thing I can say is what has happened to me. I have generalized anxiety disorder and panic, at least that's what I've been told. I've dealt with these things for 17 years. I currently take two medications for this, old fashion Prozac (Fluoxetine) 40 mg & Buspirone 30 mg.

My Anxiety & panic usually have triggers like pressures at work, meetings, driving, the usual stuff. The meds have really help me lead a fairly normal life. But the other thing I do that helps the anxiety is meditate and with the panic when I feel it coming on I except what's happening and breathe through the discomfort.

A long time ago a therapist asked, "Are you having a panic attack?" I replied, "YES!" He then asked, " Do you feel short of breathe, like you're going to faint?" Again I said, "YES!" Then he said something that really pissed me off at the time, "Well, you're in a comfortable chair, go ahead and faint, you'll be okay."

I can't explain this in just one note other than to say, except the panic and don't waste the energy fighting it. I know it sounds counter-productive but for me and others, releasing the fear of it usually shortens the panic. A book I recommend is How to Stop Anxiety and Panic Attacks by Geert Verschaeve (https://www.amazon.com/Geert-Verschaeve/e/B003ZWHJ1S/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1). Like myself Geert is not a professional, just a fellow sufferer whose experience mirrors the advice I got from that therapist long ago.

I didn't mean to ramble but I feel what you're experiencing, going back and to to doctors and still not getting much relief, mirrors my own experiences. I hope something I mentioned here helps. Best to you Gretagetwell on your journey to getting better.