Please help. panic attacks are ruining my life, what do i tell my doctor? ?!

*rolls eyes* Taking deep breaths and eating cake will only make you gain weight, not help you relax so I hope you ignore that person. I get anxiety attacks too and am on medication for them. I know how you feel because my symptoms are exactly what you describe (racing pulse, can't breathe, chest hurting like F*** and you feel like you're going to have a heart attack and die right then and there!)

My Dr. put me on Valium (10 mg) and it works well for me. I specified it when I told the Dr. what were the symptoms and said I knew what would work. But this Dr. I had knew me well enough to know that I have had enough medical problems in my 30 years of life (I was born with a disability resulting in paraplegia) and am always in the hospital or Dr. office with infections, wounds, or something bad) so I know my stuff when it comes to medication - it's almost like I'm a walking Davis' Drug Guide For Nurses, lol. A word of warning though: No matter how knowledgeable you may be on medications, there are some doctors who HATE it when a patient comes in and says, "Ok, these are my symptoms - I've already been tested for this, and was told it wasn't what I had so the only other thing it could be is this and a medication I KNOW works good on me is this..." They take one good look at you and are like, "Yeah, well, I don't feel comfortable with prescribing that medication for that use, so we'll go with this medication..." Even when you come back with a response that the medication they want to use instead is useless on you, that you know from experience it is, and that the one you suggested really IS better, they couldn't give two $hIt$.... To them, you don't ACTUALLY have the knowledge and experience you're claiming, you're just trying to score a good drug.

The above actually happened to me. I really did get put on Valium 10 mg for my anxiety. Then I got hospitalized for abdominal problems and the attending doc didn't write the orders for my Valium, and when I called him on it, that scenario above played out - he tried to give me 0.5 mg of Ativan & when I told him even 1.0 mg doesn't work, he said fine, 2.0 then, but you're NOT getting Valium from me, I don't care WHAT Dr gave it to you in the past, or HOW good you claim it helps your anxiety! (This conversation was 24 hours after I had an anxiety attack w/chest pain and an EKG was done where there was documented normal sinus rhythm tachycardia at 160-165 beats/min.) These episodes of chest pain and high heart rate (tachycardia) have been happening off and on for over 2 years now and many tests have shown it is non-cardiac-related chest pain, so it has to be anxiety. There are just some doctors who don't like it when a 30 y.o. comes in and shows them up after they've been to a decade of extra school to become a Dr and you (I) have no college experience and tell him what is wrong with me and what pills to give me.

It's okay to tell them you're having these symptoms of chest pain and difficulty breathing and a sense of mortality when you're having these anxiety attacks, but it's probably best not to actually label them as such because then you appear to be self-diagnosing and doctors hate that almost as much as the potential drug seeking behavior I was suspected of above. Do your best to describe it like a panic attack/anxiety attack without actually calling it that, and let the doctor draw his/her own conclusions and let them decide what medication(s) you should be on or you will get nowhere like I did. I'm still in the hospital as I type this and had to try the 2 mg Ativan the other night after another anxiety attack even 2 mg didn't do squat! Grrr!

Take deep breaths. Eat some cake. You'll feel better in the mornin'.

Me.

Panic attacks are strange...they can come like a thief in the night and just when you think that your life is all over you may never get another one.

The thing to remember is that you are 19 and want to live as good a quality life as you, your medicine and your doctor can give. You have to remember that your doctor is doing his job because he cares about people and wants to help. So, if it were me, (and I am speaking from experience) I'd ask to try it. Medication is a crutch but people with broken legs can get from point a to point b faster with them.

As long as you communicate with your family, your doctor and listen to yourself you will be on the road to good mental health. Good luck.

Good luck. Medication will not solve all of our problems or make life shattering changes all of the time but it is there for our use. We never know unless we try it.