View Full Version : So.. my first Diazepam and starting CBTon Wednesday...
Well.. coming off Zolpidem after 6 weeks wasn't fun... it was definitely contributing to my anxiety.. to be replaced of course by the anxiety of not sleeping again from 3am! Pah! Today though a very nice specialist stuck a camera where no film crew should ever deem to wander... and confirmed at least that my "internal thrombosed and coagulated piles" were better and there was no reason for me to think they were contributing to the state of my body's anxiety! Hah! (Followed by Pah!). I think not being able to sit down for the last six weeks was reasonable cause to get a tad anxious! So now I've booked a CBT assessment (how many sss's) on Wednesday.. and I've had 2mg of Diazepam which has stopped the horrible tight band across my chest and abdomen. I'm going to give them a maximum of a fortnight tho if I can.. although I'm relieved to not be feeling in the tizzy I was this morning and over the weekend... I understand that I must take advantage of the respite to try and get myself back on track. So... I've still got a few days until I can access a chat room.. a precautionary process that seems most wise.. aren't we all so very vulnerable when we first find www.nomorepanic.co.uk Meantime if anyone has experience of CBT I'd be interested and appreciative to hear feedback and would hope to contribute my own bits and thoughts after Wednesday's meet... Have a good Monday Forum people....
Hi
I was put on Diazepam for about a week, just over a year ago (2mg twice a day). This was in order to prove to me that what I had was anxiety and not heart problems - and it worked.
At the same time I went through a course of CBT. It is all about focusing on the positive aspects of things and ignoring, the best you can, any negatives. Soon you have more positives than negatives and in turn the anxiety levels drop. Doesn't work for everyone, but it did for me, and I think it can be a case of the more you put into it the more you get out of it.
Tie that in with relaxation and exercise (doesn't have to be marathon stuff) and things should improve.
sunshine-lady
23-03-09, 23:43
Hi and welcome to NMP
So pleased that you have found us. I am sure you will like it here as there is so much help, information and support. There is a chat room which is a great place to make new friends
Take care xxx
Hello there Utility... thank you for the kindness of encouraging words. It's truly good to hear from someone with past experience of my new "journey".. and I shall be doing my best to put everything in I can. At the end of the day it's in my interest to get mended. I feel a bit better than when I woke yesterday and the Diazepam helped with the night. So increased confidence may well make tonight easier. As a bull in a china shop person though by nature, I must try to understand it'll not all be "fixed" by Thursday.
Hi there and :welcome: to the site, a lot of good advice and support here, the chatroom is also very good, take care xx
Hi WillLatch, welcome and good luck for tomorrow! :)
Can one "overdose" on CBT? I'm all booked up for a session 20 miles away.. and my doctor rang today and advised the name of a practitioner 1 mile away. So this will be interesting. I'm seeing the clinic based person at 2pm.. and then driving to the 1 mile away in her small log cabin place at 4pm. 2 asessments in one day (and i still can't spull that word). It'll boil down to who I'm comfortable with probably.. although I could find myself drawn to the convenient location by allowing the lazy gene to kick in. Diazepam. First report after 24 hours... Certainly better than I felt yesterday... and it just seems to take the edge of the "chest" feeling thing... I'm prescribed 3 a day.. and will try not to take if I don't need to. End of info. Have a good Tuesday evening everyone.
Hi :welcome: to the site, I am a newbie too and reiterate what everyone has said so far.
I am also having CBT at the mo, proving very helpful so far. Was a total wreck when I first went and only a minor wreck now.......lol!
Good luck tomorrow and look forward to hearing how it goes.
A x
Hey there Shep.... Are you doing the Diazepam thing as well...minor wreckage from total is good... support and congratulations! Just having a debate with myself about going drug free to First CBT and letting the whole thing just hang out there... OR take the little pill first. Hmmm.
I have done in the past but currently on citalopram. Diazepam is really helpful, as you say it helps alleviate some of the symptoms and brings a little bit of normality. Personally I didn't want to be on it for a long period of time, a result of too much internet searching on side effects etc......:blush:.
It really worked in the short term though and with regards to taking before your first session I guess it depends on how the dosage affects you. Does it make you sleepy or anything?? The counsellor can only help to the full if they see the real you. A
Hi Shep... thanks for the info. No sleepy; no nothing. Just stopped that extraordinarily unpleasant "how do you describe it" feeling across the chest and upper abdomen. Like when you have a close shave in the car and you get a woosh of adrenalin.. but it doesn't go away. Saturday, my first night off sleeper for 6 weeks I had it for the whole day... NOT pleasant at all. So I'm glad for the respite. I too am a bit of a one for surfing info. Not always a positive thing.. but then again so many of us have found NMP! :-) OOOOH! I JUST YAWNED! (Make note to self.. don't start to get anxious about having a nap in the evening and then get more anxious about the fact you napped and will I now not sleep... etc etc).
HA HA! :-) Had a good night's sleep. Woke once, turned over, and went back to sleep. FIRST time for months. Tiny step. I shall take that confidence to my CBT this afternoon and feel less anxious I hope about sleep tonight. However the realist in me says that it was my 2nd day of Diazepam and maybe that played it's part. I also have dealt with a couple of the "mountains" I needed to climb and will tackle another as soon as I've posted this. (Make note to self...doesn't mean you'll sleep like a log tonight as well.. be glad for the one step and try not to get anxious if it DOESNT work. There's always another 16 hours of "Poldark" on DVD and a good book.)
So there we go.. the first session of CBT. BUT it was with a very nice person who was a therapist rather than a "qualified pyschotherapist" or similar. IF that makes any sense. I did have 2 sessions booked today with 2 different CBTers; this option was 1 mile away and the other was 20 miles away. I postponed the 20 mile away jobbie and kinda hoped this local convenient one would be ok. So.. because I don't this today's very nice person would really be up to the task for me.. I'm going to see the other person 20 miles away. Shame from a convenience point of view but I reckon I'm best with someone more qualified or indeed stronger to help me with the challenge. Today I was reading on the forum of a new member disapointed at the wait for CBT on the NHS. Very sad. It's NOW that we need support especially when we've found the courage to go and talk to the GPs. I am self employed and therefore will FIND the money for the costs; others are not so fortunate in that matter. So tomorrow I'll start a new thread based on my experiences over the next month and hopefully some members might find some value to my offering. It's too easy to say prioritise the monies to help towards getting yourself fixed. A large part of my anxiety is about NOT losing what I've built coupled with my fear of letting down the 10 people who depend on me for THEIR livelihoods as well as my centrally heated family. I'll explore this wonderful site further and see if there's a more appropriate place on the forum to place a thread about the ongoing process of CBT and if other NMP members can advise I'd be glad for the responses. 10 mins since I took tonight's Diazepam. Logging onto NMP is now part of my "shutting down" process and I wish myself and others a better night's sleep. Tomorrow is another day and a fresh chance for another start. Goodnight all.
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