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JulieKac Asked July 2021

Panic attacks. How to deal with them?

Yes, it’s me again, I’m afraid.
Does anybody here living in the UK know how panic attacks can be dealt with.? My Father is having them much more frequently. Surely this is a mental health issue and I wonder who could do an assessment of him for this. It doesn’t strike me as something his GP can help with, nor is it something the carers have the skills to deal with. It is certainly something that I don’t know how to manage.

JennaRose Jul 2021
Hi Julie,

Not that long ago someone else on the forum asked about how to deal with panic attacks (I suffered from them my entire life) and here is the thread which you may find helpful:

https://www.agingcare.com/questions/panic-attacks-what-do-you-do-to-alleviate-it-468278.htm?orderby=recent&page=1�

Best to you and your Dad,
Jenna

Midkid58 Jul 2021
There's no need to live miserably. I have panic attacks, which certainly weren't helped by having gotten through cancer in 2020-2021, then covid shutdown.

I've got a scrip for antianxiety meds and without them, life would be intolerable.

Yes, they are addicitve. Highly so. But I will choose this addiction over crying and shaking in bed because I am so panicky.

Please don't let your dad suffer, OK?

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cwillie Jul 2021
Julie - I don't think the main point of freqflyer's post was that panic can be a side effect of medication, what I take away from it is that she was helped by medications specifically meant to relieve panic attacks (and wishes she had not allowed herself to tough it out for so long).

Do talk to your GP about this, if they aren't able to help they most certainly should be able to send you to someone who can!

freqflyer Jul 2021
JulieKac, I've have had my own panic attacks for many years. My primary doctor kept suggesting meds to help but I would keep refusing them. Eventually I gave in, and now I could kick myself for not taking her recommendations years earlier.

My panic attacks were side effects to a cancer medication I was taking, and even though the paperwork that came with prescription medication never mentioned this side effect, my surgeon was finding a lot of her patients were having such attacks.

So, check your Dad's meds and see if the paperworks mentions this side effect. If yes, maybe your Dad's primary doctor could prescribe something else.
JulieKac Jul 2021
Dear Freqflyer
thanks for answering.
My Father doesn’t really take any meds that would cause panic. He takes one Mirtazapine at night to settle him, but he is constantly having panic attacks during the day.

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