new symptom.. constant panic attacks! How to manage these?
 

So...I have had at least one person around me for most of the time since my concussion 2.5 months ago. This week, I was alone...

I didn't think anything of it, but when my symptoms..

(mostly dizziness, heart palpitations, headaches, disorientation)

.. started to get bad and there wasn't anyone else around for "reassurance", "distraction", or just to look out, I have started having more and more panic attacks in the last week.

I had a couple early in my recovery, but not this frequently and severely.

They also can just come out of nowhere, it seems, absolutely no reason. I wake up, panic. lay down to sleep, panic. all day these past few days..

They're scary, I feel like I am going to die by some kind of nervous system explosion or heart attack. My vision gets clouded by some watery looking curtain...shakin sweatin terror

I'm sure many of you know what I mean without having to describe it..


Anyway, I've been prescribed lorazepam for them but now I find myself taking these constantly or else the panic starts easing in.

How else to avoid this? Am I doing something wrong?

Side note: Since divulging to my doc my problems with anxiety after the concussion, now he (they) conveniently attribute ALL my symptoms to anxiety, pretty much writing me off and making me feel like a hypochondriac "nut".

Wish I hadn't said anything to em but I have to admit the lorazepam has really helped, but I know it's a temporary/superficial fix.

I don't want to go on permanent psych meds if I can help it.

Thanks for reading.

Are you taking the vitamin regimen ? The L-Tryptophan and L-Theanine help me with panic attacks. The rest of the regimen sets a foundation for the L's.

I also need to have a distraction when I feel the anxiety coming on. I spend a lot of time playing solitaire when I don't have something else to do.

you may be onto something... I have been taking SOME of the regimen, but not all, and I don't have the L-'s in there right now.

I will restock the vitamin shelf. and try some light exercise.

You say "when you feel the anxiety coming on".. have these incidents gotten less frequent with time?

I'm assuming this is just my body's way of reacting to a lot of stress in the last few months while still needing to heal to regain the strength it usually has to have to deal with physical and emotional stress.

Please get tested for Lyme disease. I don't know anything about your situation or medical history other than what you posted, but listen to a quick summary of my story.

I suffered two major concussive impacts--one in high school (2006) and one in college (2009). For years since then, I suffered off and on from neurological symptoms--predominantly headaches, dizziness, brain fog. My symptoms would tend to flare up following minor head bumps. They would get worse and worse for months at a time, and then I would rest and seem to eventually get better enough to resume my life. Then, right when I thought everything was under control again, my symptoms would spiral out of control. Most recently I took a downturn in late February 2014. I dropped out of graduate school and stayed at home for months, trying to recover from what I thought was post-concussion syndrome. I also had other unexplainable symptoms that I thought were unrelated. My lymph nodes in my groin were extremely inflamed. I had difficulty urinating. I developed panic attacks towards the end of April. I had very low vitamin B, vitamin D, and very low cholesterol. I was borderline diabetic. I had a week straight of panic attacks that happened every night and precluded me from sleeping until I started taking Xanax. I was convinced that I wasn't going to live much longer.

While searching for HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen) as an alternative treatment for PCS, I stumbled into a doctor's office that coincidentally happened to treat many Lyme patients. The doctor looked at my bloodwork and medical history and told me that I had Lyme disease. At first I did not believe her at all. I hadn't been bitten by a tick since my childhood. However, I got the most accurate Lyme test available and two weeks later my blood work came back positive for Lyme disease. I am currently undergoing treatment. It will take many months to get better, but I've already seen some improvement with oral antibiotics. I will likely have a port installed in my chest in a couple weeks to receive antibiotics intravenously to maximize their effectiveness and penetrate the brain-blood barrier.

If my story sounds anything like yours, make sure you get an Igenex (Western Blot) test for Lyme and get seen by a “lyme-literate” doctor. Igenex is the name of the best ab in California that does the analysis. It takes 2-3 weeks to get the results and costs about $250. Most doctors will order an ELISA and/or a standard Western Blot analyzed locally, both of which have been known to produce false negatives. All of these blood tests are looking for the presence of specific antibodies in the immune system, and the Igenex lab is both more sensitive and looks at a wider range of antibodies. Keep in mind that because Lyme is also a clinical diagnosis, it’s important to go to a doctor who is a Lyme specialist, ideally a member of ILADS, to get a proper diagnosis and appropriate treatment. If you need any further information, check out a documentary called "Under our skin" on youtube. I don't want anyone else to suffer with a misdiagnosis if I can help it.

Thank you and may god bless you. Panic attacks are no fun. I thought I was dying after my first panic attack and spent the night in the ER.

Two strategies that helped me when I was having my attacks:

1. Get some of the cinnamon flavored Altoids. Put one or two on your tongue when you feel an attack coming on. In the same way that stubbing your toe will distract you from your hand hurting, the point is to distract yourself from your panic. If it's bad enough chew them.

2. Find a recording of someone talking people down from attacks. There are lots out there. I've found them in the app store on my phone and also on the Amazon music store. It'll talk you through an attack, talk you through relaxing your body and muscles, remind you that this is not a permanent condition, that this too shall pass, etc. It has worked for me.

Good luck! :hug:

nimrod4u: i have been concerned about lyme's for years...

I am from Virginia and many folks I know have contracted it, suffering from such a wide variety of symptoms (PCS-like symptoms, some, flu-like, others, some had none) and differing severities of symptoms.

I do plan on getting tested because I work outside and am exposed constantly, although currently I am in a temp job in rural Nevada where there doesn't seem to be much expertise about it (or risk).

Didn't know about the different kinds of tests, that is great info.

I really wish you luck in the success of your treatment and that you feel better soon. Lyme's is no joke.... lost a dog to it years ago as well :(

socks: thanks for the creative ideas, i would not have thought of either.

technology can be used for just about everything now eh? i will look for the recordings you suggested tonight.

if i gotta be alone when having these things at least i can "fake it" with a talk-down-bot :) sounds promising to me


feelin' much better tonight. gonna take advantage of this "sweet spot" and get some work done while it lasts!!

never thought i'd be this excited/grateful to do data entry.

Welcome here
 

Hello and sorry for your struggles. Good people will help you here.

I also need l-theanine and I take Gabba too to help with some anxiety. I will say though that I have never had a panic attack like you and other describe it.

I love that there are aps now too that can talk you down and I hope that helps you.

Hang in there and keep us updated.

Sincerely

poetrymom