panic attacks return

[337amys]

About 15 years ago I began having severe panic attacks which I started taking Zoloft and klonopin. I took it all that time and it worked, no more attacks. Well I had decided to wean myself off slowly over one and a half years and this month was completely off. I felt bad the first week then felt great the second week. Three days ago they are back just as bad as when they began 15 yrs ago. They start off by an awkward overwhelming feeling of fear then the physical symtoms start. Heart racing lasts even after 2 hrs after taking 0.5 mg klonopin. I started back on Zoloft yesterday taking 50mg. I hope it kicks in soon. Anyone else experience this?

[Ryker]

Hi,
Medication is just a stop-gap. Unless you tackle the anxiety with therapy as well this will happen unfortunately.

Drugs don't address the problem, only the symptoms.

Find a decent CBT practitioner or read the advices hereabouts on how to deal with the cause and process of anxiety.

Be well.

R.

[337amys]

Hi,
Medication is just a stop-gap. Unless you tackle the anxiety with therapy as well this will happen unfortunately.

Drugs don't address the problem, only the symptoms.

Find a decent CBT practitioner or read the advices hereabouts on how to deal with the cause and process of anxiety.

Be well.

R.

Ryker
I have been seeing a psychologist for some time. I am using some meditation and the GSR biofeedback. I weaned myself off the medication for a year and a half and was a little tougn then felt real good for one week before the panic attacks started as bad as it did 15 years ago. The symptoms are really tougn to handle without meds for me. I start feeling some scared feelings like when you were a child and lost then the physical symptoms start. I am open to hearing if anyone else gets these initial feelings before the physical symptoms begin. Should I be doing more extensive therapy than just the GSR biofeedback and meditation?
Thanks!

[Ryker]

That's good.

I think we have to keep at it all our lives to be honest - I know I do.

Meditation and relaxation are the start but I don't think you can beat going the whole way and getting to the point where you're deliberately edging into a panic situation and then relaxing through it. Yes - I feel that 'buzz' that starts at the beginning of an anxiety attack, I get noise in my head, a feeling of vulnerability and fear. If I don't recognise that in time I become conscious of me blowing - my breathing goes to pot, and if I'm not acting on it consciously by then I'd be getting close to a full attack with crippling pains in my arms and legs, heart rate and breathing out of whack and vertigo like symptoms while being unable to register much visually of what's around me.

We should be working to a point where we're happy to put ourselves directly into the path of that panic situation and then use all those skills and learned knowledge of anxiety to understand the signs and symptoms and allow it to pass us by. When you can do that and not really care much if happens or not , there's so much confidence that comes from it. When you can do that you're as fixed as can be.

Adrenalin junkies would give their right arms for what we've got. With practice we really can surf this thing and enjoy it too.

[JustaGal]

About 15 years ago I began having severe panic attacks which I started taking Zoloft and klonopin. I took it all that time and it worked, no more attacks. Well I had decided to wean myself off slowly over one and a half years and this month was completely off. I felt bad the first week then felt great the second week. Three days ago they are back just as bad as when they began 15 yrs ago. They start off by an awkward overwhelming feeling of fear then the physical symtoms start. Heart racing lasts even after 2 hrs after taking 0.5 mg klonopin. I started back on Zoloft yesterday taking 50mg. I hope it kicks in soon. Anyone else experience this?

Yes, I had the same experience coming off my SSRI. I had intense fear as well. Very bizarre feelings. I was highly agitated and could not relax. Went back on SSRI, felt some what better after 5 weeks. A few months later I am much better than I was. I think I am a lifer with SSRI's. Maybe meds to not cure the problem, but some relief to be able to function and think logically makes me able to do the work of getting to the root of the issue.

[Fourteen14]

About 15 years ago I began having severe panic attacks which I started taking Zoloft and klonopin. I took it all that time and it worked, no more attacks. Well I had decided to wean myself off slowly over one and a half years and this month was completely off. I felt bad the first week then felt great the second week. Three days ago they are back just as bad as when they began 15 yrs ago. They start off by an awkward overwhelming feeling of fear then the physical symtoms start. Heart racing lasts even after 2 hrs after taking 0.5 mg klonopin. I started back on Zoloft yesterday taking 50mg. I hope it kicks in soon. Anyone else experience this?

People can often develop heightened symptoms of anxiety or depression when they first start taking SSRI these usually subside after 6-12 weeks when the body adjusts.

The same thing can happen during withdrawal. Patients frequently mistake the withdrawal side effects for the return of their symptoms, when stability will normally return as the body readjusts.

Another cause can be psychological, for example the apprehension of withdrawing from medication can cause someone to scrutinise their feelings and physical symptoms starting the whole process off again.

50mg of Sertraline (Zoloft) would (in my opinion) have a very limited anxiolytic effect at that dosage.

My best advice would be to contact your doctor to discuss a way to manage the withdrawal and see if things improve over a few weeks, before going back onto long term medication.

Best wishes

[Mike Castillo]

About 15 years ago I began having severe panic attacks which I started taking Zoloft and klonopin. I took it all that time and it worked, no more attacks. Well I had decided to wean myself off slowly over one and a half years and this month was completely off. I felt bad the first week then felt great the second week. Three days ago they are back just as bad as when they began 15 yrs ago. They start off by an awkward overwhelming feeling of fear then the physical symtoms start. Heart racing lasts even after 2 hrs after taking 0.5 mg klonopin. I started back on Zoloft yesterday taking 50mg. I hope it kicks in soon. Anyone else experience this?

HI,

was wondering what was the main reason for coming off the meds? was it to be med free? were you at the point that you felt they weren't needed anymore? or were they no helping you any longer?

[PanicCured]

About 15 years ago I began having severe panic attacks which I started taking Zoloft and klonopin. I took it all that time and it worked, no more attacks. Well I had decided to wean myself off slowly over one and a half years and this month was completely off. I felt bad the first week then felt great the second week. Three days ago they are back just as bad as when they began 15 yrs ago. They start off by an awkward overwhelming feeling of fear then the physical symtoms start. Heart racing lasts even after 2 hrs after taking 0.5 mg klonopin. I started back on Zoloft yesterday taking 50mg. I hope it kicks in soon. Anyone else experience this?

I was addicted to Klonopins so maybe I can offer some good advice for you. I took Zoloft too but not long enough to suffer withdrawal. I found the taper needs to be extremely slow for Benzos.

This is why you do not do cold turkey or cut too quickly because you just feel so awful you get right back to where you started. Of course you aren't supposed to get off meds without your doctor's consent, but I think a taper may need to be slower than the doc recommends.

Please pay attention carefully: What I did, after gathering info from many sources, was get a knife. Take your regular dose that you have been doing for a while or get it down to a dose smaller than your dose, but not enough to cause withdrawal. It depends. Cut a tiny amount. Then take that exact amount for 2 weeks. You get stabilized this way. Cut a tiny amount of that and do that for 2 weeks. Then cut a tiny amount again and take that for 2 weeks. I read somewhere that 2 weeks was a good enough time to stabilize the brain chemistry. This way your brain is somewhat stabilized limiting withdrawal symptoms. You still will get them and you will get rebound anxiety, but you will get it less than doing a fast taper. When I got to about 1/16 of a mg of Klonopins I jumped. I probably took the 1/16 for 2 weeks than jumped. I believe it was 1/16 but it was a while ago.

I know this may not be what you want to hear, but doctors sometime taper you too quickly. During this time, do all the necessary steps to ease anxiety and to heal your anxiety naturally, such as those I mentioned above in my Techniques thread. Also I used the Benzobuddies website. But just know that some of the people on that site are hard core addicts, so put it into perspective.

[337amys]

Yes, I had the same experience coming off my SSRI. I had intense fear as well. Very bizarre feelings. I was highly agitated and could not relax. Went back on SSRI, felt some what better after 5 weeks. A few months later I am much better than I was. I think I am a lifer with SSRI's. Maybe meds to not cure the problem, but some relief to be able to function and think logically makes me able to do the work of getting to the root of the issue.

Thanks for your response. Did you also have some agoraphobia with it. For me when I am feeling this way I do not want to go anywhere.

[337amys]

My psychologist thought since I was taking the medication for so long that he thought I should try some biofeedback and meditation because he said long term use of Zoloft can cause some dementia. I felt brave at the time and I was originally up to 200 mg of Zoloft. I took one and a half years to wean off. The first two weeks I wasn't agitated just felt tired. Then one week I felt great. Strange isn't it. Then three days ago it came back full throttle.