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 Ativan (Lorazapam), Inderol (propranolol) & Nortyptaline
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| Author | Topic: Ativan (Lorazapam), Inderol (propranolol) & Nortyptaline |
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bbydumplin Member Posts: 7 |
posted January 26, 2002 02:24 PM
  
My name is Sam, I'm 25, married and have two beautiful children (sammy & krystalynne). About three years ago I was driving to work (on the highway), it was a perfectly normal day. I wasn't thinking of anything stressful or worried about anything. It was just a typical (rushed) ride to work when all of a sudden out of the blue my heart started beating faster then ever before and I instantly became flushed. It was beating so fast I could practically hear it. Immediately every nerve in my body tensed up as tight as they could get. I had only one thought, "This is it, I'm having a heart attack and am going to die". I immediately pulled to the side of the highway with my hand on my heart and cried out to God. The first thing I did was ask him to forgive me for all my sins and asked him to take care of my wife & kids. I definitely thought that this was it, there was no question in my mind. I started to get so scared that I got out of my car and leaned over the median wall that separated the highway. I was hoping that someone would notice me and call an ambulance or stop to help me. After about 2 or 3 minutes of this, I thought to myself, "Well? I haven’t passed out, I'm gonna try and get back in my car and put my flashers on and get in the far right lane and try and get to the next exit. With my heart beating what felt to be 500 beats a minute, I drove to the next exit. Luckily, right off the exit there was a gas station with a public phone in sight. I made it to the phone and shaking like a leaf called home to my wife. I said, "Babe, I think I'm having a heart attack and my heart won't stop pounding". I need help, please come get me." I told her exactly where I was and she dropped the phone, gathered the kids and rushed on her way to come get me. As soon as I hung up with her, I thought "Oh NO!" I need to get to a hospital I don't think I have enough time to wait for her. So I immediately called 911. (First time in my life calling them I almost forgot what number to dial). A woman answered and said, "911 emergency how can I help you?" I said, "Please!! I need an ambulance right now, I think I'm having a heart attack, my heart is beating so fast and it won't slow down, please help me!" She said immediately, "Sir, its ok, calm down everything's gonna be alright. "I have you as being at the corner of Falls Rd and Joppa Rd. Is this correct?" I said, "yes, please hurry!" She said, "They are already on the way to get you." I said, "Ma’am, can you stay on the line and talk with me until they get here, She said "definitely, don't hang up, I’m here and everything’s gonna be ok. She started asking me some questions I guess to occupy my mind until help arrived and I tried to answer them the best I could. Before I knew it a fire engine came steaming up the road. I raised my hands and they pulled right up to me. Well if my heart was beating fast enough already all of this (sirens and rushing and everything) seem to make it worse even though I was relieved that I had made it this far and help was here. I remember my mouth feeling so dry it felt like my tongue was scratching my mouth, but they wouldn’t give me any water (for safety reasons). They threw on monitors and blood pressure gadgets and verified that my heart was beating too fast. Within seconds an ambulance arrived and they loaded me in. I yelled out, "My wife & kids!" they will be here any second, please I know they are worried, someone needs to stay and make sure they are aware of everything and where I am. They said don’t worry sir everything’s gonna be fine. As I was lying down in the ambulance I could see out the back door that my wife and kids had just pulled up. I could see the terror on my wife's face. I immediately looked at everything through her eyes. She must have been terrified as to what was going on and what had happened between the time she hung up with me and the time she got there. I said, "Please, there is my wife and kids, please tell them to follow us". They said we have it covered sir as I saw a fireman walk up to her and point towards us as to say "We have him, follow us to the hospital" Immediately the sirens blasted as we drove what felt to be 100 mph to the hospital. I remember telling the woman in the ambulance to please slow down and turn off the sirens they were making me worse. She said sir we have to do this, the driver is a professional and he will get us there quick & safe, try not to worry. I laid back with my heart still beating out of control and just took in oxygen and glued my eyes to the heart rate monitor. Well, to make a long story short, I stayed in the hospital for hours as they tested everything imaginable. Finally they concluded that it was a severe panic attack and that everything was normal. Well, that gave me no comfort at all! I almost think I would have felt better had they told me I had had a heart attack. "Panic attack" seemed too uncertain and unsettling. I tool off a week from work and basically stayed in bed or in my wife’s lap the whole time. By the end of the week I knew I couldn't go back to work and wondered if I ever could. I was having what felt to be a constant panic attack and tenseness. I was in such bad shape that my wife couldn't even leave the house as I thought I might have a heart attack and die. Things that never bothered me in the least before seemed to terrify me now. I remember I couldn't even watch tv shows that seemed to be fast paced or loud. I basically watched shows like "Leave it to Beaver" and the "700 Club". I felt like I was in my 90's or something, like an old man ready to die. Over the next several months I confined myself to my house and went on disability. My wife hardly left the house and when she did I would have to call my parents or someone to pray with me to keep me calm until she returned. In just a few months I had gone from being a healthy 21 year old to a bed-ridden recluse thinking I was on the verge of death or even worse, the beginning of a life of fear living like a vegetable. Well, my doctor began running all kinds of tests for diabetes, asthma, MVP, anything it could possibly be besides anxiety/panic. Again and again everything was normal and it all came down to severe panic disorder. He started me on medicine after medicine and nothing seemed to work. Over a course of a year or so he tried Serazone, Effexor, Klonopin, Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, Amatryptaline, Zanax, Valium, you name it. Nothing was working and I hadn't improved at all. Well, bills started piling up and we couldn't afford to live on just my 60 % disability. So my wife had to find a job or else we would risk losing everything, house, cars, etc.... I didn't think I would be able to handle her not being there to hold me all day and the thought of being alone seemed impossible, but we made the decision that she had to go out and find something so that we could manage. Meanwhile my doctor told me he had done everything he could think of and that he wanted me to see a psychiatrist. I got so angry and frustrated, I felt like my doctor was giving up on me as to say there's no hope. But willing to try anything at this point I agreed to go see a "shrink". I told him I had practically taken everything imaginable and nothing seemed to help. He put me on 2mg's of Ativan (Lorazapam) 3x's a day and 10 mg's of Inderol (propranolol) 4x's a day. These prescriptions were just to try and keep me calm because I was practically living in a constant state of panic. He also prescribed 25mg's of Nortryptaline 3x's at bedtime. Within weeks I started feeling like myself again, it was amazing! I was so relieved that there was finally some hope. My wife got a job and I was able to stay and take care of the kids myself. Even though the meds seem to work well I started fearing going far from the house. I had confined myself to the house for too long. I eventually made the decision that I need to get back to work and try and get in my old mind frame and get around the people I used to work with to try and pull myself together. Within a couple weeks I went back to work and after a month or so I felt completely free and "normal" again. Between lots of prayer, meds, a therapist and getting back to my job everything seemed to heal and I was myself again. Its been about 2 years now since I've been back to work and I've come along way. I am still on the meds, however I am down to only 2mg's of Ativan a twice a day and 10mg's of Inderol twice day and am still on the same amount of Nortryptaline at night. I no longer live in fear and lead a perfectly happy and normal life. THANK THE LORD! He brought me through. I do however have panic attacks occasionally (95% of them on the road when driving in areas where there a not allot places to get help if I needed it and the other 5% in the bathroom at work. I know it might sound funny, but it's true. I guess because it’s confining and there’s no phone accessible.) My wife and I both carry a cell phone so that I can contact her whenever I need to. I only see my psychiatrist every 3 months and I stopped seeing the therapist (only because it was getting a little expensive). I talk with my psychiatrist at every visit about trying to come off of the Ativan because I do feel completely dependant on it and I'm starting to come off of it very slowly and am feeling great. I just want to let everyone know that you are not alone out there at all! Whenever you feel an attack coming on, just remember that you ARE healthy and you WILL get through it like you have hundreds of times before. When you feel an attack coming on say to yourself "COME ON! LET’S GET THIS OVER WITH" and I quote a scripture and say a prayer to God. I also find that carrying a bottle of fresh cold water helps allot. Sometimes I feel an attack coming on and I take a sip of the fresh cold water and for some reason it brings me out of it. I guess because when I panic I get real choked up and hot and the cold water relieves that. Also, turning on the air or rolling down the window seems to help as well. Anyway, I just want everyone to know that you WILL get better and you WILL get over it eventually. Remember when you’re alone that God is always with us and He is in control no matter what. "Perfect love casts out ALL fear". "I can do all things through Christ.." "When we are weak, HE is strong". God Bless you all. |
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Blake0028 Member Posts: 82 |
posted January 26, 2002 04:25 PM
Let me introduce myself, my name is Jason, Im from Lubbock Texas, I have MVP among other conditions... Im sorry ot hear about that, it sounds very scarey...I recentely entered medical school..Im prusuing a career int he field cardiac electrophysiology, lol...I don't know much to say in reply, except that you did the right thing.... Panic attacks to that secerity can be prvoked in the mind my subcouncious thoughts, maybe the fact that you were on a road where there would not of been help if somehting happened provoked it..among other things? There's no telling your guess would be the best..I'm just curious, how fast exactly did your heart get, did the monitor in the ambulance say how fast it was? I'd really be interested in this if you dont mind sharing, appreciate it..have a good one..... -JD |
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bbydumplin Member Posts: 7 |
posted January 26, 2002 04:33 PM
Sure, When I had finally gotten in the ambulance (approximatley 15 minutes after the episode started) the monitor was fluctuating between 175 and 180. I couldn't tell you how fast it was going when the episode started, but it felt like it was double that. |
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