Did I have a panic attack?

[HJ81]

Hello

Im new here so very briefly I am a mum to 2 beautiful girls who are my everything. I also have a part time job that is exhausting but I love it. I’ve been with my husband for 17yrs and married for 12yrs.

i was abused sexually by my dad growing up which I never told anyone about until I was in my early 30’s and my husband cheated and I think I had a break down and told all.

we moved away and haven’t had anything to do with my side of the family since. My mother however has been trying to contact me, and last year the police got a hold of me as my dad was being charged. I opted to stay out of it all as I fear talking about it will bring things up and make things worse for me.

my in-laws have been very supportive and so have the friends I have told.

For a few years now I have been getting these moment of lightheadedness and feel a little panicked by them. They can occur anytime day or night with no warning.

blood test have confirmed possible hormone issues.. I’m not medicated but on natural herbs. Meds scare me.

lately I’ve been having marriage issues and contemplating leaving, work is full on and I’m exhausted and not sleeping week.

i do well at bottling things up and hiding things. People describe as happy go lucky and so friendly and chirpy.

yesterday at work I felt jittery, next thing felt my heart pounding and was quite tachy, I went pale and felt like I was going to keep passing out... yucky yucky and scary feeling.

Bloods and ECG came back fine. Got a referral for 24hr ecg halter and echocardiogram also need to see doctor for a referral to psychologist.

Did I have a panic attack? It just came on out of the blue.

i feel I’m starting to crumble and I’m so scared.

thank you for your replies

[Manalishi]

Hi there, sorry to hear you've been feeling so awful lately. The symptoms you describe sound very similar to mine when I have a panic attack (Although with mine I feel like I'm choking rather than about to feint), and if blood and the ecg came back clear then it's pretty safe to say that's what it was.

It's great to hear you've immediately began to seek help, it took me 6 weeks before I worked out that it was a mental issue, and that period was terrible for me. I'd recommend getting a Mental Healthcare Plan and an appointment with a psychologist asap, it's been really helpful for me.

Hope you feel better soon.

[blondguy]

Hello HJ81

Welcome and thankyou for posting with us!

I echo Manalishi's thoughts about the symptoms resembling a panic attack. These are very common and yes they make us feel like we are crumbling/falling apart too. The heart palpitations are scary yet its our adrenal gland working overtime.....(through various ongoing stress events in our lives)

You are proactive with your health by seeking help from your doctor and good on you! (Excellent:-))

Its only my humble opinion (only through my experience) that there may be some feelings of anxiety happening.

Manalishi has provided excellent advice above where panic attacks are concerned and how to address them

These feelings are very common and the earlier they are treated the better the better our recovery will be

I really hope you can post back with any questions/comments as there are many gentle people on the forums that can be here for you HJ81.

The forums are also a safe and non judgemental place for you to post too 🙂

my kind thoughts

Paul

[HJ81]

Manalishi

I have an appointment to see GP for what I believe to be put on a mental health plan.

What does the involve exactly?

also I think I might of had another smaller attack today... I was on my way to the gym (my happy place/my time away) and all of a sudden this feeling come over me where I just wanted to turn around and go back home. But I faught it and went to the gym but only lasted 20minutes until it came back and I went straight home 😔

[HJ81]

Thanks Paul

i think I have been in denial for a very long time and the warning signs have been there but I’ve just ignored them. And now finally it’s all caught up to me.

Scary as all hell, and I feel like I have failed and I’m no longer strong like I thought I was.

I don’t like this feeling. It’s dibilitating and scary.

[Ruby__2]

Just want to give a thumbs up to you Paul.

You have a way of calming that needs to be acknowledged.

I really don't know what else to say,except I read a lot on the forums and you are extremely helpful to a lot of people. Thank you xx

Ruby 2

[blondguy]

Hi HJ81

Thankyou heaps for posting back. These symptoms are still only feelings....although they are scary...You are not the only one that has done everything to 'shrug' off these awful feelings without nagging our GP. I did the same for over 10 years.....and I didnt know at the time that 'the earlier these feelings are treated the better our recovery'

Be good to yourself and make a double appointment with your GP when you can....even take a copy of this thread to give to your doc too! (it will only give you more time with your GP) Your GP treats anxiety every hour of the day...not just cuts and bruises!

Thankyou for speaking from the heart HJ81. There are heaps of gentle people on the forums that can be here for you too that have these crap anxiety feelings

I really hope you can post back when its convenient for you with any comments/questions....You have written a great thread topic that can also help many other people that choose to read the forums for support..Good!

my kind thoughts for you

Paul

[blondguy]

Sorry to hijack your thread HJ81....

Hey Ruby2

You have just made my day 🙂 with your super kind heartfelt post and thankyou so much!!

What a wonderful post......(and yes I am stuck for words) Paul x

[Manalishi]

Hi again

When I got my Health Care Plan it was a pretty simple process, I filled out some paperwork, then there were a few questionnaires where they gauged how anxious/depressed I felt in the last 2-4 weeks (I believe one of them was a K10, you can find it online if you want to do a "test run". After that there were a few more short-answer questions, then the GP looked at my results, forwarded the paperwork to medicare and gave me a referral to a psychologist. So yeah, overall it was a pretty painless process.

[HJ81]

Manalishi

Paperwork all done. I know have a referral for a psychologist.

GP seems to think I may need medication at some stage (which I’m dreading) but is happy to wait for a few appointments to see how I go before starting me on anything.

i scored 30 on the K10... 😔

now to actually ring and make my first appointment.