Panic Attacks!
#252568 - 03/16/06 04:11 PM
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Letty
Reged: 03/15/06
Posts: 20
Loc: Bullhead City, Arizona
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Hi there! I'm a newcomer. I found the website a couple of months ago, ordered the Eating for IBS book. I was diagnosed 4 years ago, but never even knew what it all meant. Didn't even know that IBS-D existed. Until 2 months ago, when my husband and friends went to eat dinner at one of the casinos. As soon as I sat down, I got up and stayed in the ladies room for 2 hrs. My husband had to carry me out to the car where I continued to vomit and had lost all poop control. (Sorry, don't know how else to explain it) I felt better after a couple of days and when I found the website I was ecstatic! Great no more problems!
But aha, here are my problems. I just had another attack this week. Last night was so bad that I took a pain pill. I needed to go to work and as I was driving I had a panic attack. A full blown panic attack while I was driving on a highway. I had family pick me up and I'm back home. My question is this...I have a very hectic profession even though I am self employed. I just don't feel like I can continue with this profession. I am exhausted worrying about will I have another gut attack or now panic attack. Does anyone else worry about this also? Do people actually have to change their jobs, professions or just end up staying home instead because of IBS and what it does to us? I hope I don't sound like a whiner! Not trying to be. Just 52 years old and scared. 
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IBS-D,ACID REFLUX, PANIC ATTACKS
?How do I live without my Cholula Hot Sauce?
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Hi Letty and welcome to the boards.
Sorry you are having a tough time.
I, too, have panic attacks. I am taking Librax which relaxes me and also my tummy. It has really helped me. Also, I have Xanax for a really bad attack but it's pretty heavy duty stuff and will make you sleepy. I only take it rarely.
For the "D", do you take Imodium? It's my best friend next to Phazyme for gas.
Something else that helped me was to keep a food journal so that I knew what my triggers were.
You might want to do a search for "panic attacks" and see what others have had to say in the past.
Good luck
Barbie
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Welcome!
#252581 - 03/16/06 05:37 PM
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hohoyumyum
Reged: 05/28/03
Posts: 2263
Loc: SacTown, CA
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Oh! Your poor thing. Even though IBS seems to want to rule our lives for us, there are a lot of ways to control it. I have IBS-D as well. First, stick with Heather's diet. It is fantastic. And no cheating or it won't work. Here's what helps me to control my IBS:
-Adequate sleep
-Heather's diet
-Lots of water
-Regular exercise
-Acacia fiber
-L-Glutamine
-Gut directed Hypnotherapy (YEA! - this worked so well for me. You can buy Michael Mahoney's IBS Audio program through Heather's website.)
Everybody is different and it takes some people a year or two to stabilize themselves where other people see results almost immediately. I think that there are a lot of people out there who feel that they can no longer maintain their lifestyle but I believe it doesn't have to be that way.
I've adopted a few different attitudes concerning myself and IBS. 1) There is nothing wrong with carrying around adult diapers and baby wipes. 2) If I gotta go, I gotta go and there's just nothing to be done about it. 3) If the people around me can't be supportive of what I'm going through then they don't need to be around me.
Don't worry, you don't sound like a whiner at all. This is scary at first. All you know is that something is wrong and that you have no answers for it. Look around on the boards. Do searches for topics you have questions about and feel free to ask if you can't find what you're looking for. For me, and I think for many others, controling IBS is a lifestyle. There isn't a quick fix and it takes constant maintenance. But you can stabilize. I used to have attacks every day. Now I have maybe ten a year, at most. In the last year I've had 3 or 4.
Is it possible for you to take a little time off work to relax and start to stabilze yourself?
Oh, and whereabouts in SoCal did you live? I lived down there in many cities for years and I loved it. Mostly in beach cities but some inland ones as well.
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If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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Hi there. You poor thing. Are you drinking coffee in the AM?? Look over Heather's diet, maybe get started on the Acacia or other soluble fiber. Diet makes all the difference. Check out the big triggers. You'll get better now that you're here. There are so many helpful people here. Take good care.
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IBS C, Spasms
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Yes, I do take Immodium. Never taken Librax. Is that an Anti-Depressant? Or? I've taken Xanax before, during a major crisis, back in the 80's. Hated it. Thanks for the advice on the journal. I am going to start doing that right way. Thanks for the support!
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IBS-D,ACID REFLUX, PANIC ATTACKS
?How do I live without my Cholula Hot Sauce?
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I had been drinking coffee all my life! I've attempted to cut back, but I guess I just need to let it go completely. I've been following the diet for a couple of months now, which is why I was surprised that I got another attack so soon. But I must be missing something, which is why I got back on this website. Thank you so much for caring.
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IBS-D,ACID REFLUX, PANIC ATTACKS
?How do I live without my Cholula Hot Sauce?
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Welcome! I'm new to working outside the home(after being home for 13 years)...I take 2 immodium every morning and a lomotil before I make the commute. Tomorrow will be my third week, and no attacks!( I did have to make a pit stop the first day, but I really think it was anxiety produced) The longer you can go without an attack the less stress you'll feel...follow Heather's diet, take lots of SF, and you can get a lot better. Without this guidance, I had attacks every time I wanted to go out and do something fun. How depressing is that? I also take 25mg of nortriptyline(sp) to help with the mind gut disfunction. Please know that there are lots of people who know what you're going through. I am one of those people who did a career change...I taught elementary school for 10 yrs before I had the D form of IBS. I knew it would be too hard to make multiple trips to the ladies room with a classroom of kids...(not to mention field trips) Maybe someday I can return to it, but I'm not there yet.
Please try to find a good doctor who can help you. I don't have full blown panic attacks, but I know that the anxiety concerning finding a restroom is horrible. If you're like me, if the IBS would go away so would the anxiety.! Hang in there! 
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Re: Welcome!
#252606 - 03/16/06 07:25 PM
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Letty
Reged: 03/15/06
Posts: 20
Loc: Bullhead City, Arizona
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Thanks so much for the advice. I'm sitting here reading these responses and crying. I thought I was all alone in this. I will take all this info and make it my new bible. Question: What is the L-Glutamine for? And where do I purchase that?
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IBS-D,ACID REFLUX, PANIC ATTACKS
?How do I live without my Cholula Hot Sauce?
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This page has info on L-Glutamine and has links to drug interactions and how it works. You can order it on this site. That is where I get it. You should talk to your doctor before you incorporate it into your diet. It helps me so much. If I miss a day of taking it, I feel it. BMs are much more comfortable with it in my system. You can also get a powder to mix in to drinks and food. I've been told that the powder gets into your system better than the capsules but the capsules work for me so I stick with them.
http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/content/en/healthguide/healthguide_content.jsp?title=<strong>Glutamine<%2Fstrong>&Category=Supplements&relativePath=/en/healthnotes/Supp/Glutamine.htm
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***********************
If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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Letty, I remember that first day I saw this website and the boards......like you I sat and cried. I've had IBS/D since 1980 and until Heather's diet I had severe diarrhea and panic attacks that developed into agoraphobia (being homebound). It was trial and error for me with supplements, not with the diet,it was dead on. Here's what I do now:
Absolutely make every effort to stay strict with the diet recommended by Heather. When your stable you can reintroduce some foods to see how they do.
1 T Acacia a.m. dissolved in 1/4 c of juice
1 T Acacia p.m. same
2 hyoscyamine (generic levbid-antispasmodic 1 a.m., 1 p.m.)
1 1/2 Immodium (generic) after first BM
Lorazapam for severe attacks (seldom)
lots of fennel tea for gas
prebiotics (beano) before I eat certain gassy foods
It took me a while to build up to 2T of acacia a day. Just trust what the book says and try it.....what have you got to lose except possible freedom from pain and suffering.
Within the first 24 hrs on the diet I was free of pain. It took a few weeks to get the D manageable with regulating supplement doses that worked for me. Good luck and know that we are all sitting here knowing EXACTLY what you have been going through. I still have an attack once in a while if I'm stressed to the max or don't pay close attention to my foods but I believe they just remind me of how far I've come since last May.
Glad your here, welcome! 
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Franny
IBS/D
Celiac
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