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maxine2k6
15-03-06, 09:14
I have sat reading days of posts from people with health anxiety this morning. I understand every word that every body has said, because I have all those feelings, so I am posting this because it may help some people, even if it only helps one I will be happy. I had a bad experience last week, thought I was having a stroke. I always need to understand what is happening to me, so I went on the internet and did some research. I had been hyperventilating so much that as I tried to speak my words stuck with my breath. I found some real interesting stuff.
I printed a form out with a checklist, this is the list, chest pain, feeling tense, blurred vision, dizzy spells, feeling confused, faster/deeper breathing, short of breath, tight feelings in chest, bloated feelings in stomach, tingling fingers, unable to breath deeply (an important one that because we believe by deep breathing we will relax, its slower breathing that helps not deep, if you hyperventilate. stiff fingers/arms, tight feeling around mouth, cold hands/feet, heart racing (palpatations) feelings of anxiety. When we hyperventilate we tend to talk faster, trying to breath to fast at the same time. We sigh, yawn and clear our throats all the time, we have irritable coughs due to our mouths been permanently open all the time swallowing air.

To recognise if you are over breathing are you frequently yawning and sighing? feeling breathless after little exercise or talking? can you co-ordinate breathing and talking. do have pins and needles in hands/arms and around mouth. palpatations? feeling exhausted and unable to cope with no apparent reason.? muscular achse tension in neck and around collar bone area? and light headedness.

I printed this stuff out and when I feel the slightest sensation I read my list and write down my sensations this breaks down the fear a level and makes me understand that nothing is happening bad.

I hope this will reassure someone even just for a few days to give some reprieve from the suffering.

I notice alot of people feel that they are week. We are all strong to cope with what we cope with. We do cope even though it feels like we don't.

Maxine

maxine2k6
15-03-06, 09:37
I will explain why I researched the stuff I put in the last post, to reassure people that I knew what I was talking about.

2 weeks ago I was at work, I washed up in an old peoples home from 9 30 in a morning till 6 30 at night, long hours and hard work. by 2 30 I would be getting tired, I had a few things on my mind, and the added factor was everyone would go home by 4 30 and I would be alone. By 3 I would worry about being on my own, not consciously though, so my breathing was starting to get faster and faster. I was not conscious of it at the time though, this is looking back on the event. Anyway I did my work finished my job and went home. About 5 30 is I had started to feel sick, must be getting a bug, had stomach ache as well. Got home and ran a bath, as I was running it my eyes went blurry I could not see properly, had some palpations as well. I went to bed and tried to watch telly, an hour later I had chest pain and around my collar bone, a tickly dry throat and cough, I could not breath properly, my arm hurt at the top but was numb around my lower arm, my 3 fingers where tingling.
I must be having a stroke or something, this was different to other panic attacks so it could nt be one. I was going for a wee every 10 mins, my legs felt like jelly and my head was woozy, I could'nt see properly I was terrified. I had a bad nights sleep and packed my job in next day. After some research I can see that I had been hyperventilation because I was nervous of being on my own I was procrastinating over problems that I had in my life, the more I hyperventilated the more I had physical symptoms that just fed my fear!

hope this helps!

Quirky
15-03-06, 13:38
HI there,

I suffer from chronic hyperventilation syndrome and have asthma too.
I see a breathing therapist to help me learn to breathe better and beat the hyperventilation (I see a respiratory physiotherapist).

A really good book to read is self help for hyperventilation by Dinah bradley, this is her most up to date book and is great.

Lisa