For those of you who may be interested these are a few of the things I do. They may or may not work for you after all your problem may not be the same as mine. I have agoraphobia and still get panic attacks. So this said here are a few of the things I do. I will use my computer with the sound off and I play Macjong.( this is a statement not an advertisement.) I play relaxation tapes in the background. I do not do any thing challenging. To aid sleep I will use warm milk.( heating it to simmering releases Triptophan. ) There are two herbals I use. L-Theanine for mild agitation and for panic I take 1 gram of Calcium and a cup of Lemon Balm tea. For me the tea is equal to 1mg of Ativan which I will never take again. It stops a panic attack flat in 15 minutes. It can be drank cold also so sometimes I make it but don't drink it unless I have to. It also gets rid of that not being able to breath feeling that is so scary. Why the Calcium? Because I don't absorb it well so I need 3 grams every day without fail or Panic. (just me). I also have an exercise bike that I will peddle till I'm tired. I also have a remote for my stereo so I can turn it on low without getting up. Lemon Balm is a member of the mint familly and is on the internet if you want information.
I just want you to know that it is possible to stop benzo's. I was hooked for 4 years and it took about a year to get off them. It only took that long because I didn't know I was calcium deficient, ( calcium is neccesary for signals to cross the sinapses, it is also calming). I still get panic attacks but there mild and seldom. They used to be once a night and some times last as long as 3 hours. My doctor (GP not Phych) recomended Scalded milk to sleep and Lemon Balm tea for the Panic and I increased the calcium on my own. I have been off Ativan for over 2 years now and will never use it again ever. If I catch one building I can usually stop it with L-theanine. (a herbal extract from green tea.) You can enter your medications and any herbals including vitamins and minerals on drugs.com and it will tell you if they are compatible. I replaced My ativan with Lemon Balm tea but I don't know if it's safe during pregnancy. For me it's a miracle cure. It may not work for you.
Yes they give out Ativan like candy but it is on the list of controled substance and the liturature says short term. It is also very addictive. It has a half life of one hour so in roughly four hours it is out of your system. times four means that at some point it isn't available and there comes the problem. If you have to use a Benzo, use one with a longer half life or better yet Buspar which is far safer. If you need it to go to sleep then you are hooked and when you try to quit you will be in for a shock. It can be done by switching to one with a longer half life and quiting it. I'll up date my profile so you can see why I was on it. The bike? I don't peddle till I sweat. I have arthritis So I peddle because its mindless and keeps my joints loose. Ativan is ment to be used for things like before a flight,(agoraphobia) and it goes well with most non sedating medication. But if you use it on a regular basis then you are defeating the purpose of the program which is to get rid of the panic not hide it so it can get you when you least expect it. Alot of people have trouble sleeping cause there wired this is far from being awake from panic and this is about panic and what to do about it. Don't let me rain on anyones parade, do what you must and don't feel guilty till the program works. One last thought on Benzo's. Look carfully at your life you may possibly not be functioning as well as you think. Ask your friends or familly After all its main job is to mask problems so you can function. If you feel you have to have it use it just accept that your not all you could be
I've been there and worse so I know what I have to say won't help right now. Panic attacks are real not something in your head. But I am living proof and so are a lot of people out there that they can be stopped. And yes there are herbal remedies that work. You may need to take medication for a while just to stop it till you can get answers and you need answers and the best place for answers is a good therapist. Just knowing why is a big step. I'm not cured yet but they are so mild and I have a routine that stops them so they are more like mental diorhea. A nuisance but not life thretening. You may have noticed that if you write down what is happening the first thing you will notice is that what is happening is not supposed to. In my case I would wake up thinking something claustraphobic and I'd be really freeking. That and sitting on the toilet. But when I wrote it down I'd realize that it was something that there is no way I would do. That was a start. I'd also make a cup of Lemon Balm tea and read over what I wrote while I drank it. Try to ignore the racing pulse but if you can't you may need a Beta blocker which will slow it in about 15 minutes or less. The program will work but it will take time so if you need medication do it with the thought that it is a temporary evil. Keep posting. it helps to talk about it. Remember this is curable, it just takes time.
Love the quote. And for those like me who have agoraphobia, Keep it in mind, it makes an exelant silent mantra for when you're stuck in a lineup. I have a couple of mantras I use for distraction. I wonder if any one else does this.
Peace,prosperity and happiness to all, mostly happiness the rest will follow.
Two comments on sugar and substitutes. I have arthritis and Hypoglycemia. These two can be major panic inducers. So thus said. Absolutely no Aspertane. And sugar spikes, it's not the spike that is the problem, it's the drop. It's almost impossible with low blood sugar to concentrate. So I eat an orange to bring it back up again. Any one familliar with The anti inflamatory zone. It basicly says balance sugars with protien. (pancakes and syrup with bacon eggs sausage etc.) If you can't give up excess sugar try this. (I use Rogers organic sugar, it comes in a convenient box too, and it doesn't stink like processed sugar.) Oh sorry, Third comment. If you have unusually high craving for sugar even though it makes you sick, you may have candida in your blood stream. Dragged down, slightly drunk feeling, need a nap sort of thing. This does not go well with panic!!
Skipping is not always related to panic but sertainly can be. My ticker does it all the time and I've been told it's normall but it bothers me so I take medication for it, I feel less anxious having it tick regular.
I have a question for every body. This was brought up by a friend who is sure panic attacks are of short duration, less than 5 minutes and I can not remember ever having one that short. So I would love to hear how long everyone elses have been. I seldom get them any more but when I do even though they are mild and I have a way to stop them they seldom last less than 15 minutes. I'm mostly interested in the full blown ones that are so scary.
I lived with this same thing for a number of years and although it doesn't happen any more I can still remember the terror. But I didn't calm right down. I can remember pacing outside triing to calm down and cool down. The longest that the terror ever lasted was three hours. Most of the time they were from 15 minutes to an hour and I usually needed a beta blocker to slow down my pulse. The worst part is when they started to happen every night (usually at 2:30 in the morn) I was scared to go to bed. I got to the point where I would fall asleep in my chair and be there till the panic attack passed. I was on medication and I couldn't get off it till I found out that I had a problem absorbing calcium, after that with the help of a few herbals I've managed to kick the pills and the worst of the panic. No more terror in the middle of the night. I still get panic but it is mild and usually asociated with agoraphobia or I forgot to take the Calcium. This thing you have is curable as you will see if you follow the program and think posative. The thing is that people get cured and then you don't hear from them again instead of shouting to the world how good it feels. I presume that you have checked to see if there is an underliing medical reason for this to happen.
Hang in there and keep us posted. It helps to write about it.
Thank you. This is exactly what i'm looking for. I've never been quite that bad and I can really feel for you. If I notice them building I can stop them or at least lesson them to where there bearable. Any one else had this happen this bad? Oh by the way I had almost exactly the same symptoms. Very scary.
I couldn't resist answering this and I did try. Money may not buy happiness but it can buy a lot of piece of mind for those who have never had enough, as any one trying to live on a disability pension can tell you. The only ones it doesn't work for are those that have always had too much, for them it means nothing. Throw out the TV and buy a DVD player. I get my movies at the library, here there free and there are no anoying comercials. (Actually I watch them on my lap top). I disagree about the fitness club. If you can't get motivated to exercise at home why would you do it any where else. It is possible to shop till you drop and never buy more than a coffee and a donut. If you can vacation, by all means do it. I would love to cross Canada by train. And when it comes to spending if you can afford to buy stuff you don't really need then, small more often is better than big and borring. After all once you've shown it off what do you do with it. You can always give it away, so with that in mind buy something some one else would like.
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