Posted by JohnL on October 1, 2000, at 6:07:53
In reply to Paxil and Panic - please help, posted by tinkrbel on September 28, 2000, at 19:54:30
> hi, i am new to this board altho i have been reading a lot of the posts for awhile now. well, i need some help, and i have some questions, and i was hoping you all could maybe help me out. i have pretty bad panic attacks coupled with agoraphobia. a lot of the problem also comes from anticipatory anxiety. it had seemed to have gone away for awhile, but just recently it has come back and it is horrible. i can't even drive by myself or pick my daughter up from school. went to my family dr. and he prescribed paxil, 10mg to start. now - here is the thing - one of the major triggers for a panic attack for me is taking meds - thus the problem. i freak out pretty much everytime i try to take this little itty bitty pill. then i found the "paxil database" website and needless to say i am scared silly that i am going to have awful side effects, withdrawls, etc. i am really scared of dying. i am really not sure what to do. i don't feel overall "depressed" - aside from the fact that i feel like i can't do
> anything for fear of having a panic attack. does anyone have any advice / experience? i really need some help.
>
> thanks,
> laura
It sounds to me like a beta blocker might be a better choice. They are the meds used to treat high blood pressure. But you don't need to have high blood pressure for them to be useful. They temporarily block the circuits that can cause panic and anxiety. They are especially useful on an as-needed basis, rather than something like Paxil which is taken continuously. They are especially helpful for situations of stage fright or any event that triggers panic, such as the anticipatory anxiety you mentioned.Using a medication on an as-needed basis sure could be more attractive to you, especially since you are uneasy about using medications at all. And for a longer term approach, there are methods you can learn in counseling to control the panic and anxiety. You could use a beta blocker as needed in overwhelming situations.
As with all medications, your body may prefer one beta blocker but not do well with another. Probably the most popular for psychiatric purposes are Inderal and Pindolol.
You could do a simple search to learn more. Just type in 'beta blockers' in a search engine and see what you find. I did that and the first article I came to was titled "Beta Blockers for Performance Anxiety in Musicians".
In the natural arena, you might find Kava Kava more attractive. Get a good brand and experiment with different dose sizes. This natural herb is well known for providing a sense of calmness and, with higher doses, deep sleep. Yet it is not sedating at normal doses, but rather anti-anxiety and attention enhancing simultaneously. The best part is it's cheap, available just about anywhere, and easy to try, with few if any side effects.
If you are not depressed, I don't like the idea of Paxil. It will likely make you feel worse in the short term, and only numb your feelings in the long term...no downs, no anxiety, but no ups either. Life could likely become very flat. SSRIs like Paxil tend to do that. They squash the emotional spectrum into a thin band. They tend to anesthetize emotions. That's good for someone very depressed. Good for anxiety. But the price you pay is that you also lose the ups in life and you have to deal with side effects everyday. And it takes time. Beta blockers or Kava Kava work in about an hour to two and can be used only as needed. If they are tried and found not useful, then I would consider something else. But not until I had experimented with beta blockers or Kava Kava first.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:45440
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000926/msgs/45584.html