Feeling less in control

[schoolwearsmedown]

Hey everyone,

I'm new here and looking for some advice.  I'm 20 and was diagnosed with panic disorder a little over a year ago.  I got put on prozac, saw a psychologist (which mine was very unhelpful) and also bought CBT books that helped greatly.  My life went down the drains and I was commuting to college daily and only felt comfortable at home.  After about 3 months at home I decided to live back on campus and things got better.  Summer went great, anxiety wise, and also for the first few months of my sophomore year. Anyways, I got off prozac 5 weeks ago and the anxiety symptoms are returning.  This reminds me of the same course of action it took originally except without my panic.  I went through it once and I'm not afraid of panic anymore so I havent panicked in probably 8 months.  But i still worry that I might slip back into it and its hard to be mentally strong.  I am pretty numb, anxious, short of breath, etc throughout the day and have severe fatigue.  The thing is, i was only on 5mg of prozac.  I don't even know if that really helped me but it may have.  Just knowing I had a medicinal barrier could have helped.  The reason i dropped it was because i felt the prozac was causing me anxiety...I had a few anxious days right before i dropped it and starting associating it with the medicine which led me to actually get anxiety before and after taking the pill. The end result is I think what I have is GAD now and am wondering what type of medication you guys would recommend or you have found successful.  I got paxil from my psychiatrist but i've heard bad things about it so i'm not really sure about it. I'm thinking maybe lexapro?  I don't even know, my life was coming back again and I was enjoying life.  Tell me what you guys think about you're experiences with good medications that can help GAD.  I can handle panic, its easy, don't fear it..flow with it.  But GAD is a whole new thing...i think i just need to apply the flowing instead of resisting technique as well I just don't want to deal with it.

At least I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I've been there and you're life comes back, minus some details that you would trade for not having anxiety in a minute(not a second though haha),

Joe

[hypnogood]

whether to choose medicine for panic attacks is a very personal decision which you need to discuss with your therapist and medical doctor. You need to find professionals who will work aggressively with you to that end. In fact, you should know that medicine for panic attacks do not cure the core issue of anxiety and just offer temporary relief from the physical bodily symptoms and gets you addicted in the process. It can cause a lot of side effects that will make you feel if these drugs are actually making your condition worse.

[AnxiouSteve]

Anyways, I got off prozac 5 weeks ago and the anxiety symptoms are returning.  This reminds me of the same course of action it took originally except without my panic.  I went through it once and I'm not afraid of panic anymore so I havent panicked in probably 8 months.  But i still worry that I might slip back into it and its hard to be mentally strong.  I am pretty numb, anxious, short of breath, etc throughout the day and have severe fatigue. 

Did you stop cold turkey?  Some people think this is a problem with SSRIs.  They call it SSRI Discontinuation Syndrome.  I wouldn't know cuz I've never been on SSRIs, but some people even think that discontinuation of SSRIs could lead to a misdiagnosis as some sort of new issue, when it is really a result of stopping the medication.

The thing is, i was only on 5mg of prozac.  I don't even know if that really helped me but it may have.  Just knowing I had a medicinal barrier could have helped.  The reason i dropped it was because i felt the prozac was causing me anxiety...

Did your doctor think this too?  How long had you been taking prozac.  My understanding (and I'm no expert) is that prozac and other SSRIs will make you feel worse before you get better, but that is supposed to end around week 3 or 4.

I had a few anxious days right before i dropped it and starting associating it with the medicine which led me to actually get anxiety before and after taking the pill.

Again I'm no expert, but it sounds like you are your own worst patient, doc! 

I totally understand how these associations can be made, and how something as simple as taking a pill can be a trigger for anxiety, but we all have a little neurosis, which means we might be best off not trusting our associations.  In fact, we should probably challenge them. 

The end result is I think what I have is GAD now and am wondering what type of medication you guys would recommend or you have found successful.  I got paxil from my psychiatrist but i've heard bad things about it so i'm not really sure about it.

I didn't want to take Paxil either but the pros seem to think you need to be on SSRIs.

I'm thinking maybe lexapro?  I don't even know, my life was coming back again and I was enjoying life. 

Sounds like part of you thinks you shouldn't have gone off your meds.  Talk to your doc about lexapro, if you feel more confident about taking that one.  It's an SSRI, right?

Tell me what you guys think about you're experiences with good medications that can help GAD. 

I'm taking seroquel and weaning off of xanax.  I want to talk to my doc about buspar, and getting of of Seroquel.

Seroquel isn't known to be habit forming, and it does sedate you, but it doesnt instantly calm you down like benzos.  AstraZeneca, the manufacturer has funded studies (red flag) that shows it works for everything from Anxiety to Depression.  It's an atypical anti-psychotic, but in low doeses it's used for anxiety.

I can handle panic, its easy, don't fear it..flow with it.  But GAD is a whole new thing...i think i just need to apply the flowing instead of resisting technique as well I just don't want to deal with it.

I'm new to this, and everyone tells me just to not fight it.

At least I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I've been there and you're life comes back, minus some details that you would trade for not having anxiety in a minute(not a second though haha),

Joe

Good attitude.

[MistaVega]

Here's my opinion take it how you want.

Even though Gad and panic  are different, they share one fundamnetal characteristic and thats.... ANXIETY! What is panic? Fear. What is gad? Exaggerated worry. what causes them both? ANXIETY.  If you ask me you take the same logic you took with panic and apply it with GAD. Take it from someone who suffered from severe GAD to the brink of freakin' insanity. I remember those days, Where I would lay on the floor crying thinking death was the only way to stop the constant barrage of obsessive thoughts that NEVER EVER SEEMED TO GO AWAY! I couldn't eat I couldn't sleep, I was going crazy! Oh how I was so wrong though, beneath that confused shell of a person was a completely rational being who would go on living almost completely anxiety free!! I don't know of your struggles because everyone’s is different but I can tell you what worked for me.

Let go of your worries because they're caused by anxiety/fear, none of them are truly legitimate concerns, they are just blown out of proportion by anxiety/fear. I'll give you a example of that by your own words, "I'm not afraid of panic anymore so I havent panicked in probably 8 months.  But i still worry that I might slip back into it" This is a competely irrational worry, you went 8 months without panicing, let go of this worry, it's only being brought on by anxiety and perpetuated by worrying/gad. To get rid of GAD you have to identify your anxious thoughts, then as soon as you identify them, you tell yourself "This is a thought brought upon by anxiety and if I continue to explore it, it's just going to give me grief and cause more GAD. I know  thoughts brought upon by anxiety are irrational(like the one I just quoted you on); therefore I need not to worry about them. Let's think about something else. Lets get involved in something else. I must not let myself  dwell on these thoughts." When you develop that train of thought those pesky thoughts that provoke fear within you will just bounce off and in time before you know it gad will be a thing of the past just like your panic.