Really Scared

[Dee62]

Hi
I'm just wondering if anyone else has suffered what I did this morning. I woke in the night having a panic attack, which thankfully went when I ignored it. However, around 6am, I was vaguely aware that my husband had got up to make a cup of tea. Next thing I knew, I had this weird feeling like a muscle spasm on the left side of my neck, like a hand squeezing my throat, and I sat bolt upright gasping for air and my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my body. I felt faint and managed to get to the bathroom. I couldn't stop shaking but eventually managed to sleep for another hour after my husband calmed me down. Now I just feel sick with an anxious tummy and feel a bit spaced out. My head feels a bit cotton woolly and I can't focus properly. I don't usually suffer this badly with panic attacks and I've had them on and off for around 26 years. Please, someone reassure me I'm going to be ok.
I should add that I am going through the menopause at the moment and have terrible night sweats and I'm wondering if it could be hormonal?

[MISCHIF]

YES ALL THE TIME THAT IS MY MAJOR TICK WITH MY ATTACKS... I FEEL I AM BEING SMOTHERED AND FEEL LIKE RTUNNING OUT THE HOUSE I HAVE TO PUT MY HEAD OUT OF A WINDOW AND HEART FEELS LIKE IT IS GUNNA JUMP OUT OF MY CHEST.. IT IS HORRIBLE. BUT GLAD YOU GOT TO SLEEP ONCE IT HAPPENS TO ME I CANT EVEN PUT HEAD ON PILLOW AND I FEEL LIKE IAM BEING SMOTHERED AGAIN:bighug1:

[Dee62]

Thank you so much for replying, it helps to know I'm not alone in feeling this. I've suffered many different things over the years but this one is really scary. How do you cope with it? Are you on meds? My gp has suggested citalopram a couple of times but I am reluctant.

Dee

[MISCHIF]

I don`t cope very well that`s why i have joined this site for help lol... I have just started fluoxetine(prozac) as citalopram make me sick and give me nightmares i didnt get on with them at all... But everybody is different.. So far so good havnt had an attack for 3 days now so must be kicking in and working. But i suffered for a year till i sought help (which was stupid) but getting there now big time xx i was reluctant to take meds but i just coudnt cope anymore affecting family my wife and child i had to do something. I will say go for it you got nothing to loose if they do or don`t work don`t worry about what other people think they do not need to know you would be surprised who take meds it could be your boss or loved one nobody likes to talk about it.

[Dee62]

Thank you. I'm seeing my gp later today so will seriously consider meds. It sounds silly, but I hate taking anything and I always worry about side effects and I read the info in the packet which then puts me off!
I hope you soon start to feel better because it does affect those around us, even if we don't show it. Anyone who knows me would never guess that I suffer with panic attacks and anxiety, but underneath I'm paddling like mad!

Dee

[MISCHIF]

I know how you feel i was the same especially after side effects from citalopram but it is getting better. If you feel you can cope without then good but if you cant don`t be afraid give em a sgot xxx

[Dee62]

I will let you know how I get on and good luck to you too. xx

[MISCHIF]

Yeah defo you can pm me whatever no dramas... Good luck :)

[xJust_Sarahx]

Hi,
im 24 and i have been having panic attacks since i was about 15/16. Looking back on how i used to have them and how they affected me then, compared to how they do now.. makes me feel even worse because these days i feel really worse and experience something new each time! So i know exactly what you mean when u say u have had different symptoms for years but never like this. I think thats when we start to think it really is something bad and cant feel a way of been reasured because usually we find ways of just getting over familiar sensations etc!

I suffer from breathing problems (apparantly due to anxiety and stress) every day and feels like all day. From not been able to talk without having to take a deep breath, to constantly having to yawn and feel breathless over just walking slowly even! Now im at the stage where i can barely move without feelin winded, i cant bend down and up, i cant walk up the stairs and find it hard doing general things like looking after my 4 kids!!
Like you i wake up all of a sudden at least a few nights a week feeling really breathless and as if someone has been smothering me with a pillow. My heart pound like its never going to stop and i always wake up sweating and in a right mess. It takes me forever to stop shaking and i cant sleep flat on the bed.. i have my pillow propped up and tele on to fall asleep to, and that helps me relax! Its a really scary feeling so i know how u feel.

All i can say really is next time u experience this or a feeling u have never felt before just try and carry on with what u would normally do, and trying ignoring it and just embracing it really because sometimes i do that and i eventually come out of it, and i think to myself if something bad was going to happen it would of happened and i wouldnt be able to stop it from happening, where with anxiety you can kind of control certain parts...

hope that makes sense. x

[MISCHIF]

perfect couldn`t have explained it better:bighug1: