Yep... thats exactly it. Since I had never had one beforeI was certain it was a heart attack and I had my ass rushed to the hosptial. They hooke dme up to an EKG, id d mass blood work and a chest xray right there in the emergency room. I was just laying there waiting for them to crack me open. Not untill all the test came back showing I was not having a heart attack did I start to calm down. The chest pain slowly went away and I felt more under control.

My cousin the same age as I (41) had had a full blown heart attack just two week before my anxicity attack. I think the symptom that are heart attack like only fueled the panic and made it worse since I had never had that sort of attack before. I was sure I was dieing.

It just just hit whenever too. I was in bed. My stress level is MUCH lower then it has been in forever.

So hang in there man. I dont have much experience with it, but I know I NEVER want to have one again.

I am soooo sorry that you are experiencing this quiet. I've had panic attacks for the last 11 years, right after my second son.

Some are easier to deal with than others. Big breaths, try to watch some television, a movie or something to help get your mind off it. (MUCH harder to do than it seems, I know)

When I first started getting them I had no idea what they were. I thought I was going crazy so I didn't tell anyone because I thought for sure they'd stick me in the loonie bin. haha (yes, I can laugh now, but...)

After a VERY long night with one...I finally decided to 'stop fighting it'. I really thought I was going to close my eyes and never wake up...and by then, I didn't even care anymore. Well, I woke up. ;) ....and, went straight to the doctors that day after finally telling a friend what happened and she, quite 'matter of factly' told me what it was. I'm so glad I told her, and that I went to the docs.

They put me on Xanax when needed and it has been a lifesaver. I don't use it regularly...only when I REALLY need it. I haven't needed one in a few years now, but they're still in my purse. (probably expired now but...lol)

Personally, after my experiences, I wouldn't wish one on my worst enemy....they are horrible horrible things that can consume you....unless, you deal with them properly.

PerfectionGirls,
Don't feel badly about going to the hospital. For one thing, it's better to be safe than sorry...and secondly, you are one of MANY people who experience a panic attack and end up in emerg. It's quite common.

Quiet,
Good to hear it's winding down now. It's an awesome feeling. :)

But, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss meds you can take when you really need them. Just having the meds and knowing that if worse comes to worse they're there, helps relieve at least some of the stress. :winkwink:

I was diagnosed with Anxiety (similar to panic attacks). Had Lexapro and all...

My remedy... play Battlefield 1942 :ak47: :ak47:

Seriously would take my mind off it..

My father is a heart patient. 4 heart attacks and a quintuplet (5) bi-pass, so I get freaked out about my heart...

:2 cents:

just remember its bullshit ... its in your mind. youre still alive yea? i had HORRIBLE panic attacks. been to the hospital more times than i can count - now i realized what the fuck - ive been thinking this for 10+ years, and im still alive - so i tried to quit my meds (holy shit dont ever take paxil ... i still cant get off of it)

xanax can be good to have - even just to know you have it - not necessarily need to take it, but it will kick a panic attack square in the nuts within 10 minutes. but if its been this long since a panic attack, you are out of practice handling it naturally - remember, its bullshit.

excercise, all that shit you said is the best - you have real palpitations? or just panic induced? (panic can make you think youre having palpitations but really youre just freaking out)

real palpitations, id get a checkup for that - but im assuming (from my intimate knowledge of panic attacks) you mean just the freaking out. if its just that - just remember its all bullshit - tell death to go fuck itself and when you wake up alive, you will confirm it was bullshit - but go do something, get the fuck off the computer.

:2 cents:

Mark,
That is sooo awesome about your mom! I love to hear stories like that. I know how hard it is, and for her to break through like that is very inspiring. You are right....it is very much about negative thoughts...but, I still think there is more to it. I can be sitting there thinking about a beautiful flower I saw and WHAM!...here we go. Maybe it's an accumulation of negative thoughts bursting through during a calm time...I dunno....but they certainly can come at the oddest of times.

And for those who were asking what it's like....the best analogy I've read is standing in the middle of the road and then realizing there is a bus heading straight for you. A huge rush of adrenalin that gets you heart pumping....but for no reason at all. Not fun.

Sorry to hear about your panic attack.

I just had a blonde moment.

Was at the gas station and started to wash the windows on my SUV when I was filling up the gas tank and then drove off without realizing I hadn't put the gas handle back on the pump. Pulled the whole damn thing out.

Holy shit, people were all giving me that what a dumb fuck look.

:helpme :1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

THe worse was lying in bed and psyching myself out about my "giving myself a heartattack" and the feeling its gonna burts out of my chest. Kinda like drinking 10 coffee's in 5 minutes. Not fun :helpme

I have attacks like once every few weeks now, so its not that bad anymore.

Oh how I relate. It's really a vicious cycle. It starts...you freak out cause your heart is pumping fast, so it pumps even faster, then you freak out more and on, and on and on.

Yes, very much like drinking 10 cups of coffee...lol. I cut caffeine out of my diet years ago and it's helped quite a bit.

Every few weeks is quite a bit if you ask me. I wouldn't be happy about that myself. I can count on 1 hand how many attacks I've had in the last few years....and only 1 of them was a 'big one'. And I think it has everything to do with cutting out the caffeine.

:2 cents:

Oh, and hangover days are culprets too.....I find I get alot of small ones after drinking the night before.....so I don't drink much anymore either. ;)

And for some, pot works...but for me, it actually gives me even more...haha. It gets me all paranoid....too bad...I live in BC too. ;o)

sorry to hear that quite. i have several friends who get them frequently. i've only expierienced one or two in my life (thank god) and they are a horrible thing. :(

50 panics :helpme


You'll pull through, its pretty much all psychological. Minds can do some fucked up things

LOL Thank GOD KRL! I thought I was the only person in the world that had ever done that. haha

I pulled the hose and everything right out of the parking lot. It was about 6 years ago, but I still get shit about it. haha

yeah, i find copious amounts of weed are actually a trigger. i've been known to enjoy the odd joint here or there, but never go too crazy with the chronic for the most part.

So was this one triggered by something? Or do you get them randomly?

Sorry to hear that. :/
I have a anxiety attack right now. Fucking medication fucks with my mind...
But its friday and its ok to drink alcohol, even if its because of anxiety. :glugglug

Pot is a MAYOR trigger

i don't think it's random overall. but it's definitely random in a sense. i was just sitting there, feeling okay, then bam. like i said, this is the first one is a long time, i'd almost forgotten about them.

You live in a winter wonderland resort and you're rich. What in the fuck do YOU have to panic about?

Hell, I'm just living Ghetto Fabulous here in the hood and my mind is at ease 24/7.

My own theory, and others, is that it isnt merely a psychological thing. I tend to get them (or tendencies to) whenever I am in a situation where the air is bad (ex airplane).

Quiet, doing "breathing"-training does miracles, so does Fluoxetin :)

lol, i agree. and for the most part there isn't an issue. but regardless, it happened today, and it sucks donkey balls. hopefully another 2 years will pass before the next...

yes it does - if im having trouble kicking a panic attack in the nuts with my mind, i lay down and breathe deep, watch stomach rise and fall ... g'bye panic attack.

I have panic attacks quite frequent and im used to it now knowing
its not real and im not dying..

I once had a panic attack during the period i excessively smoked weed. I was convinced i was having a heart attack and when my
heart started to skip beats my intoxication convinced me that it stopped beating for real. I really felt it.

So under the impression i was a dead man walking i got myself to a police station at 4 am and told them my heart stopped beating!!

Good times.

The thing i learned to prevent those attacks is getting ENOUGH sleep and if you cant or just didnt sleep well that night
cool down on stuff like caffeine, keep yourself out of situations you dont feel comfortable in and drink a lot of water.

I also believe pot is a common cause even if you havent smoked for weeks. DOnt know if you use it but try to cool down a few months and youll feel better.

Wow this is spooky I am reading this. Your not alone, I?m agoraphobic, I avoid being outside as much as possible, and panic is a daily experience, though there are different levels. When I bought home a dog ?george? a few years ago things started to brighten, slowed down the length of the panic. You would understand the physical symptoms.
Right now I am at a 6, I popped a valium 2 hours ago. A doctor once said, ?You think what you feel? & ask yourself where is the evidence and tell yourself everything has okay a few moments ago.?

Whats spooky is that so many webmasters seem to suffer from this - panic syndrome, social phobia etc etc. I bet atleast 20% of the users of this board have it.

No shit. I was thinking the same thing. But my ex-wife would have something similar to panic attacks so I know where they're coming from. She can't handle even the slightest amount of stress without breaking down.

Well, its becoming more and more common thats clear. I guess its something we´ll have to deal and live with in the 21st century...

had them - NOT FUN. feel for you man.

Yes, very easy to work from home. Juicy said something smart, everyone is different. I have a problem taking elevators, but I sky dive a few times a year with no problem. Figure that shit out.

Yes, these "illnesses" are filled with paradoxes.

Yeah, many people got these syndromes.
I got social phobia. Its not that I cant go out and do things. I got alot of friends and go to partys and so on.
Its just that I feel I get judged by everyone so I always have to try to adjust myself to the people that is around me. I hate being around alot of people. But at the same time,
I would love to be around them, if I only could.
This is a really a HUGE limit to my life. (it would be a huge limit to everyones lifes)
Like education and so on... I did quit school 2 years earlier.

Alot of people in the world suffer from this, I think its 2-3%. Its many people if you think of it.

Many people say, "come on! just dont care about it!"
Well, I try to do it, I really try but I cant.
I would love to live an "normal" life, but I cant. :(

Some of your friends can suffer from this without that you know about it.
Even my family does not know that I got this shit...

Btw. This is the first time I talk about it, feels kinda good. :)

I have had only one bad panic attack. It occured as we were all trying to exit a plane. It was horrible...I stood there contemplating a way to jump out of one of the little windows in the plane. I HAD to get out of there.

I had that as a kid, I would be abnormally shy even though I really wasnt - it just felt like I couldnt say something - I had nothing to add, wasnt interested etc etc.

Now, since 5-7 years or so its the other way around, I finally feel like I am myself thanks to medication and alot of practice. The most disturbing thing was the frustration, "being able" but yet handicapped. I also think that panic disorders has its roots in these kind of things, being constrained in your everyday life just because you are "shy" is utterly frustrating and stressfull.

I have them when the bills are overdue and my hubby is spending cash llike its burning a hole in his pocket....and not on bills.

I smoke weed and clean like a mad woman to get rid of the stress and anger sometimes

sounds great! what medication are/where you on?

I don't think these examples are 'true' panic disorder. Here, there is a REASON for anxiety. These are examples of phobias. They most definitely trigger anxiety, but not true panic attacks. Those, seemingly, come out of nowhere. :(

I'm glad you finally decided to discuss it! In my experience, sharing your experiences with other people is a HUGE relief. Just knowing you are not alone can ease alot of the stress....

Geez, maybe we should start a GFY Panic Disorder Support Group....hehe

I am here for you with a big bag of weed.

I have used zoloft, buspar, cipramil etc etc but the best, yes believe it or not, was Fluoxetin = Prozac!

Medication + cognitive therapy + different kinds of "breathing" exercises = awesome and lasting improvement. Remember, you wont need to take the medications for the rest of your life, they just help you thru the hardest periods/situations.

Good description.

From what I understand it's the accumulation of alot of "what if" type thinking and it doesn't often hit while you're having the thoughts but when you are finally unwinding. It's like putting worries in the psychic bank and all the sudden they all manifest in symptoms at no logical time. So you have to switch your thinking patterns from bad what ifs to good what ifs, etc... the majority of your thoughts being focused on the "positive" will fill the bank upwith different material and eventually the attacks just go away. That's an over-simplification but it's the basic gist of what my mom did and then taught all these other people to do.

It?s really not as unusual as some people might think. Our quick paced society has made panic attacks somewhat normal. I?ve had at least one that I diagnosed as a panic attack after looking up what it is. It?s such a strange occurrence. It?s all in your mind but yet it?s very real. Your mind won?t stop racing and, in turn, your heart won?t either.

I thought I was sick or something because it felt like torture. It helped when I evaluated the situation from a global view. Whatever it is that is hanging over your head it?s usually not death. Anything other than death can be handled and is not that big of a deal. :)