RSherman86
09-24-2007, 07:58 AM
Hello im not quite sure where to start, but here I go.
Im 20 years old and i will be 21 in November. I had my first panic attack when i was 18 i believe. Prior to my first attack i had no knowledge of what panic or anxiety even was, i was a young kid with the clearest of minds possible. I worried about things as a normal person would but i was never irrational. Then, one day i was at work and i felt short of breathe, thinking nothing of it i continued working. After about 25 minutes my fingers started tingling and then my lips and parts of my face. Suddenly i felt a fear inside of me that i had never experianced before, with every beat of my heart it got worse. I decided i had to leave, i told my boss i was going home sick. I got out into the parking lot and by that time it had gotten worse, my chest was starting to hurt and breahting was more difficult. The tingling in my body had come to a definate numb feeling. My mind was racing i couldnt even think straight, it took my almost three minutes to even remember where my car was and why i was in the parking lot. Finally i found my car and drove about 15 feet before the attack peaked to its true worst moments. My face and arms were completely numb, my heart was pounding as if i had just sprinted 20 miles. I called 911 because i was sure i was going to die. I was taken to the local hospital and after about 20 minutes of being in the ER all of my symptoms had dissappeard and i felt better than i had ever felt in my life. The disappearce of those feelings caused an almost euphoric feeling of happiness and joy throughout my body. I was so confused. I had blood work done, and EKG, and a chest xray. I also had an Echo, the next day as on out patient. Everything was normal, i followed up with my doctor a few days later. He said anxiety and sent me to a physciatrist. I went for about 6 months of feeling genuine panic 2-3 times a week, and felt on edge anticipating the next attack at all times, and i would have to say that all that anticipation definately manifested my attacks. After about six months with the physciatrist he said i had PTSD, i forgot to mention that i lost my father to Hemocromotosis when i was 15 years old. I basically went emontionally numb from the time he died until my first attack. I had a rare and incredible relationship with my father, he was my best friend and my hero. I stood at his bed when he died, I didnt even cry, i buried it all. I was told that the supression of my feelings had caused my PTSD. I visited my physciatrist for six months from the week i had my first attack, and it seemed nothing was making it better. He began offering me medications which i refused, although i was begining to feel as if i was to weak to overcome these feelings on my own. I later found out that both my mother and father had sufferd with anxiety indiviually. At one visit my doctor tried a relaxation technique, and honestly it took about 15 minutes but i had never felt that way before in my life. I was so relaxed i couldnt even walk straight, i needed help getting out of the chair when the session was over. From that point on, as my doctor said, it will never ever be as bad as your first attack ever again. From that point, i have not had a major attack. He tells me that he subconciously changed my thinking pattern from negative to positive. He taught me to cope with my emotions properly. Altough i havent had a panic attack in very long, it seems that i get frequent "flare ups" of my old feelings. I can always feel it coming on and it rarely lasts more than five minutes. But i still wonder why this happens? Does anyone out there have a similar history with anxiety? Has anyone else completely overcome the major factors of panic but still have these little attacks? The reason i ask is, i cant help but worry im falling back into the world of panic and irrational thinking.
Im sorry my introduction was so long, but ive never truly spoken to anyone about my feelings in this depth. All responses are appreciated.
Sincerely
Ross
Im 20 years old and i will be 21 in November. I had my first panic attack when i was 18 i believe. Prior to my first attack i had no knowledge of what panic or anxiety even was, i was a young kid with the clearest of minds possible. I worried about things as a normal person would but i was never irrational. Then, one day i was at work and i felt short of breathe, thinking nothing of it i continued working. After about 25 minutes my fingers started tingling and then my lips and parts of my face. Suddenly i felt a fear inside of me that i had never experianced before, with every beat of my heart it got worse. I decided i had to leave, i told my boss i was going home sick. I got out into the parking lot and by that time it had gotten worse, my chest was starting to hurt and breahting was more difficult. The tingling in my body had come to a definate numb feeling. My mind was racing i couldnt even think straight, it took my almost three minutes to even remember where my car was and why i was in the parking lot. Finally i found my car and drove about 15 feet before the attack peaked to its true worst moments. My face and arms were completely numb, my heart was pounding as if i had just sprinted 20 miles. I called 911 because i was sure i was going to die. I was taken to the local hospital and after about 20 minutes of being in the ER all of my symptoms had dissappeard and i felt better than i had ever felt in my life. The disappearce of those feelings caused an almost euphoric feeling of happiness and joy throughout my body. I was so confused. I had blood work done, and EKG, and a chest xray. I also had an Echo, the next day as on out patient. Everything was normal, i followed up with my doctor a few days later. He said anxiety and sent me to a physciatrist. I went for about 6 months of feeling genuine panic 2-3 times a week, and felt on edge anticipating the next attack at all times, and i would have to say that all that anticipation definately manifested my attacks. After about six months with the physciatrist he said i had PTSD, i forgot to mention that i lost my father to Hemocromotosis when i was 15 years old. I basically went emontionally numb from the time he died until my first attack. I had a rare and incredible relationship with my father, he was my best friend and my hero. I stood at his bed when he died, I didnt even cry, i buried it all. I was told that the supression of my feelings had caused my PTSD. I visited my physciatrist for six months from the week i had my first attack, and it seemed nothing was making it better. He began offering me medications which i refused, although i was begining to feel as if i was to weak to overcome these feelings on my own. I later found out that both my mother and father had sufferd with anxiety indiviually. At one visit my doctor tried a relaxation technique, and honestly it took about 15 minutes but i had never felt that way before in my life. I was so relaxed i couldnt even walk straight, i needed help getting out of the chair when the session was over. From that point on, as my doctor said, it will never ever be as bad as your first attack ever again. From that point, i have not had a major attack. He tells me that he subconciously changed my thinking pattern from negative to positive. He taught me to cope with my emotions properly. Altough i havent had a panic attack in very long, it seems that i get frequent "flare ups" of my old feelings. I can always feel it coming on and it rarely lasts more than five minutes. But i still wonder why this happens? Does anyone out there have a similar history with anxiety? Has anyone else completely overcome the major factors of panic but still have these little attacks? The reason i ask is, i cant help but worry im falling back into the world of panic and irrational thinking.
Im sorry my introduction was so long, but ive never truly spoken to anyone about my feelings in this depth. All responses are appreciated.
Sincerely
Ross