Posted by Mitch on May 12, 2001, at 11:27:03
In reply to Re: panic , posted by grapebubblegum on May 11, 2001, at 8:50:12
Grapebubblegum, that is very fascinating! I have bipolarII and social anxiety with predisposed panic attacks, but I also have had panic that seemed unexpected as well (usually during depressive episodes). Or I begun to worry a LOT (GAD like symptoms) and it snowballs into a panic attack. It took me four times to get a college degree, the last run took four years, and some classes would provoke *daily* panic attacks. This despite being on Prozac. It just made them more endurable I guess. I would sit in a class and whoosh! there it goes flushing, racing heartbeat, unreality feelings, the whole nine yards, what was worse is that it would *repeat* after a few minutes, AGGH! Finals were such a relief! For what its worth my mother had nighttime grand mal seizures and daytime panic symptoms.
I sure hope you get some relief, because the panic stuff is THE WORST case situation that I am ever in, I would trade it for a deep depression any day!!!
> Thank you Mila, that really did help. I think I can truly say that I've exhausted the resources I could get out of behavioral or whatever non-pharmaceutical therapies there are for control of panic disorder. Thankfully, my attacks are sporadic, they seem unexpected, but there have to be predisposing situational factors for them to occur. I have recently gotten more of an understanding about those factors that crop up during the day when previously I didn't realize the groundwork was being laid for a disabling panic attack. First and foremost, my geographical location (away from the "home base" of the city I grew up in) is the biggest risk factor, and soon I will be moving back to that city, so the attacks shouldn't continue. For now, though, I have no choice but to remain where I am. I'm not in prison or anything (I keep reminding myself that) but for family reasons I can't live where I want right now.
>
> I guess I was asking a philosophical kind of question rather than looking for solutions. I'm trying to put the puzzle pieces together. My father was definitely bi-polar and when I asked him if he had suffered from panic attacks he said "no." When I described them, he changed his answer. He had obviously just never been given the terminology (remember, only a few decades ago there was not much of a name for these episodes and I truly thought I was the only one in the world with such a condition). Since my son has now received the diagnosis of bi-polar disorder, I'm wondering if my doctor has perhaps been on the wrong trail in terms of diagnosis and helpful medication. Is anyone suffering from bipolar disorder or panic disorder or both, able to relate to my experiences?
poster:Mitch
thread:61609
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010507/msgs/62616.html