Panic attacks

[bludnut]

Since being trapped in our car after an accident on12/4/1984, I have suffered with these attacks.Over a number of years I have tried to overcome them without having to rely on medication.I have been given diazapam on numerous occasions which does take the attacks away, but they always return.These are random attacks, there isn't one particular thing that sets them off.Unfortunately when an attack starts,I have to get out of the house into fresh air.Over a number of years I have walked miles and miles just to try and calm down.The feelings start when I get a feeling that my tummy feels full and prevents me from getting a deep breath.This week I decided to see a GP to try and get it sorted. The result was that she prescribed Sertraline 50 mg tablets. However, she then told me that for two weeks I would feel unwell, possible be sick and generally feel down. When I read the info leaflet of the possible side effects, those effects were possibly worse that having the attacks. Has anyone any experience of taking Sertraline, and if they have, how have they coped with it? My Angina now restricts how far I can walk, I did however manage to walk about 800 yards the other night, but it took me ages to do that.

bludnut

[Happyrosie]

I’m sorry you are having these problems.

Your doctor is treating you as an individual and believes that, in your particular case and given what you tell him or her, that this medication is the best for you.

Other people here on this forum do not and cannot have the same medical history as you. Suppose one person said “sertraline was marvellous” and another said “sertraline made me worse” you would be no better off.

It’s possible that there is a forum within Health Unlocked that might be more suited to your needs than this one?

[Badger2024 in reply to Happyrosie]

No need to change to a more ‘suitable’ forum. You have angina so absolutely belong here. I think what HappyRosie meant to say was that Health Unlocked has many forums and perhaps you should join a second one to get advice and to talk about your experience with panic attacks. For sure there will be one for people who have a hard time managing anxiety

[Happyrosie in reply to Badger2024]

Thank you badge this is indeed what I meant. I sorry f it came over the wrong way.

[bludnut in reply to Badger2024]

Thanks Badger, I have replied to Rosie and I thank you both for your input.

bludnut

[bludnut in reply to Happyrosie]

Thanks Rosie, it was just hearing her say how it might affect me, and suddenly realising that this was another lifelong tablet to add to my batch that I would have to take. Because in my batch, there are medications that I have to take to offset problems with other medication. I wondered whether people on this fantastic site who also Angina, had also used sertraline and how, if at all it had affected them.

bludnut

[scentedgardener]

First I have to say what a terrible experience you have had, and I can understand the ongoing panic attacks.I have no personal experience of Sertraline, although I have 3 close family members who take it without problems. I have taken a medication from the same "family" of medication without any issues, in fact I found it very beneficial without side effects.

When we're given a new medication we never know quite what to expect, but at least you have the option of stopping it if the side effects outweigh the benefits.

Good luck.

[bludnut in reply to scentedgardener]

Thanks for this, and perhaps I maybe jumping the gun a bit. I have only just started taking the half tablet which will take me two weeks,I then go to a full dose and maybe by then I will have a better understanding of how it affects me. I will wait a couple of weeks or so and then I will be able to say how I am coping.

bludnut

[scentedgardener in reply to bludnut]

For what it's worth I think you're doing everything right., starting slowly and gradually building up.I don't think you jumped the gun at all, you had concerns and reached out for advice/reassurance. Nobody can tell you how you will react but it's comforting to find out that others have had a positive experience. Far more sensible than sitting looking at the packet thinking "Shall I? Shan't I?"

I loathe and detest starting new meds so I really understand where you're coming from. Fingers crossed you find it helpful.

[Badger2024]

I just put sertraline in the health unlocked search bar above and it came up with nearly 3000 public posts about it from people in lots of different HU communities. Maybe have a read of the popular posts. You can find those by clicking popular above the results

[bludnut in reply to Badger2024]

Thanks I might just do that.

bludnut

[Warm-heart]

Hi, I am sorry to hear this on top of your heart issue , very hard to deal with. If sertraline is not working for you I would ask GP if can come off it (winding down slowly) and maybe try something else like Citalopram or preferably Escitalopram is better (much less side effects). I used to work as a psychotherapist, and EMDR therapy is brilliant for panic attack resolution, so if you can I suggest maybe find an EMDR therapist on the online Counselling Directory (EMDR specifically can be put in search bar). It is quick, so you end up paying less! Difficult to get on the NHS unfortunately.

[bludnut in reply to Warm-heart]

Thank you for your advice. As a result of another accident, when as a back seat passenger behind the driver,we were hit by a small lorry whose driver had dropped to sleep. The lorry came past me and then hit the car. That had the effect of making me nervous when I was driving and being overtaken.As a result of this I was under the care of our local Mental Health Team. Gradually after following their guidlines the problem was solved.

bludnut

[fishonabike in reply to bludnut]

i was also going to suggest EMDR - i am a member of another heart-related group where members have tried this with good effect

it is particularly helpful for post truamatic shock, which can cause panic attacks - if suppport from your mental health team was helpful in the past it may be that you need a little more help with this remaining issue

[VickyHK72]

I take sertraline and it has helped me enormously. I had terrible health anxiety due to being diagnosed with CHD (which killed my dad when he was 57) at 48. I was so low I couldn’t get out of bed because I was certain I’d have a heart attack and die. I had awful circular thoughts and night time was terrible as I was so terrified and couldn’t sleep. It took a few weeks before the sertraline helped and I did have a few side effects (I felt nauseous after eating, had a kind of constant mild headache) but I switched to taking the sertraline at bed time which solved the nausea problem and the headache went after a few weeks and I felt fine again. It really helped me with my mental health and I felt much more in an even keel and I find I get much less irritable as well which is a bonus!

I think the doctor is giving you the worst case scenario but I found the side effects very manageable and mild and the benefit of the medication definitely outweighed the downside. I still take sertraline now.

[Warm-heart]

Thank you for explaining this. Panic attacks are often not easy to trace to the original event, as time goes by they attach themselves to many different triggers whilst the original event remains a mystery. It can be hard to be the detective on them and, as you say, when the original event seemed to get resolved they return. Your body is getting alarmed by something, it is an automatic 'fight or flight' part of the nervous system that gets set off. Then a cycle of shallow breathing reinforces the breathless feeling etc. If related to your stomach feeling full, then there will be something related to that that needs attention, but like 'Chinese whispers' has got so far from the original situation we can't understand it easily. You can also see it as your body and mind saying 'Hey there, there is something we need to attend to here on an emotional level, and you'll feel a lot better/ have more energy when you look at this'. I definately recommend looking into EMDR - it gets to the root of things and resolves the brain triggers. Hoping some of this makes sense!

[bludnut in reply to Warm-heart]

Thanks for your help. I have just finished writing a story of my life, from 0-82. I spent 34 years working as a miner, during which I escaped death numerous times. I was shot by a flying lump of stone as big as tennis ball,I was buried by a 20 yard x 2ft thick lump of falling coal, hit by a flying large chain which damaged my knees and broke a toe, almost electricuted when a 2200 v cable blew up in my face causing a fire, and along with others, blown of our feet when a 250 yard x 60 yard x 4 ft thick slab of stone colapsed on a coal face. The force of that blast reached the surface about 1.5 miles away. This caused senior Board officials to rush to the mine thinking that there had been an explosion. We were asked how many had died when we reached the surface. On top of those,I have also cheated death in road accidents, when riding a bike, and getting our car written off and being trapped in it.I have no idea if all of those experiences have contributed to the panic attacks, but by writing and editting the story, I have thought how lucky I have been to have survived them all. I am now half way through the first week of taking the sertraline, and up to yet have suffered none of the symptons that my GP told me about,except that the full tummy feeling has gone. So can I say a huge THANK YOU to all of you for your advice and kind thoughts, and I hope that all of the other sufferes on this very helpful site get the help and advice that I have had. Thank you,

bludnut

[Warm-heart in reply to bludnut]

Hi again, how wonderful to hear that you are writing your life story, now written, and for what you share here I am humbled and thankful. Strangely enough, I was just thinking this morning about suggesting to you to write your life story, as this can indeed be healing for any pandora's box of emotions from past traumas. And you certainly have many traumas in days gone by (a situation where we escape or witness a death is often used to describe 'trauma')... the important thing being to share the experience with others and have support in connection is healing. But the body/ brain does store old 'undigested' things and emotions (interestingly you felt a 'full tummy' sensation...our bodies do 'speak'), and sounds like your body/ brain has been triggered lately into the automatic 'fight/flight' that occurs when the body feels under threat. It is automatic, and a survival response in the primitive part of our brain which resides at the back of our head. At the front, our frontal cortex thinking brain can help resolve things, especially if in your story writing you can really feel 'I survived, I am safe now' and find meaning through what happened. Will you be printing your book/ story? - I would like to read it if you do...🙂

[Jules2021]

Hi

Sometimes reading the side effects leaflet isnt a great idea. I took sertraline for a while and the only side effect I had was a bit of a headache and an extreme thirst for about 2 weeks. After that it settled down very quickly and really helped with the anxiety.

Hope you get sorted. Jules