Hello all, looking for a safe haven..

[Pxthology]

Hello,

I was diagnosed with panic disorder a couple of months ago. My psychiatrist started me off on zoloft 100mg and clonazepam .5 3x daily. This was not working, so he upped my zoloft to 200mg (the highest he was willing to go) and this also had little success. I was having panic attacks less frequently, but they are giving me the results that I and my doctor want.

He has now switched me to Venlafaxine Hydrochloride 75mg, and I am slowly switching from zoloft to that. I am taking 100mg zoloft/75mg Venlafaxine HCL my first week, then 150mg Venlafaxine HCL/50mg zoloft the next week, then 225mg Venlafaxine HCL/0mg zoloft.

I have stopped taking the clonazepam as of yesterday because it made me dizzy by mid-day and I forget periods of time. For example, Tuesday at work, I had to be sent home an hour early because I fell out of my chair. I went home that day (my boss drove me), I went to bed around 5pm. I didn't wake up until 3:30pm the next day. I don't remember the incident at work, nor do I remember yesterday at all either after waking up at 3:30pm.

I'm hoping so much that the Venlafaxine HCL will work for me. I have panic attacks almost daily.

When this all started, I had no idea it was panic attacks, let alone that I had panic disorder. I thought I had a heart condition. I went to my General Doctor because of this, and he had me go through all the heart stress tests, ultrasounds, the works. When everything came back clean, he decided it was most likely panic disorder and explained the symptoms to me, and that was me to a T.

Now the battle is to get me working right and finding the right medication to be on. This is beginning to be a lot to handle.

Anyway, that's my story. I just wanted to find somewhere to be able to express my thoughts, and I hope this is a place to do that.

Thank you for listening,
-Pxthology

[Kuma]

It is a lot to handle. But not more than you can handle. You are doing all the right stuff -- seeing docs, trying to get on the right meds, etc. The medication thing can involve some trial and error (since there's no one-size-fits-all solution). But once you get it right, you will feel better. Usually medication plus some therapy is very helpful. If you read some of the stories on this board, you will see a fair number of people who have fought the fight and done really well. I have had anxiety that pushed pretty hard. Had some really tough days. But I am stronger than it is, and one day at a time I am beating it. You can do the same.

[gypsylee]

Hi there and welcome