Tony N.

Thanks everyone for your continued support. The trigger this time for me is/was financial and people who I thought were my friends stabbing me in the back. Friends who when ask for a yes vote, 3 times told me yes and then when the vote came, folded like a cheap suit and is causing a tremendous financial hardship. Friends I have known professionally for over 35 years. I know I will get thru this but am seeking a more perminent resolve for the PAs. As life goes on, there will be other forms of extreme stress that come my way and I want to be better equiped to handle them.

Tony N.

What SSRI were you on or are you still taking? I took lexapro for several years without any weight gain and had no PA but quit when I started having a reaction. That was about 3 years ago.

Brando_T.

Paxil initially, then then Effexor (which is actually a SNRI). when I went on them I found that my weight loss stopped and reversed, even when I tightened up diet and exercise.

Ursa Minor

i got panic attacks during my stressful divorce. One time it felt like I was having a heart attack went to the ER
they said it was tachycardia. Doctor put me on beta blockers (timolol). That ended the rapid heart beat but
I lived in fear of getting a panic attack for another 6 months (had one or two but much less severe).

katerine

I just want to offer support. Depression, anxiety and OCD run in my family and can make life very difficult. What has helped me are the changes in diet I made in an attempt to control my inflammatory arthritis, which surprisingly also seems to help prevent episodes of depression and panic. They can still happen, especially when I'm very stressed, they're just not as severe. Hard to figure these things out though, when you're already going through difficult times.

MVclyde

Not sure what else I can add except to say that I feel your pain. I deal with my panic attacks by recognizing that the attack is my body's natural response to stress and that it will subside eventually. The trick for me is dealing with the first 5 to 10 minutes. The initial panic is *really* hard to overcome. I seriously have to focus on telling myself that everything is ok. It's an internal battle against my body's "fight or flight" response. I always freak out, but once I get past that hump I'm good to go. I hope this helps......

StanSeven

I spent years with anxiety and panic attacks. After extensive therapy I found out the cause was childhood sexual abuse. In addition to medication if you need it, I strongly suggest seeing a psychologist.