#9 Postby Alladin » Fri Jun 30, 2006 4:47 pm
Hurricanes are very stressful events. It doesn't matter if you shelter in place or evacuate, you're going to be under a lot of stress. When I was younger, big hurricanes didn't bother me too much. Heck, we sheltered in place for Andrew in Homestead, FL and came through that one just fine.
However, now that I've gotten a little older (and hopefully wiser), I found that both hurricanes Ivan and Dennis stressed me out a lot. The night before Dennis hit, I went to the local hospital ER because I thought I might be having a heart attack (I had one in 2004). The attending physician checked me over and found nothing. When he realized the problem was anxiety about the impending storm, he gave me some Lorazepam and I calmed right down.
We sheltered in place for both storms. During Ivan the anxiety I felt was overwhelming. My rational decision making abilities were impaired. I was in a state of hurricane shock. Before Dennis, the same thing started to happen and that's why I went to the ER. The Lorazepam clamed me down and allowed to use my normal rational and analytical thought process to get through and recover from the storm. I only needed one 0.5 mg pill to get me through the storm.
The next time I saw my regular doctor, I told him about my hurricane anxiety. He too lived through Ivan and Dennis (during Ivan his house was destroyed) so he truly understood. He's been my doctor for about 20 years now. So, he gave me a prescription for Lorazepam (0.5 mg) just in case. That bottle of pills is in my hurricane kit in preparation for the next big storm. Lorazepam is for me, just as important as my hurricane shutters!
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