wondering if you can help?please

[billymaya]

hi guys ive just joined up so please excuse me if ive posted this in the wrong place and feel free to move it if needs be

my names billy and im from devon im your average everyday healthy 31 year old with no history of underlying illnesses or problems up until just before christmas that is

back in early december i woke in the middle of the night feeling like i was struggling to breath and feeling dizzy woke my partner up to tell her i wasnt feeling well it felt like i was having a heart attack (my dad died of a sudden heart attack 3 years ago) anyways partner managed to calm me down and we watched a dvd together till the early hours, next night same happend again went to sit in my front room but the dizziness got worse and my chest started to tighten struggling to breath again and my partner phoned the ambulance my hands started to cramp up and go numb and i honestly felt that that was it and i was going to die of heart failiure) anyways abulance turned up and told me i was having a panic attack (scariest thing i have ever experienced) they calmed me down and told me to see gp so went gp and had a ecg scan everything fine liver ,heart ect ect, cholestoral a bit high but not high enough for meds, then few days later started to get a butterfly feeling in the middle of my tummy and could feel my heart skipping a beat which worried me again ive had a few episodes since of suddenly feeling light headed and my hands going pins and needily which passes in less than 5 mins my heart races and i feel faint went back to the docs and they gave me a blood pressure monitor to take home with me over a 24 hour period,did that and i cant see anything wrong with that apart from once it dropped down to 67 (is that low?)

anyways i havent had a sudden dizzy spell since the early start of january but still feel light headed most of the day the other thing that is bothering me which i hope you can help with is that as im sat here at night my tummy feels like its doing flips or like i have constant butterflies does anyone else suffer like this is it normal? i find myself feeling the pulse in my neck and feeling it speed up and then slow down and then speed up again and also some time when i feel for my pulse my pulse feels really strong and then when i feel again it feels weaker like my hearts struggling is this normal does anyone know?

ive never had anything like this in my life and feel like my partner thinks im being a pain in the ass and a hypercondriact coming up with new illnesses every 5 mins

sorrry its a bit long winded but hope some one can put my mind at ease

[anxietycontrol]

hello mate welcome to the world of anxiety. its crazy

for five years now i usually have many symptoms, light headedness, dizzy, blured vision, chest pains, tingly parts, tingly fingers, twiching muscles + breathlessness and tightning of chest(duing panic attacks). i worry about every thing about my health.

my biggest fear is a heart attack and that is what i think about all the time, im truely sorry to hear of your dads passing.

tom

[mandie]

Hi Billy

:welcome: to the site

Sorry to hear you are going through this.

It certainly sounds like panic.

When i having a panic attack i get dizzy, lite headed and pins and needles.

I think the fact your dad died of a heart attack is possibly making you feel like this.

Have you got any other stresses in your life?

love mandie x

[billymaya]

hi guys thanks for the welcome no other stresses that i can think of we had a really hectic christmas trying to cram lots in in the month of december so perhaps over tired trying to do to much , ive never suffered from anything like this which is why its such a show i havent been to the doctors for about 20 years before this,im not a nervous person or a worrier, i gotta admit before having one i didnt think a panic attack would be like that at all!

thank you for the kind wishes at my loss of my dad thing is he was always a very stubbon man and wouldnt go to the doctors about anything partly i think because deep down he was scared of things like that but would never admit to it saddly it cost him his life

no doubt his passing did have an effect on me and is why i worry about heart attacks so much i would just really like to get rid of this butterfly feeling at the bottom of my rib cage and middle of my tummy and this light headed ness

im trying to combat it with excersise using a excercise bike and the kids wii fit also have changed my diet and have been taking rescue remedy drops which helps i just have to try and stop the feeling of the pulse in my neck every five mins

does anyone else live in devon? if theres anything i can do to help let me know ill try me best :)

[Anxious_gal]

I can see how it would be very very hard for you to accept that is it just panic and anxiety.
you've gone 30 years without it!
I've had it my whole life so i know it inside out but a panic attack is ALWAYS scary.
yeah people often think I'm a bit nutty with my anxiety and panic, a panic attack is not just in your imagination. It's real! the sensations are real. it's very hard to stay calm when your struggling to breath!
get some books! because your in the early stages and seem like a pretty level headed guy you have a very good chance of not letting the fear of panic attacks turn into anxiety.
see it becomes a cycle, you start worrying about if you will have a panic attack an then the worry and anxiety causes you to have one!
if you feel you are not getting better definitely see a maybe a CBT therapist! :-)

[BabyRachel]

Hi Billy. I reccomend you start by reading up on panic attacks (on the left hand side of the page you will see a link to panic attack). It haslots of useful information in there. I really reccomend you start by reading that, even printing it out and reading it every now and then (thats what I did, to reassure me when I would start to panic). Try the breathing techniques listed there, they are VERY useful.

Also, I would advise talking to your partner about your worries to do with panic attacks and try and explain it all to her - so she understands how you feel.

If things do not begin to improve or get worse, I'd reccomend going to your GP and asking them to put you in touch with a CBT therapist.

Take care, all the best xx

Also please take a look at this site - www.panicend.com (http://www.panicend.com) it has a veryvery good method of recovering from panic attacks all together. xx

[zowiebowie]

Hi Billy, welcome to the site but sorry you have had to find your way here. I started with panic attacks in November of last year having no idea what they were and what was wrong with me; I thought I was either seriously ill or going mad. What I would say is read as much as you can because knowledge is power; I wish I had discovered this site earlier than I did. You sound like a pretty strong person and hopefully that will get you through this episode. The feelings in your stomach I am pretty sure is anxiety. Even if you feel you are not anxious about anything, it can strike out of the blue. It sounds quite typical also for people to be anxious about having another painc attack, I know that applies to me for sure. And yes, panic attacks are the scariest thing for anyone to ever experience! It might also be a good idea to have your partner read up on the subject, she wont be able to empathise but it may bring her a little more understanding of what you are going through. Your are not a hypo, this is very real and scary. I wish you all the luck, surround yourself with people who love you and can give you the support you need.

[billymaya]

morning everyone thank you for all your kind words its nice to know that there are other people out there

dont get me wrong about my partner i should of said i worry that she thinks im a hypercondriact but in actual fact she is fantastic at supporting me and giving me lots of hugs when i get a bit wobbly wouldnt swap her for the world :)

thank you for the tips on reading as much info as i can and i plan to do this and have nearly gone through half of the stuff on here, when i was bad back at christmas it really helped reading some of your posts and to see that my symptoms were the same as what you guys were going through. stupidly i first started out doing a google search on heart attack symtoms and that worried me even more until i found this site :hugs:

very strange this morning i woke up and it felt like i had taken a brisk walk up the road as i was breathing heavily even though i hadnt been anywhere???? its all very wierd

i have always been a positive type of person seeing that the glass was half full rather than half empty :) and am quite happy go lucky, so thats why im tackling the problem head on and trying to sort things out no doubt being a member of this site and having people to talk to will help no end :)

how is everyone today? hope your all doing well

little joke to make you smile what cheese is best for hiding a small horse ???............................................... .............mascarpone :roflmao:

[smudger]

Hi. My husband had a panic attack sitting at his desk at work. He wasn't feeling stressed at the time, he was just doing a bid on a spreadsheet, something he could do asleep! His symptoms were like yours including a feeling of impending doom and he thought he was having a heart attack. He is a very in control sort of person and always looks on the bright side and is the least likely person to get stressed! He too went to docs and has slightly high cholesterol but not enough to warrant medication.Everything else fine. This was just before xmas. He hasn't had one since but he said the best way he deals with the worry of it is to focus his mind elsewhere. Unfortunately for me he plays (and I use that term loosely!) his electric guitar every chance he gets and rides his mountain bike! He doesn't give himself chance to worry.He would recommend that. I'm having CBT at the moment as I suffer with depression. I can definately recommend that as it helps you develop strategies to cope with stress and anxiety. It's a real good idea to explain fully to your partner by the way, really open up because if you don't it can have a real bad effect on your relationship and alienate her. She is part of the solution.

[Maj]

Hello Billy,
Sorry about your dad. I've known others who have suffered from anxiety after the death of their parent, and no wonder, what a terrible shock to the system. Anxiety symptoms are unpleasant and can mimic heart symptoms, that's what scares us so much - lots of us have been there!! The breathing thing is uncomfortable but you will ALWAYS get enough breath. It's the chest muscles that tense up, not the lungs. You will notice on many posts here that there is a recommended book/books to read from Dr. Claire Weekes. She has helped many to recover. If you read her book and practise her advice you will be less scared of the symptoms and this will help you on the path to recovery. Because that's what keeps these symptoms alive - fear. The more you fear the more they happen. When you lose your fear of them they gradually stop happening. Acceptance is the key. You will get there, don't worry. And it's good you still have your sense of humour:roflmao:
Myra:hugs:

[ZoJo]

Hello Billy,

:welcome: My anxiety started through the death of a close relative when I was about 6. Then I have episodes whenever someone close has died. I too lost my father 3 years ago and all my symptoms take on those of whatever the persn has died of - strange, but then the mind is a brilliant thing!!
I find rescue remedy a god send for me and it has got me through some tough patches. I feel i'm in a better place now than at certain periods of my life!!
Keep up the positive attitude and you will get there!!

and......
.....Keep posting those jokes!!