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Title: any connection with panic attacks?? Post by julieknfla on Jun 2nd, 2006, 8:33am I just wondered if any of you have had panic attacks in the past? I ask because there is also a connection between them and serotinin levels, like CH's. I am an episodic clusterhead, and have been for about 20 years or so. I also have panic episodes, which I had therapy for, and through behavior modification have learned to keep from escalating into a full blown attacks. Please realize I am not suggesting this works for CH's, I Know that it DOES NOT. I just wonder if anyone else who has Cluster Headaches might also have had any history of panic disorder, like I do. Thanks, and wishing you all the best. |
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Title: Re: any connection with panic attacks?? Post by lionsound on Jun 2nd, 2006, 9:29am Hello again Julie, Yes, I have panic attacks. And I know some others here have had them too. Sometimes I get them in anticipation or during a CH or migraine, and sometimes all by themselves not connected to my headaches at all. I applaud you for learning to manage them. I have learned too, but sometimes my skills go out the window and it happens anyway...to a lesser degree. I know that research shows a common co-morbidity of depresson and CH, I don't know about panic disorder specifically. PF's, lionsound |
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Title: Re: any connection with panic attacks?? Post by nani on Jun 2nd, 2006, 9:31am Hi Julie, Welcome. I have panic (and all the other anxiety) disorder(s). I know of at least 2 more people here who do also. Here's something that one of members wrote: http://med-owl.com/clusterheadaches/tiki-index.php?page=Anxiety pain free wishes, nani |
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Title: Re: any connection with panic attacks?? Post by E-Double on Jun 2nd, 2006, 9:38am Ah, good old Bx. Mod..... I'm a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Have dealt with and treated individuals with such disorders. There may be a connection, however, there may not be. With a Behavior Anaytic approach one can learn to deal with the anxiety that comes with the pain and learn not fight as we are so apt to do. I know that I used to thrash and bang an dnow kind of go with it. I have also dealt with my own anxiety and learned to live with the hits without it effecting my work or livelihood. It will not help the pain but it will help with coping mechanisms! Good luck |
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Title: Re: any connection with panic attacks?? Post by Guiseppi on Jun 2nd, 2006, 9:38am I'm fortunate in that I haven't experienced panic attacks. Pain free days...(and nites)...to you! Guiseppi |
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Title: Re: any connection with panic attacks?? Post by Bob_Johnson on Jun 2nd, 2006, 10:27am I just did a search of medical literature at PubMed and found zero hits on the question. This is not to say that clusters and anxiety do no occur together but, that there is a causal relationship has not been found. Folks with anxiety disorders find that they can be triggered by a wide variety of experiences and that you have found a way to help yourself is wonderful. The best treatment we can give a client: a set of skills which they use long after they leave our office. |
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Title: Re: any connection with panic attacks?? Post by E-Double on Jun 2nd, 2006, 10:39am on 06/02/06 at 10:27:20, Bob_Johnson wrote:
Exactly! :) |
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Title: Re: any connection with panic attacks?? Post by Melissa on Jun 3rd, 2006, 8:34am I've had clusters since I was 16 years old and didn't develop my anxiety/panic disorder until last year. Amazingly when my cycle started in Dec., the anxiety lessened, as I had something to focus on. After my cycle ended, I noticed a decrease in anxiety attacks (I didn't have a lot of full blow panic attacks). So don't know what that's all about, but now I control my depression, which my anxiety stems from, with a vitamin regimen that works great. good luck to you, :)mel edited to add: AND A LOT OF SELF THERAPY!! lol |
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Title: Re: any connection with panic attacks?? Post by julieknfla on Jun 3rd, 2006, 10:14pm Wow, E-Double...I never thought it was POSSIBLE to overcome the anxiety and go with the pain, I mean, I've tried to use the relaxation, self-talk, and distraction exercises I learned from the therapist to fend off my panic attacks during my CH's. but I could not get away from losing it, and feeling out of control. Although I was once sceptical I could actually ever control my panic attacks too. I guess as extreme as the beast is, it is likely to cause anxiety disorders, maybe the connection isn't related to brain chemistry after all. |
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Title: Re: any connection with panic attacks?? Post by Bob_Johnson on Jun 4th, 2006, 7:57am I've posted this message 3-4x but have only had a handful of takers, I suspect, because it's a process which takes time and practice. Anyway, for your consideration.... ============== When we read someone writing about their dread of CH or the anxiety of waiting for the next attack, we are seeing the emotional effects of CH. These reactions are not fixed even by good medical treatment of the Clusters. I first wrote these paragraphs for OUCH a couple of years ago but it did not make the cut when the site was reorganized but I'll be glad to send it to anyone who will send me their e-mail address (use instant message button). (The whole thing is too large to be posted here.) The approach outlined to reduce suffering is developed from cognitive therapy, a well researched therapy used by mental health types. But don't ask for it unless you accept that it takes practice and commitment to make it work! There is no Imitrex injection for this problem. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------- AT THE HEART OF THESE PARAGRAPHS is the recognition that pain and suffering are rather different experiences which can and must be changed by rather different responses. The pain of our CH is the subject of many of the messages we exchange, the topic fills the medical literature we read, and is the primary purpose for the multiple visits to doctors. Suffering is quite a different animal. It is an emotional/psychological condition which is often experienced even when there is no pain; it is commonly experienced as fear, anxiety, depression, hopelessness, dread, and fearful anticipation. Suffering is a normal, even automatic, response to pain, loss (as in death, divorce, or other major losses), and a host of other difficult experiences. However, suffering can be intensified, sustained, and even created quite independently of any of these experiences. In the case of our CH, suffering is too often experienced when we are not having attacks. The hard paradox is: WE CAN SUFFER EVEN WHEN WE ARE NOT IN PAIN! This is the paradox which we need to resolve if CH is not to be the controlling experience in life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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Title: Re: any connection with panic attacks?? Post by Charlotte on Jun 5th, 2006, 1:47pm I do have panic disorder - however, I never noticed it until I reached a pf time in 2003 and there was something in my time slot. I just thought it was a new kind of headache that didn't hurt as much, so I wrote down everything thing and went to see the physician's assistant. Apparently I got an A+ on the little test they gave me. They thought I was going to self-destruct in front of them. I didn't laugh or tell them "You should have seen me last month." I took Paxil for a year and occationally take if for a month or so now, because 5 mg helps raise my pain level. Not taking it right now though. These were the same people who let me go through my ch without batting an eye - but they thought I would kill myself because of panic disorder. How ironic. I'm not downplaying the panic attacks - i didn't even have 10 minutes an hour without some discomfort, but it did not compare to ch. I have a Dr now who is willing to help and willing to learn about new things. Charlotte |
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