Do you suffer panic attacks?I went to hospital because I could not breathe. The Dr. said I had a panic attack.

Question

She said she didn't find anything wrong with me. Has this happened to you?

Answer 1

I began suffering panic attacks over 6 years ago. Thought I was having a heart attack, went to the hospital ER like you and was reassured that nothing was wrong and sent home. The anxiety that was caused by this and the uncertainty escalated until I was having them consistently and became unable to go to work for nearly a week. Panic attacks are tricky things. My alias is an ode to them as they are paradoxical in nature. By this I mean, that they feed on themselves and your fear. They become a circular event and a difficult one to escape from in the most severe form. Dr. Claire Weeks wrote book that helped me significantly entitled 'Hope and Help for your Nerves'. In this book she describes the paradox and suggests that in order to break the cycle of panic attacks, you must 'embrace them'. Do not fear them as fear is what drives anxiety.

I have been on meds for the entire 6 years but for the past two required very low doses of ADs. My attacks have virtually dissappeared and on the rare occasion that I have one, can control it's effect and impact. Bottom line - panic attacks can escalate to a point that they are disabling, but don't need to be. Don't let the fear of having an attack paralyze you and make your life small and above all else, DO NOT avoid places or activities in fear of future attacks! This is a dead end street! Good Luck.

Answer 2

I have suffered with them. I haven't in almost fifteen years. There were a lot of things that helped me through my worst of them. The first being a book I found called "Anxiety and You" It describes panic attacks and how you feel during an attack.

There has been a lot here lately on answers about panic attacks, and I've suggested the following: Get busy! Every time I had an attack I would find something to do. Clean a closet, clean the house, scrub the bathroom, at work, I refiled things, anything to occupy my mind.

Your mind plays tricks on you during an attack. You think you can't breath or you have a feeling of impending doom. Your heart seems to race.

Try to find the book I mentioned. I honestly don't know if it's available or not, but after I read it, I felt better. It didn't stop the attacks, I suffered with them for a long time, but I knew I was okay.

I tried meds but they weren't for me. That doesn't mean you don't need them. I fought my way out of the attacks. Read up on them, there are several books and sites to help you out. I just tried to locate the book I mentioned and I can't find it.

Contact me if you have any questions. Good Luck!

Answer 3

I began having them when I was working full time, going to school full time, and my husband was out on disability due to back surgery.

I'm not big on drugs... if I can get better without, than that's the route I'd like to go. I know there are a lot of medications that work really well for those w/panic attacks, but I prefered to not be on them.

The doctor initially thought I might have mitral valve prolapse (the symptoms are quite similar), but an electrocardiogram showed nothing. So, I went to a shrink.

I learned that I could kinda talk myself down from a panic attack. I can feel them coming on as my hands and feet get cold and clammy and a little tingly. Then the shortness of breath, heart palpitations, etc. If I get to that point I'm fully in it. So, when I first start feeling the sensation... I get up and do something. I don't get them when I'm engaged in something, just when I'm relaxing (kind of strange).

So, if I feel it, I do something... laundry, play a game online, take a walk... just something to get me focused on something else. If you focus on your panic attack... it feeds itself and snowballs.

My shrink also suggested a book... "The phobic and anxiety workbook". It had several interesting things in there that might help you too. Also, I decaffinated myself (which is ironic considering my screen name), but that seemed to help as well.

Answer 4

Yes. I used to have them every day ... all day long. Panic attacks are usually presented by shortness of breath, rapid heart rate, sweating and may or may not be accompanied by feelings of impending doom.

How can your doctor say there is nothing wrong? Of course there is something wrong, otherwise you wouldn't be having panic attacks. If I were you, I would see another doctor. Without knowing it, something may be bothering you deeply.

The usual treatment for panic attacks/depression is counseling, accompanied by an effective anti-depressant. The human brain is just like any other part of the human anatomy ... things can go wrong. Please .. seek help, before your condition escalates. Hope everything goes well for you .....

Answer 5

Yes, a long, long time ago. I had taken on way too much. I thought I could handle it but my body was saying no, no, no!!! It would hit me when I was trying to sleep. My throat would constrict and feel like it was choking me. It would spasm and squeeze. Then it started happening in the day. Anyhow it was because I couldn't handle everything I was doing. I had to learn to cope and let go and pick and choose what was important and it was a really hard and difficult thing.

I realized then that I was dispensible. The world would go on without me, and I didn't need to save the world and be everything to everyone.

I was in a very high pressure job at the time so I took 3 months leave of absence and got better and by the time I went back everyone was really kind and understanding too, especially my boss who kind of felt responsible for driving me so hard.

I thought I was getting panic attacks again several years back. Every time I was in the dentist's chair when I was getting a filling or anything that needed a needle.

Turns out that it was the NOVACAINE causing it. They put that in the anesthetic to speed up the freezing...but in some people it creates this "flushing" sensation and rapid heartbeat etc. that lasts for several minutes or longer.

When I told them not to use it anymore I was just fine and no longer experienced that. So warning to everyone else about Novacaine. Let them WAIT 5 minutes longer...it's like a bloody production line in some offices.

Anyhow for YOU, what I would suggest is talk to a psychologist. Find out what is at the root of your fears, because it is usually fear that starts this process, fear of failure, fear of success, with very serious panic attacks it is usually a shock or a trauma of some kind that happened that may have caused the fear to slowly grow into that state.

You can confront this fear, face it, and learn to cope with it and you will overcome it. But you have to be willing to face that fear. It could even be a repressed memory, so better you deal with it with a professional.

Sometimes certain truths are so profound that we can't face them consciously and this is how our bodies react. Don't let it escalate to a point where it incapacitates you.

Mine was a relatively mild incident that just required awareness of my limitations. I was able to cope with it on my own, no drugs, no specialists, although I would have considered that had I had a good enough doctor who cared enough to offer me any kind of help!

But if yours is more serious you will need the professional help and you shouldn't be ashamed to get it.

What I did was meditation and breathing. Remember this, IT'S ALL MIND OVER MATTER.

You can stop it yourself. Don't take drugs. If you need something get the mildest dose of valium, but nothing more. DON'T become addicted to pills. I've never taken a pill in my life that I could avoid taking. I hate medication. It screws you up worse that whatever it was you started off with, so simply change your environment, your thought processes and created an "inner heaven" for yourself that you can go to when you are stressed and bothered.

Dance. Make yourself several cds of your absolute favourite feel good music, both dance and listening, etc. and play it when you need it. It will release good chemicals into your body.

Go to the bookstore or search online for books on anxiety attacks and read them. Read free articles online if you can't afford the books. Good luck.

Answer 6

I have had that experience too, myself. Also when my daughter was in high school I would take her to the emergency room and the doc said that nothing was wrong except she was having panic attacks. I think a emergency room dr doesn't want to give medicine for that--he told her to blow in a bag when she felt like that. I finally took her to a psychiatrist and the dr put her on meds for a while. she is ok now.

Answer 7

I am sry to here that, iv had many panic attacks, i kept going to the Doctor.s trying to convince him there was something serious wrong with me, i first got them about 2 and a half years ago when i was 18, at first i didnt no what was going on, i kept thinking of the worst, and i couldnt go out without having 1 then the doctor gave me xanex but later i found they were to addictive, nd not good 4 me, then i tryed antidepressants but the doctor told me the antidepressants only do so much u have to do the rest ur self, i thought i couldnt but he was right, i started by going n 2 shops , nd if i got panicy id keep telling myself they cant harm me im fine nd id think of something happy n aventually i learned that they cant harm me, now im doing better than ever i no its hard but there is help out there.

Answer 8

Not anymore But I used to. I got my 1rst panic attack at 15, I haven't had one in over a year though.. I don't really know why they stopped. I still get general anxiety. But I don't panic anymore...I think over time I desensitised or something.

Answer 9

it sure has - i feel for you - is it your first one?

if it's not, or they are getting worse...... my dr gave me klonopin
it is less addictive, works very fast and you only need to take it as needed - - but, i highly suggest you learn when one is approching, sometimes you can control a full blown attack - i've learned to do that most of the time - but it did take awhile
good luck

Answer 10

Its all in your head----next time u have a panic attack, sing a christian song in your brain and zoom the panic attack stops immediately.