Panic Attack Last Night?

[PenelopeAnne]

Hi guys. I am new to this forum but I admit that I've perused it for a couple of years just to get good advice about my anxiety issues... so I feel like I know a lot of you even though I've just been a weirdo lurker :whistles:

Anyway, I've been dealing with bad anxiety issues for several years although I recently went through a period of almost 2 years with no major issues. My anxiety primarily manifests as health anxiety. This summer, my father got incredibly sick and ended up in the hospital for over a month, and then into a rehab facility for alcohol. This has been a very hard time in my life and I've found that as the months have gone on... that old anxiety is sneaking back in.

So... I am 37 years old and I admit to not being in the best shape AND I smoke. Isn't that ridiculous? Having HA and smoking? Lord have mercy.

Anyway, I've suffered for quite some time with a chronic cough that has been attributed mainly to severe GERD (yes my issues run the gamut!)

I was living with the cough and it didn't really bother me until a few weeks ago when suddenly the HA grabbed hold and I was convinced I have lung/throat C. My doc has assured me that this is almost unheard of at my age EVEN as a smoker... but you know.. I'm smarter than the doc, yes?

Over the past week, this has culminated in me coughing into napkins constantly to obsessively examine my phlegm... (Sorry. So gross.)

So... last night. I was sitting at my computer doing some work but also Googling like an idiot about lung cancer statistics etc. I convince myself that I'm doing this to "reassure" myself. Eventually, I sidetracked my mind by playing some online slots on Facebook and I was feeling generally fine.

Suddenly, I felt this strange sensation... like all of the blood had rushed out of my face. My head felt very heavy. My instant reaction was to jump up out of my chair and run... where? I don't know. I found that as I was moving toward the bathroom, I was overcome with vertigo and dizziness and just this horrible feeling. Then I made it to my bed where I laid down and noticed my heart was racing faster than it has ever raced before. I felt terrible. Awful. Definitely dying. Started yelling for God to let me live and not die. Trying to cry but couldn't. I hung my head over the side of the bed as I began to feel nauseous and sort of dry heaved with very little actual vomit. Just sort of heaving.

I started to feel slightly better. Decided to get up and go to the bathroom. Noticed that I was still very wobbly. Looked in the mirror and saw my face was completely white. Suddenly was overcome with the same awful dizzy sensation and stumbled back to my room. Laid in bed rolling around freaking out and tried to throw up some more but was just heaving. My arms felt heavy, my hands felt tingly, my face felt weird, my head was swimming... and eventually I fell asleep.

Today... I feel.. ok. A bit like I have a hangover. But I do not drink. I figured last night I was for sure having a heart attack or a stroke or some other phenomenon. I decided to punch some of these symptoms into this site and saw that there were similarities between what I had gone through and a standard panic attack.

So... that was a LONG story but I guess I'm here to say... does this sound like a panic attack? Can they strike out of the blue like that? Can they really make you feel that ill? Today I feel still kinda icky and my face is a bit flushed but I do not feel like I did last night. Like this is... the aftermath.

I had though i'd had panic attacks before but I think they were more "meltdowns" which I'm thinking are kind of to physiological/phychologically different things.

What say ye?

[HalfJack]

No idea, that's not how I'd describe my panics but a lot of people experience them differently and feeling wobbly is very common. Sometimes I get the shakes and feel ill.
One time part of my face went numb.
I've no idea if what you had was a panic but it's possible.

One thing is for sure, stop googling!

[PenelopeAnne]

Thanks for your reply. Initially I thought perhaps it was something that I ate, which remains possible, but the sudden onset of it seemed weird and the sheer terror that I felt was so different. Like at some points, I felt like it wasn't even real... as if I was watching it happen. My arms were really sore as well and I remember laying there in misery thinking, "Ok. My arms are sore. Both of them. I thought when you have heart attacks, which I'm SURE I'm having, only the left arm hurts." It was bizarre. Like I was having this weird conversation outside of myself. But I may have actually yelled "Why do my arms hurt??" like a crazy person. lol I am leaning toward panic attack even though my mind really wants to say it was something awful. I think the primary reason I can chalk it up to panic is because... it went away and although I feel worn out and a bit beaten up today... it hasn't happened again. I tell myself that if it was something ore severe, it probably would be rather an escalating situation that doesn't just go away?

My word. Anxiety sucks.

[icingsugar]

Hi there. This describes my panic attacks perfectly. The first one came on completely out of the blue when I was watching a film. The blood drained from my face leaving it feeling numb, the world swam, I couldn't breathe, everything felt unreal, crazy fast palpitations, waves of sensation moving through my body. I thought I was having a heart attack (I'm only 21 but also smoke and am very unhealthy) so called an ambulance. The sensation kept returning in waves until they arrived and said it was a panic attack. I had blood tests, ecg, stomach xray, urine tests and ultrasound and they couldn't find anything wrong.

My panic attacks have changed symptoms over the four months ive had them, but for the first two weeks after this first one explained above I had the same symptoms as the first time every night without fail.

[TunaFish]

Sounds like my panic attacks. I also have them comming in waves. Some times in 5-10 interval, sometimes in 20-40 minuttes. Not two of my attacks are the same, which is a little scary.

Hope you are okay and if you want to feel "safe", visit your doctor and get some test done - I'm sure the will come back with the result, that your heart and everything else is okay.

Ps. All your stress and old aneixty is like asking for at Big panic attack...sorry, but it very normal.