Tell me about Magnesium. I'm on meds for panic d/o and I'm curious

[Kailey's mom]

So I've been reading quite a bit on here; and a lot of you know about magnesium, and I guess it helps anxiety? I have had panic d/o since 10/12/99 at 8:57am!!! I am disabled by this, and also take zoloft for depression. I never had anxiety or clinical depression before 10/12/99. I have always had Aspergers and assumed that I got the panic/depression because of this. After some research, I found that not all aspies have to take meds. I never ever took meds before the panic d/o. I've always had trouble sleeping as well. Without meds I do not, can not function. Anyway I was wondering if magnesium could help. I don't want to be "sick" forever. Any suggestions are welcome! I've been through 2 yrs of cognitive behaviour therapy, and DBT.. and also regular counseling. It did not help. I could be haivng a great day, no triggers or stress, and all of a sudden I am in full blown panic, than I get depressed because my day was ruined. I physically get in pain from tightening up all my muscles during panic. I also take medications for migraines now. Meds include zoloft; zanax; and just started taking topamax for migraines. I just quit taking seroquel for sleep, and take meletonin instead. Any help will be , well, helpful

[Annie Mac]

I've been dealing with anxiety and panic attacks since I was a kid. It's just the way I'm made, I guess. A few years ago, the panic attacks got so bad that I could barely go out of the house. I only left when I had to, ie because we needed food, and I never went out of my immediate neighbourhood to do this shopping. Clearly, my life could not continue this way and so I tried numerous things, including a Cal-Mag supplement. Those helped a bit. I went to counseling with a woman who specifically dealt in panic disorders. She explained what happens, physiologically, during a panic attack, which comforted me on some level. It's too long to go into here. If you're interested, PM me, and I'll try and summarize it. Breathing into a paper bag. Sounds stupid, but there is a physiological reason for it. Relaxation CDs, which the counselor prepared for me. Meditation. And a brief stint on anti-anxiety meds, during which I had the absolute *worst ever* panic attack, and decided that anti-anxiety meds, without someone to guide me through the healing crisis, were not for me. I took valerian, which made me so sad. I actually think the valerian was cutting through some emotional layer and exposing the sadness, but again, without someone to guide me through, it wasn't how I wanted to feel. Later on, I went to another counselor who showed me EFT, and that actually really worked quite well as far as alleviating panic at the moment it was happening. She also did some hypnotherapy where we explored the roots of the panic and implanted some suggestions to help me get through an acute attack. Oh, and yoga. I think of all these things, EFT, yoga and meditation worked the best, but also took the most effort. The hypnosis was fascinating and I learned about myself during the process, but I didn't find that the post-hypnotic suggestions worked well.
I'm not anxiety or panic-attack free now, but I can function, and have an increased awareness now of what is going on, so even though onone level I'm freaking out because clearly I'm dying right here and right now, on another level I'm able to reason with myself and understand WHY they're happening. For years I too thought they were random, but they're not. If you can learn your triggers, that goes a long way towards dealing with them. Not necessarily eliminating, but at least understanding.