Anxiety and Panic Attacks

My first panic attack was when I was om 3rd grade and I remember most of it. I didnt realize what it was until I was in my 50's.I am in my 70" and have wto say that most of my life has been filled with depression and the Panic attacks. People and my relatives dont have any idea. I am just tired of it, it has cost me loss of some family members.

Yes it is amazing how your anxiety ataacks can make you loose contact with family and best friends. I lost contact with my daughter who did not believe it was genuine - now she is a councelling psychologist and personally suffered from ME - so that was tough for me to understand but I see it with former friends - they run away

My doctor is a Mayo Clinic trained neurologist and considered as one of the best in Thailand where I live. He is of course fully aware of the addiction challenge but he is very calm about it as he controls the prescription linked to our consultations - I am 67 years old and his view is simple “ Ativan will be my emergency medication the rest of my life “ only to be taken “as needed”. Not every day but maybe sometimes several days in a row and then many days off - not every doctor would endorse this I know but I also know he is extremely well educated - and know what is right for each patient - he has helped a friend with Alzheimer’s get a much better life in stage 7 with medication that is both traditional (patches) and unusual - she is 90 years old and in one year of treatment has recovered a flicker of memory - really amazing. The problem with Ativan is the stigma of opioid addiction but a clever doctor who knows his patients will not shy away from improving their life as my doctor did - taking me off Zoloft in a daily basis and giving me the trust in using Ativan “ as needed” changed my life for the better / I am in charge

But but but yes this is not something I advocate for others - I was just so lucky to meet a highly trained neurologist who listened to me and responded with treatment

My husband used to run away from me, and I couldn't understand how someone who claimed to love me so much couldn't understand. We both understand better now and it certainly helps.

Lisa always drags me into these discussions; just kidding, I enjoy sharing and if it helps, that is great. I have taken zoloft for probably 20 years, but my new Psych has suggested it is likely just a security blanket now as people generally develop a tolerance beyond it's benefit within 2-3 years. She may be right but is taking a one med at a time approach. I take opiates for severe pancreatic pain and they have made my anxiety and depression much worse over the last dozen years and as a result, I need a cocktail of different meds to make my brain comfortable inside my head. I am on a new med (Nuvigil) that is used off label for depression, low mood, and a lack of motivation and energy. I had a cheek swab done by the Psych last week and when she gets results for my DNA, she will have a guide for meds that may be of more benefit to me and those that are unlikely to help. That will be when we replace zoloft with another med. She transitioned me from klonopin (clonazepam) to ativan and I have been tapering down on the ativan - much easier to withdraw from than klonopin because the half-life is much shorter. I will eventually get to where some of you are with ativan and only take when needed. I will return in about five weeks when I have met with the doc and reviewed the DNA, markers, and potential helpful meds and report on what I have learned. I am pretty excited about turning it into a science based decision as opposed to trial and error.
Sorry for my verbosity, Gary (Gman007).

It sounds to me that you have a journey and a target - please keep going - at least that's what helped me. Best wishes from michael in bangkok

I read this in the NORML Newsletter today and thought some here may benefit from the information. Gail, Volunteer Mentor

Patients Replace Opioids With Cannabis
Thursday, 07 June 2018

Chronic Pain Patients Replace Opioids With Cannabis
Cleveland, OH: More than two-thirds of chronic pain patients registered to legally access medical cannabis products substitute marijuana for prescription opioids, according to data published in The Journal of Headache and Pain.

Investigators from the United States and Canada assessed the use of medical cannabis and prescription drugs in a cohort of over 2,000 Canadian patients licensed to access marijuana products. Among those patients with a primary diagnosis of chronic pain, 73 percent reported substituting cannabis in place of opioids. Among those patients diagnosed specifically with headache/migraine, cannabis was frequently reported as a substitute for other medications - including opiates (43 percent), anti-depressants (39 percent), NSAIDS (21 percent), triptans (8 percent), and anti-convulsants (8 percent).

"Most patients in the pain groups reported replacing prescription medications with medicinal cannabis, the most common of which were opiates/opioids across all patient groups," authors concluded. "This is notable given the well-described 'opioid-sparing effect' of cannabinoids and growing abundance of literature suggesting that cannabis may help in weaning from these medications and perhaps providing a means of combating the opioid epidemic."

For more information, contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "Patterns of medicinal cannabis use, strain analysis, and substitution effect among patients with migraine, headache, arthritis, and chronic pain in a medicinal cannabis cohort," appears in The Journal of Headache and Pain. NORML's fact-sheet highlighting the relevant, peer-reviewed research specific to the relationship between cannabis and opioids is available online.

@mbabkk Your doctor sounds excellent and I believe he is doing what the best thing possible for you.

Is Ativan an opioid? I have an appointment with my PCP at the end of the month and if it is an opioid I doubt he will give me my "yearly" prescription for 20 5mg pills.
JK

What a great concept. I never heard it phrased that way before. I too was taught how to manage panic attacks. It’s interesting to me that there are so many effective ways to do this. I use a visual story that I am sitting in front of a fireplace and use it to warm my hands and feet. I can cut off a panic attack quickly this way. But as you say, it helps tremendously to know that a panic attack is not dangerous.