No air!

[Ditapage]

I know that sounds dramatic but it's how I feel. My panic attacks every so often manifest as this tight chest and shortness of breath/feeling of no air. Deep breathing doesn't help. I get scared that it's serious and about to pass out from no air. This feeling can last hours. It's NOT just a 20 minute panic attack. My chest feels like it will explode. I just need reassurance to know the difference between panic and a medical emergency related to my breathing. I can talk...that might be a good sign right!?

I have a pulse oximeter app on my phone that says my oxygen is always over 95, does that mean I am not running out of air? Then I start making conscious efforts to breathe and focus on it and it hangs around. I'm back to the doctor tomorrow but in the meantime I have this feeling and it's scaring me and I need help!

If you experience this too and know what works/what doesn't help, please share your wisdom!

[Pepperpot]

Hi
When I first started taking panic attacks, this was my main symptom - the feeling of not being able to breathe. It is terrifying. I used to constantly carry a bottle of water with me and take small sips - if you can drink then you can breathe. Also, if you can talk then you can breathe. When you focus on your breathing it makes things 389 times worse (random number ;) ). Distraction can help. I went through a phase of it happening as I was dropping off to sleep and I used to dive out of bed and start clearing clothes out of my wardrobe, just to distract me. But the sipping of water really did help. x

[Ditapage]

Hi pepperpot, I appreciate your comment and will keep in mind that if i can drink water, I can breathe, because I am usually guzzling water during these no air periods. It is just so incredibly strange and disturbing to experience this regardless of the fact it's "not real." I know that I just have to start thinking about breathing and it will start feeling like I have to force myself to breathe. Helpful to know that focusing on this symptom makes it go on longer. Did it ever cause you to feel faint? Ive never fainted but I've felt woozy and if this happens to me in a big store, I start feeling disconnected from reality. Truly terrifying!

Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom, it helps to know that I CAN breathe, i just don't really understand the science behind why it feels so much like I cannot.

[Pepperpot]

I feel quite light-headed at times anyway.
I tell you what I read, was that this was the sympathetic nervous system (the one that prepares you for emergency situations) being overworked/frazzled. When I read it like that, it made me stop and think that it was not some medical emergency, and that it was my body's way of telling me to calm myself down. I know that might sound silly, but it did work for me for a bit. x