What are YOUR panic attacks like?

[akredlin]

I realize everyone has different panic attack symptoms, just wondering what yours are? And how long do yours usually last?

[Dahila]

Hi welcome to the forum, read please awesome threads we have. I have anxiety for over 30 years and had not have two the same panic attacks:)
http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?1200-Anxiety-Symptoms-The-List&highlight=symptoms+anxiety

[rhar]

I no longer have panic attacks but I do have constant anxiety on verge of panic attacks.. Starts with sweaty palms, a feeling of unreality and I have constant dizziness... I also find it hard to catch my breath and can't concentrate on the simplest of things which can sometimes even be doing the dishes!!!

[Dahila]

rhar are you on medication?

[willheal]

I've been getting panic attacks usually when I lay down and they make me jump up. If I'm really tired I feel like I get stuck in a hypnagogic state that I can't wake up from and it makes me run out of the bedroom & I feel like I can't stop myself. It's just pure fear, and I don't really notice anything other than that when it happens. It only lasts a couple of minutes for me though. I've had worse in the past.

My generalized anxiety has been getting a bit worse. It's been really bad insomnia, medical phobias and obsessions, some slight dizziness, rapid heartbeat. If I was able to sleep normally this probably would go away.

I'm pretty bad in the mornings, gets better in the afternoon, and comes back really strong in the evenings, kinda like clockwork. The little bit of absolute peace I get in the afternoons is bliss. The bad feelings creep back slowly around 4.

As far as mood goes I'm getting a little bit better. I'm able to take care of stuff on my own again so I don't feel as helpless as I did.

[jen123]

I've been diagnosed with GAD for 9 years now and every now and again I think I have beat it, completely anxiety/panic free, then all of a sudden its back, seemingly out of nowhere. The latest panic attack, for which I am now on medication, his me completely out of the blue whilst at work one morning. I felt my heart go funny, sort of skip beats, I had a tightness round my whole head and felt like I was going to pass out. I felt like I couldn't breathe properly, went hot and sweaty and had to go outside. Then I had a sensation never felt before by me, my left hand side went tingly. I was convinced I was going to die. I got a colleague to take me to A&E, that's how convinced I was. For about an hour I had panic attack after panic attack, one after the other. Just as I felt I was coming out the other end of a panic attack another would hit. It was the most frightening panic attack I have ever felt. The A&E doctor did ECG and took bloods, did a glucose test and sent me for a chest x-ray which all came back normal (although he did say there was an indication of a slight viral infection in blood). It shook me up so badly that I went to my own GP the following day and asked to be put back on my medication, Citalopram, which I had not taken for 2 1/2 years. I feel like I have let myself down having to go back on meds. The side effects are awful, but I know they won't last very long.

[Anne1221]

Well, don't feel like you let yourself down! If I could control my anxiety by sheer will, I would do it. I was getting so much better so in March I decided to get off my Lexapro completely. Not a good idea! so what I do now is take as little as possible.

[Jgirl-73]

Mine seem to be strictly in my head. What I mean is, I very rarely have physical symptoms anymore. I lost my fear of heart pounding, shaking, hands going numb, hyperventilating, etc. Now I'm mostly nervous throughout the day and if I focus too much on that, then I have a horrible sense of dread and despair that comes over me. It's brief, but scares the crap out of me every time! I'm on Zoloft. Not quite a week of 100 mg's. Frankly, I'm wondering if I'll ever feel normal. I was feeling better on 75 but doc wanted me on 100. I upped the dose last Thursday and haven't been anxiety free since. I'm leaving on a huge trip tomorrow and I'm worried about it too. Worries I'll panic and not sleep. :(

[rhar]

No, no medication dahlia

[free808]

My primary symptom was nausea. And if I stayed in that situation or as the time for the stressful event drew closer, the nausea would intensify to the point where I felt like I needed to leave IMMEDIATELY. Then if I didn't leave, I'd feel like I'm going to throw up...sometimes it would be so strong that I couldn't even move an inch...like if I so much as raised my arm I would just barf all over myself.