panic attacks

[Jsay31]

I have had a few panic attacks recently. I usually have them at night. I wake up after sleeping for a couple hours and feel funny and have to go to the bathroom. When I get there I can feel it coming on. I sit down and it feels like my heart is going to beat out of my chest. I feel like i needed to go to the hospital last time it happened. I thought I was going to die and no one would find me cuz I have no friends where I live ( I work a lot and am on the road always!) i didn't even know what to tell them if I got to the hospital. I was worried about calling an ambulance and was thinking of driving myself to the hospital....all these thoughts were going thru my head as I sat in the bathroom at 1am...wondering what the hell was going on. I was relieved when the feelings subsided and I started to feel like myself again. This had happened before but was not this intense at all. I didn't know what to think. I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to work at all and didn't know what to do about that. The next few nights were also a slight bit worrysome. I would wake up and be restless for awhile and would feel a bit panicky and would try to go back to sleep. I hate feeling like this cuz it really makes me feel like I'm not normal. Ever since this last one i had, my heart has been beating a little faster and I'm not sure what is causing it. It does make me worry from time to time and I am always checking my pulse...especially when I am working out. Oh well, I'll write more on this later.

[crimsonrose]

I get that fast racing heart thing too. YOur as normal as the rest of us. I also seem to get panic attacks and have to use the bathroom #2 . I think that is so wierd.

[Marzy]

This exact same thing happened to me, I'd had panic attacks before but then a really bad one just came out of nowhere and I was scared of what would happen to me & almost went into hospital. It's completely normal during panic attacks, however i've now developed severe panic disorder after having that really bad one a few months ago :( I was really shaken . If you've been through a lot of stress recently or been through something traumatic then it isn't surprising you're having panic attacks but if you're expieriencing them a lot then i would reccomend seeing your doctor as he/she will probably refer you to a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. I'm seeing one and it's been helping me out a lot by getting to the reason why I have them and preventing them happening again. Remember though, the heart beats (palpitations) are nothing to worry about, it's just your body's response to adrenaline being pumped around your body as if it's preparing you for danger, when there is no real danger. It's not in any way dangerous, it's perfectly healthy and nobody has ever had anything bad happen to them whilst having a panic attack. I would reccomend seeing a doctor though because therapy or medication will be very helpful because when panic attacks become frequent, panic disorder is just around the corner, so it would be great if you prevent that from happening. Hope this helps :) Marzy.