Help me please!

[tintin]

I didn't know whether to post under Panic or Anxiety. I am not sure what I have. I just know if I don't get help soon I will sink downhill. I have tried so hard to beat this for 7 years and every day exhausts me.It started with a vertigo attack which frightened the life out of me.Docs said it was a virus and I felt so ill for months. Then I took a Seroxat tablet which I am sure gave me my first panic attack. From there it's just gone on day after day it never leaves me. The worst is nightime when I lie down I am filled with terror. Can't explain it but I feel as if I am on the edge of something terrible. Then it starts...my head goes tighter and tighter till it feels as if it will explode...weird sensations in my headlike rippling..heart quivering..teeth tingling knot in stomach. I try lying there and ignoring it telling myself it's a false alarm and I am safe in bed. Then I feel like it's a heart attack and I get up and walk around. This can happen every night till I am exhausted. I have searched endlessly for help. My Doctor has admetted she doesn't know what it is. I have seen eminent Neurologists, still the same. No one seems to help. Please does anyone have any suggestions?

[ladybird64]

Hi tintin :welcome:

I don't know your situation apart from what you have included in your post, whether you have family or work anxieties, that type of thing.
I'm not surprised that there is nothing neurologically wrong with you although it is always a good idea to cover all possiblities!
What you are describing sounds to me like classic panic attacks happening at night and as you are aware, you often genuinely feel like you are dying, your heart thumps, you get chest pains..I know how it feels and so do many, many others here!
You have mentioned that you have looked for sources of help..what have you tried so far? Maybe a referral for a psychological assessment and a course of cognitive behaviour therapy would help you (I don't know if you have already tried that?)
I also don't know if you have heard of Dr Claire Weekes, she passed away in 1990 but wrote 2 books (Self help for your nerves and Esssential help for your nerves) which many people, including myself have found incredibly helpful.
She explains very clearly (no psychobabble!) what a panic attack is, what can cause them and how to deal with them. I'm not an expert but a fellow panic attack sufferer like yourself (with anxieties and agoraphobia chucked in for good measure!) and I recognise what you are feeling as the "fear of fear" or as Dr Weekes put it, secondary fear.
It's not the first flash of fear but being absolutely terrified of what is to come next, anticipatory fear. You know that you feel this way every night so you have got into the cycle of living in fear of it the whole time.
So inadvertantly you continue to feed the fear monster, convincing yourself that something terrible is going to happen, you're not going to make it through the night, you will feel awful..and when you start the next day, you're already exhausted and scared of what is to come.
Can I suggest having a good look at the posts on the forum, you will see that you are most definitely not alone with this. I would also suggest buying the 2 Claire Weekes books as they may be a good starting point in your recovery. They are available from the No More Panic bookshop here on the forum and if memory serves me right, they are under £15 for both books.
The most important things to remember are you're not gong to die during a panic attack, you are not alone in what you are going through and that you there are things that you can do that will help ease your fear.
Learning about it is the first step. :)
Oh and of course post here as often as you need to, we are all in the same boat and will try to give you all the support and advice we can.

:flowers:

[june]

:hugs:Brilliant reply Ladybird:yesyes:
tintin, Fear of fear is one of the worst symptoms of panic / anxiety which your post sounds like.
The 2 books ladybird mentions are the most readable books i have. Again lots of HELPFUL info.

tintin, have you read "panic attacks" and "Symptoms" on the left of screen?
All the articles in that list are well worth a read (when you feel a bit better)
Best wishes
June
:hugs: