Firstly a little about me...I have been suffering with these attacks for 27 years....my first 1 happened when my 2 brothers were babysitting me and made me watch jaws....never again did they try! Well for years I honestly thought there was something wrong with me...hypochondriac became my middle name for a whIle but I can honestly say as the years started flying by and wisdom started kicking in I came to realise that these attacks happen because of your mind...from the simplest things to the biggest unfortunate things in life can trigger them off at anytime....I still suffer on occasion with these attacks but nothing like a mental talking to and a paper bush can't fix....believe me when I say this medication is not the answer it's strong will that solves it.....u will beat this attack....hope this info helped and b strong!

After suffering panic attacks for about 10 years from age 27 to 37, ruining a marriage, promotion opportunities, etc. I consider my self a subject matter expert on misery. My panic attacks turned into a multitude of phobias. I avoided everything that might be a trigger for an attack.

Let me roll this up in a ball for you. If you think you are about to die...if your heart is beating like a flooded out Evenrude...then there is no amount of tea or deep breathing that is going to help you.

If you are like me and the first thing you experience is a pounding in your chest that tells your mind that you should be really, really scared then you don't have a mental problem...you have an electrical problem.

After 10 years of psychobabble, anti depressants, tranquilizers, hypnosis, biofeedback, and other crap I relayed my frustration to my internist.

He said some people have a heart that is sensitive to adrenaline. He prescribed a beta blocker and POOF...PANIC ATTACKS GONE! No more screaming for mama on the elevator...no more running up and down the isle on the airplane! Shazam!

That was 25 years ago. My brother and my son have gone through the same thing.

Ask you doctor about a low dose Atenolol. It's a cheap, effective drug that only makes you feel normal.

Good luck. I know how miserable your are.

Hi my name is Adrian
First of all, thank you all for sharing your story about anxiety. I'm 40 years old and recently got my first anxiety attack. The first anxiety attack happened to me on Friday 11/30/2012 while driving to work. I was able to get to the side of the road with no problems and then my carpool friend called 911. I went to the hospital and they did a bunch of test. All they found was high blood pressure, everything else came back negative. At the hospital they did not detected or discover the anxiety attack problem. I stayed in the hospital for 1 day, than I went to see my doctor and he prescribed me high blood pressure medicine. Four days later I had the anxiety attack again but this time I went to urgent care where the doctor there after a few questions she said I had gotten a panic attack. She prescribed me Lorazepam to only use when I start to feel the panic attack, so the following day I went to see my doctor and he said that Lorazepam is habit forming. So he switch my prescription to Proxetine. My doctor said that it usually takes 1 to 2 weeks for the drug to work and for the mean time have the Loranzepam ready if I were to get an anxiety attack to use it since it reacts within 15min. Since I been taking the Paroxetine I have been only getting mild anxiety attacks but I also feel some pressure in my head behind the eyes. I went to see an eye specialist and they checked for any damage in the eyes and all is good. The eye specialist even said my vision is 20/20. But she also said that my eyes were a little dry so she told me to buy some over the counter eye drops which I'm using. More than likely it might be the dry eyes that is making me feel like pressure in the head. The more I sleep the better I feel but sleeping will not solve my problem. I'm going to set up an appointment with a psychologist this up coming Monday. My wife says your are stronger than that and snap out of it. But to tell you the truth, I'm scare. I went to get acupuncture and a massage which relax me and I was able to sleep for about 10hrs. Has any body tried this 'Panic Away' program? I'm so desperate that I'm willing to give anything a try. Here is my E-mail zzxxyy2@yahoo.com if you have any advise. Thanks you all once again.

Adrian

I found that the best thing for when I have an anxiety attack (been suffering for a good 6 years now) is to take these very simple steps:

1) Go put on some water to boil

2) While you are waiting for the water to boil, take some deep breaths- in through your nose, out through your mouth. I usually take between 5 to 20, depending on how strong the attack has hit me.

3) When the water has boiled, and you've breathed yourself into a somewhat more relaxed state, make yourself a cup of Chamomile tea (or green tea, if you prefer) with honey.

4) Sit down, and quietly sip on your hot tea, trying to focus on clearing your mind. (Takes a LOT of time to get this down.)

Eventually your anxiety attack will dissolve. You can also lay down a bit as you sip your tea and clear your mind :) Good luck ya'll!

Hi there, I am 16 years old struggle severly with anxiety and panic attacks and also stress. Ive had it since a young pre-schooler(what my mom says). Ive started getting medical problems like my back and neck would go in hectic spasim,if I stress alot my suger or blood pressure drops and then everything just go wrong,i have a spastic colon that i hate and also a irretable bell(sorry dont know how you spell it) it gets like madly sore when i have anxiety and paic attacks(i start feeling sick like to vomit or my head is like sore)and i got really bad acne from stress that i struggle to get away. If anyone knows a remedies for these stuff please let me know. My doctor had me one on several pills and i have been to a psychologist before and they also submited pills and stuff for me but that was to many things i had to drink so my parents said i must stop. please any remedies that could probably help.

Benedryl for Anxiety. It DOES help. Visteril is a common drug that is prescribed by doctors for anxiety...and to tell you the short of it, all it is, is Benedryl. I have had Severe Anxiety all my adult life thanks to PTSD, severe depression and a host of other issues. If I am expected to go somewhere in public, I take one to two Benedryl's and I am generally okay. Don't do it too much though...it does have a constipating effect or so I am told. Make sure you drink plenty of water.

I just started have anxiety in the past year. I have always been a very laid back and calm person, but since I am going back to school for another bachelor's nursing school, which in a very competitive program I have started to get anxiety and even panic attacks. I want to get my masters in psychiatric nursing so trying to understand anxiety is huge for me. I was on birth control and recently got off of it, and my anxiety has gone down about %75. Some people will say BC doesn't cause anxiety, but it is a side effect and hormones do play with your emotions. I still get it at school and in class, but what has helped me is yoga and hot yoga, exercise helps as well. One counselor gave me a technique to try, but said, she doesn't share it will many because most people think it's weird. She said, it has a high success rate (%85) and has even helped her. It's called EFT, which is a series of tapping on the body. I honestly didn't think it would work, but once I did it a few times I really started to feel calm. I would not have believed it unless I tried it myself. I will look for the website and comment back on my post. Hope it helps someone!!!

I'm 19 years old and I have been having panic attacks since my freshman year of college which was last year. Started when I would be in complete darkness and wake up out of my sleep thinking I was in a closed area I couldn't get out of (I'm claustrophobic) this went on almost every other night. I've recently had one and almost thought my life was over. My heart was beating through my chest, my hands were shaking, I was nauseous, my hands and feet were sweaty until I began to feel clammy. I had the chills and I was dizzy. It lasted for about 10minutes but it felt like it was never ending. What causes my pain attacks is stress. I stress myself out even when I'm unaware of it. I worry about things too much. What helps me is meditating. I believe in God so he gets me through my panic attacks. I also write. I write about what's bothering me and it relaxes my mind. You have to realize that it's mental and if you talk to yourself and let yourself know that's its a panic attack and you need to relax. Repeat to yourself that it will be over the moment you realize it's not killing you. Have faith and let go of what's stressing you out. Think positive thoughts! You don't need medication. It's all up to you!

Hi i have anxiety attacks i get them because i'm always thinking about something or worrying about someone or something,the way i cope is put the head phones on and listen to pan pipes or something quite just loud enough to stop you thinking and i feel more relaxed with out medication give it a try what have you got to lose

I have been on Zoloft now for about 10 years and it helps 98% of the time. In order to reduce the bad feeling people seem to get from taking meds you need to start out with a low dose at first and then build up to the amount that works for you. I am convinced that people who have panic attacks during the night when asleep need to get tested for sleep apnea. It is very likely that the panic attack occuring during sleep is because you have stopped breathing. Your body awakes you in a panic because you have stopped breathing. People have died from this. I found out that I had sleep apnea and now I sleep with a cpap. I hope this might help somebody out there.