I am new here-Does this sound like anxiety

[texascountryqt]

I have a daughter who is 9 and about seven months ago she had an episode where she thought she could not breath. It was very scary for me as a mom to watch she was telling the family goodbye while we were rushing her to the hospital. She really thought she was going to die. The ER sent her home saying she had a panic attack and would be fine. She did not want to eat for fear of choking, she did not want to play for fear of another attack and she would not sleep. The only thing she did was sit and sip water all day. 2 days later she did the same thing but not as bad. I managed to calm her and she went to see a pediatrician. The doctor sent her to a childrens hospital to be monitored overnight. By the time we got to the hospital she was throwing up the water. She was admitted and watched for 24 hours. She did not have an episode so again she was sent home. She saw her pediatrician 2 days after that who said it sounded like panic attacks and he talked to her and told her how to calm herself down. SHe has had several since then but not too bad. Now she has become a totally different child and it scares me. She has always been so outgoing and now she is araid of her own shadow. SHe will not go to the bathroom alone or to bed. She has her sister always with her even in the daytime. I do not know what to do. It seems no one is taking this seriously. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Music_lover]

wow. i'm so sorry to hear about that. i'm pretty sure i had attacks when i was her age too. i'm now 15 and i still have them. it is something they should take seriously. it can really affect her. if you read around on here you will see what happens to you, see what you can do to fix it, and see all the symptoms and everything. i'm here if you want to ever talk. i know as a kid how scary it can be and i hope i can be able to help someone too.

when ever i think i'm getting an attack, i sit and inhale while coutning 5, then exhale counting to 10. i think about counting and breathing. slowly down your heart rate relaxes you. maybe that will help your daughter?

Best of luck

-Holly

[jitters]

Thats awful, it's always worse to hear children with this condition. But be reassured she is not alone roughly 10% of children suffer with some kind of issue at any one time but many recover quickly children are much more resiliant than most adults. Try not to act different around her hard as that may seem. Change is scary especially for kids try and get back to normality children can pick up on our own anxiety and this doesn't help. Reassurance is the most important thing.

Do you know what the trigger was?

Duncan

[texascountryqt]

No I do not know what triggered it. There are no common denomanators in any of the situations.

Thanks for the advice Holly I may be asking you alot of questions throughout this. I need help and you are young. My daughter tries the breathing with her head down. That is what her doctor had her do.

[MikeMarcoe]

texascountryqt,

I wonder if this could be some form of depression or manic depression. Have you taken her to a psychiatrist or neurologist?

[Music_lover]

You're welcome. I know I wnated someone who could help me... well, I didn't even know what I had till a little bit ago. But I will help you as best as I can with your questions.

When I do the breathing exercise I sit somewhere comfortable and with no noise. I just think about breathing. Then when you get good at remembering how to count your breathing,you can think of somewhere happy and calm. Tell her to picture every detail and it should make her calm. You can repeat a phrase like "I am peaceful", but I don't prefer to.

I hope this helps.

-Holly

[jitters]

This links to a good explanation of anxiety for perents of sufferers and some more links at the bottom of the page to child specific anxiety websites I hope it helps.

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/ ... rders.html (http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/conditions/anxiety_disorders.html)

Duncan