My life

[Onedayok]

Today I've panick and feel fearful and hopelessness. Worrying constantly is so tiring. Ocd hounding me again. Hope for a bit better day tomorrow.Hope everyone has a good weekend.

[cat3]

I see you've tried many different therapies m'love, but have you spoken with the Headway helpline ? Please call them on 0808 800 2244 during office hours. They've helped many folk here with support and advice.

Or you can email them at :- [e-mail]

For me, SSRi antidepressants put an end to crippling panic attacks, and helped massively with anxiety/depression. Once I'd managed the first few weeks of assimilation and begun to tolerate them, the meds gave me back quality of life.

Hope you'll find a way through this m'love.... Cat. x

[Mike442 in reply to cat3]

Hi Cat, do you mind if I asked which antidepressant - I’ve tried fluoxetine but I had a lot of side effects and didn’t feel any better

Thanks, Mike

[cat3 in reply to Mike442]

We're advised against recommending medications owing to the uniqueness of each individual's history and needs. And I can't recommend one particular SSRI as their compatibility with our brain chemistry is usually trial and error.

Some folk can respond well to the first antidepressant prescribed. For others, like myself, it can take several attempts at finding 'The one' which we tolerate without lasting side effects.

My trialing lasted many months. Although side effects of a new SSRI are common, they typically abate in around a month once the drug is assimilated. For me the side effects were incapacitating but I needed to persist for 4 to 6 weeks each time to be sure. The final one changed my whole outlook on life, and the terrifying panic attacks became a thing of the past.

But, regarding uniqueness, when my daughter needed help with depression, she couldn't tolerate my SSRI ; she later found an alternative (Citalopram) to which I'd been intolerant years earlier.

So it can be a trek. Fluoxetine caused long-term acid reflux for me ; the Citalopram made me permanently dizzy. Paroxetine, however, took only a week to assimilate, and has been my constant protector for over 25 years now.

Try keeping well hydrated, and walking out regularly if possible .......may sound trite, but it can really help. And stay in touch Mike..

All best wishes m'love, Cat x

[Insaneinthemembrain]

my heart went out to you immediately when I read this! It’s so awful to feel this way and I know exactly how you feel. The panic is terrible and once it sets in it seems to get worst.

Lots of people have suggested things to me but I’ve found audiobooks and small walk help.

Just try to take small chunks of your day at a time. Try to cope with little bits at a time so you don’t feel overwhelmed by everything.

It will get better.. sending big hugs xxx

[Mike442]

I’m currently seeing people about all sorts, general anxiety, panic disorder, OCD etc… the issue for me at the moment is figuring out if my injury caused these issues or if I was born with them. I’ve only just started to explore the possibility of lasting issues from my injury, and since it happened so long ago (17 years ago) and I had no rehabilitation, it’s hard to identify if the injury changed me in some way.

My injury is old, but I’m new to this. One thing I do know about is anxiety, panic, OCD, paranoia and worry, as I’ve been living with them for as long as I remember and unfortunately they’ve got worse over time.

I’d be interested to find out more about how these things affect you and make you feel, as there is one person I know who actually has OCD symptoms - most people say they’ve got OCD with a smile on their face, even though they don’t really, like it’s a joke

Is there anything specific that makes you panic? Does the panic come along with any physical symptoms? For example my worst physical symptom when I’m panicking is vasodilatation - which makes my face, neck, shoulders and chest go bright (a lot brighter than you’re probably imagining) - this really embarrasses me as I can’t hide it from others

What kind of things trigger your OCD? When it is triggered, what are you thinking? For example I worry that if I don’t check something a certain way or certain amount of times - harm may come to someone else because of my incompetence - this is making it harder for me to continue with my responsibilities as I’m in a duty manager