Panic attacks

[Secret_Window]

Hi

Studies suggest its something to do with gaba in the brain, alcohol releases it into the brain and then when you sober up you are low and the brain is misfiring, in a panic. There's other theories about serotonin and hypoglycemia. If you google extremely anxious after drinking you will find loads of people with the same problem.

It certainly is to do with GABA in the brain as well as a few other chemicals but this varies in each person, GABA seems to be the culprit in a lot of people though. This is also why medications like benzodiazepines like diazepam which work on GABA work so well in some people with anxiety. For me personally though it's too addictive and when you have taken it for so long the withdrawal can be just as bad as alcohol. It's not something I recommend anyone use as long term treatment.

Serotonin can help to some extent. It helps regulate mood as well as whole host of other things which I can't be bothered to get into right now. It can reduce anxiety levels in a lot of people but it also can increase them too - this is why some people simply cannot take anti-depressants.

Dopamine has been shown to also be a major contributor. By this I mean how in some people with lower levels or an imbalance it makes them introverted and less confident. A lot of studies have shown that confident, extroverted people have higher levels of dopamine. This is why now there are treatments where some people are taking amphetamines for confidence but the problem with this is they can be highly addictive and they can actually cause even more anxiety in some people too.

 

[Skeptic]

I'm still paying for it five years down the line, an extremely underrated substance!

Do you fancy expanding on this a bit?

Re: Anxiety, drugs and dissociation. A first hand experience.

I can empathise with those who have had a bad experience while smoking weed. I used to smoke a fair bit, nothing excessive but you know, Glastonbury, student and so forth. I used to love it. I always enjoyed the experience and felt that I experienced it differently to others. For them it was a chill out, for me, it made me introspective and contemplative. Extremely so. This, however, was a good thing! I used to be a bit of a hippy type, and was involved in meditation, spirituality, mind-altering states, hypnosis etc.

So, my story begins (if anyone cares);

I'd been out on the town, had a few beers. It's all good. Got back home, with friends, decided to smoke a J or two. No problem. So, I'm stoned, no problem, it's all normal. Get back home and decide to go to bed. Except I can't sleep. I can't relax. I freak out. Had what could only be called an EPIC panic attack - no rhyme or reason. Must have passed out, that's all I can remember

Woke up the next day...and I'm still stoned. But now it's not fun anymore. Infact, it's a living hell. The world is distant, confusing, unpredictable and, most of all...unfamiliar. I looked at my bedroom, my family, everything, and recognised NOTHING. I knew who, say, my mom was, but all feelings, memories and associations were gone. Can you imagine how bad that is? If that's not enough to cause more panic, then I don't know what is. Guess what, panic attacks started to occur more often. The disassociation did not go away, things became more distant.

As you can probably guess, this was a time of turmoil for my family. I cried, went to the doctors (propanolol prescribed), and basically behaved like a bit of a mental. This was at Christmas. I'm truly thankful to the internet as it allowed me to find other who had this same experience (often weed induced). Thankfully, I was able to claw my way out of the pit I was in, and made steps to recovery.

It's only just subsided fully. Now, however, I don't panic. I don't worry and I don't smoke weed. The disassociation has 99% gone, and I feel fab.

I guess why I've shared this is two fold. One, to show that smoking weed is not a harmless activity, and two, that anxiety can be overcome. (without the use of Benzos)

Ironically, I'm a psychologist. Hope this was enjoyable or helpful to somebody

 

[mrbios]

I have anxiety attacks, there friend paranoia came along for the ride, and this is without smoking weed, im only a very occasional drinker (once a month max) have always avoided caffine, although i do smoke regular tobbaco im a very light weight smoker (i go through in 1-2 weeks - sometimes a month - what my neighbour goes through in a day)

It's a horrible feeling

EDIT: just to ellaborate a bit, they started about 3 years ago, were a nightmare for the first year, i barely wanted to leave the house and even waiting for a bus would be agony (let alone feeling trapped on the bus!) as the years have gone by i'm better at dealing with them, the paranoia is the worst bit to deal with, if i ever go out drinking and have a hangover the next day i won't do ANYTHING as if i do something and feel hungover i start worrying, and if i start worrying i regress to my majorly paranoid stage.

 

[tom_nieto]

It's called alcohol withdrawal... it can give you night sweats, anxiety, hallucinations and in severe cases can make you have a fit. Either drink through it (not a serious suggestion, please don't!) or stop having massive binges. Drugs also have this effect. Do go to your doctor, but don't be surprised if your symptoms aren't completely controlled until you give up the precipitating factors.

EDIT: Saying all of the above, you can have a genuine anxiety disorder without going out on a bender. This requires more specialist help, this is not the place to elaborate (nor am I interested or qualified in psychiatry enough to do so).

 

[KiTBoH]

I don't get panic attacks, however when I'm stressed I come up in an itchy rash and I go bright red, sometimes I get hives(?) from it and I end up looking like I rolled through a nettle bush. It lasts about 4 or 5 minutes and then its gone :/ I've had it since I was 12 or 13 and it comes and goes. In my first year of uni it went for pretty much the entire year but in the second year I've had it pretty badly the whole time

Alcohol and weed do nothing for it, though. It stays the same regardless of whether I drink or smoke and when I went to see a doctor about it he did nothing.
It sucks, though, makes things like going to the gym terrible and after about 20 - 25 minutes it just becomes unbearable.

 

[LordSplodge]

Ironically, I'm a psychologist.

I've just started my degree in Psychology!

Anyway I also suffer from the odd panic attack still even though everything is fine in my life. It is just a lasting

My advice is to firstly see a Doctor, secondly stop drinking (or at least getting drunk) and finally learn some breathing exercises. Panic feeds on panic.

Good luck!

 

[Lakeland]

Ironically, I'm a psychologist. Hope this was enjoyable or helpful to somebody

And probably a very good one given what you've been through

 

[dowie]

I've had a panic attack once and I'd hate to have another tbh...

happened mid week, was under a lot of stress at work, I hadn't been drinking and I don't smoke weed (have done so on rare occasions at parties but very rarely/irregularly).

basically I woke up at like 3am with my heart racing, went to bathroom feeling very light headed, was covered in sweat, went back to bed and couldn't get to sleep was just lying there with my pulse going through the roof - went straight to the doctors as soon as they opened (about 8am or something) was just down the road from where I live but nearly collapsed on the floor when walking there - couldn't walk straight, felt dizzy etc... doctor took my pulse and blood pressure then sent me straight to hospital for an ECG - pulse was still very rapid but had slowed a bit since the GP had taken it - they made me wait around for a bit then took another reading later on and it had dropped further - explained I'd had a bad panic attack. GP wanted to sign me off work for 2 weeks for 'stress' - which I couldn't do at the time due to deadlines etc...

basically I booked a few days off for the following week but tbh... the main problem for me was that I'd never had a panic attack before and didn't know what one felt like - waking up in the middle of the night covered in sweat with my pulse going through the roof scared the **** out of me and probably contributed to it - by the time I was going to the doctors in the morning and my pulse hadn't stopped racing I thought there was something wrong with my heart.

previously I'd thought people who had panic attacks were just taking the **** - fact is the effects are very very real

 

[iv-tecman]

I too was prescribed propranolol, I’ve still got two or three boxes that I refused to take as I have never liked the idea that I need medication to get me through…

For years I always felt like a bit of a failure and kept the condition to myself. I’d heard too many times about how those who have anxiety play on it or fake it to receive attention, and bad attention is not what I needed…

Ironically, I came from a fairly unloving family. My dad hardly lavished me with affections and seemed more content in making me feel small and accusing me of being a useless lazy layabout, and my mum was always working and through her own fear sided with dad, leaving me no one to turn to, so I became a bit of a latch key child. Coming home to an empty house, having to fix up a pre cooked meal or something easy my mum had left me….

I turned to computers and pretty much locked myself away for years in my room playing video games, watching TV and when I left school, I remained the same. Coming home to an empty house, till I decided to maybe get out and experience the world.

This is when my anxiety reached new highs. I got another job, and moved towns, and all through this my stomach sickness worsened, and I so felt like a failure when I couldn’t control it waking up in cold sweats. Due to never really getting hugs and comfort as a child, I too developed a severe lack of talking about my problems to anyone…. As I never went to my mum and dad with girl troubles, or life troubles I bottled everything up…

Smoking weed was something I turned to when I was in my twenties, it worked for a while, it relaxed me but it never removed my fears or, as someone said, its ugly sister paranoia. Drinking alcoholic drinks to excess was another escapism, and whilst getting blind stinking drunk seemed fun, it was the come down that wasn’t..

To cut this story short, I do sometimes believe that my upbringing caused my problems and my panic attacks and paranoia. Since meeting a really terrific lass that also has her own issues, she has not only worked on her own issues, but also helped me with mine…

Hugs and the comfort she provides means I can now talk confidentially about how I struggled, and this means that whilst my sickness to the stomach isn’t always gone, it has reduced and it’s a very liberating feeling to know I can now talk to someone close and get a much needed hug….. I always thought I was a loner, and even though I enjoy being alone the comfort of someone can become quite addictive…

My parents gave me a home, money when needed, clothing and food… Sadly they didn’t give me the one thing I really needed… Love and a hug when I was down..!! And I so needed to talk to them, sadly too late. No idea where my dad is, and my mum has in the past few years tried to repair the damage with me, but some pain never goes away..!!

 

[Things change I've changed]

My parents gave me a home, money when needed, clothing and food… Sadly they didn’t give me the one thing I really needed… Love and a hug when I was down..!! And I so needed to talk to them, sadly too late. No idea where my dad is, and my mum has in the past few years tried to repair the damage with me, but some pain never goes away..!!

Awww that's really sad , I really think some parents underestimate the importance of hugs, you seem to reach a certain age and suddenly it's like they assume you don't need them any more, but everyone needs a hug now and again whatever the age.

 

[salami1212]

Do you fancy expanding on this a bit?

Re: Anxiety, drugs and dissociation. A first hand experience.

I can empathise with those who have had a bad experience while smoking weed. I used to smoke a fair bit, nothing excessive but you know, Glastonbury, student and so forth. I used to love it. I always enjoyed the experience and felt that I experienced it differently to others. For them it was a chill out, for me, it made me introspective and contemplative. Extremely so. This, however, was a good thing! I used to be a bit of a hippy type, and was involved in meditation, spirituality, mind-altering states, hypnosis etc.

So, my story begins (if anyone cares);

I'd been out on the town, had a few beers. It's all good. Got back home, with friends, decided to smoke a J or two. No problem. So, I'm stoned, no problem, it's all normal. Get back home and decide to go to bed. Except I can't sleep. I can't relax. I freak out. Had what could only be called an EPIC panic attack - no rhyme or reason. Must have passed out, that's all I can remember

Woke up the next day...and I'm still stoned. But now it's not fun anymore. Infact, it's a living hell. The world is distant, confusing, unpredictable and, most of all...unfamiliar. I looked at my bedroom, my family, everything, and recognised NOTHING. I knew who, say, my mom was, but all feelings, memories and associations were gone. Can you imagine how bad that is? If that's not enough to cause more panic, then I don't know what is. Guess what, panic attacks started to occur more often. The disassociation did not go away, things became more distant.

As you can probably guess, this was a time of turmoil for my family. I cried, went to the doctors (propanolol prescribed), and basically behaved like a bit of a mental. This was at Christmas. I'm truly thankful to the internet as it allowed me to find other who had this same experience (often weed induced). Thankfully, I was able to claw my way out of the pit I was in, and made steps to recovery.

It's only just subsided fully. Now, however, I don't panic. I don't worry and I don't smoke weed. The disassociation has 99% gone, and I feel fab.

I guess why I've shared this is two fold. One, to show that smoking weed is not a harmless activity, and two, that anxiety can be overcome. (without the use of Benzos)

Ironically, I'm a psychologist. Hope this was enjoyable or helpful to somebody

Thought i would share my story. Basically I used to smoke a lot of weed. One night I got absolutely stoned out my head in my car with my friend. I felt something wasnt right in the car, couldnt talk, felt huge paranoia. I started driving home and everything was soo slow, the gear changes, my friend talking to me..

I must have had dejavu or something which caused me to have a MAJOR panic attack while driving. My foot was planted on the accelerator and I was screaming.. I hit the curb and the whole car spun onto the grass and the other side of the road.. I hadnt a clue whatwas going on. MY wheel had come off lol.. I was sitting in the car screaming waving my hands around.. BY far THE worst experience of my life.. never told anyone

To cut a long story short the police came and I got arrested, I remember there was a feeling that everything in my life had lead up to that point before I got arrested. The next morning I felt weird and distant from everyone.. I didnt know what was happening and thought I had become schizophrenic or something lmao..

But over the course of 3-4 months I kept getting panic attacks but no one would know, I would just drift off and **** my pants basically.. I looked on the internet and found out I had derealisation disorder.. Lotsa people have it from weed. Now I thought **** it im not gonna distance myself from anyone, got a job, went gym.. Sorted my life out..

Now I still smoke the odd bit of weed after being off it for ages and it doesnt affect me, I will only get derealed (?) if I think about it. Havnt had a panic attack in months because I know exactly what the feeling is. Its just something the body does to protect it. But yea lifes damn good and im going travelling and uni in september so anyone suffering from panic attacks etc, you dont need meds, Its all in your head.. O yea and alcohol does give me big time derealisation but I can handle it as I know what it is..

never told anyone that

 

[Energize]

It certainly is to do with GABA in the brain as well as a few other chemicals but this varies in each person, GABA seems to be the culprit in a lot of people though. This is also why medications like benzodiazepines like diazepam which work on GABA work so well in some people with anxiety. For me personally though it's too addictive and when you have taken it for so long the withdrawal can be just as bad as alcohol. It's not something I recommend anyone use as long term treatment.

Serotonin can help to some extent. It helps regulate mood as well as whole host of other things which I can't be bothered to get into right now. It can reduce anxiety levels in a lot of people but it also can increase them too - this is why some people simply cannot take anti-depressants.

Dopamine has been shown to also be a major contributor. By this I mean how in some people with lower levels or an imbalance it makes them introverted and less confident. A lot of studies have shown that confident, extroverted people have higher levels of dopamine. This is why now there are treatments where some people are taking amphetamines for confidence but the problem with this is they can be highly addictive and they can actually cause even more anxiety in some people too.

Not forgetting the glutamatergic system, studies have shown elevated levels of the stimulatory neurotransmitter glutamate in neurotic patients, NMDA antagonists such as Ketamine have been shown to relieve depression and anxiety. GP's often prescribe propranolol for anxiety, however it has been shown to be ineffective at treating anxiety disorders, unfortunately GP's seem ignorant of this.

 

[Skeptic]

Fab thread. Interesting how many people have felt how I did.

 

[Linda]

Anyone else ever get anxiety attacks/panic attacks?

I've got them every now and then for the last couple of years, but recently they seem to be getting a lot more frequent. Its generally after a heavy night out, about 24 hours later. Its horrible. A couple of weeks back I had a full on breakdown on the Sunday night, ended up walking around my street with no shoes on, topless, jogging bottoms rolled up doing breathing exercises trying to calm myself down at 5am.. Was not an experience I want to repeat, but I can sort of feel one brewing tonight. Sigh.

Quit the Alcohol, Nicotine (if you smoke), caffeine these all raise your heart rate which may trigger an attack.

If you have a Mind organisation near you I highly recommend you get referred by GP although you might be able to walk in, I'm not certain of that, someone close to me was referred.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Any kind of relaxation techniques take up yoga, tai chi etc.

Go for alternative therapies - acupuncture massage etc that will compliment your medication.

Please whatever you do DO NOT leave it too late to help yourself, if you haven't been to the doctors yet please go ASAP and talk to someone about it and be sure that you can trust them to listen.

Things will get better, keep us posted on your progress