newbie here
Find a Conversation
| Sun, 08-21-2005 - 6:07am |
Hi everyone. I am a newbie to your group. My name is kelly and I am 28 year old sahm mom and wife(one daughter, roslyn, is three)I have recently quit my full time work at home job. (i still have a small ebay business with my mom and I also make things for craft fairs...). I quit my job because I wanted to be a better mother. I was way too stressed.
I am not new to panic and anxiety. I have suffered with panic attacks for as long as I can remember. My mom remembers my first "epsiode" at age two. I was a very anxious child and that has made me an anxious adult. I suffer terrible panic attacks to the point of actually passing out. It took years to get an actual diagnosis. It turns out I would panic and unconsiously hold my breath to the point of actually losing consciousness. It is awful. I have not however passed out in four years, i have come close, but i now that i know what is going on I can watch my breathing. There was a time when i had awful night attacks that would keep me up all night, vomiting, shaking and shivering. They were the worst.
I am on a very low dose of prozac, only 10mg, but it has helped. I think the thing that made the biggest difference was actually getting a diagnosis. Not know made it so much worse. I have learned that I can't pass out if I am breathing. and some breathing exersizes have actually kept the night episodes from coming on.
I am just happy to find a board like this, with similar women and I hope to make alot of friends here. There is such a stigma with prozac, although i take a low dose, that i am sometimes embarrased when people find out. I am glad to have an open forum like this.
thanks for listening.
kel

welcome kel, i'm very new to this board as well, although, not new to anxiety and panic attacks as well. i also am a sahm w/a 4 yr old dd. do either of you know what the shaking and shivering could be caused by? i'm also seeing my doc this wed. and going to discuss maybe starting a low dose of something to take the edge off and try to prevent my anxiety attacks from coming on because when they do, they're big ones, incapacitating even.
FWIW, most research has indicated that anxiety/panic is a chemical problem in the body. For unknown reasons, the *fight or flight* response initiates as if there was a very real threat to one's life. As many on our board can testify, this happens @ times when we have absolutely NOTHING to fear. That's why it's so difficult for many of us to accept our anxiety diagnosis. It simply doesn't make sense.
The racing, pounding heart, increased respirations, sometimes shortness of breath, chest pain or
Please do not be embarassed out your meds. Whatever helps, is what is important.
I was just put on zoloft. I am still taking xanax,as well, but will be switching to ativan once I get used to the full dose of zoloft. There are a wonderful group of gals here, and lots of friends! Looking forward to hearing more about you.
Have a great day! hugs, shasta
Blessings, Suz
Posts in this Community ![]()
thanks everyone for such a warm welcome! I am really hoping that joining this group is one more step in becoming panic free!!!
I am curious, since someone mentioned that they also experienced anxiety and panic as a child... what type of experiences did you have? Here are a few examples of anxiety that I suffered as a child:
1. I was deathly afraid of missing the bus in elementary school. From 2 o'clock on, i would been in a state of panic. I would stare out the window waiting for the bus, and then when they lined up, i would really get upset. If i was not at the front of the line, i would be mess. The teachers eventually let my brother, who was in 5th grade, come down to my class a few minutes before bell and come get me on the bus. My dad left for work at 3:30 for the night shift and i was afraid i would miss him.
2.I used to get faint when my mom would cut my bangs... not just nervous, i would almost pass out. I thought she would gouge my eyes out accidentaly.
3. I passed out twice in elementary school. once on a school trip to the hospital. and again when a police officer visted the classroom and told us some stories about crime. I also came pretty damn close to passing out at a mother-daughter meeting about menstruation in fifth grade.I had to be taken out and went to the bathroom and had to be patted down with damp towels. I was so afraid that my mom would find out that i already had my period (yes, in 5th grade..)I didn't really know what it was and didn't want to tell her.
those are just a few instances of panic and anxiety in my childhood. I don't like to play the blame game, but my mom is a very anxious person(with reason, she went through alot as a child) she has never had a panic attack though. But she is very protective and worriesome. I don't know... I am still figuring this all out.
kel
Hi Kel,
I didn't get a chance to welcome you as well yet. my name is Mia and im 25 years old, living in NYC and working on my graduate degree in psychology. I've also had anxiety since I was very very young....they weren't like yours though, mine always revolved around fear of death. I was terrified of swallowing poisons (from one source or the other), or catching diseases like brain tumors and other forms of cancer. I would tell my parents I felt weird, but I think those were really early symptoms of panic attacks. For example, I would get dry tongue as a child, which is a symptom of panic attacks and i would tell my parents that