Did I develop panic disorder overnight?
Posted , 7 users are following.
Hello All! I am hoping someone can give me some sort of relief. I am 30 years old and have never been diagnosed with anxiety. A week ago I ended up in the ER resulting from an episode that happened out of nowhere at 3 AM. I felt an impending doom feeling, SOB/air hunger, sweating, chills, vomiting, nausea, shaking, weak, fatigue, tachycardia, HTN. Everything lab wise was normal and they said I had a panic attack. I went home and went to sleep and the next day I woke up with a persistent air hunger feeling....its Day 7 and this feeling of breathlessness has never gone away. In the past week I have acute onset of symptoms that can last as little as 30 min to over an over. I've experienced chest pressure, tachycardia, HTN, rib pain from air hunger, lightheaded/dizzy, hearing loss/white spots vision, impending doom feeling, dry throat/mouth, sweating, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, hoarse voice, dry cough, throat tightness/lump in throat/feeling like throat closing/difficulty swallowing, pressure behind eyes, focal headaches, fatigue, excessive yawning, shaky/weak, orthopnea, loss of balance, and numbness/tingling. Could I seriously have developed panic disorder over night? I feel like something is seriously wrong and even said my goodbyes to my kids and husband. Am I going crazy?! The persistent air hunger 24/7 is so uncomfortable. Someone help!
0 likes, 7 replies
james49527 ashleyDRN
Edited
hi, sorry to hear what you are going through. That is exactly how my anxiety and panic attacks started 8 years ago, i was playing darts with my brother and out of nowhere i couldn't breathe( thought i was dying). I went hospital and all test were fine. I am now on meds which i changed 2 weeks ago and i am back at square one really struggling with my health anxiety. Hope you feel better soon.
jan34534 ashleyDRN
Edited
I am so sorry you are going through this. I know how scary panic attacks can feel. I’ve had anxiety since childhood and I am most likely way older than you. So I’m definitely a veteran of anxiety and panic.
One thing I really want you to remember is that these panic attacks are not harmful even though they are really scary. it’s an excess release of adrenaline which will eventually wear off during a panic attack. And yes you can feel many different sensations after a panic attack.
you are absolutely not going crazy and you’re not going to die! So many people feel that way but it never happens.
you didn’t suddenly develop panic attacks overnight. There’s always an underlying anxiety that may just be simmering for a very long time or a short time. some people aren’t even aware that they have that underlying anxiety. Then all of a sudden it just lets loose into panic along with all of the sensations.
when I was in my late 20s this happened to me and I had every single one of your sensations. Back then nobody was using Internet so I felt like I was the only one in the world with this and I was terrified! All my testing came out normal.
I did have long-term anxiety prior to this but I never had any physical sensations. What happened is that my body just broke down from underlying anxiety and stress. The body can only take so much before it has a breakdown. Anxiety and stress tend to show symptoms in the nervous system so that’s why people get so many different sensations.
please know that you are going to be OK. You may need some counseling to help manage this. virtual counseling works great for this.
when you feel panicky and short of breath, it’s really important to breathe properly to lower the heart rate and relax. YouTube has some great meditations for in the moment panic that will calm you down. just take one day at a time, breathe, relax your mind as much as you can. There’s also great anxiety meditations on there. I still do these and they help a lot.
feel free to private message me anytime! ❤
ashleyDRN jan34534
Posted
What are you taking for every day anxiety? My PCP gave me PRN Hydroxyzine to hold me over the weekend until I can get in to see her Monday to discuss these issues further.....I'm not a fan of taking medications 🙄
Imsoimportant ashleyDRN
Posted
i am in my 40s and had anxiety since 27. maybe younger , but i was too busy raising 2 kids, going to school and working a full time job. fast forward , i had my first anxiety attack which was triggered by an argument with my ex . (anxiety attack more than likely have a trigger that you are aware of. a panic attack does not have to have rhyme or reason or any trigger). I took paxil first , for 3 days. made me sick. never took medication again until 40. got on lexapro . it made me sick at first to my stomach but i hung on and was on it for 3-4 months. i felt so good. i came off cold turkey. Lived life , had attacks randomly, high stress but kept on pushing. weeks i would feel spacey , dizzy , tired and light headed . kept pushing . im too busy. working, buying homes, got married, kids grown, lost alot of loved ones , kept pushing. last week i had the worst panic attack of my life!!! at a supermarket food shopping. legs got weak, hyperventilaing, pulse at 130 and passed out. i had taken hydroxzine that morning. (i just got it 2 weeks before ) . it was a bad attack. i was taken by ambulance from the store. i have zero heath issues besides anxiety. i say all of this to say, please get help. dont end up like me. Dont let the anxiety morph into panic disorder which i now have. i havent left my house since. i found a good psychiatrist, (after seeing 4 in a week and wasnt satisfied). she gave me 2 mg valium 2 times a day and zoloft. i swear i feel like a new person. its only been almost 2 weeks. i stopped smoking cigarettes, and though i was never a real drinker, stopped that and coffee as well. for the first time in years I feel like myself. do what you need to do to get well. the medicine works. I am also seeing a therapist and learning CBT. i plan to do accupnucture also. maybe down the line i will ween off the medicine when i learn other coping skills. but for now, the medicine restored my life . 27 to 45 i took 3 months worth of medicine because like you, i dont like medication. please dont let the anxiety take over u
jan34534 ashleyDRN
Edited
I’m not taking anything right now. most of the ones for anxiety are not meant for long-term usage anyway. But I would definitely take something for an acute anxiety episode or panic attack just to take the edge off. some doctors will prescribe a low dose of Xanax, valium, . I know people who swear by CBD oil for anxiety but I haven’t tried it myself.
I really try to bring down my anxiety with exercise, breathing exercises, meditation, working on altering how I think about things and staying positive.
md_abdul78822 ashleyDRN
Posted
All those symptoms which u mention almost 99% I had that during panic attacks ..... ..... In year 2014 I was driving from office to home suddenly without any symptom I get started SOB then dizziness then shaking of body I told to my friend may be I got an heart attack I try to stop the car on bridge but traffic behind me didnt make to stop the car so that way my mind get divert then I continue driving the car that day I get know that it was my first Panic Attack and this is how Panic Attack started then after that with the treatment I am controlling it. It is not gone still I do get panic attacks but I learn the way to control it and still I do take tablet I think it will be thr with us whole life only thing is that we need to know how to control it .... Dont be panic you are not alone just get treated and important is learn how to control it ......