Does anyone else have panic attacks that manifest as extreme tiredness?

[Ditapage]

I know post-panic attack fatigue is common but I was wondering if anyone else experiences panic attacks that feel like sudden extreme tiredness out of nowhere, particularly in the eyes. I have no idea if it's psychosomatic fatigue but I feel suddenly VERY tired behind the eyes and lightheaded. My body isn't weak and I don't have to lie down, it's a strange feeling and then I start to feel short of breath and my chest feels heavy.

It can go as quickly as it comes and diaphragmatic breathing seems to help. It hits me when i am feeling anxious already or dreading something. I would call it a form of a panic attack. Anyone else experience this? I used to think it was chronic fatigue but these are definitely sudden attacks of weird tiredness that don't last long but they're frightening because I feel like I will faint whereas chronic fatigue is longer lasting. I don't know whether it's just normal tiredness amplified by anxiety and I'm mistaking it for a panic attack. Can anyone relate to that?

I'm sure it's anxiety/panic because I had it yesterday at the doctor office while waiting. My eyes felt so tired and I felt lightheaded and my chest was heavy and it was like I had to force myself to take deep breaths. When it was time to see the doctor I wasn't tired anymore. What the heck is this? Has anyone else had these fatigue attacks? Like I said they strike my eyes and head which didn't alarm my doctor because he said it's mental fatigue but I'm feeling this tiredness in the head physically. My body doesn't feel tired. My sugars , bloods, are all fine. Any responses/experiences greatly appreciated :)

[Deanosbeano]

I Experience it too yes,
However cant figure our yet whether its simply because i am tired , Im beggining to believe that im not sleeping as well or as deep as i think i am and the fact is i am actually tired tho .

[icingsugar]

I have had this a few times including yesterday where I suddenly feel very tired and I get very worried like if I close my eyes and go to sleep I'll die. It doesn't usually result in a panic attack, it's just a feeling.

[HaroldMorse]

Sometimes, it happens to me after doing lots of work in the office and then while coming home and go to sleep, I feel like having some tension and get panic.

[bekw89]

I think anxiety can manifest in so many ways. If you worry about falling asleep or fainting etc then it will manifest as tiredness and light headedness.

[GingerFish]

Yes I get this too, especially when I am stressed out. My panics are usually powerful and wake me up but I do get those that seem to just drain the life out of me from out of nowhere and don't feel like a panic attack but they do, if that makes any sense?

[scratch1971]

I have only had this once after a bad night.. went to the doctors the following morning still shaking, light headed, tired and speaking so fastvi was mumbling. Got given diazpan, and slept the rest of the day and night.. its not a nice feeling, but only took the tablets for 2 days

[ricardo]

hello Ditapage.

You didn't continue when you said you felt better when you entered the doctor's room. What was his/her thoughts ?

Your symptoms are very familiar but to me not all together as you describe and I have been a sufferer of extreme anxiety for over 30 years.

[rsanchez]

I am feeling like this right now actually. I am so so tired. :(

[Ditapage]

Yes I get this too, especially when I am stressed out. My panics are usually powerful and wake me up but I do get those that seem to just drain the life out of me from out of nowhere and don't feel like a panic attack but they do, if that makes any sense?

Yep that's exactly how I feel... I think of panic attacks as pounding heart, hyperventilating, fidgety so these tired attacks really worried me. However when I checked my heart rate during a tired attack it was 113bpm when at rest it's usually 76. So my heart DOES go up like in a panic attack which makes me wonder if it's tiredness or anxiety causing weakness. Because I also start to feel like my chest is heavy and I am breathing shallow or I am super focused on my breathing.

Dr said its anxiety/panic. It seems too situational to be anything else in my rational mind but my HA mind is no help. I keep worrying it means I am out of oxygen. If I am dreading having to go somewhere I tell myself I'm too weak to go and sure enough this tiredness attack will hit me.

Tiredness is another fear of mine because I hate feeling like I can't get tasks done. I won't go shopping by myself because I've already told myself I will have one of those tired attacks and panic and it will be awful.. Classic HA brain stuff.

I read when I was first diagnosed with anxiety that somebody was saying on a forum they get tired attacks . Because my first attack felt like my head was about to explode and I paced frantically while waiting for a ride to the hospital, I thought tiredness sounds great in comparison! But this is a tiredness unlike any other.

when I was going through a horrible time, I would experience tired attacks all day and thought I was dying for sure. Completely normal blood test and it went away. I could see it being some kind of adrenal fatigue - if we are anxious even subconsciously the body is using adrenaline and when the supply is exhausted its not a good feeling.

Dr told me it's also mental fatigue. Normally, people just go out and do things. I can't leave the house without feeling some sensation and fixating on it an feeling panicky and faint. I suspect we all do that. That makes sense for me, I'll give an example:

I told my brothers I would get take away for dinner. The thought of going out was making me feel extremely tired as I imagined myself having a panic attack. So the drive there was brutal. I felt sooooooo tired and weak. It was drive thru so I had to wait for the order in my car (which is better than waiting inside) and the longer it took the tiredness manifested into a tight chest and jittery legs and I started imagining myself having to tell the girl at the window I needed an ambulance. As soon as I had my order and was driving home, I felt absolutely fine!

So the tiredness has to be part of the panic response.

[Dynamito]

yes very tired and i go to gym, but just feel so fatigued during the workout. my anxiety and panic attacks have came on again recently and it's made me feel worse. i wake up hot and sweaty too, and it's so frustrating as during the day i am exhausted.