Panic attacks

[July]

Does anyone experience high anxiety or panic attacks? If so, what are your symptoms, and what do you do for treatment? What is a good starting place for treating this? Does anyone have an irrational fear that you will lose control of your bladder?:(

[Mel53H]

I have had panic/anxiety attacks in the past. I would hyperventilate, my heart would race and sometimes I would have chest pain. I take Paxil for it and it seems to be helping. I also have learned relaxation techniques and breathing exercises to help calm me down.

Take care.

[vm]

I have generalized anxiety disorder and have been on Lexapro for 3 years to treat that and chronic low grade depression. It has helped immensely with my worrying and depression. A nice unexpected side effect was that it helped my bladder as well!

[Trishann]

I have had anxiety attacks. Due to mostly not knowing if my bladder will be acting up. If I am going somewhere and my bladder gets very uncomfortable, that is a trigger point for a rise in anxiety attack.

To keep anxiety level down, I do try to plan ahead if I am going on a trip.
I locate all the rest areas and stay at a hotel if the trip is longer than two-three hours.

We were invited to go to our Pastor's house for a party but I did not go. I knew there were be alot of people and was afraid the restoom would be block by people who would be talking. How uncomfortable that would be for me.

That is how I keep my anxiety level down, but sometimes I don't think that is such a good plan.

[ICNDonna]

Have you discussed this with your doctor? If not, I suggest you make an appointment and do so. There is help available for you.

Sending encouraging hugs,
Donna

[Trishann]

Donna,

My doctor knows about it. I had two surgeries (back to back) which had nothing to do about the bladder. I had a hernia disc repaired and gallbladder removed, after that I broke down. My doctor gave me some pills for it, but no matter what he gave me, I got so sick, even on a low dose.

My urologist said the only option I have about my bladder is surgery. I am afraid to have surgery, simply because of what happen last time when I had surgery.

I am so sensitive to medicine, I don't know what to do. That is why I try to stay away from things that will cause anxiety attacks.

Thank you Donna

[steelerfan]

I also suffer from anxiety. It tends to be worse when my bladder is flaring. I am trying to learn how to relax. I also am super sensitive to medicine, it's hard for me to find one that I don't have a side effect from. When I am having an anxiety attack my heart will start racing, I feel like I can't get enough air, I sometimes start to shake, I get feel like I am hot all over, sometimes I get a pins and needles feeling in my legs, and I get real nervous. I did talk to a therapist for a while for my anxiety, and it seemed to help for quite a while, but the anxiety always comes back.

[Mrs. Burschman]

Hi July,

Yeah, I've been anxious my whole life. I've tried a bunch of drugs, but the thing that has helped me the most is Lyrica, which is an anticonvulsant. It sounds weird, but anxiety can be a lot like epilepsy, as in too much activity in the brain.

The annoying thing about anxiety is that it is a lot like IC in this sense: There's not one drug or therapy that helps everyone. So if you decide to try medication for it, you have to be patient. Which isn't easy!

Amy (Mrs. B) :bunny:

[kadi]

I've had anxiety issues all my life. I've been on several antidepressants, but the last two I tried had very negative effects on me. I got IC the second day (and the last day!) I took Wellbutrin. I tried Effexor after that, but it made me so dizzy and nauseated, my parents who were visiting that day thought I was drunk. Very embarrassing.

I've become so unusually medication-sensitive & develop allergies so easily, I really have to be desperate to take anything now.

I do take Elavil for my IC, though the doctors have said my dose (20mg) is too low to help with anxiety, I'm not sure of that, because I don't have as many problems with anxiety as I used to. But then, it could be that I've really changed my lifestyle too.

One thing that really helped me was the Attacking Anxiety and Depression program by the Midwest Center. It's an audiocassette & workbook program of cognitive therapy to change how you think about things & reduce your anxiety that way. I found it very helpful & well worth the money. You can find it online if you're interested. I don't work for them, so this is not a commercial. Just one person to another.

Also, just keeping my stress level down & my schedule at about half what I think I "should be doing" helps. Also making sure I schedule fun & rewards, along with responsibility. If you're still drinking caffeine, you'll want to cut that out. Your bladder & your anxiety will thank you.

Wishing you better days soon-

[Sarojini]

I am very anxious as well, and have had panic attacks. I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder type II and generalized anxiety disorder; the medications I take are Lamictal (an anticonvulsant shown to help bipolar) and Klonopin (a drug similar to Valium) as needed, say, during a panic attack. I also take Lyrica for bladder pain. This combo seems to help me.

I do believe you should discuss your problems with your doctor again -- there has to be something you can do. Seeing a therapist to learn relaxation techniques is a great start :)

[vm]

Kadi - I think my low dose of Elavil helped me a little bit, too. Also the Vistaril I take. I'm like you - I know they say it's too low a dose, but I did see a tiny difference.

[vm]

Oh, and one thing I just read about Wellbutrin (when I was hoping to switch to that b/c of the low incidence of weight gain) is that it CAUSES anxiety in some patients, whereas Lexapro is actually approved to treat generalized anxiety disorder.

[glenda]

I have had anxiety issues all of my life. I don't worry about losing control of my bladder, though. I am more like steelerfan in that i can feel my anxiety level rising when my bladder starts to flare, or when i think it feels like it might. when that happens I also begin feeling very depressed. when one thing starts to feel bad, my whole self follows. its like falling into a pit of solitude. I fear feeling that way, so I will feel the anxiety rise.

[July]

Thanks everyone for some useful suggestions! I made an appt. to see my dr. for Friday. It is so frustrating to feel that anxiety rising and feel like you cannot control it. It is hard to move forward with the day when a panic attack strikes. I have also found that I have difficulty in my throat during panic attacks, which I have read happens alot. It is like my throat is closing or shutting. I assume it goes along with the tightness of breath. This is a new dr. I'm going to see. I hope it turns out well. I'm afraid of meds hurting my bladder. Do any of you have talk therapy also in conjunction with the meds? Any natural products help with anxiety?

[Lady Tamara]

Hey July :)

I also suffer from anxiety, panic attacks and depression, struggled with anxiety since i was a kid (im now 24). i got help with a psychologist which really helped me and also I am on Cipramil which has also helped me a lot. That nagging feeling needing to pee all the time does not help with anxiety and the pain that comes with my IC and VV does not at all help with depression either..it can be all interconnected i feel.
Good luck, I hope this all helps!

love tam :)

[kbdbforever]

I have had anxiety attacks three times in my life, the first time was over job stress and xanax helped that, the second time was when I had lasik surgery on my eyes, which took a long time to heal as my vision was so bad (1 year) and that caused BAD anxiety/panic, so xanax again, then when the eyes got better, the xanax wasn't needed. And the third time is now, as soon as this bladder thing started, the anxiety started. My doc gave me xanax again, as it has worked very well in the past, I know if I can get my symptoms under control, I can again get off the xanax, but as for now, it is really helping. They have tried anti-depressants in the past, and Lexapro actually in conjunction with Xanax worked. The xanax was discontinued first (you have to wean yourself off) but the lexapro finally had too many side effects to deal with, so I weaned from that as well. Now I'm just taking the xanax, it takes the edge off and I feel better with it. A lot of docs don't like to prescribe it but I found a great psychiatrist that was not afraid of it and he told me I NEEDED it instead of all the antidepressants they were pushing, as my mind had to be able to forget the feeling of anxiety and then the body will relax, stopping the viscious circle.

[AmyMichelle]

I have survived years of depression and anxiety BEFORE this whole IC thing came to light. I am currently on Lexapro, and I do feel better than without. I was on a 20mg dose 2 years ago which left me almost emotionless but I went off for a year and am now on the 10mg, which doesn't make me feel like a stepford wife. I have been taking trazodone to help me sleep for about 2 years now, we tried that because I didn't want to get addicted to the narcotic sleep meds, like Ambien. I have read that tricyclic antidepressants can help with pain mgmt but I'm not sure trazodone is one of them, so I may ask to switch to something different. Anyway, a good place to start is with a regular family doc, I have had great results with DO's (Dr of Osteopathy), it seems like they try to treat the whole person and not just one part. A Uro or even a Gyno might not listen as well about mind and heart issues, they are trained to deal with issues below the belt. Good luck!!!