Really sacred

[Marcoh]

Hi All,

I'm new to this forum, but unfortunately not new to panic attacks (have suffered from them for years), recently though I have been suffering from a new and rather scary set of symptoms, which includes severe bloating of the stomach and a feeling that my tongue starts freezing or going stiff (like it is going to stop working or become paralysed), this all happens with my usual panic attack symptoms of rapid heartbeat, head pressure, shallow breathing, tingling hands and arms and general feelings of depersonalization and like I'm going to pass out. It almost feels like I'm going to have a stroke where my tongue will completely stop working and I find myself frantically curling, rolling my tongue to prevent this!! My doctor says it's part of the panic disorder, but as it is only recent it has me feeling really frightened. My question is have any of you experienced these tongue feelings and do they seem part of the symptoms of panic attacks. Thanks in advance for any help / insight on this problem as it has got me really worried.

Cheers,

Mark.

[AuntieMoosie]

Hi there Mark :)

Anxiety and panic can have many, many symptoms, that's the nature of the beast sadly.

If you're experiencing pins and needles and those types of symptoms, it sounds like you're over breathing a bit, which is very common with panic. The trouble is when we over breath it messes with our blood chemistry and this is what gives us a lot of these weird and wonderful symptoms.

The first and most important thing to remember and to keep reassuring yourself of is that none of the symptoms of panic are ever going to hurt you, they feel like hell on earth I know, but they are in no way going to harm you :)

If I feel panic building up in me, I try to concentrate on my breathing, remembering to breath slowly, if you take the breath in through your nose that will help you to stop gasping, then just let it out through your mouth but slowly :)

I'm not a doctor or anything but I would hazard a guess that your tongue symptoms are in connection with your panic attacks, probably the over breathing I would think :)

The symptoms of panic are very frightening, goodness! I've been frozen with fear from them so I know what you mean. The trick is to try and learn not to be frightened of them, easier said than done I know, but the more you let go of the fear of them, the easier they become to deal with :)

I'm sure that more people will be along to help you too, it's a wee bit late now but I expect more people will see your post tomorrow and offer more advice and support.

I hope this helps you some :)

[Marcoh]

Thanks so much for the kind words and advice. Yeah I think trying to calm down and breathe deeply is something I've really got to work on, sometimes the attacks come right out of the blue and really catch me off guard and I'm hyper before I realize it. It's just these new symptoms have really thrown me especially the stiff, frozen tongue, I really feel that I'm going to have a stroke and it really scares me. I've just weaned off Cipralex (10 mg) so I don't know if this has any relation to it. Thanks again for your help it is much appreciated!!