Advice

Hi all,

I’ll start by saying this is all new to me. I’ve always been kind of anxious, but mostly in a “I’m nervous for what the future holds” or racing thoughts kind of way. Never physical symptoms. About a month ago I noticed that before meetings my heart would start pumping super fast. Then at my routine dental check up I almost had to excuse myself because of that same sensation but managed to recover. Last Friday, I had a super bad day of panic and went to urgent care for it. All results were fine. The next day, Fourth of July, I was out with my mom and had a massive panic attack. Felt like I was going to die. Since then, I’ve had 2-3 more “attacks”, but every day since last week has felt crappy even during periods where I’m “normal”. Weak, tired, just waiting for the next one to strike essentially. I wanted to crawl out of my skin last night it was so bad. The urgent care doctor prescribed hydroxyzine for occasional use but I haven’t used it yet. I might today if I feel an episode coming on.

Tomorrow I have my appointment with my primary doctor. It was supposed to be next week but I can’t wait until then so we’re doing it virtually. I’ll see what they say of course, but I might suggest Celexa. I was on it about 4 years ago for the general anxiety and I can’t remember if it helped much but it’s hard to say because I’ve never had a panic attack until this week. I am so scared to get on it now reading everyone’s initial side effects. I can’t have another bad panic attack. I also have a trip in exactly 2 months time I’m worried I’ll have to miss. Any advice or success stories?