Severe Anxiety, Meds Not Helping

Hello everyone,
I am new to this site today. I thought that it might be nice and helpful if I could talk wtih people who might feel or have felt the way that I do.I am 25 and I have had anxiety attacks since I was little. They were not so bad for a while but about two months ago I actually drove myself to the hospital for the first time because I had one that actually lasted over night. I did sleep, but the next morning woke up feeling the same way I did when I went to sleep. My doc put me on paxil cr and it did not help 100% so he raised my dosage but I just dont feel right. I feel shakey, and kind of light headed I guess would be the best way to describe it. Not he is putting me on Symbyax? I cant figure out if what Im feeling is anxiety or if it is now from the meds. I just want to feel like my self again. This has been non stop since that one bad attack. Has any one else been through this and has anyone ever taken Symbyax? Thanks for your time!

Welcome to PC JLH,

Sure does sound similar to when I started having anxiety attacks that effected my daily living. I am sure I had anxiety attacks that I could handle most of my life since I went through college & got my BS in computer science. Got married while in college & had my daughter 10 months before my graduation. I really pushed myself all of my life.

It wasn't until my career had a major change & ended up in a position that I hated & they wouldn't let me transfer into a position where I fit. On top of that, the Northridge earthquake hit & it took me 6 hours to drive to work & 6 hours home. I would sit in my office in tears with my door closed. I couldn't control my shaking & felt like an animal that had been backed into a corner with no way to escape. I ended up first going to my GP thinking I was having some heart problems...I didn't understand what was going on with me....it was something I had never felt before. She put me on busbar for the anxiety & it had no effect on it at all & no increase dose worked either. My Dr made sure I had extended medical leave & because of that, the medical insurance forced me to go to a psychologist & then to a pdoc. They had me going to so many different pdocs & psychologists, I didn't know whether I was coming or going. Then the pdoc's decided to put me on a stronger anti-anxiety med which at the time really knocked me out & like you described...very light headed. I wanted so bad to feel like myself again...but it just kept getting worse even when I wasn't going to work. I would really get shakey when the people from work would call to see how I was doing....I didn't want to talk to them at all. The worst part was that I didn't understand what was happening to me. I thought I was having the old term "a nervous breakdown"...I was afraid of what was happening to me....it was such a strange feeling that I had never experienced before. The hard part for me was that I had no idea how to talk to a psychologist. I had never had to talk to anyone like that before & I was afraid of saying something wrong.

I hope that things will go better for you than for me. 12 years later, I am still on disability & have had many other problems that have just piled on top of the initial anxiety attacks. What you are feeling can be both from the anxiety you are going through (when I have an anxiety attack, I feel light headed....& my meds can also cause me to feel lightheaded). You have found a great internet site for support.....they have been great here helping me understand some of the things I have since gone through in the last 2 years. Hope you are able to find it to be as much help as I have.

Take care.....hope I might have helped a little,
Debbie

Welcome..................... and ((((((( hugs ))))))))

Please check out the two books I have listed in the Rate & Review section - they might be of some help to YOU and the feelings / unresolved wounds that are still haunting you from within, therefore, you are still suffering from anxiety today.


LoVe,
Rhapsody -