Yet another new member

[Ptownkid]

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

[notts110]

hi brian, welcome to the site.

if you can't get over it,go around it,you still get where you want to be

[Meg]

Hi Bryan,

Had you recently changed your supplier or type/strength of marijuana ? That may have affected you.
THink back to the situation you were in at the time of your first panic attack - what was on your mind at the time, had yoiu eaten ? were you excessively tired ?

What pills have you been given ?


Its really great that you've been able to cope better since reading this site.

Do post again if you have any specific questions ?




Meg

'There can only be true courage when first there is genuine fear'

Dr.David Livingstone

[Ptownkid]

The strength was about normal and the supplier was a long standing relationship. Aswell, several others used the same supply along with me.

That day had been faily long and I was faily tired. Little food, little water and several coffees. At the time, I had been thinking about my heart, because marijuana does increase heart rate which i was particularily aware of that night. Also, I injured my shoulder pretty badly several years ago, and my chest and neck muscles on my left side are fairly regularily tight and sore. As well I'm pretty sure i strained my chest muscles that day, it was a very physical day. I have no doubt that all these things combined are what triggered the initial attack.

My doctor gave me Lorazepam to take whenever I felt neccessary for the time being as we're waiting on one more test result to come back before deciding on a course of action.

Most days are fairly manageable, but I'm somewhat concerned about an attack occuring while I'm on stage with my band. I'm never nervous when we perform, but we have a couple extremely important shows coming up and I would hate to let down my band mates by having to stop in the middle of our set. Will taking one of these pills before we play fend off an actual attack, and if so, how long before should I take it?

Thanks.

Hmmm, ironic how our band name is a heart term.

http://systolic.indieontario.com

[Meg]

Bingo .. so you ended up thinking you were having a heart attack when in reality you wre dehydrated so you hear your heart louder anyway and tired and with a low blood sugar and increased heart rate due to caffiene and drugs ..plus your strained chest muscles which doubled as chest pain ..

You're absolutely right in figuring out the why it happened- so maybe not quite so out of the blue with the wonderful benefit of hindsight ...


What about the circumstances of the next one ?

Its unlikely to have it happen during a gig if you take care of yourself before hand. Anyway the adrenaline from performing will get you through - anxiety is similar to excitement and exhileration.

Good Luck


Meg

'There can only be true courage when first there is genuine fear'

Dr.David Livingstone

[seh1980]

Hi Bryan,
Welcome to the site!! I have found it very helpful - everyone is so friendly!! I used to smoke marijuana quite frequently and gave up as I was told that it would help reduce my anxiety. My anxiety hasn't stopped at all but I am glad that I stopped smoking as I'm sure it didn't help!!
Good luck with everything - let us know how you're getting on!
Sarah (seh1980)

[nomorepanic]

Hi Bryan

Welcome to the site - I am so pleased that it has helped you and glad that you have read it all cos even the littlest thing can help someone.

How are you doing now? So you are in a band - wow nice one! Will we be able to hear some of it oneday?

I wish you well with your recovery and please stay around to get some more advice and support.

nice to meet you

Nicola

[april tones]

hi brian, welcome. I used to smoke it too and it does cause panic attacks, so called whiteys. I read somewhere that it aggrivates metal health problems such as anxiety and inreases paranoia, take care, love april xx

apriltones

[sarah]

Hi bryan

just a quick one.....I took a look at your site.
Not my usual kind of music but its really good, you have a great voice mate!!!

take care
love Sarah
xx

we arent mad, just the next stage of evolution

[Ptownkid]

Thank you all for the warm welcome, it is much appreciated.

Sarah, thank you very much for the compliment, music is my absolute #1 passion. I pour everything I have into it, looks like I have a new topic to tackle now huh?

Nomorepanic, there's a link at the bottom of my posts...

So, Meg had asked about my second attack, so here goes...

Firstly, in the weeks following the first one, i felt anxious quite often and experienced the tight chest symptom frequently. Some of the time i'd get nauseous as well, but only momentarily as I knew what is was and was able to calm myself. The worst trouble I had was several nights of insomnia. Just laying in bed I'd get the occasional rush from head to toe and everytime I'd be on the verge of falling asleep I'd get startled awake. Everytime I awoke I'd feel like I was pulsing (don't exactly know how to explain that one) and some times I had a wierd tingling sensation in my throat, but my heart was beating fairly normally. I never seemed to have a problem relaxing once i awoke, but it's hard to control your thought process when you're just about to fall asleep. This happened for about 3 nights in a row and hasn't been back since, thankfully!

The last attack was at band practice. I do remember feeling a little anxious on the way there, because one night I did get a little nauseous while I was there, but it had been about a month since that happened and I'd been to practice every week in between without incedent. We were in the middle of a song and in a heartbeat I felt like I was about to pass out. I continued playing for about 10 seconds or so, as I thought it was just a little touch of panic, but then my hearing dimmed quite significantly. At that point I stopped and went outside. Of course at this point my heart started running a marathon, chest hurt, and I felt very overwhelmed. I took some deep breaths and tried to relax but it kept creeping back, convincing me that something more was wrong. My whole head felt like it was beating.

I think the biggest reason why it affected me so much is due to the fact that I had not yet ever experienced either of those two symptoms, faintness or loss of hearing. Normally the succession of events is tight chest, racing heart, nausea, and then i calm down. So anyway, after about 15 minutes of trying to calm down I went to the hospital, mainly because I was scared to make the 25 minute drive home alone. Doctor did some reaction tests and an ekg and took some blood. Surprise, surprise, nothing wrong, go home.

So, i guess that pretty much covers it

Thanks

Bryan

http://systolic.indieontario.com