i don't know what it is lately, but i have been pretty spastic and nerve-wracked. i had a panic attack WHILE CAMPING. camping; seriously the most relaxing thing on earth, and i have a panic attack. jeez. that doctor i saw a few months ago who missed my whooping cough wrote me a script for lorazepam (a pill i love almost as much as i love my husband) but of course, failed to put a dosing time schedule on it. because it said, "take one as necessary" not "take one as needed up to ____ times a day" the pharmacy wouldn't fill it. i called the doctor's office three times to get them to fix it, but they never did. i've been sort of hemming and hawing about seeing a new doctor for a new script, but am worried about that because it just really seems like i'm drug shopping, which i'm not. i use very little lorazpam; i get a bottle of it a year, and more than anything, it's just my security blanket. i thought i should try to go without it and see if i could manage. my theory is that there are herbal remedies and benadryl* if i need it.
of course in the middle of a panic attack this seems like the worst idea ever.
so the other day, i bought some kava extract thinking, "this might help." i like kava because i grew up reading margaret mead books, and because i've had good experiences with it in tea form. i tried a little this morning (five drops at most) and holy shit, that stuff tastes terrible. i can see how they hide the terrible taste in tea! although to be fair, the taste can't be enhanced by the grain alcohol in the tincture either. ugh. at least i know i won't be downing it in cocktails any time soon, it's not really something i can see myself doing for "fun" or because i "like the taste."
has anyone else tried any other herbal remedies? do you have any you would recommend? i have noticed that working out more, and making sure i drink lots of water and get enough sleep, have helped make me feel better in general lately. i'm not having panic attacks the way i used to, and i think this recent rash of them might have to do with other stuff in my life right now.
*benadryl is a lo-fi remedy a doctor recommended once. really, anything that normally would make you sleepy, can help in the midst of a panic attack. there's probably a bit of placebo effect in there as well, but i won't tell my sympathetic nervous system if you won't, okay?
2 comments:
Panic attacks are THE WORST. I have friends who swear by various herbal remedies but after that week I had recently...swarm of flying ants in my bedroom, clutch dying on my car, sinus infection and then crashing and totaling my car...well, I took some .5mg clonazepam for a couple of days and that helped me manage my shit. Without that I don't know if I would have been quite so on top of getting the paperwork to the insurance company and whatnot.
I hate panic attacks! Thank God for my meds also! Good luck with everything.
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