panic attack??????

[Cindersam]

A few weeks ago I had a very weird thing happen. My heart started pounding and would not slow down for about 45 minutes. I felt light light headed and was told I looked very pale.

 

A friend took me to the doctor and he ran some blood tests but everything came out fine. Some friends are suggesting it was a panic attack. Has anyone had those and if so is there anything you can do about them? It has started up several times since then but usually goes away after a few minutes. A few days ago it kept starting and stopping for several hours. Anyone experience anything like this?

[EvaGina]

sounds like one to me, did your vision black out at all? did your hearing go fuzzy?

 

I used to have them A LOT... pretty much continually while sober.

My mate and I were at a concert, and all of a sudden he freaks out, goin "we have to get out of here" he was sweating and shaking and wanted to faint, I figure it was worse becuase of the hot, stuffy atmosphere.

 

next time it happens you HAVE to concentrate on your breathing. put your hand over your diaphragm and imagine the air filling up your lungs is aiming for that spot. Breath slowly and deeply. It helps a lot.

[Cindersam]

No nothing happened with my vision or my hearing.

 

You say you "used" to have them alot. You don't get them anymore? Any idea why you had them or why they stopped happening?

[strungout]

Coming from someone who suffers strongly from anxiety and panic attacks, I feel your pain.

 

I do see my doctor who has me prescribed on Zoloft and Xanax but, truth be told, it obviously cannot remove the situation that is causing it out of your life. Some people suffer from anxiety and panic attacks during day to day things and some people suffer from them because of a particular situation, like me.

 

Every night of this past week I have been as well, because of my heartless (ex) girlfriend, which you could see the post I am about to write tonight to find out more about. I was actually just registering and I saw you post and I can relate to you so strongly I wanted to reply to this first.

 

Some things that I personally feel:

Heart Pounding

Pressure on Chest

Nausea

Lightheaded

CANNOT STOP HORRIBLE THOUGHTS AND MENTAL PICTURES!

Can't sit still, pace

Can't sleep, eat

 

I feel like I am losing my mind, but this is your post so I just wanted to let you know, even though I am not a doctor, I would have to say that is a strong possibility. And, i'm sorry..

 

I wish I could help you but I can't beat it myself.....

[Beyondthesea]

I used to have them all the time. Mine stopped because I started monitoring my breathing, and used self-help techniques.

 

link removed

 

That page will tell you more about them, so you know you aren't alone, and

 

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this page will tell you how to help yourself if you feel one coming on.

 

My most important tip: be sure not to allow yourself to get catastrophic thinking...don't allow yourself to start mentally panicking, which then puts your body in the right frame of mind to physically panic.

[Cindersam]

Thanks everyone! At least I feel a little more "normal" now.

[EvaGina]

No nothing happened with my vision or my hearing.

 

You say you "used" to have them alot. You don't get them anymore? Any idea why you had them or why they stopped happening?

 

I weaned myself off them.

I cant really explain it.

Its still pretty bad, if I am in an unfamiliar situation I freak out, cant hear properly, cant see properly, it feels like Im drunk. I dont faint anymore tho and I can leave the house while sober, which is nice

 

I forced myself to get over them, desensitised myself, stopped drinking to the HUGE excess that I was (well, that comes and goes, actually)... moving away helped, I have to do everything myself.

 

I still freak sometimes, Ill spaz out over hte smallest thing, ordering a round at the bar or asking a shop assistant something can throw me in the deep end.

[isisastaria]

Sounds like rubbish...but try B12 supplements. I swear by it. If I take my B12 I don't have them. Period. I also take an isolated highly absorbable magnesium supplement. It is labeled "natural CALM" and it says it's from Peter Gilham.

 

It helps muscle tension, too. Just be careful! It also loosens your intestinal muscles! So don't take too much at a time!

[SummerGirl38]

I have dealt with panic attacks for the last 8 years. Mine happen when I drive on the highway or I get into heavy traffic (this is because of a car accident I got into years ago and it still freaks me out).

 

Your experience sounds exactly like a panic attack to me. I hate to tell you this, but if it is, you will always have them. It is how you handle them when it happens that makes them less scary.

 

Some of the symptons I experienced before I was diagnosed...

 

Heart pounding

Nausea

Palm sweating

chest pains

blackouts

insomnia

Nervousness

Feeling faint

 

Let me assure you, you ARE NOT freaking out, you ARE NOT going to die, you ARE NOT going to start smacking yourself in the head and acting like a crazy person, you WILL NOT have a heart atack.

 

What you are having is a normal reaction to panic.

 

What may I ask are you doing when you experience the attacks? Are you driving? In a crowd of people? Are you in a tall building? Are you doing something that makes you uncomfortable?

 

Try and pinpoint what it is that is bothering you when they happen, because deep down right at that moment something is scaring/bothering you.

 

Your next step is to control them. When they happen, breath deep (from your belly) and distract yourself, look in your purse/wallet for a piece of gum, read something and concentrate on what you are reading, count backwards from 100, talk on the phone, clean the house, JUST DISTRACT YOURSELF FROM WHAT YOUR BODY IS EXPERIENCING RIGHT AT THAT MOMENT.

 

Another one that still helps me is saying to myself "it's no big deal". I am panicking, I'm sweating, I feel sick, but it's no big deal. This is my bodies way of dealing with stress.

 

Avoid caffeine, avoid alcohal, and do some excercise (this last one really helped me) You are too tired to panic if you just ran a mile on the treadmill.

 

I learned all this from the Midwest Center for stress and anxiety. I don't know what their website is, but I am sure they have one.

 

Trust me, pills didn't help, they made me worse. Go to this website atleast and understand what it is for yourself.

 

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this, it stinks I KNOW.

 

I'm here if you need me

[rocio]

Please don't self-diagnose. It may have been a panic attack, but there are other medical explanations as well. You don't mention whether or not you were stressed when it happened.

 

If it happens again, try to count your heartbeat. Press your finger to your neck and time yourself for 60 seconds. If your heart beats more than 100 times in a minute (and you haven't been exercising), go to the emergency. They can listen to your heart to see if something is wrong. (But go immediately so that they can catch it while it's acting up. If you wait a few hours until your heartrate settles down, it will seem perfectly normal.) Sometimes there is another part of your heart that's beating out of synch and causing palpitations.