Question for anyone with experience with Anxiety disorder
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive January 2004:
Question for anyone with experience with Anxiety disorder
Hello, I'm new here and have only posted a couple of replies but thought I'd ask a question and see if there is anyone out there with any kind of experience that I'm dealing with.
In October of 2003 I was diagnosed with Panic/anxiety disorder and put on 25 mg of Paxil. I do not have medical insurance and my medication is funded through a program that helps out people. My funding ran out in December, I was able to get the medication for December/January but took my last pill last week. A month's supply is over a hundred dollars and just not possible right now.
My question is has anyone been on this medication and had to wean off suddenly? I have had several dizzy spells and my attacks have been coming more frequently. I've found out that my funding will pick back up in March and I have an appointment at the end of the month with the doctor who diagnosed me but I'm not sure what to do or how to handle this until then. Has anyone dealt with anything like this? Any thoughts or insight would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Christy
Christy talk your your dr. In the past when I've had problems with my insurance, they gave me samples to use until I could get my insurance to pick it up. Hope this helps.
HI, Christy, my daughter is on paxil, and we can not afford it right now either, our doctor gives us sample pkgs and that is getting us through right now. I think that if you, have to start from scratch again with the medicine that you, will have panic attacks untill the medicine kicks in again, as it does not work instantly. I would also ask your doctor for a different prescription that is generic, and explain that paxil is to expensive, they do have generic brands that work just as good, that goes for any medicine, the price difference can be astounding. I have panic attacks also, and I use st. Johns wort, which works for me. Good luck let us know how it is going
Wow, that was quick... You'll have to excuse me but I'm still trying to figure this type of board out and get names straight.
I've tried to get samples, my doctor's office is out and the rep hasn't been by in awhile so that isn't an option. I've told them that if they get any to PLEASE call me. I haven't thought about the St John's Wort, I used to take it years ago and forgot about it until you mentioned it I may just go get me some tomorrow and see if that will hold me over. I will also call on Monday to see if another medication is an option. Thanks!
Christy
Do you have a walk in clinc? If you do, you could get your doctor to put a notation on your chart on the computer, that you need paxil. Then go to the walk in, clinc, and hopefully they will have some.
Christy, I suffer from what I think are panic/anxiety attacks too. I haven't been official diagnosed, but I am going to go in to the doctor soon.
I fit all the criteria and symptoms. It is so frustrating.
Did you find that the paxic cured your attacks? Or, just reduced them. Mine come on at the most inconvenient times. I can usually talk myself out of them. I would like to get something to help the attacks stay away.
What is St.Johns Wort? Is it a vitamin? Is it a safe thing to take? I would like to try it I think.
My paxil has helped mine go from several a day to less than 3 a week so it hasn't totally cured them but reduced them drastically. I was at the point where I couldn't even go grocery shopping because I'd get anxietish and end up leaving my whole basket of groceries because I just couldn't handle it. You are right the attacks are very frustrating and can make you feel helpless and not in control. I tend to be a little on the anal side so this was literally driving me insane. I would say that if you are able to talk yourself out of them then St John's Wort might be something you could try if you aren't wanting to go to the doctor about it yet or can't.
What St John's Wort is, is basically a herbal supplement. I took it several years ago and had positive outcome with it, it does take several weeks or sometimes up to a month to really get into your system. So it's not your "quick fix" that us that suffer from this wish they had. If you want more info you can go to http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,824,00.html and they have some good information on it.
Good luck with this, I know how frustrating it can be and I hope you are able to get some help for it.
Christy
Thank you Christy.
I completely feel your pain. We were at a nice dinner with quite a few people during the holidays. Everything was going fine. Then I thought of my anxiety issue. As soon as I thought of it, I felt one coming on. It was absolutely ridiculous. I did it to myself. So, I sat there and tried to shake myself out of it. It eventually went away, and everything was fine.
The first time I had one, I was at McDonalds with a friend. We had taken our kids there for lunch. I had no idea what was going on. I was so dizzy and my speach was messed up. The more I thought about it the worse it got. I ended up having her drive me to the ER. They told me there that it was most likely a panic attack. Or, that it could be a reaction from some medication I was on at the time. After I went off the medication I was on, the attacks continued.
Good luck to you as well.
I had a panic attack one time, which did not seem to bad at the time, but I started to hyperventalate, and my dh rushed me to the er as I could not breath, that is when I found out it was a panic attack, that causes me to hyperventalate. So if anyone starts getting a tingling feeling in your fingers, which is what happened to me, next thing I knew my body was shutting down from the lack of air. By the time I got to the hospital both of my hands were curled up on my lap, once they got me to breath in a paper bag, slowly, my hands uncurled, I was so scared it was not funny.
At one point in my life, I was with my dh in the mall, well he wandered off to look in the sports section, and I did not know, and turned around and he was gone, I had a major aniexty attack, and I froze untill he came back, I started welling up with tears, when he did come back I freaked on him, and told him never to do that to me again, I went home, got into a rut, where I would not do anything because of the attacks, then one day I just got mad and made myself go out and do the stuff I had to do. If you, cater to your aniexty attacks it has won! If you have to remove yourself from the situation to get it under control, for a moment do it, but always fight the urge to run away. My daughter was having major aniexty attacks at the beginning of high school, went on paxil, she pleaded with me to home school her, she cryed and cryed and begged me, and I had to tell her I knew what she was going through, and that home schooling was not an option, actually, she has run out of the paxil, after she had got throught the first month of high school, and was panicking because she was out of it, but I told her she would be fine without it, that I did not want her dependant on pills her whole life, as you get amunded, and next thing you know your doctor is precribing a higher and higher dose. I truley believe it is a mind game, and the mind likes to play tricks on you. I told the councellor at school exactley what I had told my dd, and he said to me that , everything i said to her was exactley what he would have said to her.
I do take the st. johns wort, but I did not find that it takes a while, for me it works with in 15 min. Be careful of taking this product, check with your pharacist, if you are taking other drugs.
Christy,
I myself don't have anxiety attacks but, my husband does.I use to get terrible PMS and I was on medicine for a couple years and just took myself off. His started like 2 1/2 years ago after he lost his father from cancer and they were very close. He was on Paxil for a while and we both HATED that stuff. It did help his attacks but,he had all the side affects .The doctor switched him to lexapro which was somewhat better but, again he had other problems.He has been off from the lexapro sine the summer and has done ok. He had two attacks last week and not sure what brought them on other then the holidays and he just went back to work from from having a surgery 2 months ago so I think it was from his body adjusting to working again. When he did go off he went off from it gradually and at first he was hard to live with but, I actaully think now he's ok for the most part.
You can also try a B supplement. Vitamin B is excellent for nerves.
I wanted to stop in and thank everyone for all the advice and support. This has been very hard to deal with and I appreciate knowing I'm not the only one out there that has gone through it.
An update... After a really long and hard weekend, I was on the phone most of the morning yesterday trying to find some sort of help with this. I ended up getting a week's supply, which I was told to take every other day. This is how they wean you off of it. I took one before school last night and this morning some of it must be in my system already because I'm not nearly as dizzy as I was.
Thanks again,
Christy
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