Does Anyone With Parkinson's Experience Panic Attacks?

[ParkinsonsDaughter]

Hello,

I'm trying to help my 91 year old mother who has Parkinson's. She was diagnosed about 4 years ago. She was taking Carbidopa Levidoopa and was doing pretty well but has developed very distressing Panic Attacks. She says she is hit with an overwhelming feeling to cry and feels terribly nervous and panicked.

We try natural things like breathing apps, lavender oil, exercise, Ashwaganda, Magnesium Calm. These things help a little but AFTER the fact. They got so bad she has to take Xanax. Thankfully it works but it take like an hour and again it's AFTER the fact so she has to go through all the distress. Also then it makes her tired and she falls asleep. She can have 1 or 2 attacks a day and this has really ruined her quality of life.

Has anyone here with Parkinsons experienced Anxiety and Depression? Has anyone taken medication for it? We don't want to give her more medication but we don't want her to suffer either.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR ANY ADVICE YOU MAY HAVE.

[ParkinsonsDaughter]

I should add that we also tried to give her an additional Carbidopa/Levidopa pill and that didn't help

[LagLag37 in reply to ParkinsonsDaughter]

I have found that sometimes "less is more". Try giving her a little less for a couple of days to see how she feels. I took Xanax for awhile and my neurologist advised not to take it anymore. She put me on lexapro instead. Lexapro is more evened out where Xanax is fast acting and doesn't last as long. You might talk to her doctor about it?? 🥊

[ParkinsonsDaughter in reply to LagLag37]

We did try half the dosage also and her walking worsened and the panic attacks stayed the same. THANK YOU so much for your suggestion about Lexapro. I will bring it up to her doctor.

[ParkinsonsDaughter in reply to LagLag37]

Hello, I talked to the neurologist today and he brought up Lexapro before I even asked for it. Can you tell me your experience with it? Does it take long to start working? Any tips? Thanks for your advice.🌸

[LagLag37 in reply to ParkinsonsDaughter]

Wow, what timing! I started taking it approximately 4-5 yrs ago because of some stress in my life. It took about 2-3 weeks or so to tell a difference, but it calmed me down. I'm taking 20 mg. The doctor started me out with a low dose and gradually increased the dosage. As far as I know, I haven't had any side effects with taking it. 🥊

[ParkinsonsDaughter in reply to LagLag37]

Thanks so much! Do you also take Carbidopa? I hope it works for her. It's heartbreaking to see her go through these episodes.

[LagLag37 in reply to ParkinsonsDaughter]

Yez, I take 5-6 carbidopa/levodopa/day. I'm 65 and diagnosed at 46. Still doing fairly well accept when having off time which is about an hour every 4 hrs. PD is different for everyone. It’s often called the snowflake disease. Exercise helps slow it. Your mom is lucky to have you. Don’t stress yourself out too much though. Take time for yourself . Ask any questions you want. 🥊

[ParkinsonsDaughter in reply to LagLag37]

Thanks for your advice and best of luck to you!

[Manypony]

I try various breathing patterns. I try to get my outbreath longer than my inbreath. It’s simple and amazingly effective

[Grumpy77]

Depends on what triggers the panic attacks, but for me open spaces, bigger version of things, a lot of fresh air, deep breathing and changing thought processing all helps

For me to understand your post better, I would like to know what you meant by "AFTER the fact" . You used it 2ce but don't know what it means

[ParkinsonsDaughter in reply to Grumpy77]

Hi, Thanks so much for your response. By "After the fact" I meant that the Xanax helps but by that time the damage is done. She's crying, her face turns red, she's in complete distress so I was hoping that maybe something would help avoid the situation in the first place. I do think it has to do with the Carbidopa Levidopa, but we've tried both MORE and LESS and still the same issue.

[Hidden in reply to ParkinsonsDaughter]

Yes! I do 2 things which have helped, but I would strongly recommend checking with a health care professional before trying them on a lady of 91. First is propranolol which I tried before I knew I had PD. It doesn’t help the tremor at all but it does help with the anxiety. The second, if it’s legal where you live (it probably is) is CBD oil delivered under the tongue with a pipette. It takes a few days to take effect. The recommended max dose is arbitrarily set at 70mg per day. I use more than that. I can find no good scientific data to show that this is either beneficial or harmful.

Sending very best wishes to you & your Mum.

[ParkinsonsDaughter in reply to Hidden]

Hi, Thanks so much for your reply! We tried CBD oil but when the panic attack starts---you're saying to take it daily like a supplement before anything even happens? We tried Sunsoil brand CBD.

[Hidden in reply to ParkinsonsDaughter]

For me the effect seems to be cumulative. If I abstain for a couple of days then a single dose won’t really do much. It takes me 2 days at 3 doses a day to start relaxing. That said I’m quite a big bloke.

I’ve formed the opinion that this stuff is harmless but the science seems inconclusive. I can only relay my personal anecdotal experience.

On a separate note I have found that when the anxious thoughts arise asking myself the question “I wonder what my next thought will be” can help to highlight the transitory nature of thoughts & restore some control.

Best wishes,

Steve.

[LAJ12345]

how do the panic attacks correlate with timing of the L/C? If they occur about 90 minutes- 2 hours after the dose has been taken it is at the peak blood plasma level which might mean it is too much for her. Is it worse at night?

my husband had extreme panic/ anxiety after each dose, worsening every dose until night he was beside himself. He takes clonazapam which is a benzo too as a regular dose, 0.5 mg tablet cut into quarters spread over the day. This keeps a level dose in the blood as it had a long half lif so after a few days it reaches a steadily state and takes the edge off the panic. He also came of the CR madopar and went back to the IR madopar and reduced the dose and that helped.

[Deforel_Ch]

You can also try Lihium Orotate (try searching that words on the blog).

[ParkinsonsDaughter in reply to Deforel_Ch]

Now Dr. recommended Lexapro so we will try that but I will but Lihium on my list. Thank you.

[Gymsack]

Panic attack? Do you mean that feeling like you are about to melt down like a wax candle.and and you imagine everything is about to go wrong and you cant breath and your heart is pounding fast and you are light headed and need to leave what ever room you are in and go outside. Usually in my case it was just a touch too soon to have taken the last dose of Levadopa or somehow I over dosed ,over lapped.