I’m scared - experiencing panick attacks

[sarahm33]

Hello for those that are reading!
its been about of month of fear and sadness for me.
i was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and OCD a little over three years ago and have seemed to be able to “manage” it as best as possible however about a month or two ago I started to have panic attacks, to the point where I was almost fainting and my fiancé had to rush me to a medical center because at the time I thought I was going to faint and stop breathing (oh anxiety my old friend) so after a few hours at the medical center once my blood pressure had dropped and I could kind of breathe properly I was sent home with some medication and a paper bag I had been breathing out of for the past few hours. I went home and from there I was having panic attacks on and off, I think it was me having a panic attack about having a panic attack which I’m starting to notice a lot more these days but anyway I managed to go to bed and tried my best to steer clear of the prescribed medication they gave me (as it was more so a relaxant had an anti-depressant). I delt with the subtle symptoms of the panic attacks for a few months after that and then they just started back up again, this time they would last longer and I would have multiple at a time where my throat would feel like it was closing, I was sweating and I could hear my heart pounding and my vission blurring. It got to a point that I went to see a movie with my family and for the whole 2.5 hours we sat there I was having one.. I admit I started carrying my medication everywhere because I was so scared and during that movie I had to take a tablet and yet nothing had changed.

[smallwolf]

Hi. Welcome to beyond blue. Sorry about the delayed response.

About me... Just another user on the forum dealing with depression and anxiety. And I am not a professional in psychology or medically trained. Why I am telling you this? You will see shortly? I hope. Between last year and now, I have had a number of blood tests to see if there was something medically wrong with me, which might contribute to my depression. These include iron levels, liver functions, etc. As an aside the next one I get will check on something the heart gives out when stressed. Even vitamin levels can impact.

For me, there are 3 things that contribute to my problems - there is a family history, haemochromatosis (likely), and work related stresses. Just on the haemochromatosis - that is when iron (thought for it is ferritin) levels are too high. I know someone though whose level are very low which also appears as depression.

If you dont mind my asking... do you drink much coffee? I dont have any after 4pm (so that I can have a proper sleep each night) but have cut down a lot and that also helped me deal with anxiety related problems. I did not not do this of my own accord. This was suggested to me by my psychiatrist.

It might seem like I am saying just do this, or this, and everything will be fine, because that is not the case. My own view is there are many pieces to the jigsaw that is me, and if I can fix each thing one by one, there will be a day that I will be living rather than just existing.

And if you need to you can alway visit your GP or psychologist (?) and talk about what you are going through and find some resolution?

I hope you come back and chat some more. And again, sorry for the delay. Hope the remainder of your weekend is OK. and hope you got something from this.

Tim

[Croix]

Dear Sarahm33~

Panic attacks are truly horrible, not only can the physical sensations be so extreme but they feel like a heart attack or something just as deadly. I would suggest that if you have not done so already you see your doctor and ensure it is panic attacks and not something physical. I did this and when everything else was eliminated I was only able to conclude it was anxiety.

I've never tried a paper bag I must admit, I've used controlled breathing, ie something like in though the nose for a count of 4, hold for a count of seven, then out though the mouth for a count of seven. I've tended to find this has a calming effect and at the same time stops the oxygen imbalance that that makes the hands and feet feel funny.

I do try to concentrate on something while it is happening. I try to be stubborn and keep going doing whatever it was, though of course not anything dangerous like driving - more like ironing or tidying. After a while one gets to recognize what is happening and that is actually a help as you know you have been there before and come out OK.

Sometimes being with someone who understands what is happening helps.

By and large - for me anyway - attacks come as a result of a greater level of stress or pressure in my life combined with individual events that trigger the attacks. I've come to have a pretty good idea what sorts of things will set them off, and also how to try to live a lifestyle that reduces pressure.

One encouraging thing is for me their frequency and severity have dropped off an awful lot over time.

Croix