bnmdehaas,
I just wanted to say that I suffered through the same things you did. I suffered an extreme case of panic disorder 10 years ago where it got so bad, I could not leave my house or drive my car any longer for fear of having an attack. If I did have to drive my car, I also drove in the far right lane and was always looking for escape routes. The attacks were overlapping each other and I was rarely given a break in between attacks. Because of this, I could not sleep at night even. I was worried about losing my husband and I could even spend time with my kids. All I wanted was to be institutionalized so somebody could help me or just some place I could feel safe. I would purposely go to emerge almost daily because I felt safer in hospitals (even though I knew what was wrong). I could not find a doctor to diagnose and treat me properly, which frustrated me even more. I started doing research on the internet and went to my doctor and had to ask him to put me on different medications. I had originally asked for the anti-depressants such as Prozac and Paxil -- both made my symptoms worse. I had to go immediately off of them. The hospital gave me Xanax, but after taking one 1mg pill, I felt so good, I knew I couldn't stay on these since they would be too addictive, plus the effects only lasted 20 minutes before the attacks broke through again, only afterwards, they were worse. I tried the natural herbal way, and spent hundreds of dollars with absolutely no help at all. The attacks were constant and nobody could help me. I finally found a doctor who specialized in panic disorder and agoraphobia who put me on Clonazepam. After 2 years of living in hell and hiding inside my house not even being able to go out and plant flowers without running inside, I was panic free. He slowly increased my dosage until the attacks were gone. I now take 1mg every 12 hours and have for 10 years (I'm still on them). And the good thing for me is that I haven't created a drug tolerance for Clonazepam where I need to take higher dosages to get the same effect. The 1mg 2x per day has been sufficient enough to keep the attacks away for 10 years. I did have one break through, but that's because I had caffeinated coffee after asking for decaf. I tried Lorazepam before also, and the attacks were so bad, it was like I didn't take anything.
I just wanted to share my story with you. I wish I didn't have to stay on the Clonazepam for the rest of my life (orders from my doctor) but the alternative is much worse, and I'm not going down that terrifying road again.
Maybe others who haven't tried Clonazepam should. I have tried everything out there and this was the only drug that has helped me. But then again, we are all different.
Thanks for listening to my story.
