Hi, need advice please!

[apricot]

Hi everyone,

The past few days have been really bad for me. For the last 9 months my world has shrunk. I had made really good progress with agoraphobia and panic attacks, but the stress mounted and bang!

Well in the past I have been on both prozac (I found this made me more nervous) and seroxat (made some inprovement on this). I have always taken myself of meds. The last time I was on meds was July 03.

I have felt so bad recently (I have been doing the relaxation and taking bach for this). On monday night I had a sevre panic over a vitimin pill, of all things!

I didn't get out of this cycle until 3.30 am, and as you will understand, this left me v. tired and down. I have decided that I have to get off this roundabout. I need to get better for myself, partner and children or we will never have any life.

I have been to GP this morning and she has prescribed Efexor XL 75mg, once a day. I also asked for a referal for CBT. I have read on this site and others about the med that has been presribed for me and am now really worried about taking it. If I didn't have the kids to worry about getting to school and looking after I would give it a try but hearing all these things I am worried.

The thing is if you have high blood pressure, you take a tablet, if you are diabetic, you take meds....I am trying to reason this out!

Any help, advice will be appreciated. And as I have said I have been doing the relaxation, bach remedies, etc...but my anxiety is so high, and I have panic other the silliest things at the moment, I just don't know what to do.


Nikki

Turn 'what ifs' into 'I can' and you will.

[sarah]

Hiya Nikki

Im sorry you are feeling so naff at the moment. You sound just like I have been...making progress on the agoraphobia and panic attacks only to have it all come crashing back again.

At least you are trying to rationalise your thinking with the meds ... e.g for diabetes and blood pressure etc.

The thing I can say about the meds you have been prescribed is this...... All the side effects listed for effexor are just about a carbon copy of the ones listed for mine (Cipramil) and I dont really get any side effects at all despite the long list of posiblities they give.
Im gonna hightlight the word 'possibilities' here!!! The list of side effects are only what the drugs company have to list to cover there backs even if only one person has reported it. If you consider the millions of people who are on this type of medication, you might be someone like me who doesnt get any....just something for you to think on.
You may feel bad getting on the meds but the long term benefits may be that you stop feeling so down and panicky so you can get on with your life and start curing yourself without feeling sooooo bad all the time.

At the end of the day what is worse?...feeling panicky and exhausted and not yourself till you can talk yourself out of it whenever, or trying the meds, feeling naff for a few weeks and then feeling like a new you so you can get your confience back while you work on getting better and eventually coming off meds?

some people on here are pro medication and some are against. As you can tell im pro but that doesnt make me right, its just whats right for you, im just trying to give you something to think about.

Most of all keep ypu chin up hun and think positive, you have made such progress before and you can do it again. Keep practicing the things that make you panic and try to ignore the bad thoughts by rationalising them. (Hard I know but its the only thing that stopped me from sending myself insane).

love Sarah
xx
p.s sorry for rambling on a bit...lol

[apricot]

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for your reply. I started with agoraphobia and panic attacks back in august 1997, so I am well and truely sick of it controlling my life and that of my kids and partner. My partner is really supportive, which makes a huge difference! I wouldn't even go into my garden in the beginning and my partner gave up work for 6 months. This is the scary thing, if I get that bad again, the financial implications. I have to take my two youngest to school and somedays it is a complete nightmare. I always try to end the school run on a positive, otherwise, as I have found, you dread it more the next day. My world has shrunk soooo much. 2 years ago I went to a wedding, job interview, training, school meetings, so I can take some comfort in knowing that I progressed and got myself out of it to some extent. But it's the silly anxieties now...as I said before, just taking a vit pill sent me into major panic, a little silly thought just built and built. Yesterday, because I was so on edge after this panic, I found myself panicing over one of my children at school. My little nephew, who goes to their school, had been upset on going in, so I offered to walk him round and in all the uproar, had let my son run on to his class so he wouldn't be late. I came home and had a panic because I hadn't seen him go in and in the end had to phone the school to make sure! Negative thoughts...I have read so many books, my partner thinks I should be given a degree in it! The thing is, I just cannot apply it to myself.


Nikki

Turn 'what ifs' into 'I can' and you will.

[sarah]

Hiya Nikki

Just to let you know you arent the only one....ive got a bottle of vitamin B complex sitting on the side in the kitchen. Everyone in here swears by it. It was hard enough for me just going in the shop to buy it but as usual I was fine, went shopping, bought them and other stuff and came home unscathed. The thing is, this was just over a week ago and I still havent plucked up courage to take one so I know how daft this thinking lark is.
I dont have kids yet but I had to take my niece to school and pick her up recently when my sis had her new baby and I had panicked each time I went to the school, so good on you for going thru that everyday and keeping on doing it!!!!!
Oh by the way, im good at giving advice and telling others what to do but I, like you cant always apply it to myself. Loads of times I do things and keep practicing till I feel better about it but some days I just cant do it!!!

love Sarah
xx