Please help.- Updated again.

[mama_b]

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[sophmama]

What about a walk in clinic? It should be cheaper than the ER and could still get you some help hopefully.

So sorry you're dealing with this. I'm sure there are some help lines someone here knows of. I'm not much help.

[Storm Bride]

I'm sorry I have no advice. But, my BFF went through this a few years ago, and I remember how awful it was for her. I couldn't read and not respond. I hope you get some help!

[canadianchick]

I'm not sure if the ER will do this or not. I have had to take clients to the ER for similar issues as you describe and where I live they have someone from a local mental health hospital come and do an eval and they will sometimes admit the patient to get them on the right meds. Is it possible for you to be hospitalized so that you can have a break and get some meds on board to help you feel better? Do you have a PCP who could prescribe something for you? I am on meds and have been for years and I do not see a psychiatrist. You might also try the health food store, if you have one in the area. Valerian Root is good for anxiety and you can get it in a capsule or a tea. I have used both and both worked well for me. Hang in there.

[LavenderMae]

I wish I knew about the ER but I don't have any experience with it. I am very sorry you are going through this. I have had panic attacks before and they are awful. I hope you get some help soon.

[joensally]

Is there someone you can call to stay with your baby now and while your dh takes you to a doc?

Are there walk-in clinics near you? A doc in a clinic would be approximately equally able to assess and treat panic disorder as at a hospital, although the hospital may gain you access to on-staff psychiatric staff.

Anti-depressants can take weeks to reach efficacy, so you need support with this acute period with some form of anti-anxiety treatment (whether Rx or other). Are you experiencing depression as well, or only panic? Aromatherapy can provide some minor relief, but not treatment.

If they prescribe anti-deps, try to avoid paxil as it's highly addictive and other types can treat anxiety as well. Ativan is a solution short term during full acuity, but not long term, again because of how addictive it is.

You will get to the other side of this . (((hugs)))

[mama_b]

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[stirringleaf]

calmes forte has helped me in a panic.

you dont need to go the ER for panic, necessarily. remember, this is a emotional response. your first sentence was " i have alot going on in my life at once right now" and to me that means that you are having a very very normal response.. of course you need to be the final judge. but even if it seems like " it was gone" or whatever, general anxiety can just linger and hang on .

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/default...s&c=firststeps go read here. see what you think.

hang in there. it is anxiety, but it is really just a wash of chemicals in your body. its not really you , you know? maybe it feels like it is overwhelming you, but you are still there. its body-mind chemicals.

i have anxiety. i know what you are talking about. it passes. honest. it really does.

the thread about "the Secret" in Spirituality is helping myself and alot of others who suffer from anxiety, too.

i dont want to discourage you from meds if that is what you think you need. really no one can tell you what you need but you. i tried meds last summer and they just arnt for me. i dont do well with drugs in general , though. so its really a matter of your choice. i think it would be an excellent idea to talk to a regular dr about it or a therapist and find out your options.

i have confidence that you are having an anxiety attack, and anxiety attacks in themselves , will not hurt you. heart palpitatioons are just like muscle spazms. your heart is most likely fine. read the link, i really hope it helps. hang in there. keep posting, if it helps to vent it off.

[stirringleaf]

do you have any valerian tea?

magnesium?

i would try somethiung mild for now if you have it, give it a half hour if you can. even sugar can be grounding sometimes, amazingly.

[stirringleaf]

i have panicked that hard before. i am really focusing on you right now, sending you good thoughts. i will keep refreshing and checking on you. we are here, keeping you company. i hope this helps you mama. it helps me to know people are there. and to keep talking.

panic really sucks. ride it out like a stomach flu. you can do it.

these are things i tell myself. i hope they help you , i really have alot of comapasion for this kind of issue..

[mama_b]

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[HappiLeigh]

Originally Posted by stirringleaf

remember, this is a emotional response. your first sentence was " i have alot going on in my life at once right now" and to me that means that you are having a very very normal response.. of course you need to be the final judge. but even if it seems like " it was gone" or whatever, general anxiety can just linger and hang on .

Right, that. I went to the ER once for panic attacks. It was useful for me, because I was worried something else was wrong with me, and I was able to get things under control after that (with some combination of short-term medication, lots of reading, and time), but it was really helpful for me to realize that the response is emotional first, and physical second. Hope you find the help and peace you need!

[ChattyCat]

I didn't read the replies, just your post. So, forgive me if I'm repeating or giving inappropriate info.

I may not have the popular answer here, but have you considered an anti-depressant? Many of them are also approved for anxiety. Do you have a primary care physician? They'll be able to write the Rx. Or, use an urgent care center. After dd was born, I had horrible PP anxiety. It was so much better once I got on meds. I know that a lot of people at MDC don't like them. Heck, I don't like them much myself, but I needed to be able to take my kids out in public.

[apple_dumpling]

hugs to you. I too have suffered from panic attacks and it sucks :

I really hope that you can find some peace within. I also second the pp who said to try to go to your regular doc. or to a walk in clinic. I'm not sure the ER would just write you a prescription and send you on your way without admitting you, and you don't want that. Tomorrow is Saturday, there should be a walk-in clinic open somewhere. And there is some light anxiety meds they could try you on to see if they work.. but they will probably want you to follow up with a doc.

I've tried lots of things for my panic attacks. Most of the time, "relaxing" and trying to get some alone time really makes them worse for some reason. Light exercise will help some. 5HTP has helped me a little, though it deals more directly with depression than panic and anxiety (I think mine is a little of both, one worsens the other). Omega 3's will help improve your mood a little too. Calms forte has also helped me, like a pp said, though I take a little more than the dosage.

[Shanana]

Originally Posted by mama_b

I'm normally very against medication. I was on Prozac in college and it made me crazy. This is just so powerful that I'm running out of options.

I'm sorry that I don't have any suggestions for how to get immediate relief, but based on your comments above and obvious desire to avoid medication if possible, I did want to recommend a book you might find useful for long-term management of the issue. It's called The Instinct to Heal (the author's website is here), and is absolutely incredible. He is a "classically" trained psychiatrist who kept bumping up against alternative remedies until he finally decided to study them. The book is the result. It is so fascinating ... he details how the brain works, the division between the emotional and cognitive brain, and how words (e.g., talk therapy) often don't get through to the emotional brain. He recommends going through the body (e.g., acupuncture, EMDR, nutrition, exercise, cardiac coherence/meditation, etc.) to access and heal the emotional brain. Really powerful stuff, and I'm very glad I read it. It backs up all the work my dd and I have done with craniosacral therapy, homeopathy, acupuncture, etc.

Sending you healing love and light, mama. I hope you're feeling better soon.

[mama_b]

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[mama_b]

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[canadianchick]

I just thought of something else. I have suffered from anxiety attacks in the past and I found that walking and deep breathing helped me. I used to walk about my apartment building at a relatively fast pace and take deep breaths and really focus on my breathing. Just a thought.

[stirringleaf]

sorryt i was gone laonger than i meant to be, i had to put kids to bed, my ds has a friend over. it got long

calmes forte is a homeopathic sleep remedy. i have taken it during a panic attack before though and it sure took the edge off. i thought i was having a heart attack in the middle of the grocery store . it was the health food store, so i walked over and grabbed a bottle of calmes forte and took some. in like 15 minutes i was wayyyyy simmered down and could tell alot better that it was anxiety triggered heartburn. it was finals week.


i know what you mean, how strong the sensation is. and DONT beat yourself up for " making it worse" that is just stressing you out. i really do compare it to stomach flues because stomach flus are super super hard for me to cope with. but you are just forced to wait till it goes away. or like childbirth, you know? i use those examples in my mind because i remember that i have gotten through that kind of thing before and sometimes it is just a matter of alot of waiting.

dont fret that your dd is watching alot of tv. that just needs to happen right now. you might be already doing things like this, but start trying to make your day as easy as possible...like if you can afford it, order pizza. if you can go to the store again, get paper plates and plastic utensils. and lots of finger food that is easy to just hand to your dd. string cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. yogurt. whatever. easy. go easy on yourself.

she will be ok. if you were throwing up or something, you would be just as unable to focus on her. what do you do when you get sick? just dont worry, she is going to be fine. you are not a bad mom. you have a bug right now. its going to pass. keep looking for the solution that fits YOU. its there. if the Secret is making you feel guilty then forget that one right now. thats not working for you right now then. you will find what does work.

[stirringleaf]

oh i almost forgot , but here is another good "thought" thing that helps me come back into reality a little bit

name five things in the room you can see
name five things you can hear
name five things you feel


etc

distraction. play a video game. watch comedy. color in a coloring book. its NOT going to be easy at first, but it will be a mild releif, and you will notice a split second here or there of releif. congratulate yourself for that second of feeling better. it will turn into a minute. it will turn into an hour. at some point you will regain some focus and be able to think better. notice how you might resist the idea of distracting yourself. its because you are in fight or flight mode and you think you need to be Alert and Focus on the Danger.

but there is no immediate danger. you can get distracted for a moment and you will still be fine. you know from the last few days that the only thing you will be distracted from is the ongoing sensation of fear. your body is ok.

the night i found that page i linked you to, i was having tingling lips and tongue: a new physical sensation from panic, for me. i worred i was having a stroke or MS or something. i didnt even know i was having an anxiety attack. again this was during finals week, so it was that generalized anxiety creeping up on me and seeming to emerge all of a sudden, when actually i had been stressed for a while.