What's the worst you've got?

[MidnightCalm]

It would really help me to know they can be this bad for everybody else.
What do you remember as being your worst panic?
What was it like?
How long did it last?
How did you feel physically afterwards?
x

[keta]

I think mine was in the car sitting in the traffic on motorway. Its funny because my main symptom when I get anxious is I need to pee really badly and because I was in the car I started hyperventilating my arms went numb with pins and needles and I just totally panicked I can't remember low long it lasted but I had to pull over in the end and get out of the car and go for pee. Afterwards I felt really tired. Might not sound too bad for other people but for me its a long term battle to go to places and been on and off citalopram for few years .

[katykaty]

My worst panic attack was in March this year, it was also the first panic attack I'd had in anyone's presence. It was on the day I had to have my 18 month old puppy put down. He'd become ill one day, and had to spent a week in isolation in the vest having test after test carried out. The vets were really positive for the whole week and the a week after he was initally taken in they told us we had to say good bye. It was such a shock as he was so young and had been healthy right up until that last week - we still don't know what was wrong with him.

I went up to the vets with my dad, mam, brother and grandma and we had to drive the 30 minutes home in the car afterwards. I was sat in the front with my dad and as much as I wanted to break down and cry I was very aware that I shouldn't distract him from driving so I held it all in. When we got home I collapsed on the floor as soon I stepped through the door, I burst out crying and couldnt breathe properly. My dad picked me up and helped me into the living room where I collapsed on the floor again. I couldn't stop crying, I was shaking frantically, sweating profusely, hyperventilating so hard that I thought I was going to faint and my vision went all blurred. My mam sat beside me holding my hand and she passed me my stress ball that I often use at the start of a panic to try and calm me down. She passed it to my grandma who tried to put it in my left hand, I was aware of what she was trying to do but I could not get my hand to grasp the ball - it was paralysed. This terrified me as it was the first time this had happened and it made my panic even worse. My mam started to count to 3 for every breath I should be taking in to give me something to focus on and eventually I managed to pull myself out of it.

Afterwards I was physically and mentally exhausted for the rest of the day, had aching pains in both my legs and my left arm that started about an hour after the PA ended and lasted for about an hour. I felt dizzy for a few hours afterwards as well as having a severe loss of appetite (I don't think I ate for the rest of the day, bearing in mind this was midday).

The build up (in the car) to the panic attack was about 30 minutes, the actual attack was probably 30-45 minutes and it took me several hours to fully feel recovered from it afterwards.

[whizzzy]

Hi, I had my first panic attack a few days ago scared the hell out me and my wife.
I started by being sick and half hour later uncontrollable shaking, sweating, and dizziness, lost the use of my hands couldn't grip anything, i`m on citalopram and zanax for depression and in my second week of the meds. Told the doctor what happened she told me to take zanax in the morning as well as at night. That was two days ago i still have the shakes and my boss has told me to stay away from work till i am better i`m still having weird hands and don`t want to get of the bed. I`m thinking of halving my citalopram to 20mg a day from 40mg what do you think am i just still getting used to the drugs its only been two weeks.

[ames]

Whizzy, I'm not a doctor but I would say don't reduce your meds till you have spoken to one. 2 weeks is not long, and 40mg is quite a high dose so your body is probably just adjusting. I am on citalopram 30mg and it took me a while to adjust.
If your worried, please see the doc or speak to them. Xx

[chris22]

My worst was last year it was my 2nd panic attack from what i remember, i had a really heavy drinking session on a monday night after watching the football woke up and felt so bad i honestly thought i was dying, i was alone aswell my parents were on holiday at the time remember getting to night and i saw my best mates dad walking down the street i had to go out and stop him anyway he ended up getting his son to come stay with me that night, rang the nhs and they told me i had a fever, i guess that coupled with a hangover sent me over the edge, still cant get rid of that day from my memory.

[LauraSmith27]

Hi MidnightCalm,

My worst panic attack was a few months ago when I had to make a trip to the doctors with my parents. I don't know why this always sets me off. I am fine going to the doctors with my partner, but my parents don't act as calmly as he does, so I think this triggers my panic.

When I have a panic attack, I feel like I'm going to die. As soon as I got in the car I was sweaty, cold, dizzy, faint, feeling sick, heart racing, shaking all over and needing to go to the toilet. When the car started to move it was horrendous. I thought I was going to pass out or be sick. I nearly got my dad to stop the car a few times. When we got to the doctors surgery, I couldn't get out of the car. I sat breathing into a paper bag for a while, but this didn't help. I felt like I would pass out as soon as I stood up. I finally made it into the surgery entrance, but then I couldn't walk anymore. My legs went all weak and my mum had to get me a chair to sit on. Thankfully the GP called us in straight away or I don't know what I would have done. I could hardly speak to her because I was crying so much and I couldn't focus at all on what I was saying. I was just a total mess.

The intense period of the panic attack lasted for about an hour, but if I know I'm going somewhere which will make me panic, I usually start feeling unwell with the symptoms about two hours before the proper thing kicks in.

After we left the doctors and I knew I was going home, I seemed to calm down quite quickly. I was physically exhausted and slept for a couple of hours afterwards. The nausea and needing to go to the loo carried on for most of the day. I was also completely knackered the next day.

Hopefully, I'll never have a panic attack this bad again now I'm on citalopram 20mg. I've been on it for 10 weeks so far and have only had a few little panic episodes. I know everyone says panic attacks are harmless, but they definitely don't feel like it at the time!

Laura x

[Carrera74]

I had my worse one on Saturday (which is how I found this site!).

I was driving to the local shop and could feel it coming on. I had been having smaller ones and think I just scared myself even more than normal. I felt my heart racing, felt hot, started to feel fuzzy in my head (not dizzy but off balance even though I was sat down). I turned back and then it got even worse - tightness in my throat, dry mouth, couldn't breathe properly, legs and arms shaking, heart pounding in my chest (first time this has happened - it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest), felt like I wasn't really there even though all the physical stuff was very real! The journey home was no longer than 5 minutes but it was the longest 5 minutes of my life. I got home and bawled my eyes out and was physically shaking for at least another 30 minutes. I also felt like I was going insane. I didn't feel in control of my body or my mind :( The main panic attack probably only last about 20 minutes but I had been on edge all day knowing I had to leave the house to go to the shop. I was exhausted afterwards :(

[eeyorelover]

I have to say that my worst attack was my first one!
I was driving down a busy highway with my 2 youngest in the car when I felt a little dizzy, not bad at first but it increased mile after mile and then, my chest felt heavy and I had a sharp pain in the middle of my breastbone...I started to sweat but my hands were cold and clammy. I remember having to keep wiping my hands on the seat and my pants because they were getting the steering wheel damp! My vision turned foggy and I felt disconnected from my body, like I wasn't really me. Which by the way makes no sense reading it back and makes me sound even crazier than I felt at the time.
Then what I describe as a "Whoosh" over my body...Anyone who has ever been on a roller coaster, at the very top of a large incline before you go over the edge into the open air and down the hill....that Adrenalin filled, full body, rush.
Then the scary thoughts pushed me over the edge...I could wreck the car with my kids in it! What if I have a heart attack?? What if...What if...WHAT IF????

I ended up at the hospital that evening where an older doctor told me it was "just" anxiety and it would help me if I would get a hobby. He then patted me on the head and left me sitting there sobbing!
Nice huh???!
Anyway that has to be my worst attack. Not that I haven't had bad ones since that but it just seemed more scary before I knew that it really was anxiety and I wasn't going to drop dead from it
xxx
Sandy

[scrog80]

my 1st ever attack was at the gym infront of 100s of people i had 7 red bull over 3 hrs i dont remember much else i do remember to never drink red bull since then i have been very very close to passing out from panic attacks whic were persistant if you can master breathing you will master panic hyperventerlating causes the panic with me any way i dont have any attacks now but i do take proponolol and as soon as i feel anyhting i sit and breathe for a min or 2 usally works i should not of said that bet tomorrow i am blowing in a paper bag having a panik atack good luck