Panic Attacks
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 153
Panic Attacks
Hi All,
A quick question. Is it normal for someone in the first months of recovery to start having panic attacks out of the blue?
I am nearing 60 days and this started happening to me a couple of weeks ago. Sudden onset of panic with all of its usual symptoms, lasting several hours to all night. Interestingly, when these things strike it tends to be in the early evening. Which is about the time of day when I used to start drinking.
I hope I'm not the only person to have experienced something like this.
I realize that I should probably go into more detail but I am actually feeling too anxious to type right now.
PAWS, maybe?
A quick question. Is it normal for someone in the first months of recovery to start having panic attacks out of the blue?
I am nearing 60 days and this started happening to me a couple of weeks ago. Sudden onset of panic with all of its usual symptoms, lasting several hours to all night. Interestingly, when these things strike it tends to be in the early evening. Which is about the time of day when I used to start drinking.
I hope I'm not the only person to have experienced something like this.
I realize that I should probably go into more detail but I am actually feeling too anxious to type right now.
PAWS, maybe?
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,436
I think it's reasonably common F355 - I had them for years before I quit tho, so it was nothing new to me...
I found this site has some useful info:
Calm Clinic
D
I found this site has some useful info:
Calm Clinic
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 153
Thanks so much, Dee. It's just so nice to know that you're not alone, you know? I used to struggle with anxiety a lot when I was younger, like grade school age. But this type of anxiety I'm experiencing now is different. It seems less predictable, somehow, and seems to affect me in a vaster amount of ways.
I like to think that the fact that this is happening is a sign that my system is beginning to readjust to functioning without alcohol. It can only get better, methinks, and even if it doesn't, it's still a better fate than getting wasted all the time.
I like to think that the fact that this is happening is a sign that my system is beginning to readjust to functioning without alcohol. It can only get better, methinks, and even if it doesn't, it's still a better fate than getting wasted all the time.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada. About as far south as you can get
Posts: 4,768
Originally Posted by F355 
I used to struggle with anxiety a lot when I was younger, like grade school age.
My drinking was only a symptom of my alcoholism. The medicine, if you will, for the true underlying fault(s). When I quit drinking, all the faults re-emerged and I had no place to run anymore.
I think AA states my problem well in the expression "What we have is a daily reprieve from alcohol contingent upon the maintenance of our spiritual condition".
Wishing you the best.
Bob R
Adventures In SpaceTime
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 5,827
Hey F355,
Good going on your 60 days!! Awesome!! 
Anxiety, of course, was moderated by our past drinking, so when we stop, as you say in another post, things positively change as we move through the process of dealing withourselves without alcohol. So, you already know you're on the right journey, F355, and my own experiences with early sobriety were right in line with your experiences. Like Dee said, I too agree anxiety is a common experience both before and after early sobriety.
In fact, on some issues it required several years for me to get past my respective anxiety for those issues. Overall generally, as I learned to enjoy life, and have a measure of success, my anxiety lessened. We learn as we deal with ourselves, and the subsequent changes. Eventually, you'll work through those past school day experiences. I did for myself, and so can you!
Yeah, don't sweat this, F355. 
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 16
I woke up this morning feeling so much anxiety and sadness. All that I can think about is drinking. I made it in to work but I am a mess. I already broke down in the bathroom. Today is day 39 for me. I felt fine yesterday. If it is going to be this continuous rollercoaster of emotions I am not sure how long I can stay on this ride.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 16
I woke up this morning feeling so much anxiety and sadness. All that I can think about is drinking. I made it in to work but I am a mess. I already broke down in the bathroom. Today is day 39 for me. I felt fine yesterday. If it is going to be this continuous rollercoaster of emotions I am not sure how long I can stay on this ride.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 16
I woke up this morning feeling so much anxiety and sadness. All that I can think about is drinking. I made it in to work but I am a mess. I already broke down in the bathroom. Today is day 39 for me. I felt fine yesterday. If it is going to be this continuous rollercoaster of emotions I am not sure how long I can stay on this ride.
Adventures In SpaceTime
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 5,827
Originally Posted by fogsolo
I woke up this morning feeling so much anxiety and sadness. All that I can think about is drinking. I made it in to work but I am a mess. I already broke down in the bathroom. Today is day 39 for me. I felt fine yesterday. If it is going to be this continuous rollercoaster of emotions I am not sure how long I can stay on this ride.
Don't think twice about it, things will change for the better, and as you move through the struggles, you're also gaining new strengths and talents for being the best you that you can be without going back out. Stay with it!
It does get better. It does.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 16
wow, can you see what a mess i am? 3x a mess!! i hate this. i hate this constant emotional struggle and the reframing of my life. in a way it is good but there is this aching part of me that wants to say fcuk it so bad. i guess this is what AA is for.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Greenville,SC
Posts: 5
Actually, my boyfriend is a recovering alcoholic. He has been sober 6 months now and is dealing with the same situation. So, no you are not alone, might help if you see a doctor thats what he did.
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada. About as far south as you can get
Posts: 4,768
Originally Posted by fogsolo
I woke up this morning feeling so much anxiety and sadness. All that I can think about is drinking. I made it in to work but I am a mess. I already broke down in the bathroom. Today is day 39 for me. I felt fine yesterday. If it is going to be this continuous rollercoaster of emotions I am not sure how long I can stay on this ride.
All the best to you.
Bob R
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 153
Thanks, everyone, and to the others struggling with anxiety and other strong emotions during early recovery, I guess we're all in this together, aye?
The thing that really gets me about the issue I'm having right now is that, since my first ever panic attack three weeks ago, I have felt completely off balance, physically and mentally. For the first week, I didn't even have the energy to do basic exercise, and pretty much just stayed in and did nothing trying to relax so as not to trigger another attack.
I noticed in the second week that if I avoided caffeine altogether, I felt much better. Still, even all these weeks later I still feel a bit off - keep having strange sensations of something being wrong with me - my skin, my mouth, my lips tingling, legs feeling weak and having a lot of issues with trembling. It's weird. If I get even a little exercise in now (walking for an hour, for instance) I will start to feel as though I am about to have an attack, and I'll need to lay down for the rest of the day.
I guess it makes sense (as Robby said) that as our bodies readjust to the stresses of life without booze, there are naturally going to be emotional challenges to overcome. I'll keep hanging in there, and keep posting as new developments arise.
In the meantime, I've placed myself on a waiting list to get into a local clinic for a checkup - but I've been told this could take quite awhile. Oh well.
The thing that really gets me about the issue I'm having right now is that, since my first ever panic attack three weeks ago, I have felt completely off balance, physically and mentally. For the first week, I didn't even have the energy to do basic exercise, and pretty much just stayed in and did nothing trying to relax so as not to trigger another attack.
I noticed in the second week that if I avoided caffeine altogether, I felt much better. Still, even all these weeks later I still feel a bit off - keep having strange sensations of something being wrong with me - my skin, my mouth, my lips tingling, legs feeling weak and having a lot of issues with trembling. It's weird. If I get even a little exercise in now (walking for an hour, for instance) I will start to feel as though I am about to have an attack, and I'll need to lay down for the rest of the day.
I guess it makes sense (as Robby said) that as our bodies readjust to the stresses of life without booze, there are naturally going to be emotional challenges to overcome. I'll keep hanging in there, and keep posting as new developments arise.
In the meantime, I've placed myself on a waiting list to get into a local clinic for a checkup - but I've been told this could take quite awhile. Oh well.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Middletown, Ohio
Posts: 44
I've suffered occasional panic attacks for years. They don't seem related to my drinking, but who knows. I would encourage you to see a doctor however to rule out other possible causes. Several conditions can mimic panic attacks.
The reason I mention this is because you mentioned your attacks last several hours or perhaps all night. Many doctors will tell you this is not possible for panic. Most panic attacks reach their peak within 10 minutes and the subside. Most resolve within 30 minutes. GAD can last all day for sure, but it's less panicky and more of a worried, scared feeling.
I had what I thought was a panic attack one night and ended up in the ER. I was trembling, heart was racing, sweating, and couldn't breath and was sure I was gonna die. But it ended up not being a panic attack at all. It was low blood sugar. My blood sugar dropped from 101 to 40 during the night for some reason. I know because I had checked it a few hours before my attack. I now wonder if this has been my problem the whole time, and not panic attacks at all.
The reason I mention this is because you mentioned your attacks last several hours or perhaps all night. Many doctors will tell you this is not possible for panic. Most panic attacks reach their peak within 10 minutes and the subside. Most resolve within 30 minutes. GAD can last all day for sure, but it's less panicky and more of a worried, scared feeling.
I had what I thought was a panic attack one night and ended up in the ER. I was trembling, heart was racing, sweating, and couldn't breath and was sure I was gonna die. But it ended up not being a panic attack at all. It was low blood sugar. My blood sugar dropped from 101 to 40 during the night for some reason. I know because I had checked it a few hours before my attack. I now wonder if this has been my problem the whole time, and not panic attacks at all.
Baby Girl D
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: x..Manchester, England..x
Posts: 592
I suffer really bad with panic attacks mainly from having a binge drink night before, when I gave up the drink for months I started to notice panic attacks becoming less, now I'm back on the drink its come back 
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 186
I used to have panic attacks when I drank. But for me it was always related to withdrawal. They went away pretty fast after I stopped drinking and never came back. Panic attacks can be a bitch. The first time I had one I thought I would die. I usually open up a window to get some air, chew on something, try to read a bit or do something to keep my mind off the panic and just breath.
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Posts: 153
Originally Posted by Ranger05
I've suffered occasional panic attacks for years. They don't seem related to my drinking, but who knows. I would encourage you to see a doctor however to rule out other possible causes. Several conditions can mimic panic attacks.
The reason I mention this is because you mentioned your attacks last several hours or perhaps all night. Many doctors will tell you this is not possible for panic. Most panic attacks reach their peak within 10 minutes and the subside. Most resolve within 30 minutes. GAD can last all day for sure, but it's less panicky and more of a worried, scared feeling.
I had what I thought was a panic attack one night and ended up in the ER. I was trembling, heart was racing, sweating, and couldn't breath and was sure I was gonna die. But it ended up not being a panic attack at all. It was low blood sugar. My blood sugar dropped from 101 to 40 during the night for some reason. I know because I had checked it a few hours before my attack. I now wonder if this has been my problem the whole time, and not panic attacks at all.
The reason I mention this is because you mentioned your attacks last several hours or perhaps all night. Many doctors will tell you this is not possible for panic. Most panic attacks reach their peak within 10 minutes and the subside. Most resolve within 30 minutes. GAD can last all day for sure, but it's less panicky and more of a worried, scared feeling.
I had what I thought was a panic attack one night and ended up in the ER. I was trembling, heart was racing, sweating, and couldn't breath and was sure I was gonna die. But it ended up not being a panic attack at all. It was low blood sugar. My blood sugar dropped from 101 to 40 during the night for some reason. I know because I had checked it a few hours before my attack. I now wonder if this has been my problem the whole time, and not panic attacks at all.
Still, I agree with you re: seeing a doctor. I am working on that one as we speak.
I've wondered if my condition might be the first warning signs of diabetes. I have been experimenting with taking some sugary treats when I'm starting to feel the shakes coming on, but this doesn't seem to make a noticeable difference so far.
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 186
Originally Posted by F355
For full disclosure: I forgot to mention that I had been using marijuana very heavily preceding the first attack. Since then I've stopped using marijuana and coffee, and haven't had any comparable attacks since. Just some anxiety that feels like it could turn into a panic attack.
Hang in there, they will pass, and remember that about the worst thing that can happen is that you pass out.
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