Re: Goodbye Lexapro

[Guest guest]

RED FLAG: Suicidal thoughts on Lex. Contact your doctor as soon as you can. This

is serious. From everything you've said you need a different drug than Lex.

Pot must have been laced with something. The last time I had a full blown

anxiety attack, and it lasted for several hours, I'd gotten high. That was many

years ago. Pot can make some people much more anxious, the paranoia stuff, and

can trigger extreme anxiety leading to anxiety and/or panic attacks in certain

people. It doesn't sound like a 'normal' reaction to pot even for someone that

suffers from anxiety. That's why I think it might have been laced with something

else.

The physical side effects you listed are, indeed, side effects of Lex for some

people. However, not knowing what that pot may have been laced with might be

part of the problem. At this point I'm not sure there's any way to know or to

find out.

At any rate, please talk to your doc about the suicidal feelings. I was recently

on a mix of meds, due to carpal tunnel surgery and tingling in my feet, that

triggered some of the same things for me. Stopped the meds and the bad stuff

went away. The only things I'm taking now are my Effexor XR and Zyrtec. It was

like coming out from under a real dark heavy cloud.

As for handling the anxiety and panic without meds: I guess it can be done. But

even with therapies most docs want you to be on something to get the anxiety

and/or depression under control first. It's a short term therapy to get you

through to the other side where your capable of dealing with the anxiety. For

some people, myself included, anxiety is due to a brain chemical imbalance and

nothing else. For us therapy has limited value. For me it was like I was a

totally different person without the meds. And it wasn't 'me'. Celexa did little

more than turn me into a zombie, but within a week of starting Effexor it was

like waking up to myself again. For the first time in many years I was 'me'. And

it had happened so gradually I didn't even realize how much of myself I'd lost.

" Also a fear

that I might get horrible symptoms / untolerable panic attack that I

would hurt myself in order to end such things. "

The above statement I can relate to. My doctor asked me if I was suicidal and I

said no. But if I had to continue feeling as bad as I did I didn't know what

might happen cause I didn't know how long I could continue to live like that.

At your age,with these kinds of meds, you should be seeing a psych doctor and

not an MD. A psych doc has access to meds that an MD doesn't nor do they have

the knowledge or experience to dispense them effectively.

Please, keep us updated on how things go. And welcome to the group. :-)

Barbara

Goodbye Lexapro

Hey guys and gals,

First of all I've been on 10mg of Lexapro once a day (still taking

it at the moment). I've been taking it for about 6-7 weeks. It took

about 2 or so weeks to kick in, but my anxiety decreased, and I

actually started feeling really good. Then I started experiencing:

-Insomnia (difficulty falling asleep)

-Fatigue, tired (likely due to the lack of sleep)

-Loss of appetite (can't even eat within 1-2 hours of waking up, so

usually end up skipping breakfast and go straight to lunch. I also

get more full from less food, I've lost some weight, but my body fat

has increased)

-Loss of balance

-Mood swings (happy -> anger -> depressed -> energetic -> tired ->

frustrated -> happy -> confused etc etc)

-Excess energy (although this could be because I stopped

exercising / surfing after I started getting anxiety problems, which

I will get into shortly)

-Occasionnal tightness in throat.

-mild Muscle spasms that come and go in one area - usually lasts a

few days and goes away, but may come back (stomach / left bottom

eyelid / right arm / left quadricep for examples) Although the

spasms were occuring before I started Lexapro.

-Rare hot flashes

-Depression (goes along with mood swings)

-Suicidal Thoughts - not actually planning it, but thoughts that

just come into my mind like, " you should kill yourself " . I highly

doubt I would actually act on these thoughts, but for someone with

anxiety you can assume thinking these things would make one uneasy.

When these thoughts do come into my mind, I just say they are

thoughts, and immediately say I would never do that. Also a fear

that I might get horrible symptoms / untolerable panic attack that I

would hurt myself in order to end such things.

Obviously, not all of these can be attributed to Lexapro, and are

common symptoms of anxiety. However, I feel a good amount of them

are because of the medication, and i'd much rather have anxiety and

panic attacks than these things.

I'm 17 years old, and my anxiety / panic problems started after

having a rather bad reaction to smoking marijuana. I smoked it only

a few times in my life, and this one time I smoked it I smoked more

than I usually do. I had a full on panic attack, I also felt extreme

feelings of terror and some odd physical / psychological feelings

during the 'bad trip'. It lasted about 4-5 hours, and I was totally

WHIPED OUT the following day.

I had a panic attack a few days later and thought I was going to

die. Had 3 total trips to the emergency room, though none of them

were actually necessary besides for my peace of mind in knowing that

I was actually fine. I've been seeing a councelor to help me with

ways in handling anxiety (I started seeing him about 2-3 weeks ago,

so while I'm still on Lexapro) and I feel like I wish I had learned

some of these techniques for handling anxiety and panic attacks

before I started Lexapro.

Anyways, I would like to apologize for the long post.

I suppose I'm seeking some sort of refuge here so that people who

are experiencing similar things and are more familiar with the topic

can give me some guidance.

I want to stop taking Lexapro, I plan to talk to my doctor about it,

and establish a plan as to how I can ween myself off of it.

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to handle

anxiety / panic attacks without the assistance of medication?

And if anyone can give me some advice about coming off Lexapro, and

what I can expect. Is it tough? are there any withdrawal symptoms?

Thanks a lot for reading!

Best,

-

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Pot can certainly cause the symptoms you describe having when you smoked it.

It lowers the blood sugar, and is especially bad for anyone who already has low

blood sugar. I went through the same symptoms when I was in my early 20's. I

thought I was going crazy. I thought someone was putting lsd in my food and I

refused to eat. I finally had a 6-hour glucose tolerance test and they had to

stop it at the 5th hour because my blood sugar was so low. Hypoglycemia (low

blood sugar) can cause panic attacks and feelings of going crazy. There are two

ways to find out if you have it. Persuade your doctor to give you the glucose

tolerance test, or quit eating sugar for a couple of weeks and see how you feel.

Colleen

<brian@...> wrote:

Hey guys and gals,

First of all I've been on 10mg of Lexapro once a day (still taking

it at the moment). I've been taking it for about 6-7 weeks. It took

about 2 or so weeks to kick in, but my anxiety decreased, and I

actually started feeling really good. Then I started experiencing:

-Insomnia (difficulty falling asleep)

-Fatigue, tired (likely due to the lack of sleep)

-Loss of appetite (can't even eat within 1-2 hours of waking up, so

usually end up skipping breakfast and go straight to lunch. I also

get more full from less food, I've lost some weight, but my body fat

has increased)

-Loss of balance

-Mood swings (happy -> anger -> depressed -> energetic -> tired ->

frustrated -> happy -> confused etc etc)

-Excess energy (although this could be because I stopped

exercising / surfing after I started getting anxiety problems, which

I will get into shortly)

-Occasionnal tightness in throat.

-mild Muscle spasms that come and go in one area - usually lasts a

few days and goes away, but may come back (stomach / left bottom

eyelid / right arm / left quadricep for examples) Although the

spasms were occuring before I started Lexapro.

-Rare hot flashes

-Depression (goes along with mood swings)

-Suicidal Thoughts - not actually planning it, but thoughts that

just come into my mind like, " you should kill yourself " . I highly

doubt I would actually act on these thoughts, but for someone with

anxiety you can assume thinking these things would make one uneasy.

When these thoughts do come into my mind, I just say they are

thoughts, and immediately say I would never do that. Also a fear

that I might get horrible symptoms / untolerable panic attack that I

would hurt myself in order to end such things.

Obviously, not all of these can be attributed to Lexapro, and are

common symptoms of anxiety. However, I feel a good amount of them

are because of the medication, and i'd much rather have anxiety and

panic attacks than these things.

I'm 17 years old, and my anxiety / panic problems started after

having a rather bad reaction to smoking marijuana. I smoked it only

a few times in my life, and this one time I smoked it I smoked more

than I usually do. I had a full on panic attack, I also felt extreme

feelings of terror and some odd physical / psychological feelings

during the 'bad trip'. It lasted about 4-5 hours, and I was totally

WHIPED OUT the following day.

I had a panic attack a few days later and thought I was going to

die. Had 3 total trips to the emergency room, though none of them

were actually necessary besides for my peace of mind in knowing that

I was actually fine. I've been seeing a councelor to help me with

ways in handling anxiety (I started seeing him about 2-3 weeks ago,

so while I'm still on Lexapro) and I feel like I wish I had learned

some of these techniques for handling anxiety and panic attacks

before I started Lexapro.

Anyways, I would like to apologize for the long post.

I suppose I'm seeking some sort of refuge here so that people who

are experiencing similar things and are more familiar with the topic

can give me some guidance.

I want to stop taking Lexapro, I plan to talk to my doctor about it,

and establish a plan as to how I can ween myself off of it.

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to handle

anxiety / panic attacks without the assistance of medication?

And if anyone can give me some advice about coming off Lexapro, and

what I can expect. Is it tough? are there any withdrawal symptoms?

Thanks a lot for reading!

Best,

-

[Guest guest]

,

I had virtually the exact same thing happen to me when I first

started having panic attacks. It all started with Marijuana for me

as well. I wonder if there has been any studies as to any

corelation. I never have marijuana any more, and recommend that for

you too. Just wanted to let you know that you are not alone out

there with this...

> Hey guys and gals,

>

> First of all I've been on 10mg of Lexapro once a day (still taking

> it at the moment). I've been taking it for about 6-7 weeks. It took

> about 2 or so weeks to kick in, but my anxiety decreased, and I

> actually started feeling really good. Then I started experiencing:

>

> -Insomnia (difficulty falling asleep)

> -Fatigue, tired (likely due to the lack of sleep)

> -Loss of appetite (can't even eat within 1-2 hours of waking up, so

> usually end up skipping breakfast and go straight to lunch. I also

> get more full from less food, I've lost some weight, but my body

fat

> has increased)

> -Loss of balance

> -Mood swings (happy -> anger -> depressed -> energetic -> tired ->

> frustrated -> happy -> confused etc etc)

> -Excess energy (although this could be because I stopped

> exercising / surfing after I started getting anxiety problems,

which

> I will get into shortly)

> -Occasionnal tightness in throat.

> -mild Muscle spasms that come and go in one area - usually lasts a

> few days and goes away, but may come back (stomach / left bottom

> eyelid / right arm / left quadricep for examples) Although the

> spasms were occuring before I started Lexapro.

> -Rare hot flashes

> -Depression (goes along with mood swings)

> -Suicidal Thoughts - not actually planning it, but thoughts that

> just come into my mind like, " you should kill yourself " . I highly

> doubt I would actually act on these thoughts, but for someone with

> anxiety you can assume thinking these things would make one uneasy.

> When these thoughts do come into my mind, I just say they are

> thoughts, and immediately say I would never do that. Also a fear

> that I might get horrible symptoms / untolerable panic attack that

I

> would hurt myself in order to end such things.

>

> Obviously, not all of these can be attributed to Lexapro, and are

> common symptoms of anxiety. However, I feel a good amount of them

> are because of the medication, and i'd much rather have anxiety and

> panic attacks than these things.

>

> I'm 17 years old, and my anxiety / panic problems started after

> having a rather bad reaction to smoking marijuana. I smoked it only

> a few times in my life, and this one time I smoked it I smoked more

> than I usually do. I had a full on panic attack, I also felt

extreme

> feelings of terror and some odd physical / psychological feelings

> during the 'bad trip'. It lasted about 4-5 hours, and I was totally

> WHIPED OUT the following day.

>

> I had a panic attack a few days later and thought I was going to

> die. Had 3 total trips to the emergency room, though none of them

> were actually necessary besides for my peace of mind in knowing

that

> I was actually fine. I've been seeing a councelor to help me with

> ways in handling anxiety (I started seeing him about 2-3 weeks ago,

> so while I'm still on Lexapro) and I feel like I wish I had learned

> some of these techniques for handling anxiety and panic attacks

> before I started Lexapro.

>

> Anyways, I would like to apologize for the long post.

>

> I suppose I'm seeking some sort of refuge here so that people who

> are experiencing similar things and are more familiar with the

topic

> can give me some guidance.

>

> I want to stop taking Lexapro, I plan to talk to my doctor about

it,

> and establish a plan as to how I can ween myself off of it.

>

> I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to handle

> anxiety / panic attacks without the assistance of medication?

>

> And if anyone can give me some advice about coming off Lexapro, and

> what I can expect. Is it tough? are there any withdrawal symptoms?

>

> Thanks a lot for reading!

>

> Best,

> -

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hey there empath .

It's been pretty tough. A few days after it happened, I checked this

website that had some really indepth submissions about drug

experiences. It's a MASSIVE archive (I forgot the name of it for the

life of me) of experiences on the various types of drugs, including

bad trips, experiences, etc etc. There seems to be a lot of people

who have had these reactions to pot. And some of them reported to

have had anxiety problems after.

As far as it being laced. I have my doubts, although my friend had

given it to me. I smoked it with a girl, and he had smoked it also. I

smoked more than the girl, but she didn't report anything bad besides

that " she went home and drew some weird art after " (hah).

I'm curious though. This happened to you also, and perhaps you can

give me some insight on what you've done so far. Since the incidence,

I totally swore off marijuana, and even now refuse to drink any

alcohol, and any other drug (though I've only done marijuana). How

long has it been? Have you recooperated? I've been having these

anxiety issues since about late November. Any other thoughts?

Thanks,

-

> > Hey guys and gals,

> >

> > First of all I've been on 10mg of Lexapro once a day (still

taking

> > it at the moment). I've been taking it for about 6-7 weeks. It

took

> > about 2 or so weeks to kick in, but my anxiety decreased, and I

> > actually started feeling really good. Then I started experiencing:

> >

> > -Insomnia (difficulty falling asleep)

> > -Fatigue, tired (likely due to the lack of sleep)

> > -Loss of appetite (can't even eat within 1-2 hours of waking up,

so

> > usually end up skipping breakfast and go straight to lunch. I

also

> > get more full from less food, I've lost some weight, but my body

> fat

> > has increased)

> > -Loss of balance

> > -Mood swings (happy -> anger -> depressed -> energetic -> tired -

>

> > frustrated -> happy -> confused etc etc)

> > -Excess energy (although this could be because I stopped

> > exercising / surfing after I started getting anxiety problems,

> which

> > I will get into shortly)

> > -Occasionnal tightness in throat.

> > -mild Muscle spasms that come and go in one area - usually lasts

a

> > few days and goes away, but may come back (stomach / left bottom

> > eyelid / right arm / left quadricep for examples) Although the

> > spasms were occuring before I started Lexapro.

> > -Rare hot flashes

> > -Depression (goes along with mood swings)

> > -Suicidal Thoughts - not actually planning it, but thoughts that

> > just come into my mind like, " you should kill yourself " . I highly

> > doubt I would actually act on these thoughts, but for someone

with

> > anxiety you can assume thinking these things would make one

uneasy.

> > When these thoughts do come into my mind, I just say they are

> > thoughts, and immediately say I would never do that. Also a fear

> > that I might get horrible symptoms / untolerable panic attack

that

> I

> > would hurt myself in order to end such things.

> >

> > Obviously, not all of these can be attributed to Lexapro, and are

> > common symptoms of anxiety. However, I feel a good amount of them

> > are because of the medication, and i'd much rather have anxiety

and

> > panic attacks than these things.

> >

> > I'm 17 years old, and my anxiety / panic problems started after

> > having a rather bad reaction to smoking marijuana. I smoked it

only

> > a few times in my life, and this one time I smoked it I smoked

more

> > than I usually do. I had a full on panic attack, I also felt

> extreme

> > feelings of terror and some odd physical / psychological feelings

> > during the 'bad trip'. It lasted about 4-5 hours, and I was

totally

> > WHIPED OUT the following day.

> >

> > I had a panic attack a few days later and thought I was going to

> > die. Had 3 total trips to the emergency room, though none of them

> > were actually necessary besides for my peace of mind in knowing

> that

> > I was actually fine. I've been seeing a councelor to help me with

> > ways in handling anxiety (I started seeing him about 2-3 weeks

ago,

> > so while I'm still on Lexapro) and I feel like I wish I had

learned

> > some of these techniques for handling anxiety and panic attacks

> > before I started Lexapro.

> >

> > Anyways, I would like to apologize for the long post.

> >

> > I suppose I'm seeking some sort of refuge here so that people who

> > are experiencing similar things and are more familiar with the

> topic

> > can give me some guidance.

> >

> > I want to stop taking Lexapro, I plan to talk to my doctor about

> it,

> > and establish a plan as to how I can ween myself off of it.

> >

> > I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to handle

> > anxiety / panic attacks without the assistance of medication?

> >

> > And if anyone can give me some advice about coming off Lexapro,

and

> > what I can expect. Is it tough? are there any withdrawal symptoms?

> >

> > Thanks a lot for reading!

> >

> > Best,

> > -

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

In addition. I talked to my doctor and we agreed that for the time

being I go down to 5MG of Lexapro a day. I've been doing that since

Tuesday. Besides a very brief and minor headache, haven't noticed much

difference. I've only been taking it for 6-7 weeks, so I don't think

the withdrawal symptoms would be too intense. I strongly believe I can

handle any anxiety / panic attack without medication. Humble aye? :_)

[Guest guest]

This is very interesting, my very first panic attack happened after

smoking pot when I was fifteen or sixteen. Totally freaked me out, I

never touched it again. My friend put me in a cold shower to bring

me down, terrible experience. I didn't take showers again for six

months, only baths. I never wanted to feel that way again.

Although, about six months later it came back out of nowhere. Then

began my life of panic and anxiety and avoidance. I'm 43 now and

have recently gotten to the point where I'm almost totally

agoraphobic. Carol

> > Hey guys and gals,

> >

> > First of all I've been on 10mg of Lexapro once a day (still

taking

> > it at the moment). I've been taking it for about 6-7 weeks. It

took

> > about 2 or so weeks to kick in, but my anxiety decreased, and I

> > actually started feeling really good. Then I started experiencing:

> >

> > -Insomnia (difficulty falling asleep)

> > -Fatigue, tired (likely due to the lack of sleep)

> > -Loss of appetite (can't even eat within 1-2 hours of waking up,

so

> > usually end up skipping breakfast and go straight to lunch. I

also

> > get more full from less food, I've lost some weight, but my body

> fat

> > has increased)

> > -Loss of balance

> > -Mood swings (happy -> anger -> depressed -> energetic -> tired -

>

> > frustrated -> happy -> confused etc etc)

> > -Excess energy (although this could be because I stopped

> > exercising / surfing after I started getting anxiety problems,

> which

> > I will get into shortly)

> > -Occasionnal tightness in throat.

> > -mild Muscle spasms that come and go in one area - usually lasts

a

> > few days and goes away, but may come back (stomach / left bottom

> > eyelid / right arm / left quadricep for examples) Although the

> > spasms were occuring before I started Lexapro.

> > -Rare hot flashes

> > -Depression (goes along with mood swings)

> > -Suicidal Thoughts - not actually planning it, but thoughts that

> > just come into my mind like, " you should kill yourself " . I highly

> > doubt I would actually act on these thoughts, but for someone

with

> > anxiety you can assume thinking these things would make one

uneasy.

> > When these thoughts do come into my mind, I just say they are

> > thoughts, and immediately say I would never do that. Also a fear

> > that I might get horrible symptoms / untolerable panic attack

that

> I

> > would hurt myself in order to end such things.

> >

> > Obviously, not all of these can be attributed to Lexapro, and are

> > common symptoms of anxiety. However, I feel a good amount of them

> > are because of the medication, and i'd much rather have anxiety

and

> > panic attacks than these things.

> >

> > I'm 17 years old, and my anxiety / panic problems started after

> > having a rather bad reaction to smoking marijuana. I smoked it

only

> > a few times in my life, and this one time I smoked it I smoked

more

> > than I usually do. I had a full on panic attack, I also felt

> extreme

> > feelings of terror and some odd physical / psychological feelings

> > during the 'bad trip'. It lasted about 4-5 hours, and I was

totally

> > WHIPED OUT the following day.

> >

> > I had a panic attack a few days later and thought I was going to

> > die. Had 3 total trips to the emergency room, though none of them

> > were actually necessary besides for my peace of mind in knowing

> that

> > I was actually fine. I've been seeing a councelor to help me with

> > ways in handling anxiety (I started seeing him about 2-3 weeks

ago,

> > so while I'm still on Lexapro) and I feel like I wish I had

learned

> > some of these techniques for handling anxiety and panic attacks

> > before I started Lexapro.

> >

> > Anyways, I would like to apologize for the long post.

> >

> > I suppose I'm seeking some sort of refuge here so that people who

> > are experiencing similar things and are more familiar with the

> topic

> > can give me some guidance.

> >

> > I want to stop taking Lexapro, I plan to talk to my doctor about

> it,

> > and establish a plan as to how I can ween myself off of it.

> >

> > I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to handle

> > anxiety / panic attacks without the assistance of medication?

> >

> > And if anyone can give me some advice about coming off Lexapro,

and

> > what I can expect. Is it tough? are there any withdrawal symptoms?

> >

> > Thanks a lot for reading!

> >

> > Best,

> > -

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

It seems that there is a recurring theme here. People have gotten panic

attacks after smoking pot. Do you feel that the panic, anxiety, and

avoidance was caused by a rational fear of it happening again (the

horrible feeling from smoking), so I suppose you could say, that it was

just so intense or worrisome it led you to that. Or that the pot /

experience was just so traumatic itself that IT caused a change in the

way your brain functions on a chemical level that not even changing

beliefs could stop it?

This is what I'm really wondering. Anxiety is a biological response

that everyone has, same with the fight or flight response. But for some

of us it might be a chemical offset in the brain, and for others it's

just a lot of stress and a more 'thought' oriented, where our thoughts

bring us there.

Perhaps one of you could relate to me on this, that I have never died

from a panic attack, and that I may have an anxiety issue - could it be

possible that something ELSE is causing the anxiety? Rather than it

just being an anxiety problem ,it's a problem that CAUSES the anxiety

problem. Some underlying thing, perhaps caused by smoking. Can having a

bad trip (assuming that what I did smoke was just pot) have this sort

of irreversible effect?

Now, it's difficult for me to fully ACCEPT that maybe JUST maybe I

won't feel 100% 'normal'. Ever since it happened, I never quite felt

back to normal (anyone else able to relate to this?). And although that

may be scary, that I may never reach that state, by ACCEPTING it, and

tolerating it, and just saying " ok, well that's the way it is " will

that make things better. Or, by accepting that mindframe, do I put

myself into a position where I've cornered myself into never recovering

and just 'accepting' something that isn't great.

Or am I just over-analyzing?

Thoughts on this though, and anyone relate?

>

> This is very interesting, my very first panic attack happened after

> smoking pot when I was fifteen or sixteen. Totally freaked me out, I

> never touched it again. My friend put me in a cold shower to bring

> me down, terrible experience. I didn't take showers again for six

> months, only baths. I never wanted to feel that way again.

> Although, about six months later it came back out of nowhere. Then

> began my life of panic and anxiety and avoidance. I'm 43 now and

> have recently gotten to the point where I'm almost totally

> agoraphobic. Carol

[Guest guest]

In my opinion, and I'm not an expert, the anxiety and panic are a

snowball effect, if you will. You have a panic attack for whatever

reason and in your mind you say " My gosh, I had that panic attack

driving on main street, I'm not going to drive on that street

anymore. " Just because you never want to feel that way again. Then

you have another panic attack somewhere else, say the mall, and you

think to yourself, " I'm never going to the mall again. " It just

snowballs and you find yourself avoiding all kinds of things to avoid

your panic attacks. I don't know the physiological reason for the

panic attacks in the first place, but you just want to avoid them

like the plague.

Anyway, I don't think the pot did anything to my brain permanently.

I just think my freak-out reaction traumatized me. I felt like I was

out of my body and didn't like that. As for why the attacks came

back, I don't know. Maybe mental trauma does something to your

brain. Some can handle it and some can't. Maybe it's a

predisposition or something. Any other thoughts?

Carol

> >

> > This is very interesting, my very first panic attack happened

after

> > smoking pot when I was fifteen or sixteen. Totally freaked me

out, I

> > never touched it again. My friend put me in a cold shower to

bring

> > me down, terrible experience. I didn't take showers again for

six

> > months, only baths. I never wanted to feel that way again.

> > Although, about six months later it came back out of nowhere.

Then

> > began my life of panic and anxiety and avoidance. I'm 43 now and

> > have recently gotten to the point where I'm almost totally

> > agoraphobic. Carol

>

[Guest guest]

Right, I've taken the hypogylcemia point into thought. The thing is

though, I rarely smoked pot, and I haven't smoked it in nearly 4-5

months (when it all started).

> >

> > This is very interesting, my very first panic attack happened

after

> > smoking pot when I was fifteen or sixteen. Totally freaked me

out, I

> > never touched it again. My friend put me in a cold shower to

bring

> > me down, terrible experience. I didn't take showers again for six

> > months, only baths. I never wanted to feel that way again.

> > Although, about six months later it came back out of nowhere.

Then

> > began my life of panic and anxiety and avoidance. I'm 43 now and

> > have recently gotten to the point where I'm almost totally

> > agoraphobic. Carol

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hey Carol, thanks for your response.

This may be already well understood, but some of these things helped

me out a lot.

There is an Anxiety and Panic Disorder center here where I live, and

I go there to see a psychologist who helps me with ways to handle

panic attacks. I've had three sessions with the guy. And he has

helped TREMENDOUSLY. One of the KEY things he did my first session

was explain to me why I feel many of the sensations you get while

having a panic attack. Understanding these things logically helps a

lot. Something else was the feeling like passing out, he told me that

your blood pressure has to go DOWN in order to pass out, and when

having a panic attack your blood pressure is high. Also feelings of

going crazy, there is no 'feeling' of going crazy, it's just a

thought. And just being able to 'tolerate' the feelings you have. And

instead of trying to fight them or push them away you just accept it,

even though it may not feel good, you just accept whatever you are

feeling. However you are feeling is just how you are feeling.

The thing that annoys me the most is just the OTHER things that come

along with anxiety / panic. Such as avoidance, difficulty falling

asleep, super jittery and more prone to panic in the morning, and

just that anxiety feeling. Those are harder for me than panic attacks

as they consume about 99% of my time while panic attacks are very

short-lived.

>

> In my opinion, and I'm not an expert, the anxiety and panic are a

> snowball effect, if you will. You have a panic attack for whatever

> reason and in your mind you say " My gosh, I had that panic attack

> driving on main street, I'm not going to drive on that street

> anymore. " Just because you never want to feel that way again.

Then

> you have another panic attack somewhere else, say the mall, and you

> think to yourself, " I'm never going to the mall again. " It just

> snowballs and you find yourself avoiding all kinds of things to

avoid

> your panic attacks. I don't know the physiological reason for the

> panic attacks in the first place, but you just want to avoid them

> like the plague.

>

> Anyway, I don't think the pot did anything to my brain

permanently.

> I just think my freak-out reaction traumatized me. I felt like I

was

> out of my body and didn't like that. As for why the attacks came

> back, I don't know. Maybe mental trauma does something to your

> brain. Some can handle it and some can't. Maybe it's a

> predisposition or something. Any other thoughts?

>

> Carol

[Guest guest]

Hey ,

You are so lucky to have a place like that where you live. Wow. I

wish I had a place like that here. I live in the boonies and have to

go 60 miles to the closest psychiatrist. And I don't drive! The

panic took that privilege away from me. I like what you said about

what you learned about panic. I'm going to outpatient treatment all

this coming week. I'm staying with some friends of my husband's that

I don't really know so my husband doesn't have to drive 4 hours a day

taking me back and forth.

Last night I was so worried about this coming week that I was working

myself into a panic. I finally told my husband how I was feeling,

which is hard because he doesn't really understand it. And he said

something so helpful to me. He said " You know how when you were

little you were afraid of the monster under the bed? You wouldn't

dare hang your feet over the edge for fear that the monster would

grab your feet and pull you under. And the monster in the closet?

You didn't dare leave the closet door open when you went to bed.

Well, guess what? There is no monster under the bed and there is no

monster in the closet. You know because you finally worked up the

nerve to look under the bed and in the closet to see that there was

nothing to be afraid of. What you're afraid of is not there, it's

not tangible. Your fear is a monster in your head and you have to

face him. What you need to do is take the biggest knife you can

think of and you swing at that monster and you stab at him and cut

him and don't stop until you've stabbed him right in the heart and

he's dead. " I know that sounds graphic, but what a visual.

So the next time you're scared just visualize yourself with your big

knife stabbing away at that monster and my husband said to say " Fuck

you monster! " Sorry for the language. Hope this helps, it helped me.

Carol

> >

> > In my opinion, and I'm not an expert, the anxiety and panic are a

> > snowball effect, if you will. You have a panic attack for

whatever

> > reason and in your mind you say " My gosh, I had that panic attack

> > driving on main street, I'm not going to drive on that street

> > anymore. " Just because you never want to feel that way again.

> Then

> > you have another panic attack somewhere else, say the mall, and

you

> > think to yourself, " I'm never going to the mall again. " It just

> > snowballs and you find yourself avoiding all kinds of things to

> avoid

> > your panic attacks. I don't know the physiological reason for

the

> > panic attacks in the first place, but you just want to avoid them

> > like the plague.

> >

> > Anyway, I don't think the pot did anything to my brain

> permanently.

> > I just think my freak-out reaction traumatized me. I felt like I

> was

> > out of my body and didn't like that. As for why the attacks came

> > back, I don't know. Maybe mental trauma does something to your

> > brain. Some can handle it and some can't. Maybe it's a

> > predisposition or something. Any other thoughts?

> >

> > Carol

>