Need urgent help.. dealing with panic during a crisis

[glimmer2525]

Ok, so, this is getting ugly real quick.

I awakened in the middle of the night to a phone call from my boyfriend saying that he's going to the ER with chest pains. Come to find out, its possible he's had a heart attack.

It took me a few minutes to accept this, but now I am in full blown panic, worse than ive had in a long time. my heart is racing and palpitating wildly, and I feel so dizzy. I've taken .5 of a Klonopin and it's trying to work but maybe not fast enough. I feel light headed and spacey. I've got to make my way to the hospital to see him. It is early a.m and the roads are covered in snow, so travel is going to be rough. My blood sugar is probably low right now. I've also (sorry if this is TMI, everyone) on my monthly cycle which makes everything so, so much worse.

Can someone please give me some advice on how to handle my own issue while being there for him and doing my best to keep my cool? I've already had to deal with my parents literally scolding me to calm down, which makes it so so much worse.

HELP?

And If you believe in it, a little prayer wouldn't hurt.

[NixonRulz]

Ok, so, this is getting ugly real quick.

I awakened in the middle of the night to a phone call from my boyfriend saying that he's going to the ER with chest pains. Come to find out, its possible he's had a heart attack.

It took me a few minutes to accept this, but now I am in full blown panic, worse than ive had in a long time. my heart is racing and palpitating wildly, and I feel so dizzy. I've taken .5 of a Klonopin and it's trying to work but maybe not fast enough. I feel light headed and spacey. I've got to make my way to the hospital to see him. It is early a.m and the roads are covered in snow, so travel is going to be rough. My blood sugar is probably low right now. I've also (sorry if this is TMI, everyone) on my monthly cycle which makes everything so, so much worse.

Can someone please give me some advice on how to handle my own issue while being there for him and doing my best to keep my cool? I've already had to deal with my parents literally scolding me to calm down, which makes it so so much worse.

HELP?

And If you believe in it, a little prayer wouldn't hurt.

Most importantly, if he rang you, chances are it is not a heart attack. If in fact it was, sounds like he is getting to the hospital early so he should be okay.

Regarding you, you have become anxious because you are anxious. You finally have a reason to be anxious for real and because you are showing the symptoms, you are associating them to all your previous anxiety issues without any real fear present

Think about your boyfriend and put "you" on hold.

Get yourself together, drive slow to the hospital and find what is going on.

Could turn out he just has the same type anxiety that you have and he believes something is wrong when there is not

Wish you both well

[gypsylee]

Hey how are you and he doing now?

[glimmer2525]

Hey how are you and he doing now?

Here's an update..

Come to find out, they told him he was having a major heart attack and sent him to the cath lab to see how extensive the damage was. Now here's the kicker.. after the tests were ran, he WASN'T having a heart attack after all. He's had a virus for the past couple of days (Stomach flu that he caught off his son), and his enzymes were all out of whack to the point that his tests mimicked a heart attack that wasn't actually happening. Very strange and rare, but this is what's happened.

He called me with the news that he was ok. I broke down crying in relief. Then my mother came over and asked what all was going on now (she was going to have my father drive with me to the hospital so I wouldn't be alone). I gave her the update and she was highly concerned. She immediately went into panic mode herself, begging me not to go over there now that we know he is ok. She is worried that I will contract the virus and that it may be even harder on my body, considering all the stress I've put on it this past few months.

My boyfriend's feelings are hurt, he wants me to be there. He's not going to be dismissed from the hospital until tomorrow. His parents have already come and gone (they're a bit strange, but thats a different story). My mother is begging me not to go and has essentially terrified me. I am beside myself, I don't know what to do. I'm absolutely terrified of being exposed to the virus because I completely understand what my mother is saying, but I want to see my boyfriend and I want to show him he's not alone, I want to be there for him.

Edit: He's pretty pissed at me and has basically called me a shitty girlfriend. Not in those exact words, but might as well have been.

What would you guys do? I'm pretty desperate here..

[gypsylee]

Geez that would've been scary and now you're torn between your bf and your mum.

Perhaps you could go visit him but take precautions not to catch the virus? I don't know how contagious it is but I think washing your hands with sanitiser helps a lot. You could ask a doctor or nurse about it. Just try and calm down - I know exactly what it's like when your mother makes your anxiety ten times worse by panicking herself! But yes I would find out about the virus he's got and what you can do to protect yourself, and if possible go and see him.

Good luck :)

[glimmer2525]

Geez that would've been scary and now you're torn between your bf and your mum.

Perhaps you could go visit him but take precautions not to catch the virus? I don't know how contagious it is but I think washing your hands with sanitiser helps a lot. You could ask a doctor or nurse about it. Just try and calm down - I know exactly what it's like when your mother makes your anxiety ten times worse by panicking herself! But yes I would find out about the virus he's got and what you can do to protect yourself, and if possible go and see him.

Good luck :)

Thanks so much Gypsy.. Yes, my mother made it sooo much worse. Then she cried on me! It was awful. I really see where my own anxiety problem stems from. Yikes..

I'm going to go see him. I'll bring hand sanitizer and use it generously. Boyfriend asked a nurse what precautions should I take and she said that the virus is not airborne, its usually spread through hand to hand contact. So as long as I'm careful not to touch or kiss him, I should be fine.

[Im-Suffering]

I'm going to go see him. I'll bring hand sanitizer and use it generously. Boyfriend asked a nurse what precautions should I take and she said that the virus is not airborne, its usually spread through hand to hand contact. So as long as I'm careful not to touch or kiss him, I should be fine.

There you go. Very good. You decided, even in the face of (strong, convincing) opposition. Feels good too. When this is over, there is a lesson in it for both you, mom, and to an extend the boyfriend.

"Edit: He's pretty pissed at me and has basically called me a shitty girlfriend. Not in those exact words, but might as well have been."

Your experience has nothing to do with him, and at the same time, everything to do with him. You are defining who you are in the face of him or any human interaction (be aware of what you are up to), You all-ways define self - Is this who you want to be? (even as your mother screams bloody murder). That statement above (the edit) is not from him, but from inside you, that's what you feel, your words, and in this experience, how you defined self up until a decision was made to take some action. And so taking this action to feel good is constructive, for you, and ultimately, them.

This is a lesson for you, so mark it. Come back to it in the future when similar stresses hit pressing for some decision. Such experiences are defining, there is much more to life than what you get from skimming its surface for knowledge or information.

Make your own decisions, from your ideals, more often. Should you dislike some of those decisions, examine the ideals behind them.

By now you will be back from your visit, and feeling better. (all of you).

[NixonRulz]

Glimmer - I can paraphrase the above ^^^^^^ we are who we believe we are

I am glad everything went well. I used to be so paranoid about germs that I used to wear 2 holsters with hand sanitizer in them.

I was the friggin John Wayne of antibacterial pumping. No one faster on the draw

Keep us posted how things went. That was quite an ordeal

[gypsylee]

Thanks so much Gypsy.. Yes, my mother made it sooo much worse. Then she cried on me! It was awful. I really see where my own anxiety problem stems from. Yikes..

I'm going to go see him. I'll bring hand sanitizer and use it generously. Boyfriend asked a nurse what precautions should I take and she said that the virus is not airborne, its usually spread through hand to hand contact. So as long as I'm careful not to touch or kiss him, I should be fine.

I know right, my mother does this all the time and I think no wonder I'm anxious!