Anxiety attack? Panic Attack??!!

[Little Orc Lalung]

hi, im new here.

my name is Jeremiah Lalung. i am 20 yo. I'm from an island in southeast asia called borneo. pardon my english, i only speak english occasionally. to cut the story short, i first experienced anxiety attack three weeks ago when i was having my lunch. i thought my heart stopped for a moment, it felt like you are in a different dimension at the moment. i did not pay attention to my friend, we were having a conversation at that time. he talked, but i just pretend to listen while im worrying about my heart. after that, i return to the office feeling scared of death and my breathing is terrible. This add to my frustration as i am doing my industrial training in a factory. i want to enjoy my training. Not like this with anxiety. :(. i went to the government clinic, the doctor checked my heartbeat and i had my x-ray. she said my lungs and heart are normal. i don't know what to do now. this matter become worse when i go for workout in a gym last night. after i did some bicep curls and some cardio stuff, my heart just beats slowly and when i checked my pulse it beats slower than the clock tick. at that point, i thought i almost faint, i stand next to the counter just waiting time for me to faint (i stand there because the gym owner sits there, he can call the ambulance if i faint). but i didn't faint, instead my heart raced like im running for an olympic race. at that moment, i felt so sure that i will have a heart attack. by God's grace, i survived that night. now, i have a feeling of lump in my throat. there is a bit of heat sensation in the upper throat. (sorry my english sux). please, i dunno what to do. :(

[JohnC]

Hi Little Orc Lalung, Welcome to the forum. I am not a doctor but it sure sounds like you had a panic attack and now it has followed up with a bit of anxiety which panic attacks like to do.

[Ariella]

Yep, sounds like a panic attack to me with anxiety afterwards to me as well. Welcome to the forum, I am new as well. :) Panic attacks are horrible, sometimes I really believe I am gonna have a heart attack & sometimes my throat even tightens up while my heart feels like it's going to stop. Truely scary. I wish you luck brother!

[AliasEQ]

hi, im new here.

my name is Jeremiah Lalung. i am 20 yo. I'm from an island in southeast asia called borneo. pardon my english, i only speak english occasionally. to cut the story short, i first experienced anxiety attack three weeks ago when i was having my lunch. i thought my heart stopped for a moment, it felt like you are in a different dimension at the moment. i did not pay attention to my friend, we were having a conversation at that time. he talked, but i just pretend to listen while im worrying about my heart. after that, i return to the office feeling scared of death and my breathing is terrible. This add to my frustration as i am doing my industrial training in a factory. i want to enjoy my training. Not like this with anxiety. :(. i went to the government clinic, the doctor checked my heartbeat and i had my x-ray. she said my lungs and heart are normal. i don't know what to do now. this matter become worse when i go for workout in a gym last night. after i did some bicep curls and some cardio stuff, my heart just beats slowly and when i checked my pulse it beats slower than the clock tick. at that point, i thought i almost faint, i stand next to the counter just waiting time for me to faint (i stand there because the gym owner sits there, he can call the ambulance if i faint). but i didn't faint, instead my heart raced like im running for an olympic race. at that moment, i felt so sure that i will have a heart attack. by God's grace, i survived that night. now, i have a feeling of lump in my throat. there is a bit of heat sensation in the upper throat. (sorry my english sux). please, i dunno what to do. :(

Hey Jeremiah!

I believe that's a panic attack, if your doctor didn't find anything. Don't worry, they're not harmful or dangerous in any way. The only thing panic do is: They scare you. You get scared, real scared. They fill you with discomfort, and trick you into reacting as if you're in danger. Just focusing on breathing. Take deep breaths from the belly, not your chest.

Next time you get this feeling, keep on doing what you were doing. I also had panic attacks at the gym, like twice. First time, I got really scared and went home. I couldn't deal with it. The next time I went to the gym, it hit me again. But instead of stopping, I kept on going. I said f*ck it, if I'm going to die, then so be it. I didn't die and the panic attack was gone in like 10-20 minutes.

Elias

[Little Orc Lalung]

thanks for the support guys... now im just struggling with my breathing. i don't i have any palpitations anymore. (I believe). i need to start to thinking positive and avoid worrying thinking. i wish u the best guys.

[Ins0mniac]

Did you check your Magnesium, Vitamin D, Vitamin B6 and B12 levels? I used to have the same symptoms you have now, untill I started to take supplements. After 3 days of taking these suppelement, my daily extreme heart palpitations, chest pressure, wierd tension in head, etc... significantly decreased or completely stopped. Also don't google every symptom you have over the net, it will simply make you more paranoid than you are allready.

I would advice you to do a completely checkup with a Cardiologist (Heart Electrocardiogram, Echocardiogram, Echo-Stress test) and undergo a complete Neurological evaluation (Bloodtests and mainly the 24-hour urine test). The 24-hour urine test will indicate whether or not you have unbalanced stress-hormones (adrenaline/noradrenaline/cortisol/...), so that you will be able to even those out with homeopatic medication or supplements. You can also ask a Nephrologist to check whether or not you have some type of 'Adrenal Gland Disorder'. Adrenal glands are positioned above your kidneys and a small inflamation may cause overproduction/underproduction of certain hormones. If your condition doesn't become better after 3 weeks, I suggest you undergo a complete Sleep-Study in a clinic (they'll do an EEG, in order to look whether or not you're getting sufficiënt sleep).

Are you working out alot? Overtraining may cause low Testosterone levels overtime in some people, you might want to check that too. If one hormone isn't working properly it can create all the symptoms that you've described.

Also don't forget that none of the symptoms you're having are deadly. You'll simply feel discomfort or frightened, but never forget that you won't die from it. Breathing and heartbeat is controlled by your brainstem. You can't stop breathing or your heartbeat even if you tried to. As an example a person that holds his breath for too long may faint, but while unconcious he will still remain breathing. Hopefully this will give you some relief to your mind.

Good luck!

[Little Orc Lalung]

Did you check your Magnesium, Vitamin D, Vitamin B6 and B12 levels? I used to have the same symptoms you have now, untill I started to take supplements. After 3 days of taking these suppelement, my daily extreme heart palpitations, chest pressure, wierd tension in head, etc... significantly decreased or completely stopped. Also don't google every symptom you have over the net, it will simply make you more paranoid than you are allready.

I would advice you to do a completely checkup with a Cardiologist (Heart Electrocardiogram, Echocardiogram, Echo-Stress test) and undergo a complete Neurological evaluation (Bloodtests and mainly the 24-hour urine test). The 24-hour urine test will indicate whether or not you have unbalanced stress-hormones (adrenaline/noradrenaline/cortisol/...), so that you will be able to even those out with homeopatic medication or supplements. You can also ask a Nephrologist to check whether or not you have some type of 'Adrenal Gland Disorder'. Adrenal glands are positioned above your kidneys and a small inflamation may cause overproduction/underproduction of certain hormones. If your condition doesn't become better after 3 weeks, I suggest you undergo a complete Sleep-Study in a clinic (they'll do an EEG, in order to look whether or not you're getting sufficiënt sleep).

Are you working out alot? Overtraining may cause low Testosterone levels overtime in some people, you might want to check that too. If one hormone isn't working properly it can create all the symptoms that you've described.

Also don't forget that none of the symptoms you're having are deadly. You'll simply feel discomfort or frightened, but never forget that you won't die from it. Breathing and heartbeat is controlled by your brainstem. You can't stop breathing or your heartbeat even if you tried to. As an example a person that holds his breath for too long may faint, but while unconcious he will still remain breathing. Hopefully this will give you some relief to your mind.

Good luck!

sounds very expensive. i know money is not everything, but we need money to do all those chekup. is there any cheaper alternative?

[Ins0mniac]

The 24-hour urine for stress-hormones (adrenaline/noradrenaline/cortisol/...) is essential if your condition persists after 3 weeks.

You should however try taking supplements at first and see whether or not your condition gets better after a week or so. Get yourself Magnesium, Vitamin D, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12 supplements (these are essential and don't cost as much). Stay away from sleeping pills, but try to find some homeopatic (natural/herbs) medicine to relief mental stress, such as 'Sedistress'. "Sedistress" uses "Passiflora incarnata L" as its main ingredient, It is an extract from passionflower. You can also try 'Valerian Root' (you can find it everywhere in the world and it's cheap), a homeopatic medicine to reduce psychological stress and calm your mind.

Good luck!