Oh god, I
hope my hair doesn't start falling out ... I have an underactive thyroid and my
falls out if my medication is JUST right ... it's a pain. ; So far, no, I
don't know of anyone who has been able to fully function without being on some
kind of meds for anxiety/panic, including me. I have suffered with this
for years!! I still do take the odd Xanax when I'm feeling really panicky
but compared to what I used to be like, it's practically a
breeze.
I'm also
attending a local support group for Panic/Anxiety/Agoraphobia and it has helped
me quite a bit. There are about 15 members in the group (all women) and we
meet once a week. ; It's amazing how much they've helped me. Maybe
there is one in your area? ; We read books by Dr. Claire Weekes who is
phenomenol! The lady who runs the group had this problem for 32 years and
the last 3 years she suffered from it, she couldn't leave her bedroom - I'm just
thankful that I didn't get that far into the illness. Now she goes out,
she travels all over the place and is very, very happy. So something must
be working. I would love to get off Effexor and any other anti-depressents
- I'm not a depressed person, it's just these damn panic attacks that I
absolutely HATE. ; I too had a time that I couldn't go to work for fear of
having panic attacks, that's when I started taking Xanax. It worked like a
charm but my doctor told me it was too habit forming (and I never abused
it). ; I really wish I could have just stayed on this and not gone the
anti-depressent route!!
Anyway, if
you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I hope I was
of some help.
PS. I got
the books by Dr. Claire Weekes off of EBay as they don't sell them in any
bookstores or even used bookstores that I could find. ; Just look up her
name on google and you'd be surprised at the hits you get
...
My prayers
are with you ...
Take care,
Jill
.