[erinkj]

Originally Posted by spage77

First off, my apologies Tracy for a quick hijack of your thread.

Erin,

Would it be possible to talk with you? I did not see a way to send PMs or I would have done that. I have been dealing with a situation for the past 3 years that I have not been able to get any real help on. You seem to be the single most knowledgeable person on anxiety disorders I've come across. A quick explanation of my issue. I had untreated sleep apnea which caused me to have an issue of A-Fib and woke me out of my sleep. This was the single most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me. Ever since, I have not been the same. The symptoms I have fit panic attacks and yet they don’t. At least as to how I understand them. If it would be alright with you, please contact me spage-at-texascomputer-dot-org and I will explain the whole ordeal I've been living with. I'm lost, afraid and very tired. Any help/advice you could give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Sorry again Tracy, it's all yours....

-Steven Page

Steven, No problem, I will be glad to help in any way that I can. I am a bit confused by how you typed your e:mail addy. ie: the dashes etc....So, you can send me an e:mail at perkinse@wmpenn.edu I check that mail daily. It would be best if you explain your problems and questions to me in as much detail as you can, or care to share...Don't worry if you feel like you are rambeling, I am very patient ...I will answer what I can. If there are things that I cannot answer I will do my best to direct you to someone who can....chat with you soon..Peace...Erin

[trayanne]

Hi Erin,

Haven't heard from you in a while. How are you and how is the crossover going? I got my GP to agree to the Ashton Manual-crossover to Valium. I will begin the crossover tomorrow as I just want to be free of benzos completely and am going into this with discipline and high hopes that it will go well.
Please let me know how you are doing.
Hugs,
Tracy

[erinkj]

Originally Posted by trayanne

Hi Erin,

Haven't heard from you in a while. How are you and how is the crossover going? I got my GP to agree to the Ashton Manual-crossover to Valium. I will begin the crossover tomorrow as I just want to be free of benzos completely and am going into this with discipline and high hopes that it will go well.
Please let me know how you are doing.
Hugs,
Tracy

I am so glad that you have finally found help! This is great news. I did stick with the klonopin. I wasn't real sure about it at first but, now I am glad I gave it more time. I am now almost completely switched to klonopin and doing very well with it. I am still taking one xanax pill at night before bed but, I am only doing that every other night. I will be 100% xanax free by the end of the week. Of course getting off of the xanax is only half the battle. In 2 weeks I am going to begin to SLOWLY tapper the klonopin. I don't know how long it will take to get off of that but, at least I am making progress. How is all going for you? Have you begun your switch to vallium? if so, how is that going? Oh, also, did you ever decide if you were going to try an anti-deppressant? I will check in with you again later...Hug's to you Tracy...Peace...Erin

[DebbieO]

Dear Trayanne:
I can truly sympathize with you, since I had panic/anxiety attacks for over 6 years - I took them all day long and all night long - it was hell. I was so afraid that I was going to have a nervous breakdown, that I couldn't even say the word nervous breakdown, I just use to say "NB" - now what you are going through is not easy, and I have no idea how religious you are, but let me tell you my story, and if you get something out of it, wonderful, and if you don't, you still have nothing to lose.

I was so addicted to Librium back in those days, that I had pills everywhere in the house. I was so afraid to be somewhere without my meds, that I was paranoid - my weight went down to 89 lbs. on a 5'6" frame because my nerves were so bad that I couldn't eat.

I went to a psychologist for over 4 years, and I'm not saying that she didn't help, but I pretty much think that in some cases, you help yourself - if you have been diagnosed with a chemical imbalance, than you must be on medication - but if your anxiety is caused by how you look at things, if you have a phobia, etc., than maybe what I tell you will hit the spot.

I was so afraid of everything, and I prayed all the time that God would take this "curse" away from me - the one thing that sticks in my mind is that I worked harder than I ever had in my life to get better - it was a constant struggle, and not a day went by that I wasn't filled with fear - but the bible says "fear not", and this may sound corny, but that is what I did - when I stopped worrying about myself, and about going crazy, etc., I started to get better - I know that in my case, you are consumed with yourself and everything about your body - when you stop being so absorbed with yourself, you realize that you are causing these attacks yourself - now again, if you have a chemical imbalance in the brain, my advice is definitely not for you, but if you were o.k. at one time, and something in your life happened and you than started to get the attacks, believe me, they can go away just as fast - but you have to train your mind, and that is not easy - it took me a long time, but the results were worth it. I have been panic and anxiety free for over 25 years - Thank God, and I will pray for you.

[Hoagie Bunz]

Was 44 when the 1st one hit, we live in the middle of no where, had all the symptoms of a heart attack....had a very stressful meeting the next A.M. Spent 2 days in the hospital in the Cardiac ward. All was good. Doc of 20 years put me on Clorazepate 7.5 mg. Take as needed, no side affects. Just a thought. Good luck.