passing out during attacks

[crazychick]

does anyon else ever pass out during attacks?
i'm worried that from what i have rad that it is very rare to pass out or faint during an attack. for me it is rare not to pass out.
i normally hyperventilate so much that i do faint which is really scary as as sppn as an attack starts i begin to worry about fainting especially in public places which has happened too many times. my gp, paramedics and doctors i casualty all say this is normal but i don't know how and they on't explain why and i am starting to panic even more now.
has anyone else experienced this or known someone to experience it?

cheers

lauren

[Hannahlou84]

Hi Lauren,

You'll be "pleased" to know I have fainted more times during panic attacks than I care to count!! It often happens when you hyperventilate because your brain isn't getting to use the oxygen you are breathing in because you are breathing too quickly. It is normal (within anxiety) to worry about fainting in public when you panic if it has happened before, same if you are sick when you panic, or have an upset stomach. The best way to deal with the fainting fear in my experience is to focus on your breathing as soon as you realise you are panicking. I find it helps to breathe in for 7 seconds, and then out for 11, big deep breaths, and you will find that will calm you after a few goes, and your breathing will become more regular.

I hope this helps.

Hannah

"I just wanna live my life sedated, cos I love driving myself away"

[crazychick]

thanks for the advice! will try that next time i have an attack and hopefully it will work! I can normally cope with fainting/passing out on its own but during an attack it is really bad.
What worries me is it happening at my work as they panic each time it happens even though i have explained its normal for me during an attack and i can recover quickly.
hope ur doing ok!

lauren

[ruth]

Hi crazychick

You poor thing actually FAINTING!!!!! This for me is my BIGGEST and most TERRIFYING FEAR, since having panick attacks for the first time 4 years ago, which started totally out of the blue whilst at work I cannot stop being afraid of it. for me the feeling faint is the form my attacks take as well as the lurching stomach that goes with it. I am glad I have found someone that has similar symptoms. I have to say it has not happened yet, but is horrid. the fear of people picking me up of the floor the sheer embarrassment!!!

Take care Ruth xx

[honeybee3939]

Hiya,

Like Ruth i must say that is my fear too when i have a Panic attack, I honestly fear that i am going to pass out, but after nearly 10 years of Suffering Panic i havent fainted once!

Andrea
xxx

[crazychick]

you are lucky not fainting during an attack! something a lot worse could happen though so i shouldn't complain but its still very difficult to deal with. I think my biggest fear is having one and fainting while i'm on a stair case or falling against something and really injuring myself while i'm alone and actually being knocked out - i know that sounds really silly. I've been lucky enough to have been with people when i have fainted and they have been able to catch me but i always fear the what ifs.
lauren

[april tones]

you very unlikely would have one in dangerous situation like stairs nless you get them al
all day etc
it be ok xxx

fibrochat) http://apriltones.proboards54.com

[devon_guy]

Just to reassure people on here who like me the biggest fear is fainting during an attack, it is actually incredibly rare to faint during an attack as to actually faint your blood pressure needs to drop and during a panic attack your blood pressure is raised so to actually faint is virtually impossible. I'm wondering if maybe the O.P has something more than panic attacks that cause her to faint, has her gp offered any advice?

[crazychick]

my GP etc blame my hyperventilating for causing me to faint. ther eis no other cause. it is possible to faint during a panic attack as i have experienced and plenty medical staff have observed when it has happened in public places and i have ended up in hospital.

[devon_guy]

Well I asked my psychologist about this yesterday during my CBT and he reiterated that in all his years of work he has never encountered anyone faint during a panic attack even if they are severely hyperventilating. A trial was carried out in Holland some years ago and they had people deliberately hyperventilating and even after 3 hours they still hadn't fainted although obviously they felt very lightheaded. So OP I would still go back to your GP and ask for a fuller explanation. Also if you know hyperventilation is one of your main symptoms have you got any breathing techniques you can practice when you aren't anxious so that you can put them into practice if you feel an attack coming on?

[crazychick]

i have suffered from this for around 5 years now. i have had several GP's in this time and have been admitted to casualty on several occassons and it is related to my hyperventilating.
i don't think it is fair that you are implying that what i am saying is not true. my doctor says i faint due to hyperventilating it is in my medical records and it is true. i have came to thi site to try and get support not problems.

[devon_guy]

I never said you were lying, but if you read books and literature on panic attacks, to faint is near nigh impossible. You have also scared a lot of people by saying you regularly faint when that is their biggest fear too.

[crazychick]

i'm sorry i joined this site as i was hoping it would help me. am i expected to lie in posts and say i have never passed out because that is not true. i faint a lot during attacks. yes it is rare but it does happen. it is the hyperventilating that causes the faint if you perhaps want to re-read some of the litereture you would find that out. but thanks i doubt i will be visiting the site for support which is a shame as i was finding it helpful and was able to give advice to other people but people like you just spoil it for people. no one has posted saying i have scared them by saying that. you should learn to have a heart as more people will stop coming if you always leave messages like that.
it is near impossible to faint but not impossible - remember that.

[honeybee3939]

Hi Lauren, im sorry you are thinking about leaving the site, please dont, i hope you didnt think i was not been nice to you, i do believe you when you say you faint, i was only stating it was my fear also, and that in the 10 years i have suffered i have not fainted, although i must admit there are times when i do believe if i hadnt left a sittuation when panicking then maybe i would have. I do understand that panic as alot to do with breathing and if you stop breathing for so long because of the panic then you would pass out,although it is very rare, i am real sorry that you have this problem it must be awful for you, i remember taking my daughter shopping a while ago and she had hec cups and asked me how to stop them, i told her to hold her breath for a few seconds, i was busy shopping and didnt realise she had held her breath for so long, she eventually passed out. My theropist had advised me to concentrate on my breathing and do breathing exersises, as i realise now that my breathing becomes realy shallow when i start to panic. I truely believe you when you say you faint and feel for you my friend.

Please stay with us.

Hugs to you

Andrea
xxxx

[devon_guy]

I think honeybee has hit the nail on the head and has said what I said too, you need to focus on your breathing when you are calm and relaxed and learn abdominal breating. My therapist has taught me it and it has helped a great deal, when I'm at work and have a lull, I focus on my breathing as I tend to breathe shallowly, so by bringing it back to the abdomen I find it very helpful. For the record I have never said you were lying about fainting either, I have every sympathy as as honey said its most peoples biggest fear, I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

[nomorepanic]

Fainting may result from very rapid breathing (overbreathing, or hyperventilation), which may be due to anxiety. This type of fainting is called hyperventilation syncope. Overbreathing removes large amounts of carbon dioxide from the body. The decreased level of carbon dioxide causes blood vessels in the brain to constrict, and the person may feel faint or actually faint.


Nicola

[adele1]

Hi guys,
I never passed out during my many panic attacks altho I felt as tho I was on the verge of passing out. But from what I was told by my doctor and A&E staff is to not worry at all about passing out as this is just your body helping bring back your blood pressure to normal, or something along them lines. So every other atatck after that I sometimes hoped I WOULD pass out (strange but true lol) so at least the attack would come to an, as lets face it at the time there is NOTHING worse. xx

[Vic.]

My mother passes out and it's blamed on anxiety. 20 years ago she used to have panic attacks quite often, sever ones, and she was sent into a mental institute for week, which i believe made her condition worse and frightened her so much that the panic attack turned into a black out. She instantly takes a gasp for air, then blacks out (lasts 2 minutes), it happens that quick and the black-outs are regular, one a week.

I've just had my first panic attack last night and after reading this article entitled, 'The Causes of Anxiety and Panic Attacks' (http://www.algy.com/anxiety/files/barlow.html) it's only now I'm beginning to realise what my mother had to suffer. Her black outs developed from panic attacks and they could have been allowed to develop because she was deemed mentally ill from the beginning and didn't receive positive therapy from the start.

The article states, "The absolute worst that could happen during a panic attack is that an individual could pass out at which point the sympathetic nervous system would stop its activity and the person would regain consciousness within a few seconds." In my mothers case the sympathetic nervous system shuts down, but it takes a few minutes for her to regain consciousness.

[Mikke]

I'm a psychology student.
From research it is known that fainting from anxiety are caused by either of these three factors:

1. Some phobics can faint from a sudden drop in blood pressure, this is most comon for people who fear the sight of blood.

2. Severe hyperventilation can cause fainting, but this is not dangerous.

3. In extreme cases, it is possible to faint from prolonged stress/anxiety, sort of like the body is taking a break from overload, also caused by low blood pressure - but this is extremely rare, as anxiety almost always causes high blood pressure - which makes it near impossible to faint.

[june]

hi
As a child (8-10yrs) I used to faint in school assembly. The teachers accused me of being stupid and not eating breakfast.
I am not stupid and I did eat breakfast.
Doctors found NO reason for the fainting and I was excluded from assembly fo being a nuisance. (nice)
I fainted in a butchers shop (14yrs) and cut my chin open (5 stitches)again silly teenager..........
I fainted 2 years ago in church :blush: :blush: i was then overwhelmed by the care and the love of the people who helped me, how different??
My trick at the moment if i feel faint is to try and count to a marching tune (1,2,3,4 etc) the very act of trying to remember a marching tune usually helps:ohmy: then i worry my meory is going Ha ha.
NOT making light of your problem. fainting is a known fact you have seen docs and medics so physically you are OK.
I send you my very best wishes:flowers:
june
ps have you read "symptoms" on the left of the screen?
Good luck

[caz13]

Hi, I've just found this site, and it's already made me feel a lot better. I fully identify with the posting from June. I started passing out as a child in times of fear. The first time I remember was when I was about 4 or 5. I had woken up on holiday with a large stye which closed my eye up completely. When my Mum came to wake me she must have panicked, I can't remember. Next thing I knew, I had fainted and came round to a room full of strangers looking at me! This was the first of many blackouts and faints.

Doctors gave me iron tonics and told me to pull myself together. I couldn't stay in assembly at school, as we had to stand, and it would make me feel faint. I seemed to have a lull from my panics when I had my own children (probably too busy to panic), but now I'm approaching the menopause, it's all come back with a vengeance, along with constant anxiety about my health. I've so far been to a hypnotherapist, which helped for a few weeks, but was too expensive to carry on with, and I do find Bach Rescue Remedy very effective.

I am so grateful to finally hear of other people suffering the same effects of anxiety, as I thought I was the only one!

Hopefully with all your help and support, I can get back to enjoying life again. I have a lot to be thankful for, it's just hard to stay calm...

[aurora]

I have passed out once from a panic attack. Very scary,but I got checked out,and they told me it was anxiety, nothing else. Yes, it's rare, but it happens.

[Stixx]

I started fainting in public and at home before I was diagnosed with panic attacks. I have had attacks from a elementary school- now (age 25). They did not happen often but I got pregnant my senior year in highschool and had an attack in my history class. I was unable to attend the class bc I would induce my self into having another attack which ALWAYS included blacking out. This past yr I went through some difficult personal stresses and the attacks got so bad i was unable to work. I had been to a doctor before but one particular attack landed me in the ER. I thought I was having a heart attack. THAT was my first horrible attack. I thought I was literally going to die, my fingers were blue and my chest felt like i had a ton of bricks on it... I had read about panic attacks b4 and self diagnosed myself BUT this was the first time I was afraid of passing out and didnt and the first time my chest hurt while having an attack. I talked to a doctor who was wonderful and explained everything. Unfortunently my attacks did not stop and I became agoraphobic. I was afraid to go in public. My family would take me out and I would just cry.. But they helped me and I carried my bottle of antianxiety meds with me everywhere as a security. I quit ALL caffiene, and nicotine, also my ADD meds for 4 months and continued my anti anxiety and SSRI combo. I now can do all the normal things I used to I do not take my anti anxiety (valium) anymore but continue on my SSRI (lexapro). Honestly after all of that I think it is easier to let yourself pass out. I just let the panic come over me try to breath and relax and I have passed out once and scared evrone around me but its not embarrassing as ppl may think.. Everyone just hopes you are ok. I have had one fainting experience in 8 yrs and I did not panic after.. Its almost like my body wants to just pass out and let itself recover bc my mind wont let it consciously.. lol I hope that all of you are doing well. It is so hard not having anyone who understands panic disorder and0 or agoraphobia.. But trust me, giving into the fear of fainting is a lot less strange than not being able to go in public or avoiding your routines and events. Ppl care and once you realize that you'll be able to cope better. Best wishes to all of you! -nikki

[Stixx]

Oh I also wanted to comment that my attacks started occuring last yr more rapidly bc I was not sleeping enough, which affected my hormones. I won't go into the entire mechanism of how this works, but just fyi get your hormones checked and seriously quit drinking caffiene. Caffiene is like lighter fluid to a flame.. It makes EVERYTHING worse, and get some sleep!! :)

[Ronny]

Hi ...I also have fainted during panic attacks,due to my not breathing properly,it is quite common,for people to faint,It is our body giving us a rest.But now I have learnt breathing exercises and visualisation I am doing fine.:)