Think im going to go mad!

**Posts:** 14 · by **SUGA** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 11:09 am

Hi there,
I am 21 years old.....very bubbly personality, very friendly, big social life and have now recently started getting anxiety/panic attacks. They seem to run in my family (my mom, sister, 2 cousins and aunt all suffer from this)

I used to take Prozac about 2 years ago for depression (which really helped me alot) i only had to take it for 10 months and was then taken off of it. My psychiatrist seems to think that i went off of them too early and that is the reason for me now getting panic attacks.
She has now put me back on the medicine.

Last night i watched a documentry type program which was research into the side-effects of anti-depressants. It has caused people to want to kill themselves. TOday i am stricken with panic as i keep thinking this will happen to me.

Please can somebody ease my thoughts. I am at work and really need to concentrate but cant coz i feel like i am going insane!!

**Posts:** 2821 · by **Roger Elliott** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 11:59 am

Hi Suga and welcome to the forums. Since you have been fine on Prozac before it is highly unlikely you will suddenly develop this kind of reaction. Relax :wink:

**Posts:** 77 · by **happyface** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 2:45 pm

Hi.....

The mind is a wonderful thing, yet can play tricks on you I think. By watching the program about the side affects of anti-depressants, maybe it put suggestions in your mind that are overwhelming for you. Years ago the first anti depressant I tried was prozac. When I shared this with my mother, she flipped out and said I am more prone to kill myself now that I'm taking that particular medication. I immediately stopped taking the meds because of that information. Also, whenever I started a new medication I would immediately go to the internet and find out everything I could about it. When I tried Paxil CR, I did this and caused myself major panic because of the stuff I read - one website was dedicated to people who could not stop the meds because of horrible side effects and how evil the drug was. Man, did I flip out. I believe reading all this allowed me to adopt the suggestions and my mind raced with countless senarios of what would happen to me if I continued taking the drug. Needless to say I stopped searching the internet endlessly for all information on the meds I take. I do a brief search so that I am aware of possible side effects and leave it at that.

Just remember that the majority of people do not experience the side effects you viewed in the documentary and you do have a history of taking the meds successfully before. Now that you are aware of these possible side effects of the drug, try to keep it in perspective and recall the good experience you had versus what could happen to you. Its very easy to work yourself up into a state of panic.

Take a deep breath and post whenever you need to! It really helps me to type thoughts out and get it out of my mind for the moment.
:wink:

Nancy

**Posts:** 122 · by **Natasha** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 2:58 pm

Im like the both of you, as soon as im giving any tablets first thing i look at is the side effects so I know how you feel. Im currently sat looking at a prescription that my doctor gave me for some ADs and im too frightened to get them cos of what they may do to me as I had bad side effects coming ioff my last lot. But just remember you have taken them before and you were fine.

Take care and hugs
Natasha xx

**Posts:** 54 · by **jezzie71** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 4:36 am

I know how you feel about being scared of taking some meds. I was put an Lorazepam two days ago. I wasn't sure how I would react to it either so I read up on it. I feel so much better then I did two days ago just by taking a small amount of it. It works a lot faster in your system then antidepressants do. I was able to go to work today with only minimal anxiety.

You have been on Prozac before, you should be fine on it. It's worth a try if it will help you feel better then you do now.

Aimee

**Posts:** 14 · by **SUGA** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 8:29 am

I have also realised that smoking has played a major part in my anxiety attacks!! Is this true? Does smoking have that sort of effect??

SUGA

**Posts:** 111 · by **san** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 8:54 am

I have also realised that smoking has played a major part in my anxiety attacks!! Is this true? Does smoking have that sort of effect??

"YES"

**Posts:** 492 · by **Mark Tyrrell** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 10:26 am

Hi Suga

Yes nicotine is a stimulant-it takes about 8 seconds for it to pass through the mucus membranes of the mouth into the brain stimulating the production of adrenaline-(which is central to the panic response)-smokers, particularly heavy smokers, tend to have more anxiety and insomnia than non-smokers.

One reason that people use smoking to calm themselves is association. Taking a break might relax you and if you smoke when you take a break you can feel that it's the smoking doing the calming.

Also when you smoke you breath the smoke out. When we breath out the body relaxes, so the brathing not the smoking calms people.

However people who smoke need more calming because of the affects of nicotine on their adrenal glands.

Mark

**Posts:** 14 · by **SUGA** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 1:16 pm

Thanks very much.

I hadn't had a cigarette in 2 days (and did not experience any anxiety whatsoever) then last night i went out and had one cigarette, woke up in the middle of the night with very bad anxiety! So i have gone back to no smoking again

It's very difficult since i have been smoking for about 5 years....but its better than that terrible anxiety i have been getting!

Think im going to go mad!

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

Main Menu

Panic Attacks and Anxiety Resources

Recent posts

Active topics

Contact Us