Anxiety- Hyperventilation to the point where my hands curl up

[beejadee08]

Ive been suffering from anxiety for the last 2 years. It started after a personal training session and after I had finished my heart rate wouldn't go back down and I ended up hyperventilating in my car alone on the side of the road to the point where my hands tingled and curled up, I went all shakey, my lips tingled and I couldn't move my body properly. I feel like I almost fainted and thought I was dieing. I went to the emergency and they did an ecg and the docs freaked at my ecg. My heart was pounding out of my chest but eventually it went away. I followed up with more tests etc and my heart health is fine (I do have a family history of heart disease) and I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder . I now have been living in fear of that episode happening again for the last two years and any small triggers, negative emotions or nervousness cause my heart to go fast and my hands to go numb and tingly again within minutes and its just a big cycle of fearing these symptoms and waiting for it to happen again. I know about hyperventilation and breathing (health science degree) and each time an attack comes I control my breathing and slow it down and try to ground myself however I am now almost certainly convinced the exaggerated hand curling up and tingling in lips etc is not due to my breathing. I have lost work, friends and my social life because of this fear of these symptoms and can't ever be alone. I have also seen numerous doctors and psychologists even physio for my breathing and completely understand about anxiety and controlling my breathing but the symptoms keep happening and I feel like there is no way out. Has anyone else has something similar happen? please help

[blondguy]

Hi beejadee08

I understand your frustration where hyperventilation is concerned. After many heart tests (and a few years) my hyperventilation turned out to be an anxiety response to my ongoing career and family issues

My symptoms were exactly the same as yours when I had my first hyperventilation episode in 1983

You are not alone beejadee08

Great to have you as part of the Beyond Blue forum family too!....any questions are always welcome

Paul

[beejadee08]

Hi paul

thank you for your response it makes me feel so much better to know others have this same issue. just wondering how you dealt with this and did the hyperventilation go along when you fixed the cause ?

thanks

[beejadee08]

Thanks for your response I know exactly how you feel when you say you so badly want to be the person you used to be. I also want to go back to the person I was before all this 😞 glad to know I am not alone and not crazy.

[beejadee08]

Hi grandy yeah thanks for your response. It’ must of been very scary passing out because of your breathing that is one of my huge fears. It’s reassuring that after you passed out you were able to get your breathing back to normal as I also fear not being able to gain control back after an attack. May I ask How you coped with fearing it happening again?

[beejadee08]

Thanks for your response I have never looked into a neurologist but having a sensitive nervous system does make a lot of sense. I’ll defs explore that pathway thanks

[geoff]

Hello Beejadee, all good replies and to answer your question, the doctor/s and nurses could say that I have 'Atrial Fibrillation' by doing my blood pressure, but it was originally found when I fell over and hit my head on the concrete last year and the doctors at the hospital wanted an ECG ( electrocardiogram ).

I had previously told my GP that I couldn't take a deep breath and prescribed me some medication, fluid tablets as my ankles were half the size they should be.

Hope this may help you.

Geoff.

[Ggrand]

Hello beejadee,

After the first time..I was so afraid that it would happen again..I didn’t go out in case it did happen...I carried a few brown paper bags in my hand bag for years....just in case...

I thought about it and was living my life waiting for it to happen...slowly over a few months I stopped thinking about it...I remember in hospital the Drs told me it takes a fair bit of fast breathing to get into the state I was in, and if I did start breathing quickly...Drs told me to slow down my breathing....by counting to 5 with my in breath hold for count of 4..and counting to 6 on my out breath , which usually worked if not then I would start breathing into my brown paper bag..

I had a long break before I started to get that bad again..I had an anxiety attack, while I was with friends at my home..something upset me a lot..that I couldn’t stop thinking about.then I just passed out..Woke up a few minutes before the ambulance arrived...On my way to hospital they taught me the hand breathing technique, which I use a lot...

I am very conscious of my breathing now..and when I can feel myself breathing fast or I’m in an anxiety attack..I slow it down.... I don’t worry about it happening again...if it does then I’ll do what I can to manage it..It might never happen again..and it is something that we can stop from happening again, with breathing into a brown paper bag..or slowing down our breathing...

Therising and Geoff have good ideas about checking yourself out more....If Nothing is found..and I pray that there won’t be... it might help you to be able to calm your breathing down...

Please take good care of you...talk anytime. dear

Sending you my care, kind thoughts and hugs..🤗.

Grandy..

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi beejadee08,

I'm so glad that you've had so much support on this post. This is such a wonderful community.

Yes - I hear you. So even though you don't feel your heart race as much you're still getting the symptoms. But I also read that you're afraid of not being able to get some control back.

I imagine that in your health science degree when you learned about hyperventilation you also heard about the flight fight response?

Part of that anxiety response is a higher heartbeat yes - but having those thoughts of being afraid to pass out, or feeling like it won't end are also part of that anxiety. So while your heart rate may feel like it's slowed down a bit - the anxiety is still very much there and still very high. So - while I'm not dismissing any other explanation the anxiety does still explain why your hand can be curled up.

Being able to understand why this is happening can help - even if that means seeing a doctor or a cardiologist or a neurologist - so that you know for sure that you are safe and that most importantly, this will end.

rt

[beejadee08]

Hi Rt

thanks for getting back to me, I have never really thought of it that way, I am starting to think I must just not be in control of my anxiety as I thought. When I am in panic situations maybe I do not realise I am not breathing correctly even though I think I am and the fear of it getting worse means its stays around longer so I get those horrible symptoms. thats definitely something I will think about and ill have to work on that with my psych thanks for your help I appreciate your time

[beejadee08]

Thank you Grandy. I Appreciate you taking the time to respond to me. Its good to know you were able to cope with that fear and eventually it just goes. I need to remind myself that even if I do have an anxiety attack I can prevent those horrible symptoms and I need to stop living in fear. I think its time for me to get some help with my thoughts so they become more positive and healthier because I am starting to realise I still am not handling my anxiety very well. thanks again and take care