kizzy40

I think I just had one... I am really stressed atm, sat there and tears streamed down my face for about half an hour, there was nothing I could do to stop them.
Then I got a huge lump in my throat like a golf ball and I couldn't breath at all, my heart was racing.
Does anyone suffer from these, thanks?

Dee74

I've had panic attacks for many years - not so much over the past few years tho.
Do you know any breathing techniques Kizzy? they really help me

Breathing Exercises

D

kizzy40

Thanks dee, everything just got to me at once sort of just left the house and walked around for a bit, ended up at my mums had a cuppa us brits and the miracle of tea eh?
Will look up some breathing exercises now, never want to feel like that again had a right headache and felt totally drained after.

Ah... just seen your link, thankyou so much

RecklessEric

I too have had them for years.
In fact, I've been having them again recently.
They are the worst thing I've ever experienced.

Some things to remember though:
Despite what you feel, a panic attack cannot kill you.
You may think you are going insane, but you are not.

Hope you had your one and only!!!

DryRoastJim

Hello and welcome! I am sorry that you have experienced this. But I will tell you right now GO SEE YOUR DR!

A bit about me. At age 22 I had a massive <didn't know what it was>. I shrugged it off as some sort of brain fart. But then I got them more and more. I started to use alcohol to manage them haha that wasn't bright!

Slowly my world got smaller, I developed agoraphobia. It sucked majorly, the only way I could deal with reality was to drink. It was not pretty.

After about 8 years later, I found myself (it was a Thursday) totally paralyzed sitting on my living floor. I called my mom and she took me to the clinic. I was terrified, panicking non stop. I finally got to see the Dr. I got diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder with agoraphobia. WOW! You mean I'm not going crazy?? Holy cow!! Right there PAM (my nick name for Panic Attack Monster) lost a huge grip on my life.

Panic attacks are ugly, terrifying, and live changing. You must get control over them now before it controls you.

But I assure you, it is not all doom and gloom. Some things that might help you understand your condition a bit.

As mentioned, a panic attack will not kill you.
MANY MANY people suffer from them, so you are not alone.
They are controllable! There are many treatment options.
Panic attacks loose their power once you understand them and don't be afraid to tell people near you about them. PAM likes to keep you scared and keep her secret only with you. When you let people you are comfortable with know you have this condition, PAM gets weaker and weaker.
SEE A DOCTOR - This is an absolute must. There can be other medical issues that can mimic a panic disorder.

You have already taken a big step by letting us know, and feel confident that from this point forward, if you are pro-active you will crush PAM in her tracks.

Please do not do what I did, I went through 8 years of absolute hell.

Take care and be well!

kizzy40

Thankyou dryroast jim, I did go see the Dr and now have some betablockers.
I still feel strange, someone suggested my issue could be PAWS ( post acute withdrawal syndrome) I am glad you got some help I too started to drink to cope with stress and anxiety.. not the best move in hindsight eh?

Neagrm

Sorry to hear you have this. It is more common than we realize. As said above, there's help.

I didn't know what a panic attack was when I first had them, horrible. Discovered that taking a benedryl (antihistamine, fast acting, fast leaving the body, old hay fever/allergy treatment, as far as I know is non-addictive, used in tylenol pm) helped take the edge off. ... Counselling helped me. I no longer get them.

Be aware, some beta blockers can cause clinical depression if taken regularly and over time. I was given a beta blocker once for a heart arrhythmia. The doctor kept saying, see me in 3 months.

Every 3 months he'd say, keep taking it for another 3 months. After 6 months of this I finally admitted to him I had suicidal thoughts and felt horrible emotionally. ... He said it was the beta blocker! I had no idea at the time and wish he'd warned me. I had to be treated for clinical depression (immediately stopped the beta blocker) for several months after that. Not good.

I hope you see your doctor and get the help you need and soon feel better.

scottgriffin

I suffer from panic attacks. When I was doing drugs that didn't help me out at all! Good think I am off that stuff and working on controlling my panic attacks now.

jskool

I also have been dealing with panic attacks for several years now. For a long time I thought I was dying because I got the lump in my throat and I could help but to clench up my neck constantly, a nervous tick I guess. I went to doctors about it and I never could believe them when they said it was just anxiety. I couldn't fathom how a psychological problem could manifest itself into such awful physical problems.

Lately I've started to get my panic under control. I find that when I start to get anxiety and my neck gets tense it helps to focus on relaxing my muscles while I give myself a massage. Once I start to relax I do breathing exercises and meditate. This helps big time!

chrisb245

So sorry you had a PA. They are not fun! I used to treat them with benzos, you can guess where that got me. Now I breathe slow deep breathes while praying/meditating.

0baobab

The good thing about a panic attack is that, even though you feel like you're going to die you won't. It always has to go away, your body cannot maintain that state for long periods of time. Something I've felt was helpful was 54321. You start out with five things you can see, five things you can hear, five things you can feel. Then four things you can see, four things you can hear, four things you can feel. You continue until you're down to one and often times by then you've calmed yourself and are back in the present moment where things aren't so scary. It's your reptilian brain that causes them, back in the day we either fought or ran away, that part of our brain hasn't changed even though our environment has, when a perceived threat appears that part of your brain sends a signal to the rest of your body so that you know that you need to either fight the thing threatening you or run from it.

johnnyfwoods

I had bad panic attacks when I wouldn't drink for a few hours

pjregan

I have panic attacks multiple times a day since taking Wellbutrin xl 300mg. Klonopin mine as well be a sugar pill at this point. Golf ball in my throat, head feels like its going to overload, heart out of my chest, can't catch my breath. Panic attacks are absolute hell and I can't tell you how much I feel for you. Good luck, as I have had next to none so far!