# Aahhhhhh...what do I do?



## m_m_forth (Oct 21, 2003)

Due to keeping a detailed diary I have found that stress and anxiety are giving me the most if not all my grief (causing attacks and D). I have started Mike's hypnotherapy but just recently and I think it will be a while for that to work. Have any of you gone to psychiatrists/psychologists and found that helpful? What about meds. I don't want anything long-term as I don't need another problem. Anyone take Buspar? It's not supposed to be habit-forming. What about others? When taken as needed are there any problems that arise from that? Thanks.


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## floridian2 (Dec 1, 2003)

I took buspar a few years ago and it was ok. About 20 minutes after taking it, I would get a weird ringning in my brain for 3-5 seconds, and then it would switch off. It reduced the anxiety. After taking it for a few months, I felt I was getting sloppy and careless in my life. So I stopped, was all right for a while, and eventually the anxiety came back. I didn't have any problems stopping the buspar. Was having bad anxiety, panic, and D a few months ago. Went to the doctor, put me back on buspar. Took one dose, got very agitated, then got semi-catatonic. The chest pain was strong. So I gave up on buspar. Your mileage may vary. In general, buspar has fewer side effects than SSRIs, and seems to not be habit forming. I originally found it effective, but can't seem to tolerate it now. Alprazolam (xanax)worked quickly and effectively, but my doctor saw it only as a short term stabilizer and did not want to continually write me refills. Passion flower is similar in many ways to valium and xanax, but takes a bit longer to kick in, and seems not to be habit forming. I used passionflower for a while with decent results, and ultimately was able to control my panic and D through diet. Occasionally I take passiflora, but generally am well without it. But my symptoms were clearly related to diet - skipping or delaying a meal made me really shaky and triggered panic, and the D was linked to fructose malabsorption. Not everyone will be able to control their symptoms so easily, but I encourage all to consider this approach. The linkages are sometimes indirect but very strong. Fructose malabsorption lowers tryptophan and serotonin, which can aggravate or create an anxiety problem. If diet is the cause, why use any chemical to treat the symptoms, when dietary changes will do more to treat the real condition? As I said before, not every one will benefit from a non-drug approach. But where possible, I think it is preferable. Also, glad to see you are considering other modes (cognitive/hypnotherapy/exercise) to support any pharmaceutical therapy options you go with. Good luck - hope you find what works for you.


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