Hi Bambi:  I'm hoping you tell your doctor exactly what you have written in your post.  Don't be afraid or too shy to ask as many questions as you need to better understand.  Usually they like patients who participate in their wellness program.  Remember, it is you who is doing the hiring.  I used to write down my questions before an appt. because I know how easy it is to forget when you are feeling flustered or anxious. You can do it...Good luck.

Davit - that was the diagnosis my 1st psychiatrist gave me after 10 minutes she saw me for the 1st time. It just stayed like that because no one ever assessed me properly with any of the instruments, no one took the case history. I don't think it is the right diagnosis and I feel helpless and angry because I'm still wondering around and not dealing with the main problem because no one took the effort to do his job properly. I'm little afraid of the meds. What will they turn me into, will I become addicted, will I get worse etc. My psychiatrist just gave me meds, with the words 'If you want me to work with you, you'll take the meds.' After changing doctors, no one questioned the decision of the 1st doctor. No one tested me in any way to see if they work.

Jenn2512 - what are your guidelines to success? :)

Anerol - I think you're very brave! Courage is not an absence of fear but the ability to act while faced with fear. This one goes for all of us!

Hi Bambi,

This is such a classic anxiety storey that I am sure we can all relate to it or bits of it. 

I want to comment on anti depressants and pain killers. Pain and pleasure receptors are very close together so what blocks pain also blocks pleasure.  Also there are more than one class of anti depressant so if you find one doesn't work try another preferably from a different class some antidepressants are really mood stabilizers and work on a different chemical in the brain. I take a Tricyclic called Desipromine . It works on dopamine instead of seratonine. SSRIs make me aggressive and don't stop the panic yet tricyclics calm me right down without that foggy feeling but they give me a dry mouth and nausea which I am getting used to. There are others that work on other chemicals so if you feel one of them can help then you should try it. Beware though some doctors have a favourite drug that they have had good success with and don't like to prescribe something they are not familiar with. It helps if you can explain why you think it will help you.  Some Doctors do not like the internet so if you can find a reference in a medical journal it helps.  I know it is a lot of work but if it works it is worth it. Also the last time I took a tricyclic was thirty years ago and it straightened my world out and has lasted up till now so I don't want anyone to think that if you start one of these you will have to be on it forever. It just isn't the case.

Davit

your story is so close to mine, am 21 years old and my attacks properly started almost 3 years ago, and i also feel like the anxiety is ruining my life. Mine started when i was in art college i thought i had HIV and i was going to die, i was convinced that i would be dead soon! i moved back home in the summer and things started to settle down! i then start uni in the september and everything really started to flare back up again, i started seeing a new lad hu is my current boyfriend, after a few months at uni i hated it my anxiety got so bad i just wanted to throw myself off a bridge. I dropped out of uni and feel into a deep depression i stopped seeing my friends stop going out with them i felt like couldnt trust them, i didnt want to see them i was scared they could read my mind i thought i was going mad! i was put on citoplram 10mg a day and at first it did help, the attack slowed down but i still had them i thought my boyfriend was going to leave me all the time i thought he would see hat i was horrible and just go! i had anxietys about my past and how would effect my life, it was awfull. During the summer me and my boyfriend decided to go to turkey on holiday, and one night i just lost i had the worst attack of my life i ust wnated to leave i wanted to run away from everything i thought i was going mad when i got home i went to the docotors i wanted them to send me away to a hosital i couldnt take the feeling anymore i ust wanted to disappear! since then i have had attacks generally every other day but then at new year me and my boyfriend decided that i couldnt go on with this, the drugs ust didnt help they stop the attacks but they numbed all my emotions i enever felt happy or sad, i never wanted to have sex. i stopped the drugs and all my feeling started to come back and so did the attacks but i decided i would attack them head on! since then i have had two major attacks on about my friends bday party going to see old friends and the second about my firned wanting a house party. I have noticed tho that am starting to get hold of my life again , enjoying stuff, enjoying my relationship, lauhging and having adventures again! i thought i should share my story with u beacsue i think am getting through this and so can u! message back if u need a anxiety buddy xx

Some confusion here. You mention BDP which I don't know But BPD is an actual mental disease requiring medication. It can be helped with CBT and relaxation techniques but usually not alone. Some times you have to try different medications till you find one that works. Antipsychotics are the main medications with mood stabilizers also. Mood stabilizers work differently than SSRIs and work on different chemicals. If this is what you have did any one explain to you why you need the medication or did they just tell you to take the pills? I hate it when Psychiatrists do that. Knowing how where and why you need this medication will do a lot to relax you and help it work. If you do not have BPD, then what does BDP stand for.  You do not have to deal with this by yourself. We are your friends and will stand by you and try to explain things you may not understand to the best of our ability as long as they do not exceed the site guide lines.

Davit.

Thank you for reading! :)

February 2008 is happening again! I think the meds never helped. The worst thing is having to deal with it all by myself. My mother says she doesn't know what to say to me anymore.

 

Ashley - yeah, BDP was the diagnosis. What do you think about it? I think I don't have it. None of my therapists focused soley on DP. And that's the worst symptom. i think, if I could get rid of it, that everything would slowly faded. I can handle anxiety and panic somehow but this one terrifies me. I talked to my therapist. She said we'll do relaxation techniques. My boyfriend's really great. At first I was good around him but now it happens also when we're together. I definitely plan to talk about it more with him. My fear is that he'll think that I'm crazy and that he'll leave me because of it.

AmJ - I'll do relaxation techniques with my therapist. Please tell me how are you (you can PM me), what are yours symptoms. What's with DP. It's constantly around me. It scares the crap out of me (sorry for my language!)!

Davit and Sunny123 - thanks for the support!!

 

 

Hugs and kisses!

Bambi

I had the same lousy experience with a psychiatrist.  I have a very good therapist so if you get a lousy one look for another. They are paid to help so that is what they should do.

Davit.

Hi Bambi,

 

I think that you are so strong just to even have the courage to write about your experiences and admit to yourself that you are in need of a little help. Please do not hide your feelings. I was glad to read that you chose to seek the help of a CBT Therapist. I know where you are coming from with the Psychiatrist. Mine was a pill pusher that didnt really seem all the interested in seeing me well unless it involved a medication that only made me feel worse. I found a therapist who has helped me understand myself and my anxiety in order to begin to cope and eventually disregard it. Depersonalization was my strongest symptom of panic. It was always the first symptom that I would get and the most terrifying. I honestly felt like I had died already and was outside of my body. I'm no psychologist but I do not agree with what your therapist told you about getting too attached. I see mine once a week and I wont lie sometimes I feel like I need to go more often but I don't. I feel like you should be free to do what makes you the most receptive to getting better. If you need to see someone 2x a week until things start getting better than so be it because everyone is different. Also, have you tried to employ any deep breathing techniques of meditation practices? This site is FULL of useful ideas and people who have gone thru similar experiences. Welcome and feel better soon.

 

AMJ