Please help me confirm that this is in fact a panic attack

[Rubicon]

Hello everyone,

I come to this forum because for the past few years I've been experiencing episodes that no one can relate to. I am hoping that some of you take the time to read this detailed thread and based on your experience help me identify if what I'm experiencing sounds like anxiety related or perhaps something else. I'll try to be as concise as possible, sorry about the length in advance.

I'll start with some stats. I'm a 35 year old male, non smoker, casual drinker, not using any recreational drugs, from Toronto, Canada. I am relatively healthy (with the exception of arthritis which I have under control with medication and exercise). I'm a civil engineer and love my job. I've been married for three years and will be planning on having kids soon. I live a relatively sedentary lifestyle however I eat fairly well and for the past five years I've been weight lifting and working out regularly and I'm in relatively decent physical shape. I don't have any serious stressors in my life, I have good family and friends support, but I do get worked up sometimes over petty things.

Now for the problem. It all started about four years ago. I left the gym on a Saturday morning and started driving to the dentist for a cleaning. All of a sudden I felt what I could best describe as a painless flutter in my upper stomach (lower chest) area. Immediately after this I felt sort of like an adrenaline rush and my head started spinning. My heart rate went up and my stomach was full of butterflies. It was starting to be difficult to breathe and with all these symptoms going on I got off the highway and pulled over in a plaza parking lot. I felt like I was going to die and the only thing I could conclude is that this is heart related, that I must be having some kind of heart attack or heart malfunction. I called my wife to cancel my appointment and told her that as soon as I arrive at home we need to rush to hospital emergency. By the time I got home about 15 mins later most of my symptoms were still there to a degree and I also started feeling very shaky and cold. When I looked in the mirror I appeared pale although my wife didn't think I looked off. We went to emergency anyways where my symptoms continued for some time. I told them I was having a hard time breathing and I was dizzy so they fast tracked me and ran an EKG for the heart and took comprehensive blood work, everything came back normal, blood pressure was fine, heart was fine, blood work was fine. They told me they had no explanation as to why my symptoms occurred. After hearing this news my physical symptoms slowly disappeared but I was extremely emotionally drained because of the experience. I tried to wrestle in my head what has happened but couldn't come up with a solution. The next few days after I was fine although a bit on edge.

When I was at work on Tuesday similar symptoms returned out of nowhere in the morning so I drove myself to a walk in clinic down the street. The doctor listened to all my symptoms and stated that I may be over stressed or having anxiety, she prescribed me a few ativan tablets which I think helped a bit. Anyways, these episodes returned a few times after that and then I was fine for about a year.

Again, a year later this time at night I got woken up with what felt like restless leg syndrome but instead of in the legs I was experiencing it in the chest and hands area. It was bizarre and is difficult to explain. It kind of felt like electricity was pulsating through my chest and arms. It freaked me out and my stomach going into knots was the next symptom. As soon as my stomach started knotting I began to freak out that there must be something wrong with my stomach, maybe internal bleeding from the anti inflammatory meds I've been taking, and as soon as those thoughts entered my head my breathing began to get weird, almost as if I could easily breathe but the air I was breathing lacked oxygen and wasn't satisfying my lungs, as if I was about to choke and pass out. At this point I went downstairs and started pacing around the house. Then I ate a banana and drank some fluids and tried to come down. My heart was again beating faster, my stomach was in knots, my breaking was laboured, my head was spinning and I just felt like I need to get to the hospital and get help, I thought this was it for me and I was going to pass out or die. I also noticed I was extremely dry mouth and thirsty but anything I drank didn't satisfy me, expect for milk. So I drank a carton of milk and within an hour I was a better. I went back to bed and it took me a while to fall asleep again. Next day I still had this lingering weird feeling, as if my symptoms are just around the corner and about to return, very odd feeling.

Anyways, similar episodes returned every couple of months. I am fine for a good month or two, maybe even half a year, then all of a sudden I get these episodes and I'll be doomed for a couple of days. Then they pass and I get better emotionally after a few days. I've went to a cardiologist who didn't find anything wrong with me. This may be a coincidence but I noticed that these episodes come around the time when something major is going on in my life (about to happen or just happened). For example, I went through a few of these episodes when my wife (girlfriend at the time) and I moved in together for the first time. Then I was perfectly fine until my wife and I moved in with her mom for a few months when our house was being built. Then again they seemed to return around the time I changed jobs. Again they returned right after I got married. And so on and so forth. But the link here is too loose to say it is connected for sure.

I also speculated that perhaps these episodes are caused by some physical ailment or disease but it's hard to be sure because I feel absolutely no pain during these episodes, none whatsoever. As a matter of fact, having arthritis I am in some kind of mild to moderate pain all the time and the arthritis related pain always almost totally disappears during one of these episodes. My best guess is that it's triggered by adrenaline which is a natural pain killer which is what kills my pain. Also, I don't feel weak during these episodes, I feel edgy and dodgy and shakey but never weak and always full of energy and adrenaline. Also, I imagine if it was some serious disease it would have progressed or gotten worse over the five years of having on and off again symptoms but it hasn't. Lastly, I though maybe it's some kind of vitamin deficiency so I experimented with Vitamin B, magnesium, calcium, D3, omega 3, multi vitamin, potassium, and although I felt better after supplementing in some sense, the episodes still came back when they wanted to. I even though that maybe I have some kind of allergy or sensitivity like to caffeine or alcohol but after reducing those it had no significant impact on these episodes.

I tried to research this extensively online and I get hits that this is likely panic attack. Hoping some of you can chime in and let me know what you think. Lastly, I just want to share my full list of symptoms below during one of these episodes (usually most of these symptoms are present during an episode):

- knots in the stomach, nauseous
- difficult breathing, feeling as if there is tightness in the chest and upper stomach area
- increased heart rate
- dizziness and feeling as if I'm about to pass out
- feeling a sense of doom
- thirst and dry mouth
- restless feeling in arms and radiating from my core (chest area)
- feeling weird sensations in my arms and body (pins and needles) buzzing
- tingling at random places in my body
- inability to sleep after, insomnia
- feeling that I need emergency help
- adrenaline rushes
- bad thoughts and feeling extreme stress during episode
- feeling warm then cold within a few minutes
- craving for bananas and or milk (for some reason I feel that these things help episodes go away)

I also want to mention that although these episodes are extremely frighting with lots of physical symptoms they have never resulted in me passing out or resulting with something bad happening. I am generally fine a day or two later and life goes on.

I thank you in advance for any option you can give me.

Cheers,
Michael

[Davit]

Yeah, they are panic attacks.

Bananas and milk, get your potassium and calcium levels checked.

[timjpcollins]

Would be happy to have a chat Michael. Send you a message :)

Cheers
Tim

[Two One]

Everything that you've described is textbook panic attack. There are a few coping strategies I can recommend if you are interested.

[Davit]

Two one

Please post your strategies.

[Rubicon]

Thank you for your replies guys. I would love to hear some strategies "Two One". Please share when you have a moment. Tim I will be in touch - thank you. Davidt thanks for your feedback.

[Two One]

Two one

Please post your strategies.


Thank you for your replies guys. I would love to hear some strategies "Two One". Please share when you have a moment. Tim I will be in touch - thank you. Davidt thanks for your feedback.

No problem, guys. Everybody's different so I hope these help. I know this is said a lot, but the best thing you can do during a panic attack is try to normalize your breathing by taking deep breaths. Now I know when you're in the throes of panic it's very difficult to bring yourself to do deep breathing, I'm the same way. So there's a few things that I recommend you do beforehand so you will be better able to normalize your breathing later.

The first thing I do is roll with the muscle tension. When your muscles tense up during a panic attack, tense them even more. Tense every muscle you can for 10 seconds then relax them. I recommend starting with the fists since a lot of people have a tendency to clench their fist when they're anxious.

Secondly, what I tend to do is sort of shift the focus from the panic to something else. If you are with someone else when you have a panic attack try pointing something out and describing it to them. Use vivid details, I know this sounds strange but it really works because it allows the brain to put its focus on something else.

Walk. If you have the space, walk. You don't need to run but you shouldn't walk like you're out for a leisurely stroll. There's plenty of science to back brisk-walking for relieving panic attacks. When you're suffering from a panic attack your body is flooded with stress hormones, namely cortisol. Walking will not only get rid of the cortisol but will prompt the release of endorphins which produce a calming effect. Exercise is easily the most effective tool I have against my anxiety.

Lastly, just try to talk yourself through it. I know telling someone who is having a panic attack no to worry is useless and offers no help, so don't say that to yourself. The only thing you need to do is remind yourself that it will pass. Once you've done this you should be able to normalize your breathing. Before you start exhale all the air out of your diaphragm. Inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, exhale for a count of 4, exhale for a count of 4. Repeat this three more times.

Keep in mind, these won't stop a panic attack right in its tracks. Unfortunately not many things do, but I find that doing these things make it easier to cope with one and it will ease you just enough to ride it out.

[Rubicon]

No problem, guys. Everybody's different so I hope these help. I know this is said a lot, but the best thing you can do during a panic attack is try to normalize your breathing by taking deep breaths. Now I know when you're in the throes of panic it's very difficult to bring yourself to do deep breathing, I'm the same way. So there's a few things that I recommend you do beforehand so you will be better able to normalize your breathing later.

The first thing I do is roll with the muscle tension. When your muscles tense up during a panic attack, tense them even more. Tense every muscle you can for 10 seconds then relax them. I recommend starting with the fists since a lot of people have a tendency to clench their fist when they're anxious.

Secondly, what I tend to do is sort of shift the focus from the panic to something else. If you are with someone else when you have a panic attack try pointing something out and describing it to them. Use vivid details, I know this sounds strange but it really works because it allows the brain to put its focus on something else.

Walk. If you have the space, walk. You don't need to run but you shouldn't walk like you're out for a leisurely stroll. There's plenty of science to back brisk-walking for relieving panic attacks. When you're suffering from a panic attack your body is flooded with stress hormones, namely cortisol. Walking will not only get rid of the cortisol but will prompt the release of endorphins which produce a calming effect. Exercise is easily the most effective tool I have against my anxiety.

Lastly, just try to talk yourself through it. I know telling someone who is having a panic attack no to worry is useless and offers no help, so don't say that to yourself. The only thing you need to do is remind yourself that it will pass. Once you've done this you should be able to normalize your breathing. Before you start exhale all the air out of your diaphragm. Inhale for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, exhale for a count of 4, exhale for a count of 4. Repeat this three more times.

Keep in mind, these won't stop a panic attack right in its tracks. Unfortunately not many things do, but I find that doing these things make it easier to cope with one and it will ease you just enough to ride it out.

Thanks so much for all the tips. I will give them a try next time I'm in need.

[trd2014]

Couldn't agree more Two One these have all been extremely useful to me over the years, the other thing that has helped me tremendously is just knowing and recognizing it's a panic attack, that seems to strangely enough calm me down a lot. Our minds our very powerful tools and being able to focus on something else works!!!!

[samcan02]

Hi, im new to this page, but I have been searching the internet for a year trying to figure out whats wrong with me and came across this page. Im a 22 year old girl and have noticed my anxiety more and more over the last couple years. I had my first panic attack on March 19th this year the day after I found out I had monoculosis. I woke up for no reason with numbness in my left arm, racing heart, and a pit in my stomach that felt like I was having a heartattack, so I made my boyfriend rush me to the ER. They told me everything came back fine, and since then, I have been to the ER 4 other times thinking that im dying (I have had just about every test but an MRI done). Lately I have had a pressure on the top of my head that feels like my brain is trying to break through my skull and neck/ear pain and pressure almost daily, along with heart palpitations and feeling nauseous. I dont know if this is normal anxiety but I have been struggling for a while now and would just like to know that im not the only one experiencing these symptoms or that im crazy. Please help!

[DJP]

Michael,

Thank you for your detailed description of what you are going through. With some very minor variations, you describe my symptoms to a tee. What truly irks me to no end is the seeming random nature of the attacks. I can go a few months without one, then have one a week for a while, than not have one for a while, then have 2 in 2 days. It just seems so random. I'm now at the point where the physical sensations that accompany a racing heart and adrenaline rush or nearly too much to bear. There is nothing on this earth that I experience that is more uncomfortable. I'd rather be in pain. When in the midst of one, I'm convinced that I'm dying and will keel over at any moment, but as I said, the physical feeling is just horrible. I have utilized some of Two One's suggestions, most notably distraction. Everyone is different, but for me, I have to mentally disengage from the panic episode in order to get past it. Even focusing on my breathing is problematic because it sends the signal to my brain that something is terribly wrong.

Also, I should add that for me, panic attacks are much less severe and frequent when I am fitter. I believe that for many of us, there is a distrust of our body. We do not think our body is up to the task so to speak. I am attempting to get into really good shape and to eat very well. In the past when I have felt physically healthy, I have been much calmer. I am hoping that will be the case again. I'm also about 5 weeks into an accelerated mediation / brain retrainment program. So far, I'm disappointed with the results. It does not seem to be working. Hopefully, it is conferring some benefits that I just can't recognize yet.

Thanks again - your post really hit home for me - it is nice to know that we are not alone in what we are going through.

[Teafrenzy]

Hi, im new to this page, but I have been searching the internet for a year trying to figure out whats wrong with me and came across this page. Im a 22 year old girl and have noticed my anxiety more and more over the last couple years. I had my first panic attack on March 19th this year the day after I found out I had monoculosis. I woke up for no reason with numbness in my left arm, racing heart, and a pit in my stomach that felt like I was having a heartattack, so I made my boyfriend rush me to the ER. They told me everything came back fine, and since then, I have been to the ER 4 other times thinking that im dying (I have had just about every test but an MRI done). Lately I have had a pressure on the top of my head that feels like my brain is trying to break through my skull and neck/ear pain and pressure almost daily, along with heart palpitations and feeling nauseous. I dont know if this is normal anxiety but I have been struggling for a while now and would just like to know that im not the only one experiencing these symptoms or that im crazy. Please help!

You are not crazy. Look for Youtube videos on anxiety relief.

If it wasn't anxiety, then one of those medical tests would have found something. Exercise every day. Avoid caffeine, alcohol and sweets. See a psychologist. I've read that Mononucleosis is a very common instigator of panic attacks for women your age.

[Aka_Hobbes]

I know im a little bit late but that sounds exactly like a panic attack, scary right? The first time I had one I made mh fiance take me straight to the er, the whole time I was basically in her lap wrapped around her while she drove me to the er. First time it was just a pounding heart beat, couldnt breathe, just like you said, it just felt like my oxygen was lacking oxygen, but its actually because you have too much oxygen, or cO2 to be exact. In the situation you have to try and calm down and let your bodies do the breathing naturally, after all it knows exactly how much oxygen you need and when to inhale and exhale. You were probably hyperventilating at the time. My panic attacks make me tremble and even twitch. My little sisters are so bad the first time I saw her having one I was almost certain she was having a seizure. Anxiety is a bitch man. Its not just mental, it causes all sorts of hormones and chemicals to be released which make your body do all sorts or weird things. Some peoples throat swells up and they cant talk, when they try to it sounds like their tongue is swollen, some people s fingertips feel like theyre on fire, the biggest thing for me is trouble breathing, even when im not having a panic attack. I even get that electricity/vibration feeling in my chest and head. It hapens out of nowhere, I wont even be having a panic attack. And to tell you the truth I feel so much better after reading that it happens to you too because I just found it so hard to believe anxiety could cause that. Listen man, worse thing you can do for your anxiety is to get anxious about it, ever since I accepted that anxiety can cause all sorts of weird things to happen my anxietys gone down so much. I was freaking out thinking it was heart related, looking into symptoms of heart failure and heart attacks, it got so bad I actually started causing my body to mimic symptoms of a heart attack like pain in the left arm. And I would still be worried about it but once I just accepted that it was anxiety that pain went away and hasnt come back since. The human brain is so incredibly powerful, I snapped my leg in half a year and a half ago and when I have flashbacks I literally think its happening all over again, I can feel the pain and feel my leg twitching. I look down and see my leg folded in half and it makes me sick. Your brain is the reason reality even exists for you, think about it. Its what makes everything in your body function so it can wreak all sorts of havoc if it wants to. It can make you think youre leg is folded in half when its really not, but if it thinks it is your brain will send out the necessary chemicals and signals needed to cope with something like that. Best you can do for you anxiety is just accept that its happening and let it ride. I know it sounds bass ackwards but its the truth man. Whenever I have a panic attack now I just embrace it, and now instead of having two hour panic attacks, they last like 5-10 minutes, 15 tops. And last but not least dont think you need to be anxious to be having a panic attack, because you dont. I just had one the other day when I was in the middle of a lake on a paddle board with my fiance, having a great time. Like I said your brain can make anything possible, so if it wants to believe youre anxious, well guess what? Youre having a panic attack for no apparent reason. Just relax and live your life man, sounds like you have a pretty good one. Dont let it go to waste or slip by you because youre spending too much time worrying about the what ifs.

[FruitSalad]

Sounds very much like some of the symptoms I had. For me it was complete acidosis. But you seem strong, you go through it (healing crisis) and then out again. Robert Morse on youtube put me on the path. If you want to know anything from me, just PM me. I'm just in Burlington and have assembled the best health team I could build they have helped drag me out over the last 2 years.