anxious the elephant

Just a random thought...is it a natural thing to become anxious and panicy during an attack...and do other asthmatics get given diazapam or midazolam to relax their Chest muscles??!!

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Yes its quite common to get anxious and panic when having attacks they can be

scary and depends on whos with you or where you are and the feeling of not being in control of

whats happening and how bad the attack is.

I know how my asthma is and know when i really need help .

My family and works know what to do and I have a hospital action plan so gives me a bit of control what to do and that makes me less panicky.

I havnt had relaxants for my asthma but im sure others have ,

love glynis xxx

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I used to get panicy when the 1st happend, but now i dont, and i only get worried now when doctors dont listen and i feel like im getting worse!

I got give midazolam in ITU wen my chest was extrely tight ane al asthma drugs wasnt workin, that was the last resort b4 intubation...got given it and had a nasty alergic reaction so de

feated object as airways became even tighter!

I get give diazapam now whilst in hosp when it gets to stage, wheeze long gone as chest so tight! And i also get take it to help me sleep now and then as al other drugs im on give me really bad insomnia!

If its not my asthma its my meds thats annoyin me! But hey ho!

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hi charlie

i have been given iv diazepam once a while back to help me relax and sleep - by anaesthetists?? then they came back as my breathing rate had dropped too low whilst i was asleep and they were concerned i was gonna stop breathing. hmm... i wonder why!

its normal to get anxious and scared during an attack for obv reasons! what i try and do is think happy thoughts and try to imagine myself ina happy place and wait for meds to work. wen i am in costa, i aint so anxious as i know i am in a safe place

though in my local costa, similar to wot your saying bout getting anxious wen docs not listening - there is one reg in particular that does not listen, i hate it wen i go + he is on shift - comments like 'oh its u again' and 'breathe deeper, your not even trying' dont go down well, just make me feel worse and more anxious! grrr.. so i hate it wen he on shift, luckily its a new rotation of docs this month

i get lil bit more anxious wen they say i aint doing too well + next step is itu :S but at least i know that is whats best for me to make me + good ole lungs 'fixed' for time being.

x x

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The nurses no me rather well now which is gd, and i have had several have ago at docs on my behalf telling them to get there act together!

Rotation of docs is gd, but as i have just noticed, because they dont no me, they didnt realy act quick enough and realised how quickly i go down hill...oops!

My asthmas gettin to the stage the cons cnt even control, and there lookin at giving me methotrexate! :-|

[Annista]

Charlie Warlie, my granddaughter is very fond of Anxious the Elephant, who she met on holiday last year - have we been to the same place, I wonder?

Personally I think you'd have to be nuts NOT to be anxious sometimes during an attack. Not being able to breathe can be terrifying and I am a great believer in being up front about it, saying that your condition makes you anxious and asking for a hand to hold on to. You know that you need to try not to hyperventilate but it's very hard to focus when you're anxious so get your hand holder to help you to regulate your breathing and you should find that concentrating on their voice helps the anxiety.

The other thing to do, if you can, before the anxiety really takes hold is to give it a rating, say 6 out of 10, and then in your mind go through the likely sequence of events - my breathing gets worse so what do I do? When I've done that, what do I do next? so that you are taking some control back - you've identified what is likely to happen and how you will respond to it so there are no 'what if's' left to escalate the anxiety. When you've done that, give your anxiety a new rating and with any luck you'll be able to downgrade it to a lower number. it takes practice but it can help a lot. You can't control your asthma and you might never get rid of the anxiety entirely but you might be able to make it easier to deal with.

Good luck

xx

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It just makes me feel realy silly specialy when it gets past the point of no return and u get so knackered to breath! My chest physician said, i no its hard but try, let the docs take control, if it gets realy bad they wil help, dnt worry and put trust in the docs! Great! Doc also said, get angry instead of worried, puts less stress on lungs!

I no previously when i said i get worried, they asume that, thats wat braught my attack on, and then i get frustrated!

[Annista]

It's back to finding a way to get the medical profession to actually listen to you instead of making assumptions.

Would you be able to keep a simple timetable of your symptoms - just a simple 3 column jobbie where you can note the time, the symptoms you are having and the presence or absence of anxiety. If you can show that the symptoms show up before the anxiety it might help.

xx

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I think im going to have to! Although it wont realy help in an emergency, only for routine!

My cons did tel the docs off (ITU) of al because they gave me that stron a sedative that, my RR, HR, BP. Al dropped as wel as already havin low sats! Good job im in HDU!

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hi, i suppose it must be for some people to get anxious during an attack but i actually go the complete opposite (although sick of people like the docs saying relax which naffs me off cos i am calm). i know that if i panic it would get worse so i try to concentrate on my breathing and hope the people around me know what to do x