Emilym80
03-01-2015, 06:08 PM
Hi all,
I was wondering if some of you could advise me as to whether or not this was a panic attack/limited symptom attack. I'm booked in to see my doctor on wednesday so I can ask about it then but, in the interim, I'd like to know if anybody else has experienced these sensations.
I have GAD/health anxiety (particularly around my heart) and as such I've had a fairly extensive evaluation by a cardiologist, which probably happened a little less than a month ago- bloodwork, ECG and echo at rest and under stress. These were all ok.
That said, I was having what I believed to be palpitations last night and I was staying with my parents- their house makes me feel a bit uneasy and the room was a lot darker than I was used to, so I couldn't see anything and already felt disoriented. Anyway, I started feeling the palpitations, like my heartbeat was slightly irregular for a little while... I was pretty worked up about this when I got some jaw pain on my right side. I'd been having jaw pain on both sides for about a week already due to some tension etc but this time it was slightly different, like a mild, stabbing pain in my face and some tingling/numbness. I can't remember if there was any pressure- maybe a light squeezing sensation but nothing more. It probably lasted 30 seconds- 2 minutes at the most. That scared me because I worried that it was angina/heart attack and as soon as I noticed it I felt a surge of anxiety/adrenaline and racing thoughts. I then felt hot and flushed, nauseated, like I was going mad/losing control, some mild stabbing chest pain and tightness in the chest area, tingling and some muscle aching and generally very scared and anxious. Some of the symptoms, like nausea and the chest pain, felt like they couldn't have lasted for more than two minutes or so, but I felt like time was going both slowly and very quickly so I can't say for sure (I didn't have access to a clock). The whole time I was very conscious of my heart rhythm and could hear it in my ears and feel it in my chest. I don't think it was beating extremely quickly, though. I feel as if the whole thing probably lasted around 10-20 minutes and got better as the symptoms/fear slowly petered out. Every new symptom that I experienced during the episode would make me more fearful and exacerbate everything I was feeling.
Afterwards, I felt pretty weak/cold and jittery, especially in my legs and feet. I was shaking for hours and felt both tired and too keyed up to sleep. I finally did sleep for a few hours and when I woke up later that day I felt pretty bad, mainly weakness, tiredness and just feeling sick to my stomach (not nauseated per se, more like unpleasantness).
Does that sound familiar or like a panic attack? I'm not sure that it was as I was sort of able to bring myself out of the worst of it by doing some CBT exercises (mainly deep breathing and not resisting the worrying/letting it pass). I feel based on what I've read that if it had been a panic attack I probably wouldn't have been able to do so.
Any input would be greatly appreciated- thanks
I was wondering if some of you could advise me as to whether or not this was a panic attack/limited symptom attack. I'm booked in to see my doctor on wednesday so I can ask about it then but, in the interim, I'd like to know if anybody else has experienced these sensations.
I have GAD/health anxiety (particularly around my heart) and as such I've had a fairly extensive evaluation by a cardiologist, which probably happened a little less than a month ago- bloodwork, ECG and echo at rest and under stress. These were all ok.
That said, I was having what I believed to be palpitations last night and I was staying with my parents- their house makes me feel a bit uneasy and the room was a lot darker than I was used to, so I couldn't see anything and already felt disoriented. Anyway, I started feeling the palpitations, like my heartbeat was slightly irregular for a little while... I was pretty worked up about this when I got some jaw pain on my right side. I'd been having jaw pain on both sides for about a week already due to some tension etc but this time it was slightly different, like a mild, stabbing pain in my face and some tingling/numbness. I can't remember if there was any pressure- maybe a light squeezing sensation but nothing more. It probably lasted 30 seconds- 2 minutes at the most. That scared me because I worried that it was angina/heart attack and as soon as I noticed it I felt a surge of anxiety/adrenaline and racing thoughts. I then felt hot and flushed, nauseated, like I was going mad/losing control, some mild stabbing chest pain and tightness in the chest area, tingling and some muscle aching and generally very scared and anxious. Some of the symptoms, like nausea and the chest pain, felt like they couldn't have lasted for more than two minutes or so, but I felt like time was going both slowly and very quickly so I can't say for sure (I didn't have access to a clock). The whole time I was very conscious of my heart rhythm and could hear it in my ears and feel it in my chest. I don't think it was beating extremely quickly, though. I feel as if the whole thing probably lasted around 10-20 minutes and got better as the symptoms/fear slowly petered out. Every new symptom that I experienced during the episode would make me more fearful and exacerbate everything I was feeling.
Afterwards, I felt pretty weak/cold and jittery, especially in my legs and feet. I was shaking for hours and felt both tired and too keyed up to sleep. I finally did sleep for a few hours and when I woke up later that day I felt pretty bad, mainly weakness, tiredness and just feeling sick to my stomach (not nauseated per se, more like unpleasantness).
Does that sound familiar or like a panic attack? I'm not sure that it was as I was sort of able to bring myself out of the worst of it by doing some CBT exercises (mainly deep breathing and not resisting the worrying/letting it pass). I feel based on what I've read that if it had been a panic attack I probably wouldn't have been able to do so.
Any input would be greatly appreciated- thanks