2763 replies to this topic

[Axlejames]

There is no doubt that your nerves are still hypersensitive but it really sounds like an allergic reaction. Allergic reactions involve histamines which not only trigger the symptoms of an allergy but are also part of the mechanism of panic attacks/anxiety. I am a little surprised that your dr didn't recommend Benadryl which is a commonly used antihistamine and also fights anxiety. 

So the wife bought CBD gummies today and I was hoping you could tell me more about melatonin and benadryl. One thing that makes me worry about the diagnosis is that my dr didn't see me in person she sent me amoxicillin and that was it so I am a bit worried about that. Have you or anyone had any luck with CBD?

[fishinghat]

Some members have luck with cbd oil. I am really not an expert on the subject though. IUN knows a lot about it and has even inserted a section in our ebook. He will probably respond later.

 

About melatonin and Benadryl.... Some basic info first. Anything, prescription or not, that helps control anxiety will slow the metabolism. Slow the metabolism and you lower blood pressure. If the blood pressure gets low enough you get sleepy. The trick is to take enough to slow you down but not make you sleepy. This is mostly done by starting with a low dose and working your way up. 

 

Melatonin is a compound that  your body produces at night to help you get to sleep. Most people use 3+/- mg to get to sleep at night. I use 0.2 mg to help me calm down when things get bad. Some use as much as 0,5 mg person is different.  At this low dose I can even use it during the day to help me relax.

 

Benadryl contains 50 mg diphenhydramine and is used for allergies, colds, sleep aide and anxiety. Most members find that 12.5 mg to 25 mg works well for anxiety without making a person  sleepy. Just be sure to get the Benadryl which contains diphenhydramine. Benadryl also makes other products as well so use caution when buying it.

[Axlejames]

Some members have luck with cbd oil. I am really not an expert on the subject though. IUN knows a lot about it and has even inserted a section in our ebook. He will probably respond later.

 

About melatonin and Benadryl.... Some basic info first. Anything, prescription or not, that helps control anxiety will slow the metabolism. Slow the metabolism and you lower blood pressure. If the blood pressure gets low enough you get sleepy. The trick is to take enough to slow you down but not make you sleepy. This is mostly done by starting with a low dose and working your way up. 

 

Melatonin is a compound that  your body produces at night to help you get to sleep. Most people use 3+/- mg to get to sleep at night. I use 0.2 mg to help me calm down when things get bad. Some use as much as 0,5 mg person is different.  At this low dose I can even use it during the day to help me relax.

 

Benadryl contains 50 mg diphenhydramine and is used for allergies, colds, sleep aide and anxiety. Most members find that 12.5 mg to 25 mg works well for anxiety without making a person  sleepy. Just be sure to get the Benadryl which contains diphenhydramine. Benadryl also makes other products as well so use caution when buying it.

I was doing some research last night and the allergy thing is spot on. So now I have a scenario where me not feeling well mentally and physically makes sense. Last week I was alone at the counter most days very  busy after work I decided to do this tuff 37 minute workout everyday pushing myself to the limit. Saturday came and that is supposed to be my day to chill at home or with friends decided to go to friends house. Outside their home I am allergic to something or inside either way something happened. A stressed body physically and mentally makes allergies 100 times worse so I have sever allergic reaction leading to asthma attack leading to panic attack wich releases all kinds of chemicals into my body. Monday go to work still stressed now with head cold type symptoms very exhaust mentally and physically have many mini panic episodes due to the fact that I have not given myself proper time to adjust. Making things worse call dr and get covid tested and anti biotics for said nasal issues. Then have time to stop and really think about all this and figure out that I need to be kinder to myself. This morning I woke up with a panic attack and managed to talk myself down I tried a CBD gummy last night not sure how they will work but will try them for awhile. At the end of the day the lesson I learned is to keep my stress levels low at work ask for help don't push myself so hard at home and give myself time to rest either I give my body rest or it will take it one way or the other. Got my results today btw no Covid . You all have been down this path a lot longer than me does this scenario make the most sense? My psychologist would not say yes or no because he is not a regular dr (medical) 

[fishinghat]

It makes very good sense. Although we feel better after we have been off for several months the nervous system is still very sensitive and it is very easy to have set backs. As you said, you need to be kind to yourself until your body fully recovers. 

[Axlejames]

Does it make sense to still be having Anxiety panic issues 6 days after the initial attack? Today for instance I was just sitting on my couch reading a magazine and all of a sudden a sense of dread comes over me I was reading a light hearted magazine nothing serious and it just hit me a mild anxiety attack out of nowhere lasted about a minute I could feel it coming on and everything. Is this normal or should I be worried.

[fishinghat]

It really depends on how sensitive your nerves are and how much stress you have been under during those 6 days. The more stress you experience the longer it takes the nerves to settle down.

[Axlejames]

It really depends on how sensitive your nerves are and how much stress you have been under during those 6 days. The more stress you experience the longer it takes the nerves to settle down.

So Monday which would have been 2 days after panic attack I had several smaller panic episodes like 5 or 6. Tuesday maybe 1 or 2 and the rest of the week the same. The most recent one just came out of the blue is this something I may have to deal with for awhile is it normal? Anything to speed up the process. Right now I am also dealing with the stress of returning to work tomorrow. I know there may not be a lot to do but every thought of going back  to work brings up anxiety which is normal but because of how I am feeling it feels worse. It feels overpowering and causes me to panic. I need help  any advice. I have to work otherwise I cant pay my bills. 

[fishinghat]

As long as the source the periodic stress remains the panic attacks will probably persist, You will still make some gains during that time but it will be very slow.

[Axlejames]

As long as the source the periodic stress remains the panic attacks will probably persist, You will still make some gains during that time but it will be very slow.

What can I do ? I am sitting here at work right now no panic attacks yet thank God. It feels like I am tip toeing on a tip of a needle and one wrong move is gonna push me over. 

[fishinghat]

There is only two choices. Deal with the anxiety or get rid of the stress. It is sad to say but many members have simply quit there jobs in order to survive. Whenever you are not at work you need to take it as easy as possible. I wish I had a better answer for you.

[Axlejames]

There is only two choices. Deal with the anxiety or get rid of the stress. It is sad to say but many members have simply quit there jobs in order to survive. Whenever you are not at work you need to take it as easy as possible. I wish I had a better answer for you.

Thank you I am back at work today doing my best. 

[Axlejames]

Some things that has helped so far 1. I told myself I will check in with myself in a week if I dont feel 30 percent better I will take a gabopentin. 2. I have been through this before and I came out ok I should this time as well. 3. be kind to myself and be patient. 

[frog]

Axle I've struggled a lot with panic type anxiety over the last year since coming off of Cymbalta. For half the year the panic attacks were pretty likely caused by the brain imbalance. They eventually went away. But I still have panicky physical symptoms a year later like chest tightness and shortness of breath when I've been very tense. Or heart pounding. 

 

I was convinced and upset that this was still Cymbalta withdrawal and that I was permanently damaged or broken. But like IUN said, it's your body's way of alerting you that you are stressed and overwhelmed. There's plenty to be stressed out about these days so don't be hard on yourself. You may also have been very stressed and struggling for a while but the Cymbalta was hiding it from you, or maybe the difficulty of withdrawal created a lot of the stress and anxiety and now you don't have the crutch of Cymbalta and are learning new tools and skills to deal with stress on your own. That takes time. I don't know what your job is but it sounds like you deal with the public regularly. That would be super stressful during a global pandemic! Even if you don't think it affects you, there is constant messaging right now about how dangerous being around other people is. We all internalize that whether we like it or not. 

 

I know you're eager to get off of your medications but you always want to approach that from a place of strength, security in your life and confidence. I don't think the middle of a global pandemic and immediately following a difficult withdrawal experience is the right time. To be frank, I really wish I had a good therapist or psychiatrist 2 years ago when I started planning out getting off Cymbalta at the same time as I was getting married, quitting my job, and making a cross country move to somewhere I had no friends or family. And that's of course without even knowing that COVID was on the horizon. Wait til the world is normal again before you turn things upside down. i think things will look and feel a lot different on the other side of all this. 

[Axlejames]

Axle I've struggled a lot with panic type anxiety over the last year since coming off of Cymbalta. For half the year the panic attacks were pretty likely caused by the brain imbalance. They eventually went away. But I still have panicky physical symptoms a year later like chest tightness and shortness of breath when I've been very tense. Or heart pounding. 

 

I was convinced and upset that this was still Cymbalta withdrawal and that I was permanently damaged or broken. But like IUN said, it's your body's way of alerting you that you are stressed and overwhelmed. There's plenty to be stressed out about these days so don't be hard on yourself. You may also have been very stressed and struggling for a while but the Cymbalta was hiding it from you, or maybe the difficulty of withdrawal created a lot of the stress and anxiety and now you don't have the crutch of Cymbalta and are learning new tools and skills to deal with stress on your own. That takes time. I don't know what your job is but it sounds like you deal with the public regularly. That would be super stressful during a global pandemic! Even if you don't think it affects you, there is constant messaging right now about how dangerous being around other people is. We all internalize that whether we like it or not. 

 

I know you're eager to get off of your medications but you always want to approach that from a place of strength, security in your life and confidence. I don't think the middle of a global pandemic and immediately following a difficult withdrawal experience is the right time. To be frank, I really wish I had a good therapist or psychiatrist 2 years ago when I started planning out getting off Cymbalta at the same time as I was getting married, quitting my job, and making a cross country move to somewhere I had no friends or family. And that's of course without even knowing that COVID was on the horizon. Wait til the world is normal again before you turn things upside down. i think things will look and feel a lot different on the other side of all this. 

I actually have been off my meds for almost a year I started right before Covid. I really need to learn skills to de stress at work that I believe is my biggest issue. What that looks like is setting boundaries for myself and for the people around me. I am working on self care right now for sure. Good advice in here I appreciate it 

[fishinghat]

AJ, Im think you are right. I has a great therapist that taught me a lot of cognitive stress coping skills and it was a great help at the time as well as afterwards/ 

[invalidusername]

Hi AJ - my apologies for not being here for a while. Had some personal circumstances over the last few days which have dominated my every waking hour, but I will always be here!

 

Regarding the CBD, see my post here;

 

https://www.cymbalta...-how-to-use-it/

 

But feel free to ask any further questions. Gummies are probably the most expensive way to administer the stuff. You are far better off getting a decent full spectrum bottle and working your way slowly with doses from that. Regarding efficacy, it is a 50-50. Life saver for some, does nothing for another and no way of knowing until you have give it a shot, but you need to make sure you get the right stuff, otherwise you could be testing on complete rubbish which would nothing for anyone and you could miss out on something that could work very well for you.

 

Regarding the anxiety, and knowing you, I would imagine that anxiety attacks begets another. So it will be anxiety about being anxious.

 

"one just came out of the blue"

 

then you go on to say...

 

"Right now I am also dealing with the stress of returning to work tomorrow"

 

They don't come out of the blue, but we are often blinded to the reasons why they come about! But your answer is right there my friend!

 

Hat and Frog are spot on - the right therapist is paramount here. This week, my therapist had to cancel which is possibly the worst week she could have done so, and therefore, I am doing my best not to let things get the better of me. 

 

Keep posting and the advice will keep flowing, but my input here for you are two words;

 

SELF COMPASSION

 

Recognise just how much you are going through. The holidays only adds to that, so be aware and take time out to breathe. I have an app which reminds me once an hour, amd I take a minimum of 10 deep breaths regardless of what I am doing... It all helps.

[Axlejames]

Went to the same friends house on saturday I took a claritin that morning thinking it would help. It did a little but when I got home saturday night I started to have trouble again. Now anxiety is high again

[Axlejames]

Just had a panic attack i hate this 

[fishinghat]

What can I do to help AJ? Do you just think that is it set off by your work stress?

[Axlejames]

What can I do to help AJ? Do you just think that is it set off by your work stress?

Yeah definetly I was walking to the back of my shop and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Sheer terror and started feel completely tense everywhere. Not sure what to do anymore my job has become so stressful since we are short here 

[fishinghat]

I wish I could do something about your work stress but that would be difficult.  lol

 

Just hang in there and be as easy on yourself as possible.

[Axlejames]

Today started with another panic episode not a strong one but enough to throw me off the whole day anyone try ashwaganda any advice on it 

[fishinghat]

Ashwaganda is a strange bird. Like many anxiety supplements its effectiveness wears off in a few days. Also many of the ashwaganda supplements contain black pepper extract which some swear by and others say it really upset the stomach. I tried it once but it had little effect. 

[Axlejames]

A rundown on what I believe is going on let me know if this sounds accurate: 2-3 weeks ago had a major allergic episode along with asthma episode. I panicked into a panic attack. My body reacted releasing all the stuff it does during fight or flight. I was under a tremendous amount of body and mental stress that week. I had a week off from work and when I came back I seemed to be doing a little better at least anxiety wise I was actually out of the funk it seemed. That was the end of last week. I was exercising on my lunch breaks like normal but this time I was doing something less grueling and easier on me. Went to friends house again taking precautions by taking claritin before hand. Still had allergic reaction that night didn't really have a panic attack this time but still had to deal with breathing issues (slight panic attack but not the same as the first) This week I decided I was gonna go back to my normal workout routine because I a little normal but have been dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety still. Had a few days Monday and Tuesday this week at work that were a bit overwhelming. Is it possible I am dealing with the chemical effects from the anxiety attacks. Example being my shoulders are tense every once in awhile I catch myself hyper ventilating sweaty palms etc.. I get worried these are symptoms of something serious I also am worried that if I cant get this under control its going to do some permanent damage like high blood pressure, heart disease, or some other major physical issue. Any advice on how to calm the medical worry nerves I try to reassure myself but sometimes I cant get a grip. 

[fishinghat]

You are heading in the right direction. The chemical changes associated with constant stress causes a condition called Chronic Adrenergic State. Your body becomes conditioned to release more constant and increased level of adrenaline. This is a difficult thing to correct. It requires a drastic reduction in stress for an extended period of time to get your adrenaline levels back to normal. Even if you do limit stress and get back toward normal then this condition can easily resume if heavy stress returns. Coping skills can help as well as some prescription meds. 

 

Chronic stress can be very hard on the body. It has been clearly shown to reduce a persons life span as well as tied to many health issues. It should also be noted that with your body having just went through a withdrawal may account for part of these symptoms as well.

[Axlejames]

So what do I do are you sayn

 

You are heading in the right direction. The chemical changes associated with constant stress causes a condition called Chronic Adrenergic State. Your body becomes conditioned to release more constant and increased level of adrenaline. This is a difficult thing to correct. It requires a drastic reduction in stress for an extended period of time to get your adrenaline levels back to normal. Even if you do limit stress and get back toward normal then this condition can easily resume if heavy stress returns. Coping skills can help as well as some prescription meds. 

 

Chronic stress can be very hard on the body. It has been clearly shown to reduce a persons life span as well as tied to many health issues. It should also be noted that with your body having just went through a withdrawal may account for part of these symptoms as well.

What do I do then. Are you saying I need to go back on meds? I plan on taking Monday off this week so I will be off sunday monday. then I Friday saturday sunday off next week will this be enough. You got me scared now that I am gonna die early because of this stress. I am wondering how long do you have to be stressed for this to take affect. I ve been like this for a few weeks is that enough to harm me? I need help 

[fishinghat]

The longer you are exposed to heavy stress the more likely you will a chronic adrenergic state. Most withdrawals DO NOT develop into this condition because they do not last long enough. I went through very heavy stress for over 6 years before my condition became chronic. Unluckily each person is different in how they handle stress. I went through heavy medication to get this under control and developed good stress coping skills as well which helped tremendously. I had my condition under control in about 4 or 5 years (yes, even with medication) and have been very slowly reducing my meds over the last 13 years. The only significant med I am now on is Zoloft and will begin tapering it this summer.

 

There is a way to evaluate your situation. It is based on blood pressure. As stress increases BP increases. BUT it is critical that blood pressure be done in a very precise manner. That method is described in the ebook. Monitor your blood pressure in the evening a few hours stopping work. Measure it 2 or 3 times over an hour period and record the average. After a while you will notice a pattern. Usually lower blood pressure on your days off and higher on working days and even higher on days of severe stress (death in family, divorce, etc).  The object is to keep your bp normal. Now normal varies from person to person and after yo0u have been tracking your b p for a few weeks I can review the data and determine a goal to shoot for. DO NOT PANIC AS THAT CAN MAKE THINGS WORSE. It is unlikely that a few weeks would develop this condition. In addition it is probably partially caused by your recent withdrawal. Collect the bp data and we will see what we can do to help you bring this under control some. 

 

Goals

Get control of bp which means control of adrenaline.

Develop stress coping skills (this means a good therapist that is experienced at cognitive behavior therapy or mindfulness therapy.

 

The therapy takes a while to learn and several months to master. Be patient.

[Axlejames]

The longer you are exposed to heavy stress the more likely you will a chronic adrenergic state. Most withdrawals DO NOT develop into this condition because they do not last long enough. I went through very heavy stress for over 6 years before my condition became chronic. Unluckily each person is different in how they handle stress. I went through heavy medication to get this under control and developed good stress coping skills as well which helped tremendously. I had my condition under control in about 4 or 5 years (yes, even with medication) and have been very slowly reducing my meds over the last 13 years. The only significant med I am now on is Zoloft and will begin tapering it this summer.

 

There is a way to evaluate your situation. It is based on blood pressure. As stress increases BP increases. BUT it is critical that blood pressure be done in a very precise manner. That method is described in the ebook. Monitor your blood pressure in the evening a few hours stopping work. Measure it 2 or 3 times over an hour period and record the average. After a while you will notice a pattern. Usually lower blood pressure on your days off and higher on working days and even higher on days of severe stress (death in family, divorce, etc).  The object is to keep your bp normal. Now normal varies from person to person and after yo0u have been tracking your b p for a few weeks I can review the data and determine a goal to shoot for. DO NOT PANIC AS THAT CAN MAKE THINGS WORSE. It is unlikely that a few weeks would develop this condition. In addition it is probably partially caused by your recent withdrawal. Collect the bp data and we will see what we can do to help you bring this under control some. 

 

Goals

Get control of bp which means control of adrenaline.

Develop stress coping skills (this means a good therapist that is experienced at cognitive behavior therapy or mindfulness therapy.

 

The therapy takes a while to learn and several months to master. Be patient.

I dont have a way to take my bp. What should do I do ? Today was actually going pretty well I was catching my thoughts for the most part , but at the end of the day we ran out of bulk oil because my boss forgot to order it. I got yelled at by the service advisor laughed at by a salesman and had an upset tech. Just like that my stomach tensed and I was overwhelmed it was horrible its like they struck a raw nerve. I don't even know what to do in that situation I normally can handle this type of stress but something happened lately and I just am struggling. 

[fishinghat]

AJ, I apologize. I am afraid I panicked you over something that you are probably far from having. Please do not worry about it at this time. It takes months and even years to develop. For right now lets just focus on controlling your bp.

 

There are blood pressure apps for cell phones if that is an option. Also, you can get a cheap bp cuff on Amazon as well. I would hesitate to recommend anything to help your panic attacks without being able to monitor your  bp to be sure your bp doesn't get too low.

[Axlejames]

AJ, I apologize. I am afraid I panicked you over something that you are probably far from having. Please do not worry about it at this time. It takes months and even years to develop. For right now lets just focus on controlling your bp.

 

There are blood pressure apps for cell phones if that is an option. Also, you can get a cheap bp cuff on Amazon as well. I would hesitate to recommend anything to help your panic attacks without being able to monitor your  bp to be sure your bp doesn't get too low.

Ill check out the ones on my cellphone. Thank you very much for all your help bud I dont think I could do this without someone to talk to about it who understand