I Have Panic Attacks.
Posted over a year ago
I have had panic attacks for 7 years and found. 2mg of Xanax
helped tame the attacks very well and I never felt better in my
life. I am so happy to be free from the attacks at last !!!
Propsguy - try niacin instead of xanax. it's a vitamin. it won't hurt you and its "side effects" willl reduce cholesterol.
i put my BF on it and we got him off a 15 yr anti-depressant habit
Propsguy - he had panic attacks, also chronic (almost daily migraines) and constant muscle aches in his arms. on top of that, he was always depressed, often had suicidal thoughts, road rage and such fuzzy thinking that he thought about going on AADD medication.
and to top it all off, he took so much tylenol & excedrin for migraines that he was put on nexium.
using niacin, it took him 2 months to wean off of the antiDs (he was on parnate & lemictal for a total of 8 pills a day). i bought him 100 mg tablets of niacin at the health food store- it has to be the flushing kind.
we started him out on 100 mg a day and built up to 500 mg a day as he reduced his antiDs.
he has now been 2 1/2 months without antiDs. he did have one panic attack when he was weaning off the drugs which really scared me. he was talking crazy, totally out of control. i said "did you take your niacin this morning?"
he had forgotten. so he hung up the phone, took a niacin and called me back within an hour and he was fine.
he has had only 2 headaches in the past 2 1/2 months- one at the beginning and one recently (but he hit his head while at work so i'm not counting that one).
consequently, his intake of tylenol and excedrin has dropped to almost zero. because of that, his stomach is better so he's stopped the nexium
he's sleeping better, thinking clearer and feeling better than he has in 15 years. he tells me everyday how grateful he is to me and that he will never be without niacin.
you should go to a site called Fire Your Doctor.com or Doctor Yourself.com where you can find a lot of information about this and other natural remedies
there is a great DVD called FoodMatters that has a lot of information
did you know that two handfuls of cashews has the same therapeutic value as a dose of prozac? i eat raw cashews all the time
anyway, my BF takes between 300 - 500 mg of flushing niacin a day (it has to be the flushing kind)- the dose is not that important. what is important is to take enough to work. profoundly depressed people might take 12,000 mg a day before they start to feel fine.
if you've taken enough to reach your saturation (whatever that may be depending on your needs) you will flush- your face and ears will get red and hot and prickly for 1/2 hr to an hour. its unpleasant but it will go away and won't hurt you. and next time, you'll know to take a bit less.
my girlfriend told me a great story of her teenage hippy days in the 70's- she took an overdose of angel dust and was lying in a drug induced stupor. someone gave her some niacin and she got hot and flushed and it essentially burned the drug right out of her and then she was fine
pretty amazing!
i'm on a crusade about this. drug companies are ruling our lives and killing us with their poisons so they can make insane profits. seeing the changes in my BF, i want to help others. i was going to break up with him because i couldn't take it anymore. but now, he is the lovely man i knew before he got involved with all these drugs
good luck!
Sherrose99 - WOW! What a story. I have been having frequent allergic reactions to food that morph into panic attacks and now the attacks have increased even without any food. I am going to try the niacin. I used to be on anti-depressants but not anymore. I am going through menopause too. Thanks for the info!
Imlobosmommy - I have another question. How do you know if the niacin is working if you are taking meds for the panic attacks? I wouldn't want to stop the meds to try the niacin because I have been taking them for 5 years. I was a mess for 20 years before I finally tried taking medication for the panic attacks. I don't want to be in that place anymore, now that I found something that works. So how does that work with the niacin and meds together? Thanks, by the way, for trying to help us even after you have found your "cure". And lastly, what exactly does niacin do, and what dose does one start on, and do you just go to a health food store and buy them in pill form?
Propsguy - read my long reply above where i tell the whole story. he stayed on his meds but gradually tapered off them. he was taking 8 pills a day so he was able to take less and less while increasing his niacin. by the end, he was cutting his antiDs in half. it took him 2 months to get off them totally so during those two months, he was on both niacin and antiDs.
he had been on antiDs for 15 yrs. this is the first time he has been on NO meds. people are telling him that he looks great and he is telling me that he feels great and he's a lot easier to be around, let me tell you.
he takes about 300 mg of niacin a day, in 100 mg tablets. we buy them at the health food store. it has to be the "flushing" kind.
i don't know how it works, other than to say that vitamin deficiencies cause a lot of problems (scurvy, pellagra, etc) and that niacin has a long history of being used for lowering cholesterol and for dealing with psychiatric disorders.
there is a lot of information on it if you go to Fireyourdoctor.com or Doctoryourself.com.
i can tell you that my BF is better in every way since he's gotten himself off these meds
good luck
Meme3 - Help......I started taking 40 mg of zocor on Dec 4...I have had 2 panic attacks during the night waking me up and now I'm having one now. Can it be related since I haven't had them daily. I guess it's panic attacks. I woke up couldn't breathe etc. Just don't know how to describe the unusual feeling.
Shelly75149 - I am 20. I have Panic Disorder with agoriaphobia, Anticipatory Anxiety, Irritability Anxiety, ADD, Depression, Chronic Constipation and Chronic Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (which was not caused by untreated STDs or STIs). I started having all of these issues after I started taking Yaz birth control. I started having anxiety and panic attacks after a month of taking the pill. August - I delevoped PID. November - Anxiety and Panic attacks grew worse becoming a multiple interruptions in my DAILY life. Then depression set in. I had been seeing a Neurologist (who had prescribed Cymbalta then Lexapro). After the suicidal thoughts became severe and I was unable to function in life he admitted me to a hospital. Almost immediately a psychiatrist (whom I cherish dearly now) discharged me and set up an appointment for me with him the next day. I was then diagnosed with all the mental disorders/illnesses. I know take klonopin 1 mg, luvox cr 150 mg, seroquel xr 300 mg, vyvanse 140 mg, promethazine and lunesta 3 mg. I was on short term disability for 4 weeks (which my employer and the disability insurance company made an extreme hassle). I started to show significant signs of improvement and progression to recovery. The medication had finally eliminated panic and anxiety attacks from my every day life. I started to have symptoms resembling the ones I had with PID (back in August 08 which I was on STD & bedrest for 3 weeks). I saw my gyno on Jan 13th & she prescribed an antibotic, mild pain reliever and the reinstatement of Yaz. After a week of the birth control, my depression and anxiety/panic came back at full strength. I received a letter from my employer saying that my short term disability application for 1/15/09 to 2/15/09 had been denied and if I did not return to work by a certain date they would consider it my "voluntary resignation from [my] postion with the company". I started looking for (and still am) government funded insurance and prescription coverage from any source (even CVS & Walmart). I started noticing my constipation issues and decided to check the interactions and individual side effects of my medications to see if they were perhaps the cause. Then I stumbled across this website and the many women (ages varying from 17 - 50) who posted their stories of panic attacks caused by Yaz and Yasmin. I realized that my problems started after taking the birth control. And when I had stopped I started to recover mentally. I wasn't 100% or even 30% better but it was improvement. And when I started taking it again, I went downhill - ending up almost where I had began. When I was getting better I could maintain a level of calmness and go to stores and restraunts. Now, my agoriaphobia is back at full strength. I don't want to leave my house (my comfort zone) for anything. Not even a walk around the block. If anyone has any advice or any information regarding insurance, prescription, legal or recovery help - PLEASE message me. I'd leave my email but I've noticed that the website omits them.
For those of you who are looking for help, this is what I've found so far:
1) Yaz takes about 6 months to be fully out of your system.
2) Seroquel's main website offers a free online self help program for bi-polar patients.
3) Seroquel's manufacturer offers a Patient Assistance Program.
4) Lunesta's main website offers help. Search "Dream Kit".
5) You can receive a card from your psychiatrist called Sleep & Save (Powered by McKesson) that will pay up to $25 on the next 4 prescriptions. You can activate this card online or by using the toll free number they provide on the back. Read the back of the card CAREFULLY! The cards offer is not valid for Medicare, Medicare Part D, Medicaid or any other federal or state funded assistance, programs or insurance.
6) You can receive a card from your psychiatrist for Luvox CR that saves up to $25 on 3 prescriptions of Luvox CR. Read the back of the card. Read the Patients part. THEN read the Pharamists section: it states how to place the claim under an Insured patients insurance. It also states for UNINSURED Customers/Patients (like me): the pharmacist is to submit the claim for Luvox CR to PDM using the BIN #. This means you will still have to pay for the full amount minusing the $25 Luvox CR is paying for.
7) PanicCenter.net offers a free online program for recovering from Panic Disorder/Anxiety Disorders. You will have to register (create an account). They require all participants take a Anxiety Assessment. After you've completed the assessment it will show all the questions, your answers and their professional summaries. They ask that you print this off and take it to your psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist or counselor.
8) The same creators of PanicCenter.net also have the following programs/websites available: DepressionCenter.net, AlcoholHelpCenter.net, HealthyWeightCenter.net and StopSmokingCenter.net
9)CVS offers a Prescription Program for 9.99 annually per person - check their prescription drug list though. Most of my medications were not covered under the program.
10)Walmart offers a Prescription Program - $4 for 30 day supply and $10 for a 90 day supply. Make sure to check their drug list too - none of my medications were covered.
11)There are tons of "Assistance Programs" and "Prescription Drug Coverage Programs" but most of these websites end up pushing or "recommending" you to another website.
Finding coverage, assistance and help is time consuming and it definitely requires patience.
I recommend signing up or creating accounts with as many websites as possible to receive emails, updates on laws, updates on providers, updates on medications, updates about recent studies, legal advice and community resources. I recommend the following websites:
www.Xubex.com
www.RevolutionHealth.com
www.IHealthRecord.org
www.FamiliesUSA.org
www.FamilyWize.org
www.ADAA.org (Anxiety Disorders Association of America)
www.PanicCenter.net (And the other .net Centers listed above)
www,familyaware.org (Families for Depression Awareness)
www.Citizens.org (Citizens for Health)
www.ChangeHealthCare.com (Track Consumer Prices)
www.LegalMedsDirect.com
www.UniCare.com
www.123FeelBetter.net (2 week free trial Wellness Program)
www.AnxietySymptomRelief.com
anxiety.today.com - I recommend this for the Overcoming Self Defeating Thoughts Step by Step & Tips
www.anxiety-and-depression-solutions.com (Search The 7 Aspects of Wellness AND Five Minutes for Wellness - These articles will greatly help with tips for self help and recovery.)
(Check Prices at Borders vs Amazon vs Half.com)
Books:
1)Panic Attacks Workbook: Guided Program for Beating the Panic Trick by David Carbonell - most recommended cognitive therapy workbook by mental illness professionals (pyschiatrists, therapist, cognitive behavioral therapists, psychologists, etc)
2)Healing the Trauma of Abuse: A Womans Workbook by Mary Ellen Copeland
3)Anxiety and Depression for Dummies - I'm not to fond of the title but it is a recovery workbook.
4)The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety by John Forsyth and George Elfert (PHDs for both)
5)Life After Trauma: A Workbook for Healing by Dena Rosenbloom
6)The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Depression: A Step by step Program by Willam Knaus
7)The Self-Esteem Workbook by Glenn Schiraldi
8)The Self-Esteem Guided Journal: A Ten Week Program by Matthew Mckay and Catharine Sutker
9)Recovery from Panic Disorder: A Therapist's Transformation as Both Patient and Healer by Eileen McPhilips Portner
10)Surviving Panic Disorder: What You Need to Know by Stuart Shipko
After my regression during recovery my depression hit me hard. Here are two quotes that helped me have a want to find hope and recovery again:
1)Emotional wellness is our core - 7 Aspects of Wellness
2)Be aware that relapse is a normal part of change and recovery. This may include the return to drug use or deterioration in mental health or behavior.
Please message me for any reason at all.
I know that support is the most needed thing for Anxiety and Panic patients - actually all mentally ill patients.
Kristen99 - I have had panic attacks for about 6 years and the doc gave me Cymbalta which was working great but i was tired of taking the pill and the wonderful side effects that come with it. So i got of it and just stuck to taking my Klonipam every night to help me sleep. i was off the cymbalta for a year and then out of the blue the panic attacks came back so the doc just put me on zoloft 25mg . But i really hate taking it i would rather take something healther for me. So do you think the niacin will work? I also have been taking L-Theanine which i got from the health food store and it works pretty good for stress.
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