D.E.H., It sounds like you are definitely on the right track!, seeing a psychologist will definitely benefit your fight. Congratulations on the weight you have already lost. Keep your doctor well informed of your choices and progress. Angela _____________________ The Panic Center Team

Wow D.E.H. great attitude about not giving up anything you love. I agree and won't give up what I love either mind you I didn't drive or have much of a life for quite a few years before I would accept that what I was suffering was panic. So really I've come a long way. I quit smoking too but for me it was because smoking caused my panic attacks to get worse (the racing heart, throat tightness etc) I noticed a big improvement in the severity 2 days after quitting. You keep at it D.E.H. and if you don't make a connection with your pyschologist make sure you find someone you can connect with but I hope that this one is the 'right' one for you.

Thanks, Rachel and mommzay. I too have had those 2-3hr long attacks. That is when it was time to stop that baby with some Ativan. I used to use cig's and alcohol to stop it. To this day it is hard to stop using the alcohol...Yep, believe it or not I'm in a very successful Rock-n-Roll band. Talk about a strange individual dealing with Panic. It happens, I'll be Rock'in out in front of a couple hundred people and WAM! No way to stop it either..You can't tell people, " Hang on, I'm having a anxiety attack". If it get's out of control, I do take a Ativan while on stage...This is when you start getting the mixed signals. I love live music/ Playing in front of a crowd makes me uneasy... Funny thing was, I was playing Live music 10 yrs before this panic thing ever started. That's why I refuse to give it up. I will not give up anything I love for Anxiety's sake. I will give it up when I am ready to, not when I have to. That's what pushed the no cig's/no Alcohol/no fast food/ and joining weight watchers. I had the workout equipment in my house.(VOICE OF REASON) IT DON'T WORK!! I joined the gym, that will work if you don't have anything to do in your life except go there. Plus the Gym always focuses on muscle and not cardio...What did work? The good ole high school track...Yep. #1 It doesn't cost anything. #2 Let your hard earned tax dollars work for you. #3 it's always open,I can fit it into any schedule. #4 It's never crowded like a gym. #5 It's a good place to take the family. #6 How many gym's can you take your dog into, (WALK THAT DOG) #7 It gives you a new feeling, ya know High School. Plus once you get used to going to it. You just might find yourself checking out a couple of games come football season. Talk about a comfortable place you can get into a crowd. What better than the place where you exercise in private on your own time. Anyways, enough of my rambling on... If I can get the sleep thing down. I'll be fine. Of course the band playing all nite long doesn't help any. Neither does the fact that I'm an insurance agent by day. You just gotta love knocking on strangers doors all day long. It's really good for anxiety isn't it. :)

Sounds like you are doing a good job of working toward overcoming your panic. You can read my story on the introduce yourself board. It was posted on 10-18. Waking up with panic attacks is what started me on medication. I don't have much advice but wanted you to know there are others who deal with waking with panic attacks. Now that I am on the right dose of Zoloft for me, I am not having them at night. I do still take .5 mg of Klonopin before bed every night but started to decrease that 3 nights ago and am doing ok. I have woken up a little anxious in the night but the anxiety hasn't gone into full blown panic. Hoope things improve for you soon. Rachel

D.E.H. your comments about letting go are quite interesting. I think for me its me not letting go because I catch myself all the time when my symptoms are subsiding doing stuff like swallowing harder etc to see if the symptoms really are gone. What always kills me is most of the stuff I've read about panic attacks say panic attacks last for 2 - 10 minutes - yeah right I've had some last for 2 - 3 hours. I used to think I wasn't suffering panic attacks for that reason because none of mine have ever lasted only 2 - 10 minutes - for me that would be great!

Thanks, But isn't it amazing how a 15 min. anxiety attack can ruin a 24 hour day.....I wonder if it's me not letting go of the attack instead of the attack not letting go of me.

The very first panic attack I ever had that got this whole ball of JUNK started was a panic attack I had in a dead sleep. I woke up with the heart, the fast beat, the cold sweat, the sick to my belly, all of it. Totally freaked me out because I had NEVER had a panic attack before. Since then, they have woken me up as well but not as bad as that first one. Keep up the good work! you should be so proud of yourself!!!! i am determined to beat them too. I just can't stand to think of living my life like this forever.

O.K. I've been doing great about the No Attack during the day stuff........But the other night I woke up at 1:30 am in a full blown mind crashing attack..I take Ativan on a as needed basis. So I broke a pill in half and stuck it under my tongue and in about 15 minutes it started to work....I had a couple mild ones before in my sleep. But nothing like this...I'm sure this has something to do with insomnia. I have had trouble going to sleep since I was a kid. I find myself avoiding an early bedtime as much as possible. I usually fall asleep between 12:30 and 1:30...I get up at around 6:30....I had my first attack at night in my sleep 5yrs ago. I went on Ativan for 1 mth and then to Paxil.....I was on Paxil for 4yrs and still the attacks remained...I got heavy and became lazy...But still had attacks when something stressful would come along....Paxil worked good as long as I didn't do anything that got me stressed up. So I just avoided those things....My wife got sick and had to have surgeries and the panic started in hard...I started exercising and paxil glitches(ZAPPS) started happening....As if I was not taking the medicine or something...So I stopped....My withdrawl felt no different than it did when I was exercising.. Over the last 3mnths. I take about 1 ativan a week..I've lost 20lbs and my blood work is perfect...I went on weight watchers 3mnths ago...Started jogging 2 miles a day...Got rid of Caffeine and Quit using smoke-less tobacco...Also quit having the occasional beer here and there...All I need now is the sleep problem fixed.......I've never been to a Phsycologist before. But I'm determined to KILL this thing...So I scheduled an appointment....Has anyone ever went through these things before. Replies would be appreciated.