Cheeseandbeans
24-09-14, 18:50
Hi all. My name is Gareth and I had my first real issues with panic attacks on Sunday.
I'd just nearly finished a night shift on Sunday morning when I was in a car with my colleague and all of a sudden thought I couldn't move my left arm. When I went to lift it up I got a rush of adrenalin over my body and my heart was pounding. Now this has happened once before, around 2 months ago, at the time I was under the weather with a cold and I thought I was having an anaphylactic shock! Had to get my wife to phone and ambulance and when they came out all they found was my blood sugars were a bit low. After that I thought nothing of it.
On Sunday though by the time I got home they panic attacks were getting worse, to the point I just could not calm myself down, I honestly thought I was dying and I had to get an ambulance again. This time they took my bloods and my blood sugars were a bit low? He advised I see the doctor for a diabetes check. At the time he also did an ECG, he said one of the readings was slightly high so they took me in. All that happened when I was in the hospital though was they did another ECG and took me to the waiting room. Eventually I got taken to a side room were a doctor came to see me and pretty much confirmed it was panic attacks. The problem I had was form 8am to 9pm they were constant! I'd got myself so worked up I was convinced I had a problem with my heart and the more I thought about it the more the attacks came on, therefore keeping me in this endless loop. I'd not slept properly up to this point for nearly 24 hours and I was exhausted. I thought if I could get to sleep it would all be over in the morning.
When I woke up Monday morning what did I do? Checked for any little pain in my chest and that started me straight off again, these terrible rushes of adrenaline and the fear of having a heart attack and dying. I just felt like I needed to be in hospital. I was trying to rationalise things and tell myself they wouldn't have let me leave hospital if I wasn't OK but it wasn't working. I managed to speak to a doctor over the telephone who prescribed me propranolol which seems to have helped me. Tuesday morning started in the same way, checking for physical symptoms etc but I tried distracting myself by reading and went out for a bike ride and it worked. I had a doctors appointment that morning and mainly trying to find out where I go from here. He sent me for a blood test for the diabetes and I have another ECG tomorrow morning. Tuesday afternoon I took a couple of nurofen for my headache and stupidly I started panicking about mixing the tablets and I was panicking badly again. Went to my mum and dads for distraction and within half an hour I was not getting the adrenaline rushes so my wife picked me up, we went home, and I went to bed early.
Today has been a bit better. Went for blood tests this morning, which had the potential to start an attack but I handled it quite well, went for my ECG but they don't do them Wednesdays! I made a point of going back into work today which has definitely helped and I've gone over 24 hours without what I could call a BIG attack (although I've just halted one mid flow after reading some peoples stories on here, I just ran in the kitchen and spoke to my wife to settle myself down again)
I'm just so scared of this whole situation, my doctor says it's my anxiety doing this, I have been diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder in the past few months but nothing that's brought panic attacks with it. The propranolol seems to have helped but I'm not sure I like the way it makes me feel so spaced out and I'm sure it's giving me indigestion.
I know these attacks can't really hurt me but oh my word! The fear and panic that comes over you is terrible when it is happening and I honestly think something serious is going to happen. I'm now at the stage where I'm anxious about having another attack, that is my main worry now because I hate them and find it hard to cope.
I don't like the fact the doctor has literally just told me to keep taking the tablets and nothing more really! I'm there again on Friday so I'm going to ask to be referred to CBT again because I really need to beat this. The past 4 days have been so hard and I just want to be me again.
I'd just nearly finished a night shift on Sunday morning when I was in a car with my colleague and all of a sudden thought I couldn't move my left arm. When I went to lift it up I got a rush of adrenalin over my body and my heart was pounding. Now this has happened once before, around 2 months ago, at the time I was under the weather with a cold and I thought I was having an anaphylactic shock! Had to get my wife to phone and ambulance and when they came out all they found was my blood sugars were a bit low. After that I thought nothing of it.
On Sunday though by the time I got home they panic attacks were getting worse, to the point I just could not calm myself down, I honestly thought I was dying and I had to get an ambulance again. This time they took my bloods and my blood sugars were a bit low? He advised I see the doctor for a diabetes check. At the time he also did an ECG, he said one of the readings was slightly high so they took me in. All that happened when I was in the hospital though was they did another ECG and took me to the waiting room. Eventually I got taken to a side room were a doctor came to see me and pretty much confirmed it was panic attacks. The problem I had was form 8am to 9pm they were constant! I'd got myself so worked up I was convinced I had a problem with my heart and the more I thought about it the more the attacks came on, therefore keeping me in this endless loop. I'd not slept properly up to this point for nearly 24 hours and I was exhausted. I thought if I could get to sleep it would all be over in the morning.
When I woke up Monday morning what did I do? Checked for any little pain in my chest and that started me straight off again, these terrible rushes of adrenaline and the fear of having a heart attack and dying. I just felt like I needed to be in hospital. I was trying to rationalise things and tell myself they wouldn't have let me leave hospital if I wasn't OK but it wasn't working. I managed to speak to a doctor over the telephone who prescribed me propranolol which seems to have helped me. Tuesday morning started in the same way, checking for physical symptoms etc but I tried distracting myself by reading and went out for a bike ride and it worked. I had a doctors appointment that morning and mainly trying to find out where I go from here. He sent me for a blood test for the diabetes and I have another ECG tomorrow morning. Tuesday afternoon I took a couple of nurofen for my headache and stupidly I started panicking about mixing the tablets and I was panicking badly again. Went to my mum and dads for distraction and within half an hour I was not getting the adrenaline rushes so my wife picked me up, we went home, and I went to bed early.
Today has been a bit better. Went for blood tests this morning, which had the potential to start an attack but I handled it quite well, went for my ECG but they don't do them Wednesdays! I made a point of going back into work today which has definitely helped and I've gone over 24 hours without what I could call a BIG attack (although I've just halted one mid flow after reading some peoples stories on here, I just ran in the kitchen and spoke to my wife to settle myself down again)
I'm just so scared of this whole situation, my doctor says it's my anxiety doing this, I have been diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder in the past few months but nothing that's brought panic attacks with it. The propranolol seems to have helped but I'm not sure I like the way it makes me feel so spaced out and I'm sure it's giving me indigestion.
I know these attacks can't really hurt me but oh my word! The fear and panic that comes over you is terrible when it is happening and I honestly think something serious is going to happen. I'm now at the stage where I'm anxious about having another attack, that is my main worry now because I hate them and find it hard to cope.
I don't like the fact the doctor has literally just told me to keep taking the tablets and nothing more really! I'm there again on Friday so I'm going to ask to be referred to CBT again because I really need to beat this. The past 4 days have been so hard and I just want to be me again.