I think I’m having a panic attack

[Murphy93]

I’ve got a pain at the back of my shoulder blades which is going down my arm I think it’s a trapped nerve

Started to feel panicky about it and now have facial numbness all of a sudden ?

Please help is this normal do I need to go to the hospital ?

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

Please also read this post:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=213239

[nomorepanic]

I don't think you need to go to the hospital but try and calm down and do some slow breathing. You are just getting panicky and nothing more.

[Carys]

how are you doing now?


Facial numbness can be caused by hyperventilating...

[Murphy93]

Hi all still trying to get my breathing going the numbness is horrible it’s not easing up

[Carys]

OK, is someone with you?

Have you tried lying down and putting your hand on your stomach and concentrating on a steady rising and falling of your abdomen? Really concentrate on the in and out and rising and falling, make it slow and steady. If this (facial tingling) is from hyperventilation it will be the blood gases being out of kilter and you need to bring them back to normal.

Only you can make the call on this one, if the pain is the same and not easing in your shoulder blade area and arm, and if you genuinely feel breathless.....then you should ring out of hours/111 for advice. I'm not trying to frighten you, but only you know how you are really feeling and if it is a panic attack type of thing or something actually physical going on.

---------- Post added at 19:29 ---------- Previous post was at 19:02 ----------

Remember also, that you DO have a fear of MS.......so you will be attributing what you are feeling to that fear. :winks:

[Darksky]

Try having a shower, the colder the better. If you can stand freezing so much the better. I've heard this stops panic but I've never had the courage to try it.

[Murphy93]

Hi everyone thank you so much for taking time to help me

I’ve seemed to cam down slightly - I live alone so I have taken a massive step tonight and went over to my mum and dads and told them everything

I completely broke down but I feel like a weight has been lifted.

They are going to help me get some support and counselling and funnily enough both suffered from this when they were younger !

[Carys]

I'm glad you shared your feelings with your parents - that will feel like quite a weight lifted I'm sure. Also, glad you have got through the major panic episode :)

[Darksky]

Glad it's going....when you are having them,it feels like they are never going to end...but they always do.:)

[Murphy93]

Hi everyone,

Just over a year ago I wrote this post , I can’t believe it! I fully broke down and had the worst panic attack of my life . My MND fears had been building up for weeks and it all came to a head,
I was on my kitchen floor unable to breath and finally had to call for help and speak out .

I’m not sure where I thought I would be in a years time at that point but I am disappointed with my lack of progress ( on my part )

I thought I would be over this by now , and I bloody wish I was . I’m sitting here twitching all over still and my heads going in loops .

Started some meds, doing some yoga is the small dent I’ve made in my recovery .

I tend to save inspirational posts from this forum and re read it over and over again- still can’t shake this fear .

Does anyone have any useful tips for me to get my life back on track in some what sensible direction?

[PanickyGuy]

Yeah I see this time last year you had a doozy panic attack from your previous posts. I don't know if anything I tell you will help you, but in my 10 year experience with panic attacks I learned a few things that kept me from running to the ER too much, losing my freaking mind, and even not have any panic attacks for as much as a whole year. So I've had many, off and on, throughout those years. Anyway, the first thing I did was to start seeing a therapist and get treated or learn CBT methods, and that helped a lot. The more I went to see a therapist about my GAD/Panic disorders the more I learned and the better I got. One of the best things I learned was breathing techniques on how to stop hyperventilation and slow down the adrenaline fueled fight or flight feeling during a panic attack. The technique is simple and something a bit like lamaze breathing, which goes something like this;

- Slowly inhale through your nose, try and hold your breath for at least 4 seconds, and exhale through your mouth. Repeat.

This is also related to something called Diaphragmatic breathing and really a therapist could teach you more about that, then I could. But that one simple breathing technique at least helps with hyperventilation and slowing the heart rate down and you can practice that now. Another thing I learned was to practice meditation. Again not something I can teach you on here, but a therapist probably could or at least get you some training material on it. I also learned that no one dies from a panic attack, but on another related note, I also learned a lot of interesting things about heart attacks from doctors on trips to the ER (lol) and regular doc visits - not from Dr. Google. One thing I learned with chest pain is that if it only hurts when you move a certain way, then it's probably not a heart problem and more like muscular disorder. I can't tell you how many times I sneezed hard and hurt my chest somehow in the process, then hours later, forgetting about that, had a chest pain from that and thought I was having a freaking heart attack. Lol, stupid I know. Another doctor once told me that even though panic attacks and heart attacks display similar symptoms, there is a slight difference. With most of the real heart attack patients he's seen come into the ER, he would ask them where is the pain and they would say it wasn't pain, but more like crushing pressure in their chest like a squeezing sensation. Meaning it's like someone taking a large strap, wrapping it around your chest and twisting it like a tourniquet, or someone setting a 1 ton weight on your chest. So anyway, when I learned those few medical tidbits, that saved me lots of trips to the ER and actually helped reduce my anxiety/panic disorders.

Medication for anxiety/panic disorder definitely helps too. It can go a long way in dealing with those disorders and helps reduce the frequent occurrence of those disorders. But finding the right med that works for you helps even better.

And the last thing that always helped me, was at least talking to someone over the phone, if not in person, during a panic attack to help you get calmed down and thinking logical again. That could be anybody from relatives, friends, co-workers, who understand your situation, and if they don't and none of them will help, someone you don't know on a crisis hotline is the best. Because people on crisis hotlines are trained to help deal with panic disorders and emotional distress, besides other issues.

Anyway, that's all I got for now. Hope it it helps man. :winks:

[Murphy93]

Thank you so much, that is an amazing reply and so helpful :)

I’ve been looking back at my post history and I got myself into a right state at times . I’m embossed ,

I will try out some of the techniques as I am still worried a lot . Again thanks for taking time out to help me out