1st panic attack

[vekiqf]

Hi all...I am diagnosed with OCD and have theme which is fear of schiz and I have good days and bad days .....but I had 1st panic attack in my life 10 days ago

I was in Greece on business trip and during conference I just couldnt breath, my heart started to bump like crazy, i had tremors in my hands and legs and I was sure that it is a heart attack. ER came and I had to overnight in hospital where they advised me that my heart is ok and that I had high blood pressure and to check that when I am home. As I had to stay 2 more days there I had again same symptoms but went out on fresh air and relaxed and just escaped to my hotel room where I felt much better. After 2nd attack fear/ worrying started to grow....what if it happen again/ how I will fly back home etc...so I had 3rd on a way to the airport but I managed to calm down I had a few beers and survived....

Now I cant relax and always have that fear that it will come back, that it will happen on my business trip and on a plane ( I travel and fly a lot), that I will ruin my career,that I will get agorophobia etc....I went to see therapist and he told me just to take Rivotril when I feel bad and cant handle it by myself...

This is just short story and I hope that somebody with more panic attack experiance can share some comments as I am not ok at all...

[GingerFish]

So sorry to hear you had a panic attack. You never forget your first! I have OCD too and one of my fears related to OCD is the same as yours.

My first panic attack happened while sitting in a college lecture. I was fine, feeling content and out of nowhere boom! It hit me. I had the same symptoms as you pretty much and ran out the room. I felt pretty much better instantly after getting out the room but it took me ages to realise it was a panic attack. I was sure I had been drugged or had some serious illness. Like you, I spent ages thinking about it and worrying about if or when I would experience it again and due to all the worrying about if I would have another attack, I did. I had them over and over and it became so bad I quit college and became housebound for 6 months. I'm not telling you this to scare you, I am telling you how my story panned out (I'm 99% better now and haven't been housebound for years) but I will tell you that worrying about if you will have another one will 100% make you have another one as its tension and anxiety that fuel a panic attack. Your OCD and the nerves of being at a conference could have been the cause of your panic. They can happen out the utter blue but like me, you have OCD so there is always some level of anxiety going on in you and that can build up to produce a panic attack.

The best things I can recommend you do is read up as much as you can about panics. I can assure you they are not dangerous nor will they ever kill or harm you, no matter how much they try and convince you that you are on your road out. It took me a while to believe this, even now with a bad attack, there is still a part of me that is convinced this could be the one that kills me. I found the books/audio books of Dr Claire Weekes to be a lifeline when I was at my worst with panic attacks. They helped me with my agoraphobia and to stop being housebounds, not meds or therapy but everything works differently for us all. Also talk to friends and family if you feel ready to, you will be surprised how many people have experienced a panic attack and remember there are plenty of forums like this one too for support.

[ana]

Hello there,

I've been suffering from panic attacks for 15 years now, and I can assure you that it's not always going to feel as bad as it feels right now. I remember my first panic attack and how scary it was, but since then, it has got a lot easier for me to manage my anxiety. It may take some time for you to understand and come to terms with what's going on as anxiety tends to be really confusing and distorting to your reality, but at the end of the day, anxiety is harmless, and it cannot and will not drive you insane or kill you. :)

I would suggest seeking out some help if you are worried about your panic attacks becoming more frequent and interfering with your life/travelling you do for work. Rivoril does help, though. I've been on it for a number of years now.

Hope you feel better!

[vekiqf]

Hi all thanks for your help...I visited GP who I also visited during OCD problems and he told me just to confront the situations/ never to avoid it and explained all very well to me...he gave me rivotril to take just if I really need it and I support that as I think that this s***t can be fixed without meds...

Now to come back to main problem....I created a fear that it will come back again especially in situations where I must be totally cool..example is that last monday I had a meeting in one embassy re business and before I entered a building I started to think ...what if it hits me there and anxiety started just to increase and when meeting started I had a panic attack it started to buzz in my ears,I felt like I hot adrenalin injection but I continued to talk to breath and gave to myself innervoice which said all is ok and after 1 min I was much better...is this a way to treat it??

Also I am going to vacation next week out of the city + on a business trip to Italy in 2 weeks..and I am always thinking what if it hit me there...how I will manage it...Is it normal to think on this way?

[ana]

The fear of fear is what you're talking about here. It's one of the worst things about anxiety...the anticipation of it, the fear of yet another panic attack. There is no single way of treating it as it's something that comes with time.

The more you don't let your fear of anxiety cripple you and prevent you from doing what you want to do, and the more positive experiences you get, the more confident you'll be in your ability to control and manage your anxiety.

The irony is that by thinking and worry about whether or not you're going to panic, you are raising your anxiety levels which will in turn result in you having a panic attack and 'proving yourself right', i.e. that you were right about getting panicky.

I hope you go on holiday and do all the travelling and feel fine. Best of luck! :)