It's back again :(

[ElliotUK]

Hey how have you all been???

I thought I got rid of panic attacks for good but looks like they are back :mad:

I'm experiencing different symptoms and thoughts what may not just be panic attacks but I will let you be the judge of this...

First of all it started when I had a full blown panic attack about a month ago, you know the typical 'im not breathing enough' my muscles in my chest and under my chest are all tense' well that is when i got my self to the hospital even though the paramedic said to me he is happy for me to go home if I wanted, turns out they said go home and go see your doctor about SBT?? or something on the lines of this.

So it stopped for a while, I put off seeing somebody professional but in the meantime theres a few things what are setting these panics off

If i am on the bus for instance, i will feel like i cant get enough air and am feared I will have a panic attack on the bus, somehow I am not feared alot for my life, its the fear of having a panic attack and getting my life in a mess, again!

Secondly is shopping in a supermarket, worse when I am in a cue I feel like I can't hardly breath, it seems difficult.

Funny enough as much as I feel like I can't breath enough I can still take a big deep breath and out but it feels all tense.. is this normal? well for somebody with an anxiety panic condition.

My biggest problem is fearing a panic attack, and everytime I think of my breathing it seems to tense up, but when I don't think about I don't seem to notice it, no matter how hard I try to say ' its okay, there's nothing wrong with you, your breathing is fine' doesn't seem to work as I always have that doubt in my head that there is a problem because I am trying to reassure my self, sounds crazy I know.

The tightness, tension is a big problem that gives me the thought that I can not hardly breath, it does not get to the stage where I am like panting but it's like my breathing has been cut a little, like if you would feel chesty with a cold, but I have no cold.. if that makes sense.

What should I do?? Go speak to somebody professional? Can somebody please tell me this is part of anxiety and panic's.. i know your not a doctor but iv had tests on my heart and paramedics have listened to my lungs and so on, everytime i have seen a dr or hospital they send me home. Yet i cant get it into my thick head im okay... :roflmao: (youve gotta laugh sometimes lol)

[Abs79]

Feeling like you can't breathe, tight chest etc are definitely all symptoms of anxiety and panic, especially if you've suffered from panic attacks before.

If the hospital sent you home you are unlikely to have anything serious wrong with you. I'm not sure what SBT could be though, unless it was SVT (supraventricular tachycardia). This is a usually harmless condition in which your heart rate suddenly shoots up to around 200 bpm and can cause shortness of breath, dizziness etc. It can be treated if it happens a lot. But if you had this I would have thought you would have been aware of your heart racing - which you didn't mention in your post. Did they do an ECG in the hospital? BUT - this is really just a guess, since it's the only thing I can think of that sounds a bit like SBT!

I would have thought the best thing would be to go to your GP and explain what has been happening. They should be able to find out for sure what the hospital said to you, and reassure you that nothing serious is amiss. And if your symptoms are indeed due to panic attacks then they will be able to get you help for that - and in my opinion the sooner you get help for panic attacks the easier they are to control!

[ElliotUK]

Hey abs.. thanks for replying.

well, I know it was not a problem she was saying, it's like an anxiety programme where you talk to a professional, i know I have said it wrong and can't remember, but it was a 3 letter's.

Anyway, yeah.. I have had panics for years it's just been on and off, i could be fine for months then it happens for a month then goes. I have had many doctors and hospital trips, with 2 ECGS, and some machine what tells me my heart rate, oxygen level and whatnot. They said it's ok..

Plus i'm 19 so im guessing i should be enjoying being young and not having this crap but I have a doctors appointment at 2 oclock, you think I should just come out with it and tell him I need professional help? because I think I have seen him before and told him my symptoms, actually I had a panic attack infrunt of the doctor and he
laid me down and checked to see if I was okay and he say's it's a panic attack. So I do not want to insult him by saying the same stuff again.

[Abs79]

Oh, it's obvious now, they mean CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). I should have realised that earlier! If you google it you should find some info, basically a therapy based on changing how you feel by changing how you think and behave - good for panic attacks.

Yes, I think you should just tell your doc that you want professional help. Tell them that the hospital recommended that you do a CBT course. There is usually a waiting list of a few weeks/months depending on where you are in the country so it's best to get on the waiting list ASAP. If it is affecting your life, which it sounds like it is, then you deserve to get help and letting it go on without help usually just makes things worse (I say this from bitter experience!).

[ElliotUK]

thanks alot abs you've been really helpful :)

[Baggie]

Hi Elliot

Sorry to hear that you're going through this at the mo. I know how awful panic and anxiety feels.

Have you tried looking at this website www.livinglifetothefull.com (http://www.livinglifetothefull.com) ? It's a free online CBT course which you could try. I'm working my way through it just now. You could always give it a go while you're waiting following your GP's referral. :)

[moosecat]

hey elliot,
you are on the way to feeling better once you realise there is a problem and try and to solve it.
You will feel better soon!

[ElliotUK]

thanks :) i went to the supermarket today and funny enough i was not that bad... so ill go to the gp today and ask to be refereed to CBT. thanks guys :)

[ElliotUK]

Well I went to the doctors and he said he is almost convinced there's nothing wrong with me, he is referring me to counselling?? He did not seem to pleased with CBT.. some reason?