Thats nuts. Is it the same every time? He told me to take benidryl (sp) if it happened again..

LIke its crazy, generally brought on by a lot of stress at work, like I have a high stress job and if its a time where stress is higher like it was at the begining of the month and couple that with the girl situation I had and it was really bad. I was having like 2 or 3 a day, happening most of the time while driving, my heart would get out of control beating hard and I could ever catch my breath. It sucked pretty bad.

Thats nuts. Is it the same every time? He told me to take benidryl (sp) if it happened again..

 

A Bendaryl? I find that kinda funny... he's telling you to take an antihistamine which is generally for allergies. But the real reason he is telling you to take it us because the main side effect of Benadryl is it knocks you out....must be his way of staying away from an RX more importantly a narcotic.

Yeah, he told me to take it to knock me out.. I'd much rather be sleeping than panicing.

A Bendaryl? I find that kinda funny... he's telling you to take an antihistamine which is generally for allergies. But the real reason he is telling you to take it us because the main side effect of Benadryl is it knocks you out....must be his way of staying away from an RX more importantly a narcotic.

 

Thats it, Tylenol PM works as well (has the same ingrediant as Benedryl). The meds usually used to stop a panic attack do the same thing: Valium, Xanax, Lorazapam, etc. But these can be addictive.

 

I have had a few panic attacks, they did not start till this year, if you are not sleeping you can usually sense one coming on. If so prior to taking medicine try to get it under control by taking slow deep breaths. Try to breath with your stomach. Lay on your back and put one had on your belly and concentrate on makng your hand rise and fall with each breath. Most of the time you can stop a panic attack before it starts with this method.

 

Some days, I will feel anxioius for most of the day, and if so I will usually take a Tylenol PM after supper, it always helps alot. I have some Valuim but I avoid taking it as much as possible. Anymore, I seldom need any medicaiton. If this continues your doctor may suggest trying an anti-depressant (also used to treat anexiety). probably an SSRI such as Lexapro, Zolof, etc. Some people need these, but I would suggest doing this as a last resort. Some doctors such as mine however are quick to prescribe. These types of drugs usually have pretty severe side effects. They are very difficult to strat taking and even worse to get off of as most have significant withdrawl effects. They work because you won't feel anxious, in fact you might feel like a zombie and not care about anything.

 

My most recent panic attack made me think I was dying. I had to go to the ER and get an IV of meds to get me out of it. The worst part is that once you have on, you tend to worry that it will happen again and it is always in the back of your mind.

 

When you are having a panic attack you are hyperventalating and don't even realize it. That is why the breathing exercises are important. Practice breathing this way prior to having a panic attack at it will help.

 

Also try to avoid caffiene, and diet cokes with aspertaine, both of these cause anexiety. I think my recent panic attack was due to these. Within a short period of time I had 4 glasses of Diet Coke at Longhorn, a Venti Starbucks, and Jumbo Diet Mt. Dew at the movies. Combined with the fact that I was on an antibiotic (which can increase the effect of caffiene) I started breathing really shallowly and freaked out.

 

In addition to avoiding caffiene, etc. You may also want to try taking a B-complex, and omega 3 (fish oil) supplements. These are supposed to help control anexiety.

 

Good luck in dealing with this, it can be difficult, but I'm a lot better off than I was two months ago, stay positive and you will get past this.

Also try to avoid caffeine, and diet cokes with aspartame, both of these cause anxiety.

I've never heard that said about Aspartame. Are you sure it isn't just the caffeine in the Diet Coke?

 

Oh, and it's nice to know there are other's out there who have dealt with this. I had it pretty bad--still do to a much lesser extent. It can really ruin your life if left untreated, because it leads into agoraphobia, and other fun stuff.

I've never heard that said about Aspartame. Are you sure it isn't just the caffeine in the Diet Coke?

Two-thirds of the population and 40% of the children in this country are using products with aspartame (NutraSweet/Equal/Spoonful/Canderel, Benevia, E951, etc.). It is a neurotoxic drug, a deadly chemical poison, and masquerading as an additive.

The 50% phenylalanine in it as an isolate is neurotoxic and goes directly into the brain. It lowers the seizure threshold and depletes serotonin. When you lower serotonin it triggers manic depression or bipolar, mood swings, anxiety, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, panic attacks, paranoia, hallucinations, etc. It also interacts with ALL antidepressants. In fact, it interacts with just about every drug used to treat the problems it causes.

http://www.rense.com/general49/susu.htm

Two-thirds of the population and 40% of the children in this country are using products with aspartame (NutraSweet/Equal/Spoonful/Canderel, Benevia, E951, etc.). It is a neurotoxic drug, a deadly chemical poison, and masquerading as an additive.

The 50% phenylalanine in it as an isolate is neurotoxic and goes directly into the brain. It lowers the seizure threshold and depletes serotonin. When you lower serotonin it triggers manic depression or bipolar, mood swings, anxiety, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, panic attacks, paranoia, hallucinations, etc. It also interacts with ALL antidepressants. In fact, it interacts with just about every drug used to treat the problems it causes.

http://www.rense.com/general49/susu.htm

Very informative HHSDad and I'm assuming, not many realized this.

I've noticed personally, a mild headache and mood swings when using one of the products listed above containing aspartame. I avoid now or certainly limit intake.

When you lower serotonin it triggers manic depression or bipolar, mood swings, anxiety, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, panic attacks, paranoia, hallucinations, etc. It also interacts with ALL antidepressants. In fact, it interacts with just about every drug used to treat the problems it causes.

http://www.rense.com/general49/susu.htm

I'm stunned. I guess I just switched from Diet Coke, to whatever doesn't have that in it. :irked:

 

Do you know which diet drinks don't have it? Seems like I've heard horrible things about every artificial sweetner there is.

Very informative HHSDad and I'm assuming, not many realized this.

 

I've noticed personally, a mild headache and mood swings when using one of the products listed above containing aspartame. I avoid now or certainly limit intake.

My mother (retired RN) started preaching to me when my kids were little not to give them diet drinks with nutrasweet in them. The effects aren't good and the body tends to retain aspartame. The effect is much greater in children.

 

I also read that it takes around 60 days without aspartame for the side-effects to start diminishing.

 

Even those diet drinks that contain Acesulfame potassium, such as Coke Zero and Pepsi One also contain some aspartame.

My mother (retired RN) started preaching to me when my kids were little not to give them diet drinks with nutrasweet in them. The effects aren't good and the body tends to retain aspartame. The effect is much greater in children.

 

I also read that it takes around 60 days without aspartame for the side-effects to start diminishing.

This is when I used to notice it. I would consume a certain diet drink, than minutes later have a headache and some times, noticeably different mood wise.

 

I just assumed it was related to the sweetener but didn't know why, until I did some research.

I've never heard that said about Aspartame. Are you sure it isn't just the caffeine in the Diet Coke?

 

Oh, and it's nice to know there are other's out there who have dealt with this. I had it pretty bad--still do to a much lesser extent. It can really ruin your life if left untreated, because it leads into agoraphobia, and other fun stuff.

 

I see others have already answered your question, but I'll add some more info for reinforcement.

 

http://www.womentowomen.com/nutritionandweightloss/splenda.asp

 

Dangers in aspartame

Aspartame, the main ingredient in Equal and NutraSweet, is responsible for the most serious cases of poisoning, because the body actually digests it. Aspartame should be avoided by most women, but particularly in those with neuropsychiatric concerns. Recent studies in Europe show that aspartame use can result in an accumulation of formaldehyde in the brain, which can damage your central nervous system and immune system and cause genetic trauma. The FDA admits this is true, but claims the amount is low enough in most that it shouldn’t raise concern. I think any amount of formaldehyde in your brain is too much.

 

Aspartame has had the most complaints of any food additive available to the public. It’s been linked with MS, lupus, fibromyalgia and other central nervous disorders. Possible side effects of aspartame include headaches, migraines, panic attacks, dizziness, irritability, nausea, intestinal discomfort, skin rash, and nervousness. Some researchers have linked aspartame with depression and manic episodes. It may also contribute to male infertility.

 

After having my panic attacks, I starated to look into what might cause them, I have since avoided aspartame completely. I think I would rather have a few extra pounds than risk going through that experience again. BTW I had never had a panic attack for 32 years of life. Around Feb / March of this year I decided I wanted to get serious about losing weight and began to drink diet sodas almost daily. I had my first serious panic attack (ER vist) around the end of April and another one on Aug 11th. After the 2nd attack I made a lot of lifestyle changes, experemented with SSRI's (unsuccessfully) for about 3 weeks, and just in the last couple of weeks am I starting to feel better about things. I guess that is consistent with what someone posted as aspartame being in your body for 60 days. I can't be sure, but I do blame the aspartame as having a big role in causing my problem.

My Dr put me on Paxil,its anti depressant but I'm n ot depressed, helps with the panic attacks and helps me sleep at night. Does make me feel like I dont really care about stuff as much but thats WAY better than worrying about everything ya know?

My Dr put me on Paxil,its anti depressant but I'm n ot depressed, helps with the panic attacks and helps me sleep at night. Does make me feel like I dont really care about stuff as much but thats WAY better than worrying about everything ya know?

Apathy can be a side effect of Paxil that you should talk to your doctor about if it continues for any length of time. It may also be accompanied by a loss of empathy.

Since we started talking about aspartame, I've been doing a little quick research on it. It seems the jury is very much still out on this. Many of the problems associated with aspartame may be based on internet rumors and myths. Still looking into it; but I thought this fact was kind of interesting:

 

Aspartame is composed of two components: aspartic acid and phenylalanine. A serving of non-fat milk provides about 6 times more phenylalanine and 13 times more aspartic acid compared to an equivalent amount of diet beverage sweetened 100% with aspartame. Likewise, a serving of tomato juice provides about 6 times more methanol compared to an equivalent amount of diet beverage with aspartame.