View Full Version : Can you describe your panic attacks?
Just wondering if you can put it into words to compare with other peoples?
For me, it can be mild, I feel slightly shakey, my breathing can feel restricted, I have an impending sense of dread/fear running through my mind like something awful is going to happen. I feel the need to get up and escape from the situation I'm in even if it's just walking outside for fresh air.
Other times (rare but scary) I get major shakes and feel like I'm ready to collapse, I feel the need to eat something to give me a spurt of energy (I had my bloods checked at the doctors and all came back fine) breathing goes to pot, heartrate goes mad and palpitations, I can be quite teary, the feeling of dread can last for hours afterwards and I can't seem to calm down or relax.
Recently I've been struggling again after being 'well' for a number of months. To the point I feel depressed and can't get excited for anything.
---------- Post added at 14:34 ---------- Previous post was at 12:52 ----------
My goodness. Talk about timing, just suffered a major one after posting that!
Yes...I feel like I am about to die:ohmy:
MULDEEEEER
30-10-14, 17:48
My symptoms have changed much with time, I was diagnosed with panic disorder only 1 year ago (25 year old now) and that shit changed my life completely.. But nowdays my symptoms are: light-headed feeling (like I could collapse at any moment), very SLOW and weak heart rate (this really scares me, I'd rather go with racing heart as strange as it might sound..), Difficult to breathe and sometimes feeling that is this even real life or a dream.. I really want this to end :(
My symptoms have changed much with time, I was diagnosed with panic disorder only 1 year ago (25 year old now) and that shit changed my life completely.. But nowdays my symptoms are: light-headed feeling (like I could collapse at any moment), very SLOW and weak heart rate (this really scares me, I'd rather go with racing heart as strange as it might sound..), Difficult to breathe and sometimes feeling that is this even real life or a dream.. I really want this to end :(
I'm the opposite from you, I worry when my heart rate isn't slowish and steady. Cant relax as I'm always aware of it.
Sunflower2
30-10-14, 22:48
Twinge of muscles in my stomach and burning feeling, throat feels tight, heart races through my body and feel it especially in my head, vision gets very focused on one thing, dizzy feeling, hot and uncomfortable, can't breathe normally!
My symptoms are: heart incredibly fast (near 200 sometimes), some dizziness, shaking, and people who saw it told me that I am very "white", like I have no blood on my face. I don't fell any pain, no breathing problems. But the fast heart makes me crazy, I can't control it and the panic makes it faster, faster, faster... until it can't go faster and starts slowing down. In one word: Awful.
EnoughAlready
03-11-14, 22:58
Twinge of muscles in my stomach and burning feeling, throat feels tight, heart races through my body and feel it especially in my head, vision gets very focused on one thing, dizzy feeling, hot and uncomfortable, can't breathe normally!
those are almost identical to mine - I have learnt that wwhen I get that feeling which starts with me starting to feel fuzzy I immediately tell myself I have been here before and that nothing bad is going to happen and I refocus on something in my room 0 be it the TV or my computer etc or I shout out really loud something really stupid. It seems to work for me as it passes almost immediately
Just thought I'd join this thread, I have been suffering with extreme health anxiety for about 2 years now, and most days I'm just on edge and anxious all day, haven't had a really bad panic attack for a while intill the other day. Sat in my sisters car taking the kids out and got a pain in my chest, that's weird I thought, the nxt thing all sorts of scenarios going through my head, so chest got more painful, this is definitely a heart attack....., burning feeling up my chest, had to open window, stomach ache, my god I'm gonna crap myself in the car, all this while the kids in the back singing to frozen, and I'm sitting thinking I'm gonna die. Anyway I did start to calm down, I don't really know how,but everything slowed down and felt a little better, was really shaky and needed sugar afterwards. I hid all if this from my sister and kids, I really forgot how bad panic attacks are. Horrible.
gothic_rose
05-11-14, 22:26
for me it always starts with some kind of chest pain or odd sensation. My heart rate does nt increase and I dont get palpatations, just these vrey odd, painful sensations, usually in the centre of my chest or slightly over the tops of my breasts.
as soon as this pain starts I freak out and start hyperventilating which makes the pain worse, and makes me feel like I cant breathe. I also get the urge to jump up and start running or escape, presume thats an adrenaline thing.
this can go on for hours and come and go over a period of days. it also wakes me up from my sleep which scares me.
ive been having an attack since 1pm this afternoon im meant to be at work but ive called in sick. i was anxious that i told a lie to my boss and i started to panic plus i have to apologise to someone at home so im having a massive attack right now. i felt like i was going to explode and my heart was racing and i was clammy and sweaty. it is an intense fear my stomach so so anxious. i have told my boss the truth but i have to see a family friend who is coming round soon apologise....i don't know why it is all worrying me so much?:weep:
Catherine S
12-11-14, 16:00
I'm extremely claustrophobic so I tend to only have panic attacks if i'm in a situation that I feel I can't get out of or control, fortunately this means I don't get them randomly at home like some people do. The feeling of an attack usually starts with not being able to breathe properly, which then makes me think i'm going to collapse so I need to get out of the situation really quickly. If i'm somewhere I can't leave such as on a plane (not very often) then I have to use all my props, which I have with me whenever I travel to calm myself down. But claustrophobia like mine can limit where I go and how I get there, I have to plan each trip carefully...no motorways if there are alternative A-roads, no crowded trains so have forked out many times for a 1st class seat to get a half empty carriage, and I cannot sit in the back of a 2-door car, it has to be a 4-door for easy escape! Ive never been treated for or 'cured' of this phobia so have learned to live with its limitations, and so also have my children over the years :) Recovery usually involves a bit of weeping and shaking until my breathing gets back to normal...ish.
ISB x
Anyone else get the shakes I have mentioned in my other thread?
I can relate to all the replies on here!
Anyone else get the shakes I have mentioned in my other thread?
I can relate to all the replies on here!
during an intense panic attack i shake quite a bit. sometimes i look at my hands and they seem to be shaking. probably a nerve thing.
James don't worry, panic attacks are very dibilitating, I just had one a few hours ago. Mine typically feel like burning fuzzy sensation in my face, then racing thoughts of dread to uncontrollable sobbing and shaking. I also have short hiccups breaths, I usually get cold hands and feet and loss of appetite and nausa as well.
beckstarguitar
14-11-14, 11:10
I have dry mouth, dizziness, aura, pins and needles in feet and legs, hands and arms, and neck and head. This symptom has got worse lately and feels like burning. Feeling of dread/impending doom. Fast heart rate.
LilyPad1991
16-11-14, 18:14
I had a panic attack yesterday. It shook me up quite a bit; I've not had one for over two years. It just came out of nowhere, I felt dizzy then all of a sudden I had a heat flush and felt all prickly and then it felt like my arms and legs were numb and then i thought my vision was going and that I was dying. It has been such a long time since I had such a big attack that it really affected me... The feelings sort of abated and no-one seemed to notice and then the waves of panic washed back over me again. I had a sort of 'secondary' attack and then as i was coming down again I got the shakes really badly and my teeth were chattering.
It has scared me so badly. I don't even know why it happened, it just came out of nowhere. I will not be poorly again, I've been well for so long. I hate it!
My breathing starts me off it used to be my chest pains but im focused on my breathing I get jerky shudder breathing and that warm sensation run up back of my head and body tense all over uncontrolled shaking especially legs and stomach then it feels I cant get a breath in at all and I get tightness around my nose and then I think im going to pass out and stop breathing which sometimes makes whosing in my ears I get snappy and pins and needles in hands nausea and pins and nesdles in ome sode of face or numbness I suffer severe anxiety now and my panic attacks have got alot worse also my heart tends to gomuch slower in panic now before it used to race
State of panic
22-11-14, 13:23
SCARY!!!!!! I was vacationing on a beautiful beach In Hawaii and when I stood up I couldn't breathe I immediately put cold water on my face, I delt like I was going to faint and a general feeling of severe dread came over me. these panic attacks can hit at any given time, why would I have a panic attack on a relaxing vacation perhaps the stress of flying caught up to me I don't know, but my mind was totally relaxed and bam it hit. After I have one it takes my system a day to recover because I worry and am scared I will have another one, I usually give myself a days treatment of Xanax and it goes away. I was playing the piano once and I got one, thought I would fall off the piano bench so I immediately laid on the floor and took some deep breaths. they are awful to experience. There are some good meditation videos on YouTube and people that give you tips how to get thru them, I found that helpful
I get a tingle in my legs that works it way to my head which it stays there feeling fuzzy n strange I get cold sweats and uncontrollable shaking I pace up n dwn then the dread kicks in n being a single mum I worry I'm gonna die n leave kids alone or thyl find me collapsed . Mine av lasted as short as 20 minutes but se have woken me from sleep At 1am and lasted all into the following day . It's taking over my life and I hAte it x
spacebunnyx
23-11-14, 00:03
Mine is a whoosh feeling or lightheadedness. Then I get really restless... My palms sweat. My heart pounds but the worst is this sense like I'm going to die. It's so so horrible. :-(
Mine feels like a knot in my chest and my stomach, racing heart, difficulty breathing, and a racing mind. I find myself wanting to be closer to the ground, away from people, but also trying to connect to someone. It's awful. It's like my body can't make up it's mind.
---------- Post added at 14:27 ---------- Previous post was at 14:25 ----------
Anyone else get the shakes I have mentioned in my other thread?
I can relate to all the replies on here!
I get the shakes sometimes too. And I get 'cold'.
almamatters
24-11-14, 19:31
My panic attacks have changed over the years, it used to be chest pain, trouble breathing and getting very hot but now they mainly effect my legs and head for some reason. My legs seem to start getting tingly and numb and my head and face get a strange burning sensation. The leg thing really bothers me though.
MPsyStudent_1988
25-11-14, 21:57
A whole bunch of physical symptoms...
Nausea
Lack of Appetite
Indigestion
Clammy hands
Tingly hand (left arm) mostly
Emotionally:
Looking for escape route (i.e., in movie theatre)
"What if" thinking
Fear of unknown, fear of unable to escape the situation
Overturned
29-11-14, 15:06
for me its a sudden wave of fear, my whole body (mainly the middle of chest) tingles or goes all "fuzzy". And then fear sets in. I need to leave the room immediately and go lay down or try and calm myself down somehow. I rarely hyperventilate or anything like that.
It usually starts out with a head pain, or a heart flutter, something physical. After that I get a choking feeling, racing heart, numb and clamby hands, weak limbs, I can hyperventilate and turn pale, I'll get deathly Ill, nauseous, dizzy, weak, I'll feel very faint, I've actually fallen before from extreme vertigo where the room spun and the floor rose up to meet me... Scary stuff, and of course can't forget the mental anguish, fear, impending doom, racing thoughts, and so forth.
May I add I also have pseudo seizures, which are very real to those who suffer from them.
xvolatileheart
02-12-14, 00:27
I get it all. Racing heart (which sometimes turns into very slow heart), skipped beats, feel weak, shaky, breathing goes funny, feel dizzy or like I will faint, sometimes get pins and needles, and the worst bit: feeling of doom, like I'm going to have a seizure/stroke/heart attack/die. Nothing feels real, it's like I'm in a dream, my body doesn't feel like mine, sounds and sights get really intense. I feel really tired, weak and shaky after they end so I want to run and hide in my bed when it happens. They are the worst feeling in the world.
First I start to feel strange but don't know why. Then I start to shake and get heart palpations. Eventually my heart starts beating so fast I have to sit down because I feel like I will pass out. Before all this happens I fell a sense of doom, like I am going to die at any moment. Then I am nauseous the rest of the day.
Haven't had o e for a few weeks now but on a couple of occasions I felt like I was going to get shamey again.
I had my bloods done in August so I know I should be fine for low blood sugar but the fear is still lingering in my head about it happening again.
christinaKountoura
06-12-14, 14:05
I'm 16 and I never thought I'd have a panic attack so the first time it happened I was like "Yeah, I'm dying or something". I felt extremely dizzy, like i couldnt control my body so I told my mom and she had me lay. I started shaking and I couldn't control it, I started crying for no specific reason. I couldn't breathe properly and my heart was racing, it was SO scary. It lasted for about two hours. I stopped shaking and crying but the breathing problem remained. i could feel my heart beating so fast.
Next time it happened while I was sleeping so I was waking up due to my racing heart and I couldn't breathe. This was happening for like two or three hours every time I tried to fall asleep. I think my panic attacks came from a phobia of mine but i never felt anxious or frightened when the panic started.
Mine usually start with a sudden increase in HR out of nowhere (up to around 140). Then the breathing goes, can't get a breath properly, feel really hot so take off my layers.. dizzy and faint. Once the HR has calmed down a little I get the shakes and chills. I can only assume this is the 'shock' after the panic? I can shake for half an hour and sometimes my body temperature will drop to hyperthermia levels - 34.8c!
The rest of my day then becomes useless.
Its just plain horrible.
---------- Post added at 14:59 ---------- Previous post was at 14:58 ----------
I'm 16 and I never thought I'd have a panic attack so the first time it happened I was like "Yeah, I'm dying or something". I felt extremely dizzy, like i couldnt control my body so I told my mom and she had me lay. I started shaking and I couldn't control it, I started crying for no specific reason. I couldn't breathe properly and my heart was racing, it was SO scary. It lasted for about two hours. I stopped shaking and crying but the breathing problem remained. i could feel my heart beating so fast.
Next time it happened while I was sleeping so I was waking up due to my racing heart and I couldn't breathe. This was happening for like two or three hours every time I tried to fall asleep. I think my panic attacks came from a phobia of mine but i never felt anxious or frightened when the panic started.
Exactly the case with me too! I just can't understand this at all. Can be absolutely fine then off it goes.. I get the shakes too.
christinaKountoura
08-12-14, 13:56
It's difficult because i always feel like it's happening again and that I'm not safe. i have difficulty sleeping even if there's nothing there to make me anxious. It's so scary because I try to sleep and I feel like i can't breathe, like I'm gonna die. I feel my heart racing and I wake up gasping for air so it kinda sucks... Do you think i should see a therapist? Given I'm 16 and that i have experienced a panic attack three times. Since May, 2014 I can't find peace. I don't usually tell my parents about what's going on but the first time I told them bc it was really scarzy and I thought I'd fade
Hi :)
I think talking to your doctor would be a good idea since they will be able to point you in the right direction.
I started having panic attacks last month and I mentioned it to my doctor who has sent me for some blood tests, only to rule things out (since if it is fixable that is so much better than carrying on with it!)
Seeing a therepist would be a great idea though. And mention it to your parents again since they will be ale to lend their support to you :)
christinaKountoura
09-12-14, 10:59
Thanks for the reply! I really need someone to talk to and this forum actually helps. I'm scared to tell my parents. not because they wouldn't understand, as my mom suffers from panic disorder but I just feel like they'll tell me what they always do. "Don't be scared of the earthquakes, nothing bad can happen" etc. (bc my panic attacks were caused but seismophobia). So I don't feel really comfortable talking to them and i am also afraid that seeing a therapist could be a waste of money because my situation is not too bad, it's bad but not unbearable, I guess.
What do you think?
I've only just joined and this forum has made me feel so much better too ^^
Have a chat with your parents about it when you are calm and not having a panic attack. When you are having an attack your parents will want to reassure you that you are going to be ok, which can feel like they are just passifying you. Since your mum has a panic disorder I'm sure they would be more than willing to help once you explain how you feel.
The important thing is to get help before it becomes unbearable. The faster you get some help the easier it will be to start to control it :)
christinaKountoura
09-12-14, 11:59
thank you so much!
I'll try to tell my mum soon. Thank you, it means a lot.
Sometimes we just want someone to share our feelings... Hope you'll get help from this forum,too :)
Junglechicken
11-12-14, 01:50
Yup, I have experienced the full works:
Waking up in the middle of the night/or at any time of day for that matter and....
The sweats and then feeling really cold
Thinking I am about to die
Thinking I am going to pass out
Dizziness
Crying
Numbness
Tingling in the hands, arms etc.,
Hyperventilating
Upset stomach
Nauseous
I am on medication and have been since Feb. Had to take 3 months off work to try to get some normality back. I take melatonin to help me sleep. I suffer from anxiety/depression/health anxiety.
Also my work situation seriously sucks and am trying to figure out what the hell I can do about it.
Mine differ somewhat, in the starting symptom, but if it goes full blown it's almost always the same results, it starts with a pain somewhere I focus on it loads and start to feel doomed and like I'm going to die, then I start sweating and getting light headed, my arms and back tingle, and I go pale, and feel sick, I start feeling like nothing is real and that I'll pass out, this is usually when I ring an ambulance, and they can calm me down.
sarainadream
15-12-14, 20:21
I get the whole lot of symptoms:
-I start getting fuzzy and lightheaded first.
-I then get a head-rush and I feel a warmth rising up to my head.
-The back of my head then gets warm and I feel warm "dripping" sensations
-I suddenly start panicking that I am bleeding out aka dying.
-My ears turn bright red and my face pales
-My legs turn to jelly and the floor seemingly softens below me
-I get body weakness and tingly
-My heart rate sky rockets and breathing seems difficult (cannot breathe deeply but do not hyperventilate)
-My hands will eventually shake a bit and my mouth gets dry
-I feel dreamy; like everyone is in a bubble and I am not myself. Noise such as people talking seems far away
-I feel faint and light-headed; no tunnel vision but I feel as if I may pass out
-I feel nauseous but have never thrown up. I get warm and have to splash cold water on my face.
-I cannot control the panic or feelings that I am dying. I start thinking about being found dead.
-It lasts for 1-2 hours.
They started this year out of no where; I really do not have any deep-sided anxiety except occasional health anxiety over my chronic headaches. I am in the process of ruling out thyroid/blood sugar issues as some of these symptoms are similar. Sometimes they are mild (I feel a bit dizzy and not balanced but I can ignore it, whereas other times I have abandoned shopping carts, work meetings, driving etc. as they are so bad).
I am really hopeful to get a solid diagnosis so I can start some sort of treatment as I am always fearful they will hit at bad times (I have been rushed to the hospital two times this past year as they happened in public). They are SO hard to explain and most people look at me like I am nuts-they cannot relate to the fear and sensation that your heart is going to burst, head is going to explode, fearing for your life.
I just had a major one! I have health anxiety so I always think I'm really poorly when one starts. Takes me a while to realise it's just a panic attack. I feel nauseas and also that feeling of impending doom that a lot of others talk about. I sometimes get pains in my chest.
The main thing for me is the shaking though. Uncontrollable shivering for up to an hour.. I'm guessing from the adrenaline. Just awful. Wish I could stop them.
Have just started taking fluoxetine and hoping this helps with the general anxiety and therefore stops me spiralling into panic attacks.
The worst ones are the ones that wake me up at night for no reason :(
Its-so-fluffy
21-12-14, 19:57
New here so I thought I would post here too with my experiences.
My panic attacks just start with the thought "I don't feel well". From there it's downhill! I get a sudden cold/icy feeling in my chest. At my worst I couldn't sit still and was fidgeting and rocking myself. I got so bad my hands got pins and needles then went numb and even worst my hand muscles sort of contracted into "claws" and I couldn't move my hands. That was scary. Apparently it's just too much oxygen does it from hyperventilating but I didn't know that at the time!
I also got recurring thoughts I was going mad. Not fun at all.
Almost forgot, I get the lovely bad stomach symptoms and can't eat for hours sometimes day after a major attack.
I however find it interesting I never got the most common symptom of "I'm gonna die!"
That didn't even cross my mind, and still doesn't when I get attacks. I just feel rotten and don't want to be alone.
I got so bad my hands got pins and needles then went numb and even worst my hand muscles sort of contracted into "claws" and I couldn't move my hands. That was scary. Apparently it's just too much oxygen does it from hyperventilating but I didn't know that at the time!
Hi, I've had the claw hand as well. They told me I was making it happen but didn't say how!
I've had two major panics, first one at work on my own on Christmas morning, what fun :blush: I work in a Nursing Home so I wasn't on my own as such but I was working on my own in the laundry.
I get the feeling of really not feeling well with all over odd symptoms and I have to hold the area underneath my breast bone. I don't really know why at the time but it feels heavy.
I'm told my breathing is all over the place but it feels normal to me.
My whole body feels paralised and I can only do a slow shuffle if I have to walk. I feel a little bit sick but not everso. It makes it easier now that I sort of understand that blood has rushed from my tummy area to where its needed so thats the reason. (That might not be medically correct but it helps me to understand.
I don't want one again I can tell you that.
I have had OCD since I was 16 and health anxiety since I was a young child. The panic attacks started recently. I have two types. First one is fairly mild and happens when I worry about my health. Such as when I woke up dizzy due to fluid buildup in ears after a cold.
The second type is worse and comes out of nowhere, lasts longer and takes me ages to recover.
First I get cold in my hands that progresses i to tingling. My stomach starts doing summersalts and I keep needing the toilet. My heart rate goes nuts and towards the end of it I start shaking and alternating between being hot and cold.
After I feel weak and shaky, usually for the rest of the day. My appetite also goes
Penny Flynn
26-12-14, 19:44
Hi all. I get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach which causes me to hyper ventilate, the pins and needles spread throughout my body. Sometimes my whole midriff feels very heavy and tight. Palpitations and higher blood pressure to. It can take up to an hour to return to normal, but I always do, so that helps to get through it.
i ended up in hospital last week as a result of a massively increased heart rate
i had leg cramps as well as hyperventilating
last time i had an attack, there was no internet to speak of.
came as a surprise to me and i truly believed i was shuffling off this mortal coil
terrible shakes all body over.........170 beats a minute heart rate, blurred vision and confusion
i'm very glad to find you because if i have to go through that shit again i'll need someone
I get the lightheaded, "I'm going to pass out" feeling, can't get any air, sweaty, adrenaline rushes, warm flushing pins and needless, headache, high blood pressure, feeling like my heart will beat out of my chest. So basically, the feeling like I'm going to die. HELP!!
----------------
Just want to be my old self again
I feel completely overwhelmed, it feels like I'm here but I'm not. Everything around me becomes weird. I get weak and light headed. Increased heart rate and my whole body feels like I'm about to pass out. I feel this overwhelming fear and dread as well. I also feel a hot burning sensation all over my back and legs
aladetteinsane
31-12-14, 09:59
I haven't had a full-blown panic attack for years *searches for wood to touch* I can still remember my first panic attack at 15 years old, I had pins and needles in my arms and legs and I was pacing up and down the road, couldn't sit down, was telling my friend I would die if I sat down. Horrid, horrid. Panic attacks would make me feel kind of surreal, like I wasn't there, hard to explain. The past couple of years I seem to get the beginnings of an attack, I get a weird sensation in my head, where I feel like the world is tipping, but I can manage to ignore it and carry on. I haven't had a full-blown attack since having CBT for my health anxiety ten or so years ago.
Mine are generally on an evening so bedtime is worse for me anxiety wise, mine starts with a whoosh, falling feeling, then normally feel my heart thump all over the place, then I start to think crap, I'm going to have a heart attack and die, then all at once I get pins/needles, hot all over, nausea, heartburn. Once the initial panic is over I'm usually on edge for at least a day after. It's horrific. Been to see my doctor who was lovely and has given me some medication, I'm on my 4th day and just thankful I am sleeping bit more. Although last night I kept having the falling sensation which jerked me awake many times but without the panic which was extremely frustrating. I'm hoping it gets better from here.
I always get tight knot in stomach goes so tight I can't move / bad shakes / heart pounding and mind going crazy (got all this now)
GingerFish
04-01-15, 23:37
With an average every day kind of panic attack I feel my heart race, my cheeks burn, I feel dizzy and sick and like I could fall at any second. I've only had one which made me feel like I was about to lose my mind or die on the spot and that happened a few days ago. I've had panic attacks for years but that was something else. Still not feeling right from it tbh. Feel really weird and spacey though I know that is normal after a bad attack.
I get very very dizzy, walk like a drunk person, hot in my face, then it feels like my blood is boiling in my face, head and in my whole overbody, i can't feel my legs and when I start to feel them again, there are filled with needles and pins. I'm sure I'm going die or faint.
I did just have a big attack now, after being to bed for one hour. I did get up, toke clothes on, did go outside, because I was so afraid to be alone, I did walk around like a drunk person for 5-10 minuttes outside at 23:55 in the nigth. It is awfull and this can't be panic attack, I dont feel like i have anxiety, it must be something else and something bad
This was my worst ever, I do normally not feel dizzy like this - so now I'm really scared now.
Churning stomach or lead weight in there. Thumping heart which doesn't actually bother me!! Tingling in hands, warm sensation throughout my body, massive fear of losing control and going mad!!! Upset tummy, no appetite, dry mouth. For anyone really troubled by the physical affects of anxiety, propanolol is an absolute god send. I find once physical affects are under control I feel almost human!! Now to deal with racing thoughts!
icingsugar
15-01-15, 23:02
I've had panic attacks for almost 3 months now and the symptoms have changed, the first was the most severe and I called an ambulance as I thought I was having a heart attack.
The first one started with a big stomach cramp and a spasm in the bowel, as though I was about to poo myself, and I simultaneously got a sinking feeling in my body, like you do when you miss a step in the dark, this feeling seemed to almost literally spread up my body from my genitals/stomach to my heart where (within nano seconds, not even actual seconds) my heart sped up to a speed it's never been before (even with intense exercise), my face became both hot and cold and numb and tingly all together as well as my hands, and I felt as though I couldn't breathe. This was all within the space of about 5 seconds. I quickly stood up to try and breathe but the world felt distant and fuzzy, and I was sure I was about to drop dead or pass out at any minute. This lasted at this intensity for less than 30 seconds when I managed to control my breathing a little and, slowly my heart rate began to drop a little. But I was so scared that I called for a house mate who insisted I sit down and drink water, but whenever the water hit my stomach I'd get the sinking sensation again rising from my stomach to my heart and the palpitations would start again. In the end I called an ambulance.
From then for about 2 weeks I had these attacks again every night, believing the doctors hadn't checked my properly (I was in Italy studying when this happened, and I don't speak very good Italian and the doctors didn't speak perfect English so I felt as thugh they misunderstood what had happened). I'd feel headachey, tense, nervous, scared all day, and then every evening without fail I'd get the symptoms similar to the first time but less intense, and these would last less than 20 seconds, but I'd feel tense and ill all night, focussing too strongly on my breathing etc and feeling as though I was being choked or couldn't breathe properly.
Since then I've been having them less and less although I have good and bad weeks, recently, the last week or so, it's been getting worse again although I haven't had a full on attack for a few weeks.
My symptoms now vary but usually start with (I haven't seen anyone else say this which worries me a bit) a spasming sensation in my vagina, which makes me hold my breath. Then I usually have trouble breathing and occasionally palpitations. However, at random points during the day, often when I'm walking around, I feel weird, kind of disconnected from reality, like my legs aren't solid and I can't feel them, and I always think that this isn't how I felt usually before my attacks.
Sorry this is a bit long, this is my first post and it's kind of a relief to get it all out in the open.
For me, I feel very sick - constantly have a feeling that my throat is kinda clogged and it makes me gag and retch (sorry for TMI there!), I also have a racing heart, tingly and weak sensations, and feel like I'm going to pass out.
When I was younger I did pass out a few times completely at random, so doctors thought I may have epilepsy... Had to take meds for a year and have loads of tests... Luckily I was all clear and have had nothing since, but it's always at the back of my mind that 'it happened once, so it's going to happen again', which really freaks me out whilst I'm in full on panic mode.
Overall, I tend to just feel very very unwell all round :(
Hi everyone
Mine always start with a body system iv noticed stright away I either get very hot or hot and icey cold I can feel the need to run or escape but to wear god knows just a thought that comes into my head then the breathing thing starts I feel I can't breath or my breathing becomes restricted the worst one for me is the feeling hot I hate it
I have had two different ones.
One is simply getting the feeling that something is wrong. Im getting dizzy, heart starts racing. I get the feeling that i should run. The more i fight against it, the worse it gets.
The second type is the worse. Usually it happens when im half sleeping. Suddenly the true realization of own mortality comes. I dont feel the need to run, because it is paralyzing. When anxious we tend to understand and even fear that we are going to die, but this death terror goes beyond everything. Its pure knowledge, enlightment in its own way.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.