hello - panic attack or heart attack????

[LFF]

Hello All.

I am just saying hello after suffering what I am being told is a panic attack.

I am an anxious person but I have felt very ill the last week and this thing is happening to me every night since last friday. Friday being the worst when my husband called an ambulance as I said I was going to die of heart attack.

First my chest feels funny, then my hand and feet tingle and start to sweat, then I get a funny tingling and taste in my mouth and I feel like I am going to pass out. The worst was the feeling of needing to immediately urinate, I didnt but it was an awful feeling. I was completely grey and my heart was racing. The hospital did tests which all came back negative and they said it was a panic attack.

I am now frightened to go to bed at night and this has happened every night since, not as bad but it is still happening. I am worried I have heart problem. How can a panic attack wake you in a deep sleep and is instantly happening for which I have no control.

I am very scared and dont know what to do. Am I on my own or has anyone else had similar feeling.

King regards

LFF

[Vanilla Sky]

You are so not on your own, if you read through the posts about panic, you will see that there have been so many of us in your situation. And with so many of us thats what starts uor panic. Like you i ended up in hospital one night convinced i was having a heart attack, i couldnt believe it when they said it was " just panic " and sent me home with Gaviscon for indegestion ! For weeks i was never away from the doctors pleading that they were wrong, how on earth could panic make you feel that bad ! But i'm afraid it does, eventually i understood what was happening to me. I finally took meds for anxiety and within weeks i started to feel calmer. It has not been easy and we all have our own way of recovering and our own time limit. You have certainly found the right place to come and share your fears , we have all been there, even now i still go into the chatroom and announce that i am dying of some dreaded illness ! People here understand where you are coming from and are very supportive, Glad you found us, Love Paige x

[Jaco45er]

Hi and Welcome LFF :)

You are not own your own trust me, many will read that and identify exactly with it.

A panic attack is harmless, yer I know it don't feel like it at the time ;) but it is. All it is is just your mind getting it's knickers in a twist and bang, loads of chemicals are flushed into your bloodstream (fight of flight) and all systems are go.

Your body is ready for action, hearts racing, tingling nerves, heavy deep chest, ready to urinate (evolution has taught us to be as light as possible, throw up, wee or worse, cause you want to be as light as possible if you are going to escape that sabre toothed tiger ;))

The trick now is to accept it's only panic and nothing sinister, it's your mind having some stress and telling your body to get ready, but, as with this disorder, it's all the wrong signals and there is no danger, so you are left wondering OMG I am ill, but you aren't :).

Remember, the hospital would have known right away if you had had an issue with your heart.

Have a read around, and download the Claire Weekes soundtrack in the NMP shop.

Health anxiety, panic attacks and phantom heart worries are all very common, and well understood so you are not alone.

TC

Jaco

[Mich1111]

Hi

welcome to NMP. I recently joined this site and have found it really helpful and reassuring - I'm sure you will too.

I too suffer anxiety and a few weeks ago my panic attacks spiralled out of control, I was convinced there was something seriously wrong with me and I was dying, even when the panic attacks subsided I couldnt stop shaking through out the day. The docs carried out blood tests etc and told me it was panic/anxiety - how could it be i thought - how can anxiety make me like this

As several of my panic attacks were at night, I too got myself in a state about going to bed, I'd also wake up in a panic thinking i was dying.

Although i am now on meds to help control it, I tell myself that worrying about going to bed is going to help the panic take over. I have now realised that as soon as I think of going to bed I feel the panic run through me, my mind starts racing with thoughts of i'm going to be ill again.

Trying to accept anxiety/panic is so hard, you'll have good days and bad days but you are not alone and you will get through it, its taken a while but I am able to go to bed alot easier than i could a couple of weeks back. You will get there.