Agoraphobia/Panic Disorder/GAD- Prescribed Ativan- Advice needed!

[Anxiouslyoptimistic]

Hi Everyone, I’ve been dealing with these illnesses for quite sometime. However, I stubbornly (and quite frankly too scared) refused medication for years. I lived a very small life for the last twenty years, avoiding people places and things that would trigger anxiety or where I felt I couldn’t escape if needed. I was never completely housebound but didn’t go much further than a few miles from where I live and I had MANY “rules” when I did. Well, hindsight is 20/20 and after all these years, I realize I was approaching my recovery all wrong. When things became too much and I realized I wanted more out of life, I decided to try Lexapro. One pill later and I had the most intense panic/anxiety I have ever experienced after taking medication. I didn’t continue the medication and was convinced I was on drugs for days. The anxiety was so intense it left me housebound for the last two months. I have slowly tried to expose myself little by little but the thoughts of that last attack will not let up. Every time I attempt to go outside, I can’t stand the racing thoughts for longer than maybe 10 minutes. My doctor prescribed me Ativan .5 mg to take as needed. I’m not worried about addiction at the moment, what I’d like to hear is others’ stories about how exactly it makes them feel? I don’t get your “typical” panic attacks.. or atleast I’m not really concerned with the physical aspects of what’s going on.. it’s more just the racing/jumbled “what if” scenarios that attack my mind and it’s EXTREMELY difficult to try and rationalize with them. I can’t focus on anything but the thoughts. I’m so turned inward, I can’t even carry a conversation. Will Ativan help with the thoughts? Will I still be able to function? I don’t want to feel high, I just want a little more clarity in my thought process. Kind of the way alcohol makes you feel after a few drinks. A little more relaxed and free to do what you want to without worrying about your thoughts. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Please no need for lectures about the addiction part, I’m aware of the risks.. and the goal right now is to take once in awhile and have it as a backup when I can get onto another SSRI. Thank you!!

[QueenVic1952]

I too have similiar issues and use medication to calm me down. Try it. It really helps you to be able to function better. I have to go to the doctors today and will be taking a pill to relax me for sure. Im still very apprehensive and look forward to the pill to chill me out.

[scansnap]

You might want to consider psychotherapy. There are specific techniques used to desensitize people who have phobias. Working with a therapist to overcome your phobia may be extremely helpful.

Also, most people who have agoraphobia say that the thing that frightens them the most is the fear of embarrassing themselves your front of others. They are so afraid of having a panic attack in front of other people that they end up inducing a panic attack.

[designguy]

It sounds like with your background history of panic/agoraphobia that your reaction from taking Lexapro was likely not from the medication but from your already stressful thinking about taking it, which is common with people with panic/anxiety. Lexapro takes 4 - 6 weeks to take effect so taking one or even a number of pills wouldn't be enough to make any noticeable difference. Your anxious thinking and your need for control causes you to hyperfocus on any body sensations and blow them up out of proportion and your anxious mind then starts catastrophizing and increasing your panic/anxiety.

I found that meds alone did not solve my anxiety issues and that I had to learn how to think differently about it and accept that part of me and change my relationship to it and be more accepting of myself. The reality is that anxiety is our body's builtin defense system but it is malfunctioning and you need to learn how to constructively deal with it and desensitize your body sensations and to not believe the anxious thoughts. Anxiety is also a paradox, the more you resist it or fight it the more it persists and the solution is to surrender to it and let it pass.

What helped me was the DARE Anxiety book and youtube videos, the book "At last a life and beyond" by Paul David and the youtube videos/website of Paige Pradko who is a therapist that healed herself and now helps others.

I did find that an antidepressant helped me and also Klonopin which is a benzo like Ativan which works very quickly. As an example of how distorted your anxiety thinking can make things is that I got all whacked out one time because they changed the color of the Klonopin pills. In reality they worked just the same but my anxious thinking at the time blew it up all out of proportion this was before I learned and changed how I thought about anxiety and my relationship with it.

There can be physical things that can cause or contribute to anxiety/panic so it's important to make sure your hormones, thyroid and adrenals are functioning properly because they impact our mood.

[Chi1504]

I am the same. I hate antidepressants but now I don't know what to do because I have an important event and I'm not going to feel happy how I should. I wish I had the nerve to take meds but I can't stand the side effects. I don't know what to do, sorry I'm not much help

[Worrier1960]

Ativan takes the edge off and makes things much more tolerable. Be sure to get the dosage right. The pills start at 0.5MG. Typical dosage is 2mg per day. I take much less than that.