Just because I have PTSD and panic attacks....

[eon337]

won't take me seriously.

Look, I am VERY familiar with how my panic attacks feel. I freak out when reminded of something that happened to me years ago, and I assume the fetal position, sometimes even hallucinating in an attempt to escape reality. I completely lose control.

What I do NOT do is suddenly think I'm having a heart attack, or that I can't breathe, or any of those kinds of things. So, when I stupidly overdosed on MSG ( I used way to much on accident but tried to eat it anyway) last year, I couldn't breathe right, I kept passing out, and I had this terrible chest pain, headaches and dizziness. To this day if I eat too much salt, or don't drink enough water, or am over heated I experience these symptoms. Now, was it the MSG? Who knows, there's controversy over that.

But what really frustrates me is that I went to all these doctors in case it was serious, and a good deal of them took one look at the "suffers from anxiety attacks" diagnosis on my medical chart and immediatly decided THAT was what was wrong with me. Doesn't even ask any questiosn about it, just lets me know that it's probably just an additional symptom from my disorder. And yet, I can guarantee you I'm not panicking, or hypervenilating or whatever when I have these collapsing spells. If anything, breathing hurts so much that I try to do it as shallowly as possible.

Seriously, does this SOUND like just more symptoms of panic, especially since I know exactly when and why these things started? I just get frustrated that people think anything that is wrong with me must be because of my mental problems......

[eon337]

Any takers, or is this a stupid question to ask?

[Foxfire]

And yet, I can guarantee you I'm not panicking, or hypervenilating or whatever when I have these collapsing spells. If anything, breathing hurts so much that I try to do it as shallowly as possible.

I never used to hyperventilate or 'panic' during my panic attacks. It was purely the physiological symptoms of feeling faint, palpitations, rushes of heat or sensation through my limbs and often the inability to form sentences.

Its interesting you say that now when you eat too much salt or get dehydrated you get these symptoms.

I actually suffered from heat exhaustion once when I was working in a remote area. The first time, it WAS heat exhaustion. The next time I went to that area, I had a panic attack and the time after that, AND the time after that. It took me a fair while (and I mean about 2 years) to realise that I was panicking the subsequent times because of the the actual thing that had happened to me in that spot in the past. I'm thinking that your case could be similar? Perhaps you did have a reaction to the MSG and now when you do something similar to your body, you worry that you're going to have the same reaction and hey presto, panic attack.....

To me it does sound like anxiety symptoms but I'm not a doctor.. I would go and find a nice sympathetic GP, book yourself a longer appointment and explain to them that you've had anxiety in the past and perhaps you may be over-reacting but that you need reassurance from them that this isn't anything else. It would be a nasty GP that didn't respond to a request like that.

Hope this helps.

[eon337]

Well...I dunno, it just doesn't feel anything like any of the panic attacks I've ever had. I mean, when the headaches/dizziness/breathlessness hit during the summer I had been working at Taco Bell (against my will, I could have stayed at college and gotten a REAL job, but my parents wanted to see me) Every day I woke up, ate a hot pocket, went into work, and ate the saltiest thing on the menu without even considering anything. I had a few panic attacks at work, we'd be busy, everyone would be tense and yelling, and I"d just go into the restroom and cry untill I felt I could handle everything again. These weren't "normal" attacks for me, but it was basically a stress reaction. After nearly a month of this salty diet the heat got really bad again (it was cold when I first OD'd on MSG) and I started getting sicker and sicker at work and home.

At first I thought I was coming down with something, but then I collapsed at work while doing some heavy lifting. And I felt terrible for days, but eventually forced myself to go back in. And collapsed again when I did something strenous. I was like that for several weeks, and then once the heat went back down and I got fired (because of my health) from Taco Bell (stopped eating only salty foods) I felt a little better. Even now it's not every time I eat something incredibly salty, it's like it has to build up a little bit, maybe I didn't get enough water that day, or it was too hot, or I hadn't eaten enough vitamins or something, and THEN I eat something salty (sometimes it only needs to be just slightly salty) and then BAM, I get the symptoms.

I mean, as far as I can tell, these are exactly the symptoms of MSG syndrome, which of course is only diagnosed by a sensitivity to salty or MSG filled foods. If it were panic, wouldn't it be more the second I eat the foods I get the symptoms, and even then every time?

It's just hard for me to believe it's panic if it feels nothing like a panic attack in my experience. When I panic, I feel hyped up, amped, jittery. When I get these symptoms the world grays out and I feel slugish and disoriented. I have trouble following what's going on and I feel like everything is spinning.

[Foxfire]

To be honest it's now irrelevant whether or not it actually IS panic because you've convinced yourself that it's something else which means that either way, you will not recover until you seek reassurance from someone who knows.

In my experience the symptoms of anxiety change as time goes on and as you process different experiences but again that is irrelevant to you at this particular point.

Have you considered seeing a naturopath or someone who is more in tune with these sort of sensitivies than a conventional GP?

Other than that I will just reiterate that you need to find a nice doctor who is willing to listen to you and take you seriously.
Good luck with it!