Panic attacks and depression

@giacamosgirl58 Hello and welcome to Mayo Connect.

I appreciate your post and I am so sorry to hear of your debilitating panic attacks. How difficult for you! As you probably know, we at Connect, are not medical professionals, so all we can offer is our own experiences and encouragement and support. We do have many Members who have discussed panic attacks. I would encourage you to read the discussions that have taken place on this topic, follow this link, https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/anxiety-and-panic-attacks/?pg=2#comment-105777 as well as https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/long-term-depression-1/?pg=1#comment-103120. As you read these comments, perhaps you will gain some new insights.

As you have said in your post, " Anxiety is nothing new, but this has been debilitating," I was just wondering what you might have done in the past to help relieve the anxiety, panic and depression? Do you have an exercise program, like walking or yoga or Tai Chi? Do you have friends or family that you can talk with? Do you have a counselor or other support person who walks with you through this process? When anxiety and depression are present we need all the support we can get. As you know, there are no magic ways to relieve these feelings, it does require that we take some steps to help to feel better.

I look forward to hearing from you again.

Teresa

Hello Teresa, have you ever had panic attacks in dream form?

Hi Teresa. I’ve tried yoga, calming music, breathing techniques, etc. I used to talk to my mom but she has passed away and I’m newly divorced. Have been seeing a counselor. The new meds are helping some. I’m hoping once they are in my system that I’ll stop waking up each morning with my body tensed up. I realize this is all a temporary reaction to current life events and that I need to pull it together, but depression is making this very logical response difficult to initiate. Really needed to bounce all this off a person. I used to go bike riding and I did just get my bicycle serviced. Now I just need to make myself get on it and pedal. I’ve been off the Prozac for a week now. Hopefully the negative side effects are going to finish exiting my body soon. Amazes me how a medication that was SO effective in the past can turn into your worst enemy.

Hello @anne777

Actually, I have never had panic attacks myself. However, the dream problem could represent either nightmares or night terrors. Here is some information about night terrors, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sleep-terrors/symptoms-causes/syc-20353524 Does this sound like the kind of problem you are having? If you have this kind of sleep problem you might consider seeing a sleep specialist.

If you are comfortable sharing more information about this could you describe these sleep experiences and how long you have had them?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Teresa

@giacomosgirl58, Hi, I am Gary, another volunteer mentor, like Teresa. Welcome to Connect and I have experienced what you describe as far as waking up feeling like you are in the middle of a panic attack and I have read in a number of journals that we are, in fact, having a panic attack during sleep. There may be other things, as Teresa suggested, that are happening, but I believe mine are sleeping panic attacks. I try to take an ativan (same class as your klonopin) and lay down until the shaking/tremors go away. I do not work, so this approach may not be easy for you to take, but I can't imagine that you can actually function when this is happening. I pray the meds you are on will provide you even greater relief when they have reached their maximum effectiveness.
Best wishes, Gary

Gary, thank you for this. I do take a klonopin and pray it kicks in by 5:30 so I can get ready for work. I've missed quite a bit the last few weeks. I had started taking 20 mg of prozac about 5 weeks ago, and that is when everything really went belly-up. I've been off it for 8 days now and the side effects have started to subside. Since starting the Seroquel, I'm getting a few hours of sleep at night. Honestly, I think getting older is playing havoc with my system and the things that were once tried and true don't mix as well as they used to mix. Keeping my fingers crossed that my doctor and I have found a solution for all of this and that the anxiety starts to fade soon. It's been a long year and I'm ready for a break.

@giacamosgirl58 I am glad that you are being so proactive with relaxation techniques and bike riding. I am sorry to hear that you lost your mom. How long ago did she pass away?

You mention being "newly divorced." This can be difficult on anyone's emotions. I'm glad to hear that you are seeing a counselor, that is a very wise decision on your part.

I hope that you begin to adjust soon to the change in meds and that you begin to feel better.

Please stay in touch, I would enjoy hearing from you again and knowing how you are doing.

Teresa

@giacamosgirl58 I am sure you are ready for a break. Besides getting older, you have had a few major life events in a short period of time. I am having a cheek swab done for DNA when I see my Psch on Thursday and it is supposed to give her better info to get me on the psychoactive(s) that are most effective for me. I think most insurers cover the cost, so that may be something to try if you don't get the relief you need from what you are currently taking. I have found some relief for my anxiety in a book on mindfulness. It guides you through a lot of steps, but for me the most beneficial has been breathing concentration that allows me to see the thoughts in my mind as realistic or absurd and those that cause anxiety are usually absurd. When I am able to recognize this, I can redirect my thoughts to something more logical or happy.
Praying for your break, Gary

Thank for the information Gary. I did a DNA test some time ago but it did not help. My counseling person already knew as much as the test showed. Was the test you had done specific for a specific class of drugs? I was in a group for about three months, 2-3 times/week, and learnt a lot about how to cope with different feelings. I am on Sertraline and Mirtazapine. The Mirtazapine is the newer one and the one causing problems including terrible/realist dreams which could be panic attacks. I hoping to hear from my counselor today because I just cannot handle them anymore. I did not realize it was possible to have panic attacks in dreams. Take care, Anne

Thanks Teresa. I am taking Mirtazapine and one of it's side effects are VERY realistic dreams which have ended up with me feeling like I am loosing control of the situation in my dream. Then it was suggested by a friend I could be having panic attacks in my dreams but I had never heard of it. Hence my question. I have a call into my counseling person because I just cannot handle these dreams, along with another side effect. Anne