So yesterday was one of the scarier days of my life. I was sitting at my desk at home, enjoying lunch, when all of a sudden I just started to feel really light headed. When I stood up it got much worse, and I could feel my heart rate going crazy, chest pain, and both of my arms and face started tingling/went numb. Needless to say I started freaking out and was convinced I was having a heart attack. Luckily my wife was home and after about a minute I told her something was really wrong. I tried to stand still in hopes it would go away, it persisted this way for about 15 minutes. I eventually said we need to go to the hospital, but when I tried to walk to the car I fell down and felt like I was going to lose consciousness at any moment. I really thought I was going to die, right there at that moment. My wife called an ambulance, and when they got here my pulse rate was 148. Once I got into the ambulance I started to feel a little better and could tell my heart rate was easing up a little. In the ER they gave me an IV of Ativan (anti-anxiety benzo), and within 10 minutes I felt much better other than some dizziness which lasted for another hour. They did a CAT scan of my head, chest xray, EKG, and everything looked fine. They diagnosed it as an anxiety attack, which is something I've never experienced before. They said they often see patients that think they are having heart attacks, because the symptoms are so similar. Needless to say, it was terrifying there for a little while. I've been under a very high load of stress, including ironically enough my dad going through major heart surgery last week. I was relieved to find out it wasn't something more serious, but I never want to go through that again. Has anyone else experienced a panic attack? If so, did they continue to happen and require ongoing medication? Ugh - I wrote most of this hours ago, but had to stop because I felt the whole thing coming on again. Was able to stop it after about 10 minutes of deep breathing. This sucks.
What were you panicking from? I don't understand why you would "panic" from nothing. Maybe you will panic AFTER you get the attack, but... were you just sitting there? Something is definitely wrong with your circulatory system or nervous system. No game was going on and I know Harden played good D on Sunday night... so... I know it's not Rockets related... -_- In all seriousness: get well soon, mister.
I was sitting there eating lunch. I have been under high stress lately, but at the time was not really worrying about anything. From what I've read, this is common and they don't necessarily come on while you are overwhelmed and worrying. It seems really strange, but again from what I've read and what the doctors told me, these are classic examples of first time panic attacks. Really a strange and scary sensation.
Damn. Scary moment. I've had some come on after extended hours driving but it usually clears up with fresh air and rest. Never had it that bad though. I hope you get a handle on it. Wish I could be of some help.
Panic attacks can hit at the weirdest time. You know Earl Campbell was pretty debilitated by them for a while, right? Might want to talk with your G.P. about a mild anti-anxiety med to get you through the rough patches. Deep breathing is no joke. There's all kinds of breathing and physical exercise that is hard-wired to your parasympathetic nervous system, and it literally lowers heart rate and calms you down. Kind of weird how well it can work, as the mind-and-body are just a machine with little knobs. (Don't even, Swoly). Personally a fan of "square breathing" when I get really stressed. Five counts of breathing in, hold for five counts, release slowly for five counts, and then count again to five. In addition, and maybe ironically, tensing up major muscle groups and then releasing them has a demonstrable positive nervous system calming effect.
I don't know much about panic attacks having never experienced any but get well soon mate. Relax a bit, exercise a bit and eat well.
Thanks for the info. I was not aware that Earl dealt with them. What I did today when I felt it was try "belly breathing", which i read about last night while I was researching this. Inhaled through my nose so that my belly expanded, and exhaled through my mouth and let my belly go down. It definitely helped and didn't allow it to escalate like yesterday. Also the fact that I knew what was going on this time and kept telling myself I wasn't dying and it would pass, helped. Again today when this happened I wasn't doing anything stressful, but I was typing up this thread, which may have triggered it by reliving the experience.
I've had panic attacks for about 10 years now. The first one was, like yours, out of the blue. It was so confusing and worse, like yours lasted for hours because I was in no condition to drive anywhere or get help. I ended up getting a friend to take me to an urgent care where the Dr. reluctantly gave me a few pills of a benzo( I don't remember which one). After that, I got in my head for a while. I was in the car when mine started and was very scared to drive for a while. Then I had one on a plane and ended up getting off the plane before it took off. I have only flown twice since then. I missed my Grandma's funeral because I couldn't get it together to get on a plane. My Dad got playoff tix for the Rockets and I couldn't even go because I lived in Virginia at the time and I couldn't fly. That was really humiliating because I didn't understand why this was happening and people just don't grasp panic attacks if they haven't had them. For a while I was drinking a TON to manage them. Like as soon as I walked in the door after work I would start boozing. Shocking tip: it only makes it worse. Sure, when you're sauced you don't feel anxious but when you start to sober up you feel worse. Pretty soon I was always anxious. I finally started seeing a psychiatrist and she was great for me. We experimented with a bunch of meds which was frustrating for a while. If you ever want to PM me I can give you specifics. One word of caution I will give you is that benzodiazapines are HIGHLY addictive(duh). So when I finally titrated off them I felt anxious for like 3 months although nothing like before I got things under control. Exercise has helped me a TON. I started doing triathlons. I'm pretty awful at all 3 sports but I feel better when I exercise and I feel like race day nerves are good exposure-type therapy for bad days. I'm actually not taking any meds now. If I'm being honest I'm proud of that because of how hard things were for a while. I missed work and family events. I distanced myself from friends. But I'm doing a lot better. I always keep a couple Klonopin in my pocket for emergencies. I feel like if I know I have a solution to a panic attack that I'm in charge. My advice would be to take control. Most people with anxiety that I've met seem to have a need to be in charge. i don't say that as a pejorative. But get moving. Pay attention to how you're feeling. See a psychologist/psychiatrist if you think meds or some type of therapy would help. A lot of people have success with Mindfulness. I spent a lot of time kind of hoping nothing bad would happen. When I finally learned and DID something about my anxiety/panic attacks they turned out to be very manageable. Let me know if I can help.
Once again Swoly is an ignorant fool looking to add to his post count. I wish you guys wouldn't quote him so I don't have to acknowledge that he's still a member here. B-Bob is correct. You could have a stressful day or week and feel nothing. Then you find yourself relaxing on a beach or in the pool and BAM, the attack hits. No idea why. The first time I had one I was stuck in traffic due to a wreck on top of the Beltway 8 bridge. I seriously thought I was either going to die or vomit errwhere. I still have them occasionally, but I never feel like it's a heart attack, I just get real nauseous and my hands get stiff/tingly. If I feel one coming on I just take .25mg of a Xanax and it goes away quickly. It sucks, but once you have one you will usually have more in the future. It's also hereditary.
Geez man, you're stressed all of the time, find a few minutes to relax and enjoy a sandwich and that's when it decides to hit? Sucks.
I know right! Total bs, and probably another reason why initially the thought that it was something related to anxiety never even crossed my mind. I just thought "so this is what a heart attack feels like, and I'm done." I even started thinking about life insurance and my daughter while this was happening (which of course made things worse.) Really sucks.
Depression, anxiety, and panic attacks are different. Some doctors dont know that. I saw a family member get prescribed some depression pills for her anxiety. Oh, and the side effect of the depression pill is more anxiety. She was recked. I told her not to take that bs. You have to overcome this yourself. Some people go thru life never having to stress until later in life. Thats why it hit you like a ton of bricks.
I had one last year right here. Dead Mans Beach/Peter Island in the BVI. I was on day 4 out of 8 of relaxation. I think I was just over sexed or something.
I get a massage once a week, workout, meditate. box, thai boxing, bjj and bike.. My stress levels are always low.. Never have stress really. Do you workout or use your body and mind daily? try getting a massage.. or some relaxing watermelon juice.
My wife had a panic attack for the first time in about 10 years this summer. She was anxious and couldn't sleep and then took some Nyquil and it made her even more delirious and then she started freaking out hardcore thinking she was dying. I was able to calm her down but after that she lost a bunch of weight because she was scared to eat or take any kind of medicine for weeks. Nothing really provoked it. When you have job stress, marriage, kids, anxiety can really make your life miserable. But I think Swoly knows that these are only problems invented by white people because they aren't tough enough to survive in this world.
Had one of these earlier this month after the stress of planning a proposal combined with finding out I had high cholesterol (which turned out not nearly as bad as I thought). I was eating lunch just like you when the numbness/dizziness set in. Immediately went to the doctor who checked for stroke symptoms & performed an EKG. Turns out everything was fine. Just don't worry so much if you know you're in relatively good health or else the stress/panic will make minor deals into something worse. Eat well, exercise and take care of your body.
My lady has dealt with them the past 8 years. Same symptoms as you - starts to feel nauseous, extremities get numb, hyperventilating, etc. To calm her down, she has to breathe through a bag to prevent hyperventilation and CO2 loss. Best to take slow, deep breathes and concentrate on your breathing. Have to tell yourself that you'll be fine as a lot of it is mental and due to stress, so worrying and stressing while you have a panic attack only exacerbates the attack. I help my massaging her limbs and comforting her. On bad panic attacks, she'll take either a half or full Xanax. Don't get reliant on it, though, as it is a medicine that requires tapering off. With really bad panic attacks, her dad, an MD who also suffers from panic attacks, will have to inject her with a benzodiazepine. Avoiding stress and being healthy is probably the best thing to prevent panic attacks. Don't psych yourself out and you'll get better. Good luck.
Thanks for the info. I'm very familiar with bezno dependance (not personally), so I know how hellish and even dangerous withdrawals from them can be. Not something I'd want to get in the habit of taking daily if it can be avoided. If this does continue to happen though I think it would be comforting to know I have some meds that can help in case of a really bad one, in case other methods don't work.
Mexicans culture really dont understand that or believe it. They love to easily dismiss it. Fight or flight but theres no flight in our blood.
Also Harrisment, I know I'll sound like a California hippy here, but ... Ashtanga yoga. It's like that **** was designed to relax the nervous system. [/TexasCitizenship]
