Hey Guys, I am 29, bipolar and normally post in that forum, but I wanted to share in here about my anxiety experience. I've had panic attacks since I was seven years old. I remember times as a child when I was playing quietly, and all of the sudden my chest muscles would seize up and it would hurt to breathe. I was raised in a strictly religious household and was afraid of my parents constantly.
Throughout college I continued to suffer panic attacks and constant worrying. I would clench my jaw constantly at night and wake up with horrible headaches and sore gums. I also have suffered from social anxiety since I was small. I remember always being worried about how I looked, and constantly being self conscious about what I said.
Now that I look back on it, I see that I was painfully shy. This continued throughout college and into my professional career, where it seems to intensify. When I was 26 I began to avoid crowds and social situations. I stopped going to the indoor climbing I have been going to since I was 15. I stopped making friends, and was embarrassed of myself constantly.
As a side effect of social anxiety, I spent thousands of dollars on clothing - trying to look cool, as I was extremely self conscious. It didn't occure to my that I had a problem until I had a meltdown 2 1/2 months ago as I had no friends to call my own. I switched psychiatrists and told him what I have never said before - 'I have social anxiety'.
He put me on 300 mg of Neurontin a day. I started talking, I made friends, I left the house again! Last week I went back to the doctor and he doubled my dose. Now, I made 5 new friends last week! Social anxiety for me is a thing of the past. Neither have the panic attacks come back. Its truly a miracle drug. It works for my regular anxiety and my social anxiety.
I love Neurontin
Current medications as of 08-17-2014
03-01-2010 - Present: |
Ritalin, 5mg. as needed |
05-29-2013 - Present: |
Geodon, 60mg. once at night |
06-08-2013 - Present: |
N-Acetyl Cysteine, 1000mg. 1x a day |
06-18-2014 - Present: |
Effexor, 150 mg. 1x a night |
08-13-2014 - Present: |
Neurontin, 200 mg. 3x a day |
Joined: 04-25-2010