my worst ever

[xlr177]

Well last Thursday night was my worst attack ever, a few days before I had gone to my doctors as my panic attacks had returned after a few years of being not to bad, he prescribed me seroxat which I was not happy about as I had heard many bad things about them, but I started taking them any way, with in 2 days I was feeling very strange and by Thursday I was so anxious it was unbelievable , come Thursday night I was being sick every couple of minutes, having really bad attacks and was having my usual could not swallow attack, I got so bad my girlfriend called an ambulance, they came out and checked me over and all seemed to be ok, I was just having very bad side affects from the seroxat, they phoned the paramdeic/doctor and asked him to call on me, he did about an hour later and said that the seroxat are evil things and would not give them to any one, I had a really good talk with him and he was very understanding and noligable on pannic attacks, he gave me some diazepam to calm me down and they worked a treat, it took a few days to get those horrible seroxat out of my body and I am now starting to feel better but am now finding it hard to deal with the pannic attacks. I dont wont to become to dependent on the diazepams as I know it's a state of mind and need to beat it, it's just this swallowing problem that drives me crazy, one min I can swallow fine and then the next I cant and it freeks me out and then starts the pannic, do many other people on here have this horrible problem?

[kenboon]

Dont have it now, but i have had it. And its horrible takes 2 or 3 attempts to swallow? Then sometimes you can not swallow at all then the addrenalin then the panic. I had a simular experience with medication as you but on citalopram. Althought mine was within a couple of hours of taking it, but ended being taken to hospital in an anbulance. Diazapam too have helped me, but in my eyes its just putting blinkers on it. have you seen a CBT?

All the best

Ken

[xlr177]

Yeah I agree with you that tablets just mask the problems, My doctor is trying to get me into the CBT program but said there is a long waiting list, I try and only take 1 Diazepam a day and try and deal with some of it my self,I'm sure that these winter nights don't help. Last night I kept waking up suddenly not being able to swallow, I just wish it would go away. Just when you think you have panic attacks under control they come back and bite you.

[xlr177]

morning xlr
I was on seroxat and had the same trouble, I`m now on citalopram and have found them fine, just 20mg daily and they really steady me off nicely.

I also hate the swallowing thing, its usually when I`m speaking and I suddenly have to cough, or pretend I`ve got a sneeze stuck so that people don`t wonder whats going on.

It helps a lot if you keep a bottle of water or something nearby, then if your mouth is drying up or you get that nagging anxiety just swill your mouth a little, swallow it down, and it really helps because you realise you`re fine it was just fear again making your throat not work properly.

I don`t honestly know if panic ever really goes away but I treat mine like an nagging little dog, as long as I remember to kick it now and again and tell it to b*gger off I find I can manage

(To forum owners, I don`t ever hurt animals for real, its just an image of an evil little dog I conjure up to help with my fears)

Best of luck that they sort out your medication soon

Paul


I also keep a bottle of drink with me where ever I go, like you say it just confirms in your mind that you can swallow, but at the same time this has also got me into a panic as I keep swigging on water and then even that becomes hard, the funny thing is the other night my girl friend cooked me a roast dinner and while eating it I was watching tv, well when I had finished I noticed that I had only had a small amount of drink with it and had no problem swallowing, it just shows that if you can keep your mind else where you have no symptoms, but the moment you focus in on your feelings they become worse.As for the panic going away I believe it is always there at the back of your mind, I had my first panic attack 15 years ago but after a few years I learned to deal with them but still had them now and again, it's just recently that they have come back big time, mine all seems to stem from my throat, I had very bad tonsilites up until I was 19 and this made me very conciuos of my throat, so like every one says, it's fear of fear, I worry that I will not be able to swallow which in turn makes me not swallow, which in turn causes panic and before you know it your on the old panic train again go round and around.

[kenboon]

It is a Vicious circle and the more you focus on it, the worse it becomes as you say. I had a big problem Burping at one point as well, i just could not get it out and it spiralled in to a full blown attack. This happened on a couple of occasions. I too tried water, but like you say even then it can take a couple of attempts, but i did find chewing gum helped me out with it a bit. Its a powerful thing the mind and the condition we have takes full advantage of it.

All the best

Ken

[xlr177]

It is a Vicious circle and the more you focus on it, the worse it becomes as you say. I had a big problem Burping at one point as well, i just could not get it out and it spiralled in to a full blown attack. This happened on a couple of occasions. I too tried water, but like you say even then it can take a couple of attempts, but i did find chewing gum helped me out with it a bit. Its a powerful thing the mind and the condition we have takes full advantage of it.

All the best

Ken


It sure is a powerful thing, just think that it is all created my our own minds.