ptsd Anxiety

[martin]

hello everyone,i was wondering if i'm the only one or what? i was diagnosed with ptsd, and anxiety, panic disorder at the V.A. after returning from Iraq in Aug 2005. i started having shortness of breath.( i belive its just a sensation..it sucks) i went to my civilian doc, who couldnt find out why, i was referred to a pulmonologist..same thing..nothing. he did ask if i had been under stress latley? at the time i said yes, i just got back from the sandbox, and was wouded twice. i was then referred to a cardiologist to do a stress test. all was normal. i dont want to go back to see the V.A. psychologist.doesnt do much good. the meds i'm on dont really do anything for my anxiety, and panic disorder.i am going to see a shrink on the civilian side to see what kind of help is available. either counseling, or better medication. i am not as bad off as i was a year ago,(i know i'm not going to drop dead) but still feel bad. has anyone had the same symptoms with these diagnosis, or am i just nutts? i do tend to think something is wrong with me when i have a so called 'panic attack' out of the blue.i am currently service connected 70% for ptsd, and 10% for headches from a minor T.B.I. any suggestions on medication to help these symptoms?...martin

[Josephine]

Martin,

I take Valium 5 mg every 4 hours and this seems to help me. I hate to say to you ," your mind playing tricks on you."

The only relief that I have had is to take the Valium and talk myself out of it.

I know this is not much help to you, but I have lived with " Chronic Anxiety" since being in the service and have lived off of various medications for the last 43 years.

Long time isn't it?

I started the meds when I was 19 year of age with Librium in service, this would have been in 1964, and resumed the medications again in 1967, as I was pregnant in 1965 and 1966.

I do believe that you will doing yourself a favor by seeing a Psychiatrist.

Josephine

[Jay Johnson]

Panic attacks can seem like heart attacks to some people and the worse they tend to be the worst they tend to get. In other words, once the panic attack starts the individual now begins to think the panic attack is something more serious (physiologically) like a heart attack; this compounds and leads to an even worse panic attack, which compounds even further.

The best thing you can do is find a safe spot, settle down, convince yourself this is simply a panic issue and try to talk yourself through it while taking deep, slow breaths.

I think people also need to keep in mind just how limited the field of psychology is. One's psychological state can have a huge impact on our physiology and there are very few studies that show why, or how, this occurs. Before my wife initially broke down with PTSD (while she had everything bottled up), she had all sorts of physiological problems. She was seen several times for shortness of breath and her blood work was always WAY off (at one point they thought she might have cancer due to high/low white blood cell count). In hindsight, we believe these abnormalities were caused by her psychological issues. It wasn't until she got treatment for her PTSD that her blood work starting showing up as normal.

As for specific treatments - The wife is currently on xanax XR for anxiety (XR = extended release). This is coupled with ativan PRN (PRN = as needed). The combination works better than anything she has taken thus far. However, the real key to avoiding anxiety is to avoid situations which cause high anxiety. No amount of drugs can "cure" PTSD, or other anxiety related issues, so one needs to be proactive in their daily environment in order to lead a somewhat productive life.

I would suggest that you seek out a civilian psychiatrist (NOT psychologist/therapist) that specializes in anxiety disorders. This is the best course of action in most cases, but make sure that the doctor doesn't over/under medicate you.....the doctor should be VERY receptive to YOUR ideas on treatment; if not, fire him/her and move on.

[Hoppy]

Martin,

They say panic attacks make no sense. That was the case with mine. I used to take the bus. Everytime the bus would show up and I had to make a short run to the bus I would show the driver my bus pass then all of a sudden I could not breath. It was very scarry. It got to the point where as soon as I saw the bus I would get a little adrenelan rush and then I could not breath. What was crazy was I did not have to be anywhere at any particular time and if I missed the bus I would just wait 20 minutes for the next one.

I had all the tests you had; threadmill etc., showed nothing. It was a stressful time in my lfe and I had gained some weight. I went on a diet and started eating vegies and fruit. I also made sure I drank sufficient amounts of water. This seemed to help alot. I started having less anxiety and eventually I lost weight. I think the extra weight was part of the problem and dehydration was the other part.

I also started waking up in middle of the night with heat flashes and the breathing problems. That also has improved dramatically since I started keeping hydrated. In drink water at regular intervals. I also started taking vitamins. I feel much better now.

[Pete53]

Classic symptom of panic attack is hyperventilation. My suggestion if you start to be short of breath is to concentrate on taking deep slow breaths and breathing out slowly. The faster you breath the worse the attack.

Hoppy if running causes you to have a panic attack I would walk and take the next bus.

Good Luck

[john6012]

Welcome back to the world. Glad you made it back and sorry you're having trouble. Don't dispair, when they prescribe medications, it's sometimes a series of trial and error until they hit on the right medication. Some work, some don't. What ever you do, get help. You have the right to receive medical care at your local VA hospital. If the doctor doesn't help or is unsympathetic, ask for another MD, I've done it before and they switch doctors without question and the doctor you have an issue with doesn't even know you've left his/her care. God bless you and all that are serving!

[Sarah]

I've had anxiety disorder for quite a few years, not related to PTSD though. Mine are more from childhood fears and began to get worse after my children were born. I was constantly out of breath and hyperventilating in stressful situations ie in large crowds - I had a fear of getting trapped somewhere and not getting out. Well we put my daughter through these EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)sessions for sexual abuse and I asked if I go through them with her for the anxiety issues. I did and I haven't had an anxiety attack since (about 6 months) I also worked on other issues related to family and no longer have the fears I had before, even nightmares related to these issues have stopped. I'm told they are now starting to try EMDR on soldiers on the east coast for PTSD and other mental related disabilities from the military. Look into this and see if in your area there is an EMDR specialist. I will say I was very skeptic walking into it and thinking my daughter would never get help, one session broke her cycle of violence and then after about 6 months we have a normal child now. It took me about 4 sessions and I'm so much better now. We have both come off of psychotropic medications.