Dear All
Had my lumpetomy last week and get my results this coming Thursday. Have been suffering from panic/anxiety attacks for the past 3 years and they are so much worse at the moment. I just can’t focus on anything else but the bc. Does anyone have any tips. Also finding it difficult to eat or sleep. Doctor has given me valium but that seems to make the anxiety worse.
Thanks for any help.
Maree
sorry to hear you are having such a rubbish time with the panic attacks. I had them until my full results were through, then i settled into focusing on treatment. You will see it time and again on this site, but waiting is truly the worst bit. I hadn’t suffered panic attacks prior to my dx, so i am not sure whether the hints i was given might be old news to you. I used a bachs rescue remedy when i felt the anxiety building. It worked well, though whether that was because of the stuff itself or the process of getting it out, (unscrewing the top, filling the dropper, dropping it on my tongue etc) i am not sure, but it was soothing. Hands on contact helped too, my sister would massage my nexk and shoulders etc and that was soothing. Breathing exercises helped, i think one was breathing in for four through the nose and out for five through the mouth. I am sure other ladies will correct me if i have remembered that wrongly! Also, maybe get different medication from the doctor if valium isn’t working? I have no idea what medicine may work but other ladies might. It is also worth talking through with a bcn and arranging counselling to help you. I am having mine in a few weeks.
take care and hope your results go well for you,
Vickie
Hi, Maree
My daughter has had general anxiety disorder for a long time ( she’s 31 now) she has been down the drug route a couple of times bur they havn’t really worked for her. she finds that Reiki helps a lot. it’s worth asking you BCN or Mcmillan nurse if you are entitled to any comlementary therapies
Carol
Hi Maree
This isn’t a quick fix, more a longer term thing, perhaps for when you have finished treatment. I have two friends currently undergoing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for panic attacks - one of them for issues with driving, the other for more generalised panic. They have both shown significant improvement - not cured yet, but finding life much easier.
Sorry to hear you are having such a rubbish time at the moment and I know panic attacks are awful. My daughter suffered from them for a while in her late teens and was referred to a psychologist who taught her some of the techniques suggested by the other women. It made a fantastic difference to her and she managed to control them and eventually get on with her life. Would it be worth asking your GP to refer you to a counsellor or psychologist or talk to the bc nurse?
The waiting is bad enough without suffering as you are I do hope you get good results.
Love Anne x
Hi Maree,
Thanks for the pm…hope you are feeling a little more settled.
Yes it is a worrying time waiting for the results and not much can make it any less stressful.
Try to find what works for you, remember you are not alone in this and we are all with you, enjoy the bits when you feel like a human being…they are there honestly…and savour them like mad…
Take care of yourself and don’t be harsh on yourself.
Hugs for you
Suze xxxx
Hi there
I have suffered with anxiety since I was a kid - 42 now! I’m a step behind you, my first appointment is on 28 July. All the advice these lovely ladies have given you so far is spot on, particularly getting some counselling.
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is colour breathing - sounds weird I know but it is something that I’ve used for a while and does help to lessen or get rid of that awful feeling in your stomach and the shaking and any other symptoms you may have.
You need to make yourself comfortable in a chair or lay on your bed.
Then you need to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Making sure that when you breathe in you breathe in down to your stomach so that it rises with the air going in and goes down with the air going out. This will help to stop the shallow breathing associated with anxiety as well.
Then, when you feel comfortable with this type of breathing you add the colour part of it. When you breathe in, imagine you are breathing in good colours ie ones that you like to help the anxiety and then when breathing out imagine the bad colours that you associate with anxiety coming out.
When I breathe in I imagine white, silver and aqua blue air going into to me which are clean and pure colours to me. Then when I’m breathing out I imagine the colours to be black, dark purple, grey and aubergine - the colours of a storm cloud coming out of me which is what it feels like it is going on in my body at the time. There is no particular amount of time to do this - just keep doing it until it helps. If you feel like your mind is pulling away from you and you stop and start to think about other things, just keep pulling yourself back to the breathing.
Hope this helps. Let us know how you’re doing.
Debs xx
Hi Debs - the colour breathing sounds a lot like the techniques Paul Mckenna uses on his shows - it certainly seems to work for him.
Hi Finty
I got this from a psychologist and I wonder if it’s Paul McKenna who she got it from. Takes some concentration but works for me.
I trained as an NLP coach/therapist with Paul McKenna and assisted on his courses in London so I thought I would type out the exercise I think you are talking about.
Paul ran courses with Richard Bandler the co-founder of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming).
Paul says, “Richard Bandler’s work has transformed our understanding of the true capacity of the human mind”
I just wanted to give the references to the right people! (The exercise Paul uses is the work of Dr Bandler).
1 Think of something that makes you feel fearful or anxious or take the anxious feeling you already have.
Scale the feeling on a scale of 1-10 to see where you are to start (it’s always good to have a measure).
2 Notice where the feeling is in the body (usually chest or tummy) but could be anywhere.
3 Notice the direction of feeling (which way it moves) and visualise it using red arrows pointing the way it moves. (Paul would ask you to give it a colour) I would do the same with clients.
4 Imagine taking the feeling outside your body in front of you and spinning in a sphere/circle.
5 Change the direction of the spinning, changing the arrows from red to blue or change the spinning sphere to your favourite colour pulling it back into your body.
6 Keep spinning the shere/feeling faster and faster in the new direction, make to sphere bigger until you bathe your whole body in it.
Retest scale on 1-10.
Try to exercise again, the brain learns by repetition.
I join the others here and would recommend anyone who has had a long term problem with anxiety to see a CBT or NLP Therapist who should explain how anxiety works and who will work with you to learn new strategies. As we say in NLP ‘The brain loves doing whats the same but learns by whats different’
Another exercise I’d like to mention, again from Dr Bandler is passing a ball from hand to hand. There is a video clip of this being done on You Tube- put in Andrew Austin+NLP+Anxiety. I can highly recommend Andrew to anyone in the south or anyone in the north who wants to travel, take a look at his website.
I recommend a book -Neural Path Therapy by Matthew McKay PH.D and David Harp, MA. Some great exercises, some CBT. I’ve checked on Amazon and book is available starting at around £4.70
I have decided to retire since being diagnosed with bone mets but I’m happy to help anyone with breast cancer in the Manchester/Cheshire area.
Love
Sue x
Dear All
Thanks so much for all the advice. There are several techniques which I am trying out and have some mild success with. I need to keep practising. Have been in touch with by bcn who is hopefully going to arrange for me to see a therapist.
I understand that the waiting is the worst and that once I know what the results are and the plan of action, things should calm down?!
I can’ thank you enough for your support and advice. It is so good to know that so many people want to help.
Mareexx
Hi Maree
How are you doing. Have you had your results back yet. I had a nice relaxing holiday with ny friend, it is now back to reality.
I suffer from anxiety and take Paroxetine tablets,I have been taking these for about 5 years when i had a really bad episode. I also use the breathing techniques mentioned by the different ladies and find them invaluable.
Last chemo on Friday yipee, after that it is 2 weeks of rest then a CT scan on 13th August then rads start 2 weeks later and end on the 24th September.
Let me know how you get on with your results and pm with any questions,
Love Anne xxx