Hello, my name is Bryan and i'm a 26 y/o male from Ontario Canada. I've been visiting this site and reading all of the great information here for about 6 weeks now. It is extremely helpful and I am very thankful for all of your effort Nicola. Sometimes just coming here and reading some posts makes me feel better.
About 6 weeks ago I suffered my very first panic attack, completely out of the blue. I have no history of anxiety or nervousness of any kind. In fact, the usual me is very confident and very logical, so this all comes as quite the surprise. Of course, the first time it happened, I ended up in the hospital because I thought for sure I was having a heart attack, and the staff there was totally useless on offering up any kind of answers for me. They all blamed marijuana as being the sole cause of the way I was feeling, which I'm sure might have worsened the situation, but I had been smoking once a day for 10 years without these kinds of reactions.
I have since quit completely, because i thought it would make this go away based on their advice, but it sure has not. I feel anxious quite often, but usually I can calm myself down quickly due to the information I have absorbed from this site. Unfortunately, as I found out the other night, an actual attack can sneak up on you out of nowhere and exude symptoms that you've not yet felt, making it hard to just dismiss it as panic.
But another EKG and another blood test showed that all is well physically, so my doctor finally gave me some pills to take only when I feel i need it.
Anyway, I look forward to talking to you all and offering up any advice that I can.
Bryan
http://systolic.indieontario.com