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View Full Version : suffer panic attacks? - try this



scooby
09-11-05, 20:04
To reduce my panic attacks, I have done the following:-

1 Stop smoking - this is the most important of the lot - try lozenges rather than the gum (the lozenges give a more constant flow of nicotine, the gum may give big 'hits' of nicotine when chewed rapidly which can actually make panic attacks worse). People often smoke bacause they are stressed, though the feeling of stress you feel is often actually nicotine craving and not stress. If you continue to smoke your feelings of stress are unlikely to go away.

2 reduce caffeine intake - eg. try just having a coffee/tea/coke when you get in from work or try having half cups throughout the day instead of full ones

3 bananas - eat 3 bananas per day 1 for breakfast, 1 at 11 am and 1 in the afternoon - bananas give a steady release of energy and also contain sources of serotonin which can combat panic attacks. The energy from bananas will also enable you to reduce your caffeine intake.

4 avoid chocolate/foods/drinks high in sugar

5 reduce alcohol intake - eg. only drink at weekends

6 try and exercise regularly (also makes it easier to stop smoking)

I have tried all the above together and they have made a difference to the severity and frequency of attacks. I would be interested to know whether they help anyone else.

Best of luck

Scooby, UK.

pinkscrumpy
09-11-05, 20:09
Hi Scooby.

I have quit the smoking and the caffine and every morning I walk the long way back from dropping the kids off at school.

I've got to admit, it has made me feel a little better. Don't know if I could stomach the bananas though LOL

Thanks for the info

MANDIE XX

Will I ever escape this?
Will I ever be free?
Wake me up from this nightmare.
Please just give me the key!

scooby
09-11-05, 20:13
Try the bananas for 1 week - you'll be surprised

wobily_lin
09-11-05, 20:32
hi scooby.

it seems im doing it all wrong. i smoke and i know that is not a good thing. i do drink tea and coffee, it depends on wot kind of day im having. but its decaf, does that count? i use to eat bananas but i cant eat fruit. silly but it to do with my prob. i do walk the dog sometimes. but not every day and that does help me feel bettr.

i would agree with all you said but fags r the only thing keeping me going. plus iv already put on bout 3 stone in the past 2 years since all this began. i cant even have a drink. im too scared to now.

some gr8 advice for me ive been told all these things b4. i will give up the fags as i do want to, but not just yet. thanks and wecome. i will try some walking on a regular basis. thanx.

lin x

LeighD
09-11-05, 21:26
Thanks - I will try the banana route and limit myself to one coffee preferably decaf. I don't smoke thank goodness, but I have joined a gym - yet to go I might add due to the stresses but I am about to have a weeks holiday up the Gold Coast where I intend to relax and take it easy.

As for Bananas, I think I will make smoothies - freeze them and then blend with soya milk or similar.

Thanks for the advice - I'll let you know.

Leigh

scooby
10-11-05, 09:35
Lin,

There is no better incentive to give up smoking than to reduce the severity and frequency of panic attacks. I got to the point where I had just had enough, the decision to then stop smoking was relatively easy.

I tried the nicotine gum a couple of years ago and because it didn't work (and also tasted pretty bad), it put me off trying again. I then recently made the decision and tried the lozenges and I have to say it was much easier than I thought.

As for putting on weight when you stop smoking, it's not the end of the world and that's something you can tackle by gradually exercising and reducing your food intake. Stopping smoking will increase your energy levels and make exercising more appealing. If you don't exercise, where does all your body's adrenaline go? - it builds up and channels into your panic attacks as it needs some way of being released.

As for the bananas, if you can't eat the fruit, try banana milk shakes - the energy you'll get will make all the other things easier. Bananas act as a sort of natural antidepressant.

Decaf coffee is fine, though it does contain small amounts of caffeine so don't drink to much of it.

Regards

Scooby

W.I.F.T.S.
15-11-05, 11:38
When I was at my worst with panic attacks I would feel panicky if I didn't have a cigarette because of the craving and panicky if I did because of the nicotine rush!! I gave up over 18 months ago and , to be honest, it wasn't that difficult. I'd just started seeing a new girl and my smoking caused her to have a severe asthma attack. I just binned them and basically whenever I had the 'itch' I would tell myself that if I had one more cigarette I would be a smoker again. If other people lit up, rather than spontaneously caving in I would wait until they were half way through it and ask myself if I still wanted one, and the answer was 'no'. I'd remember times in the past when I'd tried to quit and had one and how disappointed I was with myself and how revolting and unsatisfying it actually tasted.

I did go on patches, because otherwise I was more ratty than normal and I did put weight on, but within a year your body redresses itself and you come back to your normal weight. Within 10 years your body has totally cleansed itself and it's like you never smoked at all, so it's definitely worth doing it today rather than putting it off. My grandad quit at 65 and he is 83 now! The marker points are 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months and 3 years- just concentrate on getting to the next one of those.

Bananas is a good tip too. The problem that I have is that I work to 10 pm most nights and I end up drinking a lot of coffee, which combined with being tired after a hard shift means that I am normally pretty wired when I get home at night.

Ships in harbour are safe..but that's not what ships were built for.