Benzodizepines and other questions.

[I MedusaX I]

1) Do any of you take multiple Benzodiazepines? For example, you are prescribed a long acting benzo such as Valium or Klonopin twice or three times a day and also take a fast acting benzo such as Klonopin Wafers, Xanax, or Ativan for when you have a panic attack? Even though, the long acting benzos should prevent the attack if you are taking 2 or 3 times a day.

The reason I am asking this is because I take Klonopin 1mg, twice a day, one when I wake up and another around 4 or 5. I had a panic attack even though I was taking the Klonopin. I took my first dose at 11:30 and had an attack around 3. I don't know what happened. I felt the symptoms of panic coming and the behavioral techniques didn't work (relaxation, breathing, etc) and I was wondering what would have happened if I had a wafer, xanax, or ativan to take.

2) Anyone on Geodon? How long do the sedating effects last? I mean, the sedation is so severe that I can barely move. I am on 60 mg twice a day. It is a nightmare when I wake up because I feel so hung over, to the point where I vomit sometimes. Along with that, at night time, if I take with Ambien, I am so sedated that I can't even move, even though I know I am still awake. It scares the crap out of me. Are anti-psychotics usually prescribed for Agoraphobia with Panic Disorder? At such a high dose?

3) Wellbutrin seems to help. What is considered a Theraputic dose? I am on 100 mg in the morning. It gives me a boost of energy for a few hours and I feel good. However, for some reason, the Wellbutrin seems to shorten the length of the Klonopin effects. Any thoughts?

4) What congnitive behavioral techniques worked best for you? (calming techniques used prior to a full blown panic attack).

Please help me. Thank You.

[rpewing]

1) From what I've read, Klonopin can cause paradoxical effects, especially when you're first getting started (of course, that's true for any of those that you mentioned, but I've read about it much more with the Klonopin).

2) I've never had my doctor suggest an anti-psychotic, nor do I think they are commonly used to treat agoraphobia or panic disorder. The point of those should be to sedate someone to the point where their psychosis doesn't hurt themselves or others; again, I'm not a doctor, but that sounds like overkill

3) I don't know anything about Wellbutrin at all

4) I've found that using breathing and meditation in the morning before I start my day for 10-15 minutes has been working well. Sometimes the relaxation techniques just don't work; if the chemicals are already in your system, you might be able to reduce the severity of the attack by using them, but not get rid of it.

Another things I've found useful is to stop being afraid of the attacks. In my case, most of my attack was due to my negative reaction to the panic, so it made it worse and worse. I know it sounds cliche, but really, what's the worst that can happen? When I got over my first debilitating bout of panic disorder / agoraphobia, the only way I got better was by ignoring the symptoms and letting them be.

Hope that helps somewhat

[rpewing]

As an addendum to #1, I would only take the wafers in emergency situations. As highly addictive as they are, they can make your problems worse in the long run.

I was on an extremely low dosage (0.125 mg) of Xanax, and I didn't notice it having much of an effect, which I guess shouldn't be surprising when I hear that most panic disorder patients suffering typically take a few milligrams a day. I've got some with me at all times in case of an emergency, but hopefully I'll never have to use it again.

[forwells]

I had a panic attack even though I was taking the Klonopin. I took my first dose at 11:30 and had an attack around 3. I don't know what happened. I felt the symptoms of panic coming and the behavioral techniques didn't work (relaxation, breathing, etc) and I was wondering what would have happened if I had a wafer, xanax, or ativan to take.

Hi I MedusaX I

Just wanted to give you some thing that may help you

The reason that the drugs didnt stop the panic attack is because your body is very powerful and will adjust to having the drugs in your system .

The reason that behavioral techniques didn't work and will never work to stop a attack is because it is to late then and all it is doing is making you focus on that attack . Let me guess , you start with a panic attack and then you start breathing and saying over and over in your mind , OH i hope this work oh i hope it goes away .

Now thats enough of the neg talk Anxiety is a symptom , it is a symptom your body has learned and a symptom that your body is highly stressed .
What you have to do is work on the big picture , stop trying to stop a panic attack , they are not the problem , the problem is your system is over stressed . You need to work on reducing this stress , These behavioral techniques are to be used everyday no matter what , they are not there as a magic tool to stop the panic , they are there to help your body to relax and settle. Once it relaxes and settles the panics will stop .

You must also learn to see your anxiety and work out the triggers of the panic and not feed it with panic , sometimes it is hard yes but if you can pick them you can then say to yourself , i know what you are and you are only a shot of aderinaline being shoot into my body and if i dont react to you then you will leave and i wont panic . Often these trigger ae just a thought or a feeling but the panic is bought on because of the way you react to them with fear .

Anxiety takes a while to fix but it is these behavioral techniques that you do everyday that will help your body relax and live a more quite life
cheers kev :)