Anxiety and Panic Disorders

Noree:

I'm so sorry no one has responded to your post before now.  But I hope you see THIS post because you are VERY welcome to join the board!  I used to be co-cl of this board, but gave it up due to my many other responsibilities (3 kids: ages 5, 3 1/2 and 9 months AND a part-time teaching job at a local community college).

Anyway, my name is Heidi, I'm 36 and have been married 9 1/2 years.  I've experienced anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember.  In 2001, I was diagnosed as bipolar.  I've been on medication for this ever since and am doing quite well, lately.

However, depression and anxiety very often go together, and I DO think you need to tell your doctor a little bit more about what's going on.  How else can he/she help you?  If your doctor doesn't feel this area is his/her area of expertise (as very often happens), perhaps they can refer you to someone else.  If your doctor blows you off, minimizes your symptoms or doesn't take you seriously, FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR!  I've had a lot of "duds" for doctors lately and believe me, I've had to wade through a bunch before finding a really good doctor.  I actually found my current psychiatrist (psychiatrists can prescribe meds because they are MD's and psychologists usually just counsel because they have a PhD in psychology...didn't know if you knew that or not) by calling my insurance company to see who's on my plan in my paticular area.  It worked for me, but may not work for you.  You might also get on the "regional" section of ParentsPlace messageboards and see if anyone living in your area can recommend someone.

You could also try Yellow Pages on Yahoo.com: http://yp.yahoo.com/  They have listings for ALL kinds of doctors, organized by your area of the country.

Sorry this got so long.  But I just wanted you to know you're not alone.  I'm currently taking Trileptal (anti-seizure med for the bipolar; and Klonopin (mild, long-acting tranquilizer) for the anxiety.  Here's more on anti-anxiety meds: http://support4hope.com/medications/index.htm  I hope this helps.

I also hope it helps to know you are NOT alone and that anxiety has NOTHING whatsoever to do with character or "how well you handle life."  This is the way I look at it: I need my medications the way a diabetic needs their insulin.  My brain does not produce necessary chemicals, so I'm providing them artificiallyl

Come back again!  We'd LOVE to get to know you better!

MANY hugs & prayers,

Since I first posted I've been a bad patient. (oops!) I met w/ my doctor and did not bring up anything new because I was tired and just wanted to go home. Since then, I stoped taking some of my medications. I have been feeling so tired because of them. I just want to sleep all day. I did mention this to him and what he did was prescribe more of my ADD medication to take at 4:00. I don't even do that. I do have an appt with him next week and I think now is the time I need to be really honest with him about what's going on with me.

Otherwise, I feel pretty good. I am just trying to cope with these panic attacks and trying to stay away from my dh and dd when I feel like blowing up. My dh is so supportive and he knows that around dinner time, I start to get panicky and he cleans up the kitchen while I regroup, lol.

Talk to you soon!