alcoholism and panic attacks

[mish900]

i'm new to this forum and also finding it very difficult to lift my head up atm so please bear with me lol.

i had 2 fits very recently and was told by doctors this was a result of withdrawing from alcohol (as the nights before i'd been out drinking heavily) this made everything worse and as a result i began drinking 24/7 to just stop these fits. things got so awful i got sent into hospital for a detox. after my medication stopped i told myself i was well and great and could go to the pub with friends. bad idea! i have since not stopped shaking my hands are just constantly numb. i cannot leave the house an at the same time i cant bear being stuck inside alone. i can even visit a doctor cos of how bad im feeling.

has anyone else been through this? does anyone know anything i can try to get rid of these anxious feelings. my mum doesnt seem to listen to me i think she thinks im making all this up. im only 20 :( i dont want to be this way

[mabel]

Oh bless you.

Sounds like you are going through a really rough time. Please try and and go to your doctor if you can. They can help. (I do understand, I have had/still do really have an alcohol problem) The worries about fitting I can relate too. But your doctor can help and you don't need to go into rehab again necessarily. They can give you things to help. But you've got to stick to it when well again! (easier said than done I know!)

If you really can't go to the docs then you need to reduce your alcohol intake over time slowly. By maybe a glass or can every few nights depending on what you drink.
You will find the anxiety will then ease off if you are drinking less.

You can do it!!!! You can!!!!

Mabel xxx

I'm here if you want to talk.

[bottleblond]

Hey Mish :hugs:

So many of us with anxiety/panic attacks drinks because it's a sort or release. I do drink lager (4%) I never drink before 7pm but i do have a drink every night. The main reason i am too scared to stop is 'incase' i take fits, so i completely understand where you are coming from.

You have done all the hard work hun so it's time to ease up on yourself. Don't be afraid to see your GP because he/she would prefer you asked for advice/help rather than suffer. There are also alcohol advice lines you could ring. I don't know which area you are in or i would have looked for you but you could check on line.

Please don't be hard on yourself, grab all the help you need and hold your head up high.

Much respect to you

Lisa
xxx
:hugs:

[eight days a week]

That's really great advice from the previous two posters :)

How are you getting along mish?

[Richard25]

I know just how you feel, while I didn't have fits, I did end up in detox and all that too. I was off the booze for a year, and just recently started drinking again. I started traveling a lot for work and founf myself having a few each night at the hotel bar.. That has now turned in to a lot more than a few, and it's every night.
The withdrawal in the morning is terrible, and I spend the entire day popping xanax just to get me through, but then as soon as I get home, I crack the beers and feel great again.
I am now going to stop drinking again, and I know that it's going to suck at first, but here's what will get me through, and maybe help you a little too....

Last time, once I got through the intial sucking phase, everything was better. I was better at work, better at life. I ate better, slept better, did everything better. PLUS, my anxiety went away and I was able to come off all the panic meds. Interestingly, it wasn't till I started drinking again that I had to treat the panic disorder again.

Good luck, my friend...You'll get through this...Just hit it head on.

[mish900]

thankyou so much for the kind and understanding replys! its helped a great deal i think i will start to read over and over when i feel awful again! i still cant leave the house cos of the panic attacks but i have slowly cut my alcohol intake down from 30+ units of strong cider a day to just about 12 now!:) the numbness and tingling seems to have gone (for now) im hoping it will just get better with each day. its been hard but knowing other people have been through the same has been a great help, i'm not the only one! ive now come to realise alcohol isnt the way to get rid of all my panic. its been the cause all along tututut!
xxx

[MarieS]

Every time I went to the doctor for something unrelated, I would be asked about my alcohol intake, and I never really thought about it before but would always feel ashamed when confronted with the question and I would lie. I used to drink every single night at one stage, and it would be up to 6 cans of 5% lager... quite a lot really. Even when my job changed and I started early mornings on some days, I would drink 3-5 times a week. I did it to help me sleep and also to reduce my anxiety as well as make me feel more confident.

One day at work, I noticed my hands were trembling and I felt 'fuzzy' like a hangover but I hadn't had a drink the night before. My boss noticed and said I had 'Delirium Tremens' which I poo poohed but it did make me sit up and look at myself.

Due to financial circumstances, I don't drink anywhere near as much as I used to, and when I do it can only be 1-3 cans before I'm wasted and I must say that my anxiety has shot up, my sleep is terrible and I'm getting urges for alcohol. Hope it stops soon but I know deep down that I was giving myself a slow death and I've swapped it for a sparkling fuse in my head.

[Jude73]

Hey everyone Just like to say Hi to all. I'm new to this site and hope I'm doing things right on here:blush: anyway I have suffered from depression most of my adult life and drink to make things better a bottle of wine a night easy. I also suffer with panic attacks and no that alcohol has a part to play in the symptoms, but after a day of panic attacks and struggling to even go outside I know a drink or two will eventually calm me down. But am hoping with a bit of support from you guys I can cut down and eventually stop for the good of my own health and my family. I hope also that I can help anyone out there too. Looking forward to speaking to you soon x

[hypnotherapylondon]

Hey Mish900,
I have helped many people with panic attacks and do you know what the most common time a person has their first panic attack?
Straight after a hard's night partying.

The part of the brain that takes care of when its the right time to panic and escape is called the Amygdala. It has connections to all of your senses and is on the lookout for danger. It will ring the alarm bell whenever it senses you are in danger.

The Amygdala also has connections monitoring our hydration, if we run to low on fluids it will ring the alarm bell.

After a heavy nights boozing a person can get so dehydrated that the Amygdala sets off the panic response because it thinks they are in danger.

That's when all the terrible sensations and thoughts about dying kick in and most people blame where they are at that moment as being the cause of their panic attack. So they start to avoid those situations.

But its too late, because the Amygdala has now got all sensitive about what's going on inside their body and it now rings the panic bell if they get too hot, or they can't breath, or they feel dizzy or numb, then the thoughts move in too and they are all about dying or losing control. Its all very unpleasant.

The worst thing is that when the Amygdala rings the panic bell it releases chemicals inside their body that make their breathing quicken and raises their heart rate and makes them sweat. All the things its supposed to do when ever danger is nearby.

For a panic attacker the physical response to the panic chemicals are all the confirmation they need that something is wrong with them and they don't have long left on this planet.

Its a terrible cycle that needs to worked through with someone who is skilled at managing the effects of a panic attack.
The thing about the Amygdala is that it is a quick learner and it can be re-trained to not respond so whole-heartedly to the fluctuations that continually take place inside a body.

Paul Byrne