panic attacks?

On Saturday I got my first two; I couldn't breathe because I was hyperventalating, then my entire body went numb and sort of seized up to the point where I couldn't walk. I went to the ER and they put me on some meds, but then I got another one the next day, and another one of sorts today (I didn't go numb today.) Is there any way to avoid these? Is it possible to control them?

EDIT: They told me at the hospital that if I just breathe slow deep breathes it should go away, but that hasn't worked so far.

I'm on medication for mine.

I take clozepam every 8 hours and Paxil every night.

I got the point that I was having them sometimes multiple times a day and EVERYTHING would cause them.

Some days I couldn't go to work... some days I couldn't go grocery shopping (Sometimes I'd freak out and just leave a full cart in the middle of an aisle) Some days I couldn't even drive to the gas station...

They are better now, only "serious" stuff set them off and WITH the medication I am able to pretty much control them when they start by breathing and relaxation techniques.

Good luck! I feel for ya!

After spending a year of fainting, I get them all the time - from having tingly lips to swallowing an ibuprofen! 

I can't take meds ( or I have a panic attack ) so I've learned to sip a glass of water and concentrate on doing that while sitting down, or sitting down while breathing slowly and talking to someone to keep my mind off it, oh and fidgeting helps a lot too (closing my eyes and putting my head down induces fainting from it so I never listen to people who tell me to do that!).

Panic attacks are self induced so you just need to learn to control them yourself. It's a hard and long process but you just have to do it. 

I hope it gets better for you though! They're nasty.

Physiologically Panic attacks only last about 20 minutes. But, then your trigger reappears and it starts back up. One thing you might want to try and figure out is what your trigger is. It can be hard, but pay attention when you get one next time. Was there a specific thought, sight, smell, conversation that started it.  Panic attacks suck , I had them everyday for 3 months, all day.

I finally went on medication for it, and stayed on those medications for 3 or 4 years. Recently  bec ause of insurance reasons I had to stop my medications. I've been off them for almost 3 months now and I feel ok. I get anxiety occasionally, but I find that if I distract myself; I.E. play a video game, watch TV, Read a book it helps me calm down.

But honestly, you need to figure out your trigger and if you can't then I would recommend going to see a therapist. They can help you, even if you are reluctant to go because you think that means you're crazy. Your not.

I've found that the best way to overcome panic attacks is to know your enemy...  Panic is a vicious cycle - you get stressed and your body starts to produce adrenalin, which causes the symptoms and then you get more and more stressed as you freak out, and so on. The biggest tip I can give you is never EVER try to run away from a panic attack. That way lies agoraphobia and nobody wants to to there... a panic attack is a basic physiological reaction to excess adrenalin production, and the best cure for it is to relax and tell yourself that it can't hurt you. You are calm, relaxed and in control. And even if you're not, what's the worst thing that can happen? Nothing. You are perfectly safe and nobody else can even tell you're having a panic attack unless you tell them. Yes it feels horrible, but it will pass very quickly. you are NOT going to choke to death, swallow your tongue, or any of the other nasty panic-stricken thoughts that your mind might be throwing at you about them. It's not physiologically possible for a healthy young person to die from fright, whatever stories might say. Your adrenalin level will eventually subside and it'll go away again...

Once I'd learned the mechanics of panic, I was able to start telling myself not to be so silly... and I learned to ride out an attack very quickly, and then they got less and less. I hardly ever panic now, but even if I do, so what... I recognise it for what it is, and tell it to quit bothering me and sooner or later it goes away... a lot of people take medicine for panic, but I never have.

PS. You're not alone in ending up at the hospital with your first panic attack... it happens to a LOT of people, including me. In the absence of knowledge of what's actually going on, a panic attack can seem like something terrifying is happening to your body... for me, it helped a lot to find out that no, I didn't have some dire disease, I was just having panic attacks. Then I could put that worry out of my mind and stop feeding the monster and making them worse by worrying about a physical cause.

 

mary-beth, I've left full carts at the grocery store, too. You get that "uh oh" feeling and you know it's time to immediately get home.

It took me a while before I could tell I was about to get a panic attack, and those were the worst times. Now I know when I'm on the verge of one and how to hopefully head it off at the pass.

I take extended release Xanax: one in the morning and two at night. It's the only thing keeping me from launching into orbit :/

I suffer from panic attacks. Your body is tingly because of excess oxygen in your blood. I had the same thing happen to me. I was terrified, and thought I was dying. I think that you should go talk to your usual doctor about these panic attacks. There may be something bothering you in your life causing this panic attacks, and the doctor can help you. I was perscribed medication and was on medication for 5 years. I recently stopped my medications. When I first started having panic attacks I took yoga to help me control my breathing, and I have started yoga again to help me focus on my breathing without the mediction. Best of luck to you.

wow,  ya i know that get out feeling,listen to yourself and get to a safe place i started to fear i would not get to a safe place and that makes it even worse so come up with some places that are safe as well as home,  for my depression or panic attacks i usually go stright and take a shower and have good scream and cry if i can,  i have not had one in several month though and had forgotten them till i saw this post,  i have had them on ad off since i was 10, thats 17 years,  its the worst feeling in the world....but the scaryness does end do anything that calms yourself with out physically hurting yourself,  if you want meds they are out there, but i found they were never worth it for me,  

Okay, some of these things sound like good advice but depending on the circumstance might not be so helpful.

My psychiatrist says I have one of the strongest "flight or fight" reactions he has ever seen.

I get violently ill, throwing up, diarhea, I have passed out and caused seizures from lack of oxygen.

It's kind of hard to tell your brain nothing is going to happen when your laying in a puddle of vomit and thrashing around..... So some people that will not work for.

We also found that my attacks are based off things that I do not have control over. It is a deep rooted psychological issue that there's really no way to control. It's deeply stored in my memory to the point, I can't remember it what it was, but close enough to cause me to freak out at random times.

Sometimes I can go to the doctor and laugh and be happy, and other times I can't leave the car to make it into the office.

I got so freaked out over trying to parrell park one day that I just went flying out into traffic and almost got hit by several people just because I HAD to get away...

Many things can happen... maybe you'll tell me I'm making excuses. But you can cause serious damage to your brain and body with the lack of oxygen if your attacks are severe enough.

I have been seeing a psychiatrist every two weeks and a psychologists weekly and they still say that is not enough to control my attacks completely. And that I might not ever be able to go off the crutch of the medicines I take.

Now, in the mild case of panic attacks, yes, deep breathing, concentrating on something else and giving yourself a moment away from the stimulation will all help. I will not dispute that, I used to be able to control them that way before they got bad, and when I have them now, I can normally control them that way WITH the medication I am on.

Now when ever I go somewhere the first thing I do is scope out a safety spot. Somewhere that looks a little private (bathrooms normally) that I can go to if I start feeling overwhelmed (for no reason) That helps a lot too. To get that out of the way, so you don't freak out even more once you start to get a little anxious and don't know where you can go to take a deep breath and chill.

My psychiatrist is very big on the brown bag technique I might add... but it doesn't work as well for me.

I take atirex for them. Can't really add anything that hasn't been said in this thread, just want to add support. Panic attacks are horrible.

Thanks everyone. I went to see my doctor and she said that she's only going to put me on meds if its REALLY effecting my life. My biggest fear is getting them in the middle of class at school; most of my classes consist of the teacher standing at the front of the room talking while we take notes, and its pretty near impossible to ask to go to the nurse at that time (don't ask why.) I just don't want to be sitting there freaking out while my classmates look at me like i'm the biggest freak in the world =/

Thanks for all your replies, they've helped. (although mary-beth's sort of freaked me out a little bit, i hope i don't get that bad. Thanks for being honest though.)

Don't worry, dear, I'm kind of a random case.

But, take them seriously. You want to talk to someone about controlling them instead of playing it off that you should be able to control them on your own.

That's not always the case.

A lot of people are made to feel stupid or silly for having them, I just wanted you to know that they are kind of serious in certain situations, and not as easily controlled as people try to make it sound, and that there is nothing wrong with you for having them.

Good luck!

hi i have to say what marybeth said was wrong: quite wrong. one of the most important thing you need to know about panic attacks is : THEY CANNOT HARM YOU! you cannot suffer serious complications due to lack of oxygen. due to a panic attack

they is actually too much o2 in the body during panic, because the breathing is all in the upper part of the lungs, and there isnt sufficient CO2 circulating (which is actually needed in small amounts) this is why we breathe in a paper bag (re-used co2 from breathing out). vomiting and diarrhea can occur due to blood being redirected to the muscles and the need for rapid  cessation of digestive processes (fastest way to get it out!).

also you cannot faint during a panic attack (though nearly EVERYONE is terrified of that) this is because fainting is caused by low heart rate or blood pressure- we all experience huge acceleration in panic, with the BOOMing heart-which is a good strong heart.

finally the most important thing is this , and i spent 3 months as an inpatient on an anxiety programme and after loads n loads of groups and being turfed into various experiments i learned this :the fight/flight reponse can only last for a short duration , this is because adrenaline (the damn hormone which sets off the whole thing) cannot not be produced in masses and so its affet wear off very very quickly. so panic attacks - as awful as they are- will burn themselves out.

 but they are powerful. think Adrenaline (or epinephrine as the americans call it), is the stuff that they use to restart the heart....listent to ER the next time "i need 2.5mg of  EPI (epinephrine!)" so relax as best you can-this too shall pass, its a good sign of you, it means you are starting to face your probs lurking underneath head on rather than trying to hide n distract using the eating disorder.

hmmm maybe you should come talk to my psychiatrist and psychologist then

 

weird they would think differently

 

and uh wikipedia says

"According to the American Psychological Association the symptoms of a panic attack commonly last approximately thirty minutes. However, panic attacks can be as short as 15 minutes, while sometimes panic attacks may form a cyclic series of episodes, lasting for an extended period, sometimes hours"

hours? wow really? huh!

 

oh and the mayo clinic agrees

"You may have a few or many of these panic attack symptoms. Panic attacks typically begin suddenly, without warning. Panic attack symptoms usually peak within 10 minutes and last about half an hour. But panic attacks have many variations. They may last hours or, on rare occasions, up to a day. You may feel fatigued and worn out after a panic attack subsides. One of the worst things about panic attacks is the intense fear that you'll have another panic attack."

Furthermore a simple google search of "panic attack seizure" will show dozens of both medical and non-medical sites that say how a serious panic attack will bring on seizure type symptoms, that are so similar that only an EKG machine can specify if it was indeed a seizure or panic attack.

"Panic disorder and some partial seizures may have similar symptoms. Patients with epilepsy may have prodromal symptoms of tension, anxiety, and depression" http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7267/ 1002

 

It's people like you that make people like me feel stupid and bad for not being able to control a medical condition.

 

I think it depends on the person, actually, so both fidget and you (mary-beth) are probably right. For example, my first panic attack lasted about 40 minutes, then subsided, then 10 minutes later flared up again just as powerful. However, in most cases, and when I say most i'm figuring maybe 95%, panic attacks can't harm you. Even after I had hyperventalated  for 15 minutes the tests showed that my body had enough oxygen. So you're both  right I think.

swimchick_123, although I have no information or assistance to offer but I just want to say that I truly hope you will not get those attacks again. Feel better. HUGS.

I recently started having panic attacks. My last one was my worst one.  My mom wanted to take me to the hospital but I didn't want to go.  I just sat down and kept trying to breath slowly.  I drank some water and that helped.  I do know people who have had to go to the doctor.  They had to call an ambulance for my grammy, but she was much older so maybe that could have something to do with it.  Im really not sure if it can seriously hurt you, but I sure felt like I couldnt breath, not sure what would have happened if I wasnt able to calm myself down. It probably does depend on the person and maybe their health history or age.

MARYBETH : AS TAKEN FROM THE MEREK MANUAL-THIS IS THE MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA USED BY DOCTORS AND PSYCHIATRISTS. I too suffer from panic, so dont profess to me that i am causing you to feel silly. also cyclical panic is not panic attacks lasting for hours, it is -as swimchick said- where the can keep coming in waves for hours. another thing is PANIC ATTACK SEIZURE'S  are something suffered by epiliptics, whose partial seizures which do not result in toni-clonic seizure with loss of consciousness and convulsions but with symptoms mimicing panic.

th basic fact is the same : PANIC CANNOT HARM YOU. i think it was also silly to provoke further anxiety in swimchick123 by going on with such extremity and severity.

Panic is acute, short-lived, extreme anxiety with accompanying physical symptoms.

• Panic attacks can cause such symptoms as chest pain, choking, dizziness, nausea, and shortness of breath.
• Doctors base the diagnosis on the person's description of attacks and fears of future attacks.
• Treatment may include antidepressants, antianxiety drugs, exposure therapy, cognitive-behavior therapy, and supportive psychotherapy.

Panic attacks may occur in any anxiety disorder, usually in response to a specific situation tied to the main characteristic of the disorder. For example, a person with a phobia of snakes may panic when encountering a snake. However, situational panic attacks differ from the spontaneous, unprovoked ones that define a person's problem as panic disorder.

Panic attacks are common, occurring in at least 10% of adults each year. Women are 2 to 3 times more likely than men to have panic attacks and panic disorder. Most people recover from panic attacks without treatment, but a few develop panic disorder. Panic disorder is present in 2 to 3% of the population during any 12-month period. Panic disorder usually begins in late adolescence or early adulthood.

Symptoms

A panic attack involves the sudden appearance of at least four of the following symptoms:

• Chest pain or discomfort
• Choking
• Dizziness, unsteadiness, or faintness
• Fear of dying
• Fear of going crazy or of losing control
• Feelings of unreality, strangeness, or detachment from the environment
• Flushes or chills
• Nausea, stomachache, or diarrhea
• Numbness or tingling sensations
• Palpitations or accelerated heart rate
• Shortness of breath or a sense of being smothered
• Sweating
• Trembling or shaking

Did You Know...

• Although panic attacks cause symptoms involving the heart and other vital organs, they are not dangerous.

Symptoms peak within 10 minutes and usually dissipate within minutes, leaving little for a doctor to observe except the person's fear of another terrifying attack. Because panic attacks sometimes are unexpected or occur for no apparent reason, especially when people experience them as part of panic disorder, people who have them frequently anticipate and worry about another attack—a condition called anticipatory anxiety—and try to avoid places where they have previously panicked.

Because symptoms of a panic attack involve many vital organs, people often worry that they have a dangerous medical problem involving the heart, lungs, or brain. Thus, they may seek help from a doctor or hospital emergency department. If the correct diagnosis of panic attack is not made, they may have the additional worry that a serious medical problem has been overlooked. Although panic attacks are uncomfortable—at times extremely so—they are not dangerous.

A you are not a doctor and I am not a doctor, as I said in my orignal post, someone suffering from any sort anxiety or panic attacks should talk to a doctor.

It's not my job to argue with someone on a message board about something that most people are uneducated in.

I know from personal experience what symptoms I have, and have suffered from for years.

I do not know (nor care) what symptoms you have, I'm not playing my "insert object here aka problem, issue, wealth of knowledge" is bigger than yours online. It's ridiclous.

 

keep the peace people, this little argument between you two stops here. You've BOTH helped me to understand this and I thank you for that. Now stop bickering.

Please play nicely folks.  No name calling, etc.  Feel free to share your personal experiences and references to information that you feel is factual, but realize that whatever information that your doctor has given you is most likely tailored to you and may or may not be applicable to other people.

Sara

Volunteer Moderator