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have suffered from anxiety for many years. Some drs. use the "take deep breaths and relax" option. Let me tell you, if your truely having a panic attack that is a bunch of crap. Currently I take 1mg TID of Ativan. I also take Lamictol and Serequil anti-depressents. The three combined seems to work really well, although it is a strong dose.

Hi Peony and everyone.

Just to let you know, we have an Anxiety & Panic Disorders Exchange where you can find more conversation as well as input from our expert Dr. Patricia Farrell.

Hope this is helpful.

Dorothea

I have had anxiety attacks for almost a year now. I have had all kinds of symptoms like : cold hands and feet , rapid heartbeat, cant sleep , little tremors in my chest , the urgency to urinate freqently, constipation, tingly arms, tingly hands, tingly fingers, shortness of breath, feeling like im dying or doom is setting in , color turning light colored, seeing spots like little crystals. I have had all these happen to me in one attack . It's very scary .. I have recently cut out all caffenine , it has helped me out 90%. I dont know if this helps anybody , but it does me to read what other people go through, it makes me feel better , because as with anybody thats has/had an anxiety attack they are scary , VERY SCARY and just knowing I'm not alone with this is comforting, I hope that one day these anxiety attacks go away for good . If anybody out there is having an attack , please feel free to talk to me , maybe we can help each other out by talking..

I am 30 yrs. old. I have the same attacks. I started 2 yrs ago with a pulminary embolism. then my thyroid had to be removed. I thaught it was my thyroid then the medecine.I don't know. I started xanex this yr. it helps me get through the attack. I hear bad things but it is working. Dr. decided to have me try cymbalta.I am afraid of any med's. I put myself into panic 1st day and stopped. I am not depressed I am nervous and always afraid I am going to die. I have three children I think of them often. My mother has this also . It is not fair. I just want to get better for my husband and children. I wish you luck. And I pray for anyone who struggles with this. It is nice to talk though.I am with you 100%

hi, i am respnding to ur post, i like u have had panic attacks for a while, and off and on... i started having mine when i was 24 yrs old,,, my mom and brother died and inbetween i went through a divorce and i lost it,,,,, it was the scariest time in my life and then one day they were gone and i did not realize it and now after many years they are back,,,,they are scary but they dont kill u,,,, what helps me is everytime i live through one i remind myself of that,,, and another thing that helps is to write stuff down that is bothering u and when ur done dont read it and just wad it up and throw it away, i also try to face my fears so to speak, i have issuse with leaving the house and driving so i try to make myself do something everyday that scares me,,,it dont work right off the bat but it does help,,,i dont take any pills for it ,,,i did that the first time and i noticed they really did not help all that much, stay away from caffeine, and alcohol they will make it worse and so does some meds that u take like antibiotics and cough meds and etc. i hope i helped

just a thought have u been checked for sleep apnea,,,waking up gasping for air is a symptom of that and it also if u do have sleep apnea can make u have panic attacks because of the lack of oxygen in the brain

i've always been a worrier, but i've recently begun panicking very badly...same symptoms that you mentioned. i feel better just knowing i'm not alone. sometimes it's like i don't know if there's something really wrong with me or if it's the anxiety. i'm almost scared to sleep. when the anxiety is happening, i feel like there's something seriously wrong with me and it's really scary. sometimes i know what triggers it and sometimes i don't. i drink a lot of coffee and i know that does not help. i just wish there was a way to make it stop.

I know what u r going thru,had major attack last year dr put me on 100mg zoloft and ativan as needed,started breathing exercises and seemed to help,,eventually dr took me off zoloft and just used the ativan as needed. but here is the kicker that started my lasted bout of panic and anxiety,,wife moved out left with bills,,3 co-workers have passed on in the last 7 weeks,,heavy feeling chest,,jittery and restless,clammy hands,,lightheadedness,,back taking the ativan and breathing,,sometimes dont even want to leave the house for fear of passing out at the wheel,,good luck with everything and try to keep positive,,,,and in closing is there a forum or discussion group with live chat

I too have suffered from panic attacks, different in a sense that I feel I lose control of myself and that im going mad. My main point is that they will subside, they will go away, nothing is permanent in this world. Controlling the breath is an important strategy, once you are calm you are more equipped in dealing with what is making you anxious. Think positively when you can. When you start feeling 'right' again, use any tools you can find to ensure this doesn't happen again. Coffee seems to be my trigger for Anxiety. Ive always been a good sleeper and lately ive found it hard to sleep, I put it down to coffee. When I get tired I am way more stressed.

I hope you feel much better soon, and wish you all the good fortune in making yourself feel better.

to peony505
hi i too have suffered from panic attacks for many years and i just wanted to share a couple of things that have worked for me,,,,i am not a doctor and not giving u medical advice,,,,,i searched online for many answers and i found very few that work and i refuse to take the medications for anxiety or panic disorder,,,but while searching online i found a program called panic away,,,,it truly helped me,,,,it does not work overnight but if u keep at it it does work,,, also i went to a chiropractor,,,,it would really suprise you to know that if your body is out of alignment and the spinal cord is pushing on nerves at the issues it can cause,,,,i have gone once and had a whole slew of issues and after only one visit i feel 100 % better,,, it has only been 3 days and i have had only 1 minor panic attack,,,,it is just a suggestion,,, that is all

Well, I feel a little better reading about people with symptoms just like me. Part of my fear is also that I have been misdiagnosed and I have something more serious. I have been dealing with this for 2.5 years now. I just started going on medication again after being off for over a year. It got to the point though that I really couldn't take it anymore. I mean it really sucked like you posted above. So I figured I better get to a doctor. I am hoping that between meds and exercise I can reduce the frequency. But sometime I am feeling fine all day and then I get slam dunked by one. Really sucks.

Unfortunetly i dont have a family dr. i moved away from home. and ive been feeling lately like the anxiety has got worse...

Yes its very hard I have a two year old son and dealing with the anxiety and depression is hard and im sick of taking medicine and ive seen so many thrapist sometimes it seems hopless but i still dont give up i have to think of the good things like my son and husband and i know its hard for them to see me going through it and i just hope it gets better i miss smiling

I went through all of that about 5 years ago, but after they medicated me they got intensely worse! I would get approximately 5 attacks a day each lasting between 2 and 3 hours. My heart rate would usually top out about 215 BPM for the entire duration and my doctor told me that because of the fact that I ran a minimum of 10 miles a day, I wasn't at risk of a heart attack. I am retired military and was accidentally exposed to chemical weapons at a classified location and they were pretty sure that something didn't sit well with my brain chemistry, Ya think! Anyway, because of the sensitive nature of my exposure, I never had that info entered into my military medical records and when I was medically retired after just over 21 years in the Air Force due to a double lumbar fusion, I had a very difficult time trying to explain any of this to my civilian providers. My attacks are still there, but not as severe as before now that they have stopped the multi drug cocktail they gave me. In all they tried 37 different medications within an 8 month period. 37! They never weaned me off anything and they just started me up on a ridiculous dose of something else. To bad you can't sue military doctors or I'd have them all in court! I hope that you find relief, and remember you are not dying! If you need to leave the room, then leave. I have even left fully loaded shopping carts in line at the cash registers in major super markets! All I can say is that time is your friend, and hopefully as time goes by your attacks will diminish and then finally disappeared. The kicker of my story is that after about 5 years of going through this my father suddenly says, "I went through the same thing when I was your age." Thanks Dad! Do you think you could have shared that with me just a little sooner. So ask your parents or siblings if you can if they have ever experienced anything like that before and see what comes out of the past. Good Luck and hang in there, because YOU ARE NOT DYING from these attacks!!! Good Luck and e-mail me at osok@comcast.net if you want to correspond directly. All this typing is extremely painful for me.

I just wanted to say I began having severe panic attacks quite young, about 16 or 17, and at this time I had never even heard of what a panic attack even was. So I was absolutely and utterly convinced I was losing my mind and/or dying! I went through the most awful time but I went to the doctor straight away and started seeing a very kind therapist. I didn't take any medication at this time but my therapist taught me how to deal with my obsessive, scary thoughts that triggered the panic attacks. She also taught me how to relax - her catchphrase was "Limp and loose!", something my mum still repeats any time I get stressed!! After a few weeks of seeing this therapist I can say I really genuinely recovered.

I was fine until a few years later, when I began having them again, but again at this time I saw a very good therapist and studied a lot about it. I really can't stress enough how important it is to learn about panic attacks - how they work, what causes them, what happens within the body during this time, and most importantly how to handle your thoughts during them and after them. For me, telling myself my body is just going into "flight or fight" mode, that I am NOT in actual danger, only in distress... this really helps me to recover. It is completely and utterly terrifying, but I can really handle them now by reassuring myself that it is just a chemical reaction and if I wait then it WILL pass, and won't cause me any permanant damage at all.

I know how useful and vital taking the right medication can be (I'm on a very effective anti-depressant at the moment), but I really just want to encourage other people to learn about techniques to help their own minds through the absolutely terrifying ordeal of having a panic attack. Having these tools for yourself is an amazing way of making yourself feel safe - there is no need to fear having another attack, because you know you have the tools to handle it and get through it.
For me, once I get rid of the fear of having an attack, I usually don't have one!! It's almost like a trick for me - if I accept that I will have one, then it usually stops me having it.

I really hope any of my experiences can help anyone going through this awful time. Also I would highly recommend a website called Anxiety Coach, the information there about panic attacks was honestly about 90% of my "cure", and thanks to learning how to handle them I've never actually had to take medication for anxiety (only when flying but hell that's really something to be scared about!!)

Best wishes to everyone.