My story..help!!

[bugaloo]

My symptoms started out slowly, after my mother was admitted to a hospice last month..I was just driving along one day and all of a sudden my heart started racing, could'nt catch my breath and felt like I was having a heart attack..It only lasted a few minutes(pulled over and got out, walked around a bit taking deep breaths)...As the days progressed, I started geting heavy pressure in my chest, sinus pressure ,general head pressure and constant jitteryness(nervousness)..I went to the emergency room like 4 times when the pressure and weird spasms in my chest got real bad and they did every test on the heart(echo stress test),chest xray and I also had endosopothy to check out my throat, esophogus and stomach...They all came back okay...My doctor put me on an acid reducer and Paxil. I only took one half of a Paxil so far but now I'm kind of scared to take anymore after reading all the stuff on it...The only thing that really took all the symptoms away immediately was 1 mg of valium but they won't prescribe that due to dependence or something...Does anyone have suggestions for a safe drug or supplement that would help?..or maybe theres a test the doctors missed..

Thanks
Dave

[Delynbetter]

I have found Rescue Remedy to be good. They are drops that you put under the tongue. Jennifer Aniston uses them I just learned, not that it really matters, but it was nice to see a star endorsing a natural supplement rather than something for BigPharma's money.

Others will have more suggestions. Welcome to the board!

[I-H8-Paxil]

Don't take Paxil. Its just not worth it.

You had panic attacks. They can be dealt with better through therapy or supplements. Fish Oil, magnesium, inositol or if absolutely necessary: 5:HTP or St. John's Wort. All better than drugs.

I had a panic attack like that years ago and foolishly let myself be given Paxil. Don't make the same mistake.

When you want to quit taking it, it won't let you. Then you will have your old symptoms PLUS withdrawal. Save yourself now.

[Katesmom]

bugaloo-

I'm so sorry that you are going through such a terrible, stressful time. I know one of our members, Feeling Wiggy, started Paxil when her mother was terminally ill. You might PM her. I know she will have words of wisdom that I do not.

I will tell you from experience that Paxil is just not worth taking in the long run. I terrifies me that some ER doc that has no relationship with you would give you a Rx for a drug like paxil. I would strongly encourage you to contact the hospice and find out if there is a support group you could join or individual grief counseling you could get. I'm certain that there will be. This will be so much more useful for you both now and for the future.

Paxil takes weeks to kick in and then will only suppress your emotions. They will come back later in addition to all of the added problems coming from its withdrawal (66% of people have some kind of withdrawal from these drugs).

No matter what you decide to do about Paxil, this is a great and supportive community. You are welcome to continue to post through your very difficult time.

[LossLeader]

Yep. If all your heart tests (specifically the echocardiogram) came back normal, this has to be panic/anxiety attacks.

Please bear in mind that one of the most common withdrawal symptoms is a kind of continuous low-level panic attack - including all the scary heart problems - that just goes on and on (this has been a busy topic of conversation here over the last few weeks, in fact). If you're getting panic attacks now, then even if Paxil helped, it wouldn't be worth it - because as soon as you stopped taking it you'd quite possibly be getting double the panic attacks you had in the first place.

[feelin'_wiggy]

Dave, check your private messages.

[Brannigan]

Since you only had one half of a pill, I doubt Paxil caused it. Personally, I had to take a 20mg dose for a few weeks before anything unusual happened.

You just went through an INCREDIBLY stressful situation. Such an event could cause an anxiety attack for ANYONE whether they were taking Paxil or not.

If your reason for taking Paxil is to numb yourself against the future possibility anxiety attacks, there is NO guarantee that it will work. I took it regularly for about 3 years yet even that the height of my numbness, I still periodically experienced the EXACT same stress induced symptoms that you just described. All Paxil did for me was leave me an impotent, unfeeling "zombie" with constant diarrhea. My apologies for being so candid, but that’s the most truthful description I could give.

[Scott]

this isn't a drug you take just to get over something... it will change your brain chemistry over the course of a few months and if you're one of the lucky ones you'll spend a long time getting free of it hoping to return to the anxious state you were in prior to the drugs, because that state seems like paradise in comparison to where you are now.


if you stay on this drug for any length of time you'll become hooked on it and believe me it will make your predrug problems seem like nothing. People that haven't been on these types of drugs have no idea just what they do to a person.. they completely change who you are and leave you feeling drugged all the time.

some links for you
miracle of magnesium
calm anxiety with suntheanine

here's a post i made for someone else that includes some books you should check out

what you needed was someone to explain to you what you're going through.. it's what i needed... 12 and a half years ago when i first went to the doctor. You need to decide now if you want to be on the drugs because you'll be dealing with them constantly.. they tend to quit working and you'll go from drug to drug until you finally realize that may not be the way to go.. but by then you may be severely hooked on it and have to taper.. and tapering will cause anxiety and possible panic that is worse than your predrug panic and anxiety among other symptoms.

some great books you should really check out from the library of even buy if you're serious about this.

anxiety and phobia workbook in depth with lots of techniques
power over panic more personal approach less technical
don't panic very technical and informative
the antidepressant solution A Step-by-Step Guide to Safely Overcoming Antidepressant Withdrawal, Dependence, and "Addiction"

also if you can afford this attacking anxiety program (it's cheaper on ebay)
www.stresscenter.com

and lastly healing fear

my doctor recently suggested a product called proloftin
it contains suntheanine (l-theanine)
i havne't tried it because i'm messed up from the drug withdrawal.

[Kristin]

Dave, I'm sorry for this very difficult time in your life. I'v only had mild anxiety attacks so I can't speak to that. I do use Rescue Remedy though and it helps me, you find it at a health food store.

I am inclined to tell you that if you choose to continue paxil i fear you may miss some crucial emotional moments with your mom. I have been feeling for two years that I need to tell my parents how very much they mean to me and yet on antidepressants I just put it off and don't really feel it like I know it is in my heart.

I strongly urge you to educate yourself thoroughly and try many of the stress-reducing methods available before you hook into this drug for who knows how long. Study this site.

Welcome to the site and i wish you well.

[zappelina]

Welcome to the board and sorry you´re having a hard time Dave! If your panic attack was cured by 1 mg of Valium it was nothing compared to the panic you may get around the clock for months the day you try to come off paxil (or any antidepressant) or valium. My withdrawal panic during the first months off zoloft didn´t respond to 10 mgs of Valium! Try to deal with your problems without paxil and valium - worrying about your mother´s illness is of course hard but it is really a normal reaction under the circumstances. Having someone to talk to- like a support group - is the best way of dealing with this. And I probably shouldn´t say this - some people here might be offended - but how about an occasional glass of wine a couiple of times a week when you´re stressed? Provided you don´t have or never had any alcohol problems of course. The drug companies and the psychiatrists have made natural grief and worrying into a disease. It is not. It´s a normal reaction and you shouldn´t be put on paxil for it, this drug is dangerous so stay away from it if you can.

[Mizzmozz]

I am glad that I found this site. Yesterday I went to my doctor for my annual checkup. I told him how I have been having anxiety attacks and sleeplessness because my mother has decided to give up her fight with cancer. Dealing with her upcoming and too early death, a stressful job, and raising a family has put me into a spin. I had taked Zoloft for awhile a few years ago for depression but took myself off of it for sleep issues. I hadn't been medicated since.

My doctor grabbed his pad and wrote me a out a healthy dose of paxil 10 mg, told me to take them before bed they would help me sleep, and I should try taking 20mg for the first few days. I woke up today feeling like I was drugged and thrown underwater.

Thank goodness I have a good health plan and only wasted $7. Those pills are going in the garbage as soon as I am done typing.

[zappelina]

A good decision! Make sure you throw the garbage out of your house immediately, you don´t want to be anywhere near those pills....

[bugaloo]

Thanks to all for your responses, I threw the Paxil in the trash and am going to try the herbal route (Magnesium and such)...Right now I feel like I drank 50 cups of coffee(very jittery) , I want to take a Valium but I won't..I'll try to make it through this without any of that crap..

Thanks
Dave

[BanjoDan]

Dave,

Have you tried low intensity excercise, be it walking, yoga, even light bike riding or rollerblading... these for me take the edge off of that 50 cups of coffee feeling, granted for some they can make it worse which is why I would try they yoga or walking first...

Dan

[dar7726]

Not that it matters but just wanted to say that proloftin was created my Mark Sission masterformula.com. He was a frequent guest on "Your Health" when Doug Kaufmann was the host. Here is some of his bio.

As a world-class athlete, Mark has personally experienced the highest levels of human performance. His 2:18 marathon earned him a fifth place finish at the 1980 USA National Marathon Championships; he finished 4th in the 1982 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon; he was a member of the indoor world-record 24-hour relay team (1977) and he briefly held the world record for the vertical one-mile climb on a Versa-Climber (198.

After receiving a degree in biology from Williams College in 1975, Mark began what has become a lifelong investigation into the safest and most effective ways to maximize human performance and increase useful longevity. His extensive research and experience have resulted in several books including: The Runners World Triathlon Training Book, Training and Racing Biathlons, Maximum Results, The Fat Control System and The Lean Lifestyle Program (over 500,000 copies distributed).

He has also written over 50 magazine articles on exercise and nutrition for such notable publications as Men's Fitness, Triathlete, and Runner's World, and he was the Editor of the Optimum Health national newsletter (circ. 90,000) from 1994 through 1996. Mark has appeared on ESPN, QVC, QVC UK, FIT TV, Shop at Home, and numerous radio interview shows as a fitness and nutrition expert. Throughout this time, he has also designed several proprietary formulas for other major nutritional supplement companies.

His extensive knowledge of the effects of supplementation on human performance - what works, what doesn't, what's safe and what's not - resulted in his being appointed in 1993 as Chairman of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) Anti-Doping Commission and liaison to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical Commission. In this prestigious international position, Mark oversees drug-testing and anti-doping education of triathletes in 130 countries around the world.

Darlene