lucycatherine

You are very welcome. I see a therapist, also, and fight panic attacks. You know, you may see your situation as not worse than someone else's, but it is important to see yourself as important. With me, depression rears its ugly head (has all my life) a lot when I play down my own role in life. Depression can be overwhelming and difficult to control, especially with a cancer diagnosis. Sometimes it is difficult if not impossible to fight alone. It's good that you have visited a therapist, and it's good that you've found this place. There are a lot of people on this site that can be a positive influence. I really hope this helps you to feel a little less alone. - innadoon

Just wanted to say "Hi", and let you know you are not alone in the feelings that you are experiencing. We all go thru some kind of anxiety whether it be a pending surgery, a treatment, the outcome of a scan it really is normal. And if you need a little "assistance" from a pill that's ok too..I'm hoping you are feeling better today. Just take it one step at a time...:)

Hey there, just thought I would drop a note. I just had my #2 chemo on Monday. Am doing OK so far with a little nausea and I get lightheaded. I don't know whether it is the chemo or the neulasta shot after that is giving me the side effects. Maybe a little of both. Well, I hope this finds you in high spirits. PS: lost my hair, so strange feeling! But no shampoo and I can hang my head out the car window like a dog if I feel like it without worrying about my hair getting tangled!

Welcome to the site. I think that you will find this a friendly place to come when you need to sound off or vent from anger. We are all here to listen and help, if we can, because at some point and time in each of our lives we have been in your situation. Please don't be afraid to ask questions either. No question on this site is silly or dumb. We all have questions we would like other opinions on or answers to. There are so many nice people here that it has helped me get through my fears I had when I was DX'd with DCIS. Good luck in the future.

Oh, and I carried the Benedryl and 5 Xanax pills around with me for a few years. The Xanax was for extreme times, like flying, when I couldn't "escape".

Hi there. You have a whole lot of icky stuff going on all at once. And it sounds like you're scared because you don't know the "what ifs" and are inside out because you can't control this even a teense. Welcome to Pitlandia.

I'm going to take a risk and write a long response. If it bothers you, don't read it! Just move on to the next response.

I had really bad panic attacks after an auto accident - the result of a concussion. BTW, panic is a prehistoric reaction that's still with us even though it's unnecessary; it's the reaction to a sabertooth tiger in the room. The amygdala goes haywire and the prefrontal lobe tries to reason it out. Amygdala says, "Oh my god, oh my god! We're gonna die, we're gonna die!" Prefrontal cortex says, "What are you on about? Sabertooth tigers haven't been around for a billion years." Amygdala: "Yes but, yes but, what if … what if." And off to the races we go!

Here's what I did that "extinguished" them, thank God. Maybe there's something here that would help you. They put me on an antidepressant for 6 months, one I could stop cold turkey. Then I did the following for about 2 years:

1) Breathed from below the belly button, in on 2 or 4 and out on 4 or 8
2) Occupied my higher mind (logic maker prefrontal cortex) from emotions (amygdala), by concentrating on a can of something on the shelf at the grocery store, or a book on someone's bookshelf, until the adrenaline worked itself out of the big muscles
3) Paced the floor at home telling myself "I am safe, it's only Stage 1 the lowest rank," etc. until the adrenaline worked out of my body (and I had tingles in my arms up to the elbows)
4) Slowed down all movements - walked by touching the heel of one foot to the toe of the other foot (I carried a book or a piece of paper so people thought I was concentrating on what I was reading - but really I couldn't understand a word of what I was reading)
5) Carried a "1st Aid Kit" - a bottle of children's LIQUID Benedryl (they have generic now that works just as well) - take a capful at the first moment an attack hits - the first "woosh" feeling - doctors don't know why it works it just does
6) Devised an escape plan - in crowded rooms, sat nearest the door, gave myself permission to leave a room (the excuse was to use the bathroom), drove in the far right lane and drove 5 mph under the speed limit (so I could pull over, get out of the car and run if necessary)
7) Told myself all the time that the medicine they had me on was only for 6 months and at the end of six months I'd get off it and would be fine with the Benedryl, breathing, focusing (and I was because I talked my subconscious into it - we're so programmable - Madison Avenue ad men caught onto that in the '50s)

It worked for me - I haven't panicked in 20 years.

Each panic attacks passes, but you have to be aggressive with it and right now you probably don't have much energy to fight that, too. Do what you can … but … to extinguish panic one EVENTUALLY needs to get off the meds - it's a brain RETRAINING thing - the brain has gone haywire and it needs to be retrained.

Hello and welcome to the site! Lots of wonderful and informative people on here just waiting to connect with you. If you have any questions feel free to ask. If you see any conversations that interest you jump right in and join them.

Hello and welcome, we are glad you found us. Please feel free to join in the conversations. Here is a link to our cancer dx page for your type of cancer. Take a look at it to get you started on some information. You will notice at the bottom of that page 4 of our active users who have had that journey already, you may wish to contact them for their experience and wisdom. Also, I encourage you to go to the questions page now by clicking on the questions tab at the top of the page and post what is the most pressing issue you have right now. This will introduce you to the community and get you started on the help you need right now.

https://www.whatnext.com/conditions/cancer/breast-cancer
There are also subtypes listed on this page to narrow down the type of cancer to match your dx.

Also, if you can take a few minutes and fill in some details of your journey so far, it will help others as they try to answer questions for you, it also helps others as they search through the data base to find someone like themselves. Confirming your email will allow you to receive updates and notices from the site when someone answers your questions or writes on your wall.

Thanks for being with us and let me know if I can help you find any information on the site. After you have an opportunity to look the site over and see what great things there are here, we encourage you to invite your friends, family or anyone you know that may be helped by the connections on WhatNext to join the site also. Just click this link to invite them to join. http://www.whatnext.com/recruit-a-friend

Follow Us on Twitter Click Here =>http://bit.ly/XExkce
Find Us on Facebook Click Here =>http://on.fb.me/zjBAPl
Our Pinterest Page with Resources=>http://bit.ly/12qVtEs
Our Help Page with instructions for the site->http://bit.ly/1aR5165
GregP 3X Survivor
Team WhatNext Community Mgr.

Welcome to the WhatNext family! The WhatNext family is made up of people like you who are looking for help or looking to help others. To help you along your journey the WhatNext family has put together a Beginner's Guide to Cancer that I highly recommend you check-out here: http://bit.ly/10BQKCi. Also, please do not hesitate to reach out to others or ask for help.

Wishing you the best.

David
Founder, WhatNexter