To fellow panic attack victims.?
Question:
please help.
Answers:
Dear Joan. I suffered from panic disorder years ago and the med that worked for me was prozac. Nowadays there are other new meds with less colateral effects. I will give you some other tips: first NEVER be afraid of a panic attack, if you are afraid you will get another one. If you are not afraid the panic attack will last a while and then go away. Acupuncture and yoga are excellent. In yoga you learn breathing techniques. And acupuncture cures. At the end, panic attacks are caused by an imbalance in brain neurotrasmiters. The spiritual explanation is that you are being actually attacked by a spirit that wants to get into your body and this sets on the body protective system.
i am currenlty an agoraphobic because of the panic attacks, i get really hot, sweat, tremble, my legs feel like jello, i get dizzy, very jittery.
I don't get them that often, but when I do, they're really scary and I feel as if I can't fill my lungs with air. I also feel like my heart is doing "flip-flops" in my chest and I get nervous, cold sweat. They last until I rest, fall asleep, or totally relax and be calm.
I would get panic attacks maybe once a week, they would come on with alot of stress. I would start to cry then I would start hyperventalting. I could be in that state for as long as three hours. All these attacks eventually caused be to have ulcers. My doctor prescribed me a med called Lexapro and it has made my life "unreal" I haven't had an attack yet and my life has a new meaning. I wake up happy and I go to sleep happy. I'm so lucky to have seen my doctor cause he saved my life!
Symptoms..racing heart, chest pressure, tingling in my head and arms, really cold or sweaty, lightheadedness, a sense of unreality or detachment, extreme panicky feelings, like I'm going to die...Those are the biggies I can think of off the top of my head. Panic attacks really are very scary - people who have never had a real one have no idea what they're like. Sometimes they come and go within a few minutes, but at their worst, I have had them go on for hours and hours. I was on anti-anxiety medicine for a while, and it definitely helped. Even now that I'm off it, they have never been as severe as they used to. One night, I even drove to the emergency room, because I was convinced I was having a heart attack. Really scary! Please let me know if you have any other questions, okay?
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When I had my panic attacks, I started feeling anxious and short of breath. Then it became more difficult to breathe at all so I breathed into a paper bag because I started hyperventilating. Then my lips started to become numb and slowly my whole body became numb so I couldn't walk or move. My friends called an ambulance more than once.
I began taking Ativan at the beginning of the attacks and it really helps. I take 2 mg as needed. Not every day. Hope that helps.
i never had a panic attack until i had a heart attack then i was having them constanly.having hard time breathing, felt like i was going to die,i would start shaking.i dont have them like i use to,but if we have a severe thunderstorm with lightning it can trigger one.for some reason im deathly afraid of lightning.
I have been there done that. I took every drug known to man to try and control my panic attacks. Nothing ever worked for me and the side effects were awful. I finally just had to start talking myself through them. Telling myself that I was going to be fine, that I've been through it before and it will pass. I had to tell myself over and over that I wasn't dying that I was going to be okay and that it will pass. Taking alot of deep slow breathes help too.
I would experience an overwhelming sense of doom, like something awful was about to happen. Shortness of breath, sweats, cold, clamy hands, shakes, chest pain. I thought I was having heart attacts for a long time. I always felt like I was dying. I had them so often i had prepared myself to leave my family thinking I was dying of something terrible.
When I was able to start talking myslf through them i found that they have almost subsided. I don't get them nearly as often.
There is also a book I read that explains exactly what happens to you, why and how to deal with it without meds. I can't think of it right now but if you want it email me and I will look for it. It helped me a great deal.
Good Luck :)
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