Quote:
Originally Posted by pennyboy43a
Here is the story.
I was with a trainer. I got a panic attack and was unable to drive for a while so I asked the trainer to drive. He said he would have to call into safety. Well I was left in ND at a Flying J. Well I was not going to go drive again but I was hired on with a company about to go with a trainer and got a panic attack. I have been on SSI for this. I really want to drive a truck but am I useless? I would like to go on panic attack pills but am unsure if I would be able to drive for a company? can anyone help on this?
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Simple answer:
Yes, at the moment, you are totally useless as a driver.
You have no business driving until you get this totally under control. Left undiagnosed and untreated, it is only a matter of time before you kill yourself or others.
I don't know . . . maybe I'm missing something here . . . .
You're having panic attacks that are so debilitating that you can't drive, but yet, you want to continue driving . . . and then you're coming
here asking for medical advice?
Why? (First question.)
Second question . . . forget your trainer problem . . . who's your doctor? Why aren't you talking to him? Why didn't you have this discussion with whoever signed off on your DOT physical?
You should be under care of a psychiatrist or at least a psychologist who works with an M.D. and can prescribe appropriate medication.
"Panic attacks" are usually just a symptom of an underlying problem . . . most likely a panic disorder, but could also be an anxiety disorder.
They're not necessarily an indication that you have a mental disease. A very common cause could be extreme levels of stress.
The true panic attack, which it sounds like you had, is an extreme fight-or-flight response triggered by a huge release of adrenaline in your body. It's as if you walk into your bathroom at home and suddenly encounter a man-eating tiger ready to rip your guts out.
Only . . . there's no tiger. There's no apparent "cause" for you to feel the instant panic. It just comes out of nowhere.
Some of the dangerous things that might happen to you include extreme dizziness, trembling and shaking, hyperventilation, a total loss of cognitive ability and what's called "loud internal dialogue." In other words, you're so busy focusing on the panic attack that you stop paying attention to what's happening around you.
I don't think that you are permanently disqualified from ever driving. But so what if you are? Truck driving sucks anyway, from what everyone says
your immediate concern should be to free yourself from panic attacks.
That's no way to live.
With the right treatment and therapy you can "fix" or at least "control" the problem and probably will be able to drive.
Just not right now. Park it and see a doctor!
REMEMBER: The one thing we do know for sure about panic attacks is that left untreated (or if the underlying issues remain unresolved)
they will get worse!