I ALWAYS get my panic attacks at night. Always. Never during the day. So, I can relate 99.9%. I can even recall a night where I woke up with heart palpitations and ended up going straight into panic mode after waking up. Have you tried anything else besides the self affirmation and breathing exercises? Also, have you ever heard of grounding techniques before?

I suffer from panic attacks all the time. It was not controllable so, my psychiatrist put me on a PRN anxiety medication to calm me down in those moments. Of coarse I am seeing a therapist to help get to the root of the panic. It sounds like you are trying some really healthy coping skills already. I wish I had an answer for you. Have you been to a therapist?

Reese's-cup- yes those panic attacks have been waking me up out of bed. And then they get so intense I cannot calm down. I have recently tried Xanax. And I'm on sleep medicine. I was on it for the last six years and it was only thing that helped me. But now that's not even putting me to sleep. What are grounding techniques? I'll try anything.

Cassichase- do you take that medicine all the time? Does it make you feel like a zombie during the day? Do you have trouble sleeping as well? I have been wanting to work with a Cognitive behavioral therapist. Because it sounds like that that is who helps with this. But I am not financially stable enough to afford one right now. That's why I'm seeking alternative methods for help. HAs the therapist helping? I'm sorry that you deal with this as well

Tessam37
I have several medications that I am on. One that levels the anxiety everyday. It does not make me groggy. It just keeps me on a peaceful level everyday. Then there is one that I take PRN and at bed time it helps me when I begin a panic attack, it relaxes me before bed also and helps me sleep. There are other psych medications that I am on, but it has nothing to do with anxiety. I would recommend that you see a psychiatrist and ask for anti anxiety medications to help you with everyday level of anxiety, one for immediate relief and one to help you sleep. I know it sounds like a lot, but it has helped me tremendously.

My therapist has helped me beyond my expectations. I've been with her for eight years. She has helped me with PTSD, panic attacks, depression, SI and DID. I think it is so important to find a way to financially meet with a therapist.

I hope you find peace in your body! I'll be praying for you!
Cassi

Cassie chase- A little backstory my husband and I moved to Fort Lauderdale seven years ago from New York. When we did that my sleep problems started and I wasn't able to sleep for almost 5 years until I found this doctor. Ambien and stuff like that never worked for me because I needed something that would turn my brain off so she put me on Seraquell. And that helped for a while. But it seems I've grown a tolerance to it and now I need a lot more Of it in order to sleep (used to take 100mg, now 150 but lately 300mg & still doesn't work sometimes )The side effects are awful you gain weight and get bloated and are so uncomfortable. I've tried Xanax it's sort of works. She's had me on other anxiety things for daytime but they never seemed to work. What is the one called that you are on? I'm going to see another doctor and see if they have other ideas of things they can prescribe for me. Maybe I've built a tolerance to this. Last night was another sleepless Night. Becoming hard to function and every day with no sleep. I desperately would love to see a therapist you're so lucky that you can and that you found a good one! I heard it's very hard to find a good one. My health insurance isn't the best but I'm going to Google and see if I can find someone today. Thank you so much for offering your help it means a lot! I hope that you are doing well as well :-)

Hi Tessam37,

Thank you for sharing your challenges with me. I'm sad that you are not feeling well.

I do not know the rules on this web site about sharing medication information, but I'll do it for you. Remember, what works for me may not work for you. I know this is a lot of information, but it needs to be explained.

Here is the interesting thing... I have been on Ambien, Seraquell and Xanax. The Ambien lost it's effectiveness on me very quickly. The Seraquell made me stupid and I gained a tone of weight. The Xanax never worked.

For sleep I take Hydroxyzine Pam also known as Vistaril, it's also a calming agent used for panic attacks and Tegretol, an anti-siezure medication that calms my brain and also helps me sleep.

To calm myself down on a daily level and for sleep I take Buspar 3x daily. I also take Lamotrigine daily thats for siezures and mood swings and to calm my brain down.

I take Latuda to stabilize my mind and Bupropion known as Wellbutrin for depression.

I know this sounds like an unbelievable amount of medication, but if you knew my brain and my life story you would understand.

I do not have seizures or Bipolar, but the drugs I mentioned are also used for other reasons.

I am diagnosed with: PTSD, Depression, self injury, Dissociative Identity Disorder and anxiety disorder and a brain injury. My psychiatrist and I have worked for five years trying to find the right combination. I can't even count how many different medications I have been on. Thank God we found the right (cocktail LOL) combination that worked three years ago.

Sometimes my psychiatrist adjusts my medication when needed. I see here once a month. I see my therapist once a week. They monitor me carefully being that I have seriously harmed myself and had many suicide attempts and several hospitalizations.

I almost gave up on my psychiatrist, because it seemed that we were getting no where, but I persevered hoping that if I stuck with one psychiatrist we could eventually find the right medications. I've been with her for eight years. Some of my changes in medications also hapened in the hospital. She was willing to work with them, but we changed medications a lot after I've tried the ones at the hospital. Some worked, some did not.

I found my therapist at a non-prophet organization called Catholic Christian Charities. I am not a Catholic, but I am a Christian. I do not think you need to be a Catholic to get help there. My therapist charges me on a sliding scale (depending on my income).

If you google Christian charities for where you live you might find a counseling center or provider to work with your finances, so that you can get some help. I was fortunate to find a good counselor. There were times when I thought I would change to another therapist, just for a different point of view, but it would be hard to start over and I really love my therapist. I've been with her for eight years also.

I hope this information is helpful to you. If I can help in any other way, just send me a message. You need to friend me first.

You are in my prayers!
Cassi

Cassi-
Wow.... thank you so much for breaking that down in sharing your information with me. That is been so helpful as my doctor I've been working with for the last six years. Who gave me the Seraqull (which did help for years). But now I know longer has an effect on me. And it took me years to find that medicine that would work for me. So you have having tried that and it found something else that works and gives me hope! Thank you so much for breaking that down. I'm going to see a new doctor on Tuesday and I'm going to give them all the information and see what they can do to help me. This is the first point in my life I've actually thought of suicide. I don't want to die I don't plan on committing suicide but it's the first time that I can understand why people do what they do. Because this is becoming unlivable. I haven't slept in almost 3 months. And with a cocktail of medicine in me it's hard to function in my every day. I know it seems small but lately the last three days the cable has been out and my husband works late nights and night time has just been absolute torture for me to the point where I'm breaking down and crying. TV At least drowns out my thoughts. We live in Florida now. But I really considering moving back home only to fix my mental well-being. I know these problems will still be with me when I move home but hopefully being surrounded by family and friends again will help. I'm so sorry to hear that you suffer from thoughts of suicide as well I do not wish this upon anyone. Thank you so much for sharing your story he really had help me a lot! It's very good to know I'm not alone. I have my husbands support but I feel like I'm draining him I'm so sick I'm talking about my problems I just wish I was normal. Thank you again

Also thank you so much for the tip about Catholic charities! As soon as my cable comes back on which is also connected to my Internet I'll be able to look for one! That is such a good idea because part of the reason I'm so stressed out is because I'm broke and that would really help a lot thank you so much !!!

Tessam37,
You are welcome! I do hope you find your way to healing. Please do not act on your suicide thoughts. You are important to this world! Good luck with your new psychiatrist. I hope they are nice and insightful for you. Sometimes it becomes challenging when one person helps you in your difficult time (your husband). I think it is a good idea to get the support also from your family. So, what is normal any way? How uneventful it would be to live a normal life! Hang in there! I'm rooting for you!
Hug,
Cassi