Panic attacks.- Agorophobic..Help??

Hello , Im New here so im really not sure what to put.....

Im Sophie and im almost 20, and i have currently been suffering with panic attacks.
For whatever reason i don't know, it all of a sudden come on.I am not the kind of person who just sits at home, i love going out and im a very loud person, but these panic attacks are making my life very difficult , bearing in mind i have only had two, i have bad spells, which i manage eventually to calm myself down. I am currently undertaking CBT which is helping me a little.
I feel very agorophobic and feel sick and dizzy ALL THE TIME and i don't think this is right, im only young and yet i feel so old.

I suppose im just here to talk to people with similar problems, just someone i can talk to who knows how i feel and how to overcome this.
I just feel as if i cant go out. Sad:(

Thanks for listening.

Hi Sophie

I know exactly how you feel because I have been there.

It's nine years now since I had my first panic attack and it sort of evolved into agoraphobia about 3 years ago. I hate that horrible feeling when you go outside and, even if you don't feel too freaked out, you still feel like you're not part of the real world or that you're feet aren't properly planted on the ground.

I even got to the point about 18 months ago where I was having 5 or 6 panic attacks every day and just things like leaving my bedroom to go to the bathroom were terrifying. I'm pleased to say that after months of medication I am feeling quite a bit better now and I even go to the pub two nights a week.

I'm sure you will find some good advice here.

Best wishes

Chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks so much for your reply, i was wondering when someone was going to .

Your story seems alot worse than mine, i feel kind of bad because i thought i was having a bad time.
Its kind of nice to know that your not the only one who suffers.

I rarely have panic attacks , i just have bad 'spells' but they can be just as bad.
I don't know whether u had the same or not but i constantly have this sick feeling in my stomach, and dizziness even when im not having a spell or an attack.
I even hate the thought of someone else going into the bathroom , just in case i need to be sick. It started off quite small, but it is getting worse.

I'm on medication called Propranolol and im not sure whether its working or not but only time will tell.
What kind of medication do you use?? and how fast did it work?

Hi Sophie

Don't feel bad. Problems are only 'real' to the person that is suffering them and I'm sure you feel just as uncomfortable when you are bad as I do when I am.

Propranolol is a beta-blocker and they work in a completely different way to anti-depressants. Whereas anti-depressants are supposed to stop the anxiety from happening, beta-blockers are much better for stopping the physical effects of anxiety when it happens. Unfortunately, I have a history of asthma so I can't take beta-blockers and therefore, I can't tell you how quickly they are supposed to work but I always thought they were a short-term thing that worked in a matter of hours - I may be wrong.

I don't know if you know anything about the physiological changes that occur when you feel anxious but this is something I am quite well-up on. The nausea that you feel is quite normal and it is caused by adrenalin in your blood, diverting your bloodflow and causing less blood to go to the digestive system - it's all to do with beta adreno-receptors, which is probably why your doctor has prescribed beta-blockers.

The anti-depressants that I take took about 5 weeks to start working but, as I said, I don't know if there is the same lag for beta-blockers.

You can mail me at any time - rabid.badger@ntlworld.com - if you think my knowledge will be of any further use to you.

Best wishes

Chris