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benoo5
09-10-03, 00:55
hello everyone,my name is bryan,and ime a paramedic,working in central london.
a couple of nites ago in the chat room,nicola fired a question at me...she said ...how would you deal with someone having a panic attack...it was not a question i could answer in one line,sooo ime posting here.
first of all,95% of panic attacks are not reported to the emergency services,they are usually dealt with by the sufferer on the scene.
let me explain wot happens when you dial 999...you are not put through to someone off the street,you are put through to a highly trained person,whos training is ongoing throughout there career,they spend four days a year in the classroom,with nurses,paramedics,doctors,when they ask you questions,they know what they are talking about,they learn to code all calls...the life threatening code is blue...and paramedics are sent to code blue.
so, what am i saying...ime saying, yes panic attacks are powerful,you have trouble breathing,you have dizzy spells,you think your about to die....trust me,a panic attack will not kill you...god bless you xxx

nomorepanic
09-10-03, 08:31
Hi Bryan

Thanks for that :-)

You also mentioned that you give the sufferer a paper bag to breath into so it just goes to show that it must work! An essential tool on the ambulance eh Bryan?

Nicola

benoo5
09-10-03, 14:05
hy nicola,
everybody that suffers from panic attacks,should carry a small paper bag,preferably a brown one,something to do with the perosity.
when hyper-ventilating,we expel co2,and inhale oxygen...by breathing into a bag we dont lose the carbon dioxide,and calm down much quicker.
its a good tool to have,just knowing its there can help confidence,and can often put off an oncoming attack..good luck bryan

nomorepanic
09-10-03, 14:34
Hi Bryan

I do have one but it is rather old and shabby and I think it has holes in it - lol.

Perhaps I ought to invest in a new one - they are not easy to come by though unless you go to a local grocer or McDonalds takeaway!

Plastic bags just don't work as well - ;)

Nicola

victoria
09-10-03, 20:57
hello everyone my name is victoria

Just to let you know nicola you can use avon paper bags that is what i always use, and if i am out and i have not got a bag i go to the nearest tesco's and use a mushroom bag.

loads of love v x

nomorepanic
09-10-03, 21:24
Hi Victoria - good to see you here - I forgot about the avon bags and the mushroom ones.

Thanks for letting me know :-)

Nicola

keef737
29-10-06, 22:50
what I do is put them everywhere 3 by the bed 3 in the car 3 buy the PC, by the settee kitchen and have lists of people tele numbers who can help, and all medical numbers

spiritofnow
29-10-06, 23:44
That is just too funny!
Mushroom bag - so next time you are in Tescos and can't find a paper bag it will be because I have taken all of them!
Bach remedy by my bed! xx
<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">Hi Bryan

I do have one but it is rather old and shabby and I think it has holes in it - lol.

Perhaps I ought to invest in a new one - they are not easy to come by though unless you go to a local grocer or McDonalds takeaway!

Plastic bags just don't work as well - ;)

Nicola

<div align="right">Originally posted by nomorepanic - 09 October 2003 : 14:34:39</div id="right">
</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">

freeyourspirit

MissChampers
30-10-06, 17:22
Don't you feel embarrassed breathing into a paper bag say if you're in town or a supermarket? Most of my panic starts when I'm in a crowded place and I think if I started blowing into a bag it would make me worse because i'd know people were staring at me and it would make me panic more.

thinker_bell
04-09-08, 20:28
when im having a panic attack i can breath , its not the breathing i worry about its the horrible feeling that youre going to die
shortness of breath is the last of my worries im literally thinkin past the breathin n that im on my way 2 those big pearly gates in the sky... i have had them for years and at first i was only 16 and didnt no what they were til they came thick n fast all the time and i was put on anti depressants escitalopram sertraline citalopram ive had mot of them, they dont stop my panicing nothung ever will....

Wenjoy
04-09-08, 20:56
I find if you cup your hands over your face (nose and mouth) that helps or holding your breath for a few seconds then slowly breathing in and out - thats my worst symptom the hypervenilating - I usually sigh a lot and cough as well. Wenjoy x

Pickle
05-09-08, 08:20
Hee hee I've been 'borrowing' mushroom bags from Tesco's for ages :roflmao: (not that I've ever really had to use one) I've got them 'hidden' all over the house lol

If I think I'm having an attack, I sit down and bend my body over my knees, a trick my doctor taught me - apparently it restricts the amount of oxygen you breathe in (or something like that anyway :blush: ) works for me every time

Take care everyone

:D

nic x
05-09-08, 11:23
this is a question??? if u dont have a bag, your breathing would return to normal eventully wouldnt it???

Mikke
05-09-08, 21:51
That's actually a tricky question.
You will not die or suffocate from hyperventialtion if that what's you fear, but for a few people not being able to control their breathing hyperventilation have caused fainting. This is not at all dangerous, and your body will normally have restored normal breathing again when you wake up.
So yes, normal breathing will return, either by fainting or your own control.

For others however, hyperventilation can lead to hyperventilation syndrome, this is a more or less a constant state of mild to moderate overbreathing that doesn't necessarily produce the symptoms of heavy overbreathing (tingling, dizziness etc). This isn't dangerous either, and can be correctd by proper breathing technique.

june
08-09-08, 14:14
This isn't dangerous either, and can be correctd by proper breathing technique.
more info please

Mikke
08-09-08, 16:28
For people with hyperventilation syndrome it is important to adjust the normal breathing pattern, which is too rapid and too shallow. They have to learn how to breath more slowly (6-8 inhalations pr minute is actually enough for most people), and they have to learn using the stomach/abdomen instead of the intercostal muscles of the chest when breathing. This is easily learned by training where one is sitting comfortably, slightly leaned backwards, holding one hand on your stomach and the other on the chest, and beeing careful that onely the stomach should move while breathing.

When you are experiencing a hyperventilation attack you often need to take special steps.
Some poeple like to breath in a paper bag for a few minutes until the alcalosis levels in your blood gets back to normal, but this method is often not recommend by physicians as you could breathe in to much carbondioxide.
Box-breathing is one popular but not to easy to learn technique, where you breath in for 4-5 seconds, wait 4-5 seconds, then breath out for 4-5 seconds, and then wait again for 4-5 seconds. The pattern is repeated until you feel better. It is critical that you resist the urge to hyperventilate more, because you will normally feel like choking when you force yourself to breath like this.
Another and more easily acomplished technique is breathing slowly through your nose, even through just one of the nostrils if you are hyperventilating severly.
Some people even like to exercise moderate (push ups/sit ups) if the anxiety levels are not too high, as working out demands more oxygen to the muscles and that can be a good thing when you blood has excess oxygen levels.

june
09-09-08, 14:01
Thank you Mikke lots to try out there.
This is one of my main problems.
I was at an Anxiety Group meeting a couple of weeks ago, 12 of us were told to "all together breathe in to your tummy and out again" if you practise this you will be OK" this was all we got. When i try to change my breathing i start to panic.
You have given a couple of options to try.
Thank you
June
Not easy

Mikke
09-09-08, 16:31
You're welcome june, and you should also read the post "Hyperventilation Syndrome / Over-breathing - Anyone with any advice? (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=35632)" - a good advice there called 7/11 breathing that I will try out myself soon...

june
11-09-08, 14:31
Thank you Mikke - i have read the post you suggested and posted there .
june

LostTomorrow
11-09-08, 21:20
Your post reminds me of an attack i had about 7 years ago on Christmas day.
I had been back and forth to the doctors and a specialist in hospital for months about an irregular heartbeat i was having at random times of the day or night. My girlfriend said she could feel the beating of it through the bed at nights!
I believed i had a dodgy heart as my heart would seem like it was trying to burst its way out of my body if i carried my son upstairs to bed, played football in the park, run a little and other times, just start beating real hard and strange ( long pauses then a massive beat ) for no apparent reason when i was lieing in bed.
In hindsight i can see when my heart did this ( palpatations ) i would bring myself into a panick attack worrying about it and of course make it worse. At the time, im my head, i was having a heart attack:roflmao:

This one Christmas day my heart was pounding, all my limbs tingling and my chest real tight, i was sure i was having a heart attack. The DR was called and when he came in to see me i instantly felt worse ( hindsight, panicking more )
To me he looked very concerned, ( maybe he was, maybe he wasnt ) and said he was calling an ambulance. So now im in the ambulance thinking myself into an even worse state.

They take me to a ward in the hospital and instantly there seems to be 5 or 6 DR's and nurses sticking things to me, sticking things in me and rushing around me looking worried.

The whole time ive hardly said a word, felt like i couldnt move a muscle and ..... thought i was going to die.

A nurse lent over me and said i was having an injection and will feel like im traveling through a tunnel with the lights fadeing. OMG!!! Why she thought that choice of sentence would help i have no idea, maybe i would think i was dieing going down a dark tunnel with the light fadeing if she hadnt of told me?

I spoke my 1st words since entering the ambulance, " am i going to die? "
She smiled and said i'd be fine.
I looked at my girlfriend who looked petrified, as the doctors and nurses whispered something to her as one nurse began to pull the curtains around me and they all left me alone in the cubicle of the ward.

I think i woke a few and answred some questions from someone.

When i woke properly my girlfriend was there and gave me a big smile, i felt fine.

A doctor came by later and told me he had not seen a heart rate as fast as mine had been for as long as he could remember.
My girlfriend told me that they had all left and asked her to leave as the sight of them all busy about me was makeing my attack worse and knew i would calm down when they left me alone:roflmao:

Numerous visits to the GP and specailist later, it was put down to stress and anxiety and of course, panic attacks.

I have never had a panic attack anywhere near the scale of that one since as after that i knew what it was and knew i was not having a heart attack when my heart would start pounding.

But to this day, i really believe i was going die in that hospital and feel i came very close.

Its good to hear a panic attack cant kill you, i wish you had been there 7 years ago before i worked myself up into this state:roflmao:

june
12-09-08, 09:30
Good post
many of us IMAGINE that scenario - therefore the fear OH! the fear.
thank you for that post
June