Questions You Can Expect Your Doctor to Ask in Panic Attacks Therapy
anxiety and panic attacks - what to ask your doctor about anxiety -
Have you tried a variety of treatments, tips, and tricks for stopping your panic attacks, with little or no results? Preparing yourself with the knowledge of what to expect when it is time to get help can lessen the anxiety that can be caused by not knowing what will happen when you first seek professional help.
If you have kept a journal related to your attacks, definitely take that with you, it will help you to fill out forms that ask for specific information about your symptoms. Be prepared to answer a lot of questions for your doctor, and try to provide an accurate history for him or her. Some of the questions you can expect to have to answer and information you will need to provide are listed below.
What sorts of surgeries and illnesses have you had in the past? Try to be as accurate as you can on the dates, even if it is hard to remember.
Providing information to your doctor about any traumatic events you have experienced (especially those that still have an effect on you when you think about them) can help to determine your triggers. So prepare by trying to remember things that did affect you, such as a breakup or divorce, the passing of a loved one, your children moving out or going away to college, and especially things like living through a hurricane, earthquake or other natural disaster.
You will need to provide a list of all the medications you are taking, or have been on within the last six months, and what dosage levels you were on.
Your doctor will want to know if anyone in your family used to have, or currently has panic or anxiety attacks.
A completely honest answer is going to be required related to any questions your doctor asks you about your alcohol consumption on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, as alcohol is a proven trigger for attacks.
Your doctor will want to know about any recreational drug use in which you have engaged. Again, it is important to be honest, as your panic attacks may be triggered by drug use and it is important for your doctor to either know that, or to rule it out as a cause of your attacks.
Your doctor is going to want to know how much caffeine you have on a daily basis (coffee, tea or caffeinated soda), and what happens if you don’t have it; in other words, do you get a headache or are you too tired to function without it?
Your journal can also help you answer questions about how often you feel anxious or stressed, and how you know that you are about to have an attack.
Be prepared to discuss your individual triggers with your doctor. These can be things such as having heart palpitations when you must drive, or experiencing increased anxiety when riding in an elevator.
The goal is to be as accurate an honest in your answers, and where you have forgotten things during your first visit, be prepared to let your doctor know when you go back.
Want more information? Visit EndingPanicAttacks.com and find plenty of informative content ranging from general information about anxiety help to very specific “how to” info on panic attacks.
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