Reducing frequency of panic attacks

Stevie2Sxc

Okay, for the past year I've been having, like, semi-regular panic attacks. About every 1.5/2 months I have one, ranging from just laboured breathing and a really bad tightness in my chest, to just shaking like a leaf, chest tightness, hot flashes, severe dizziness, lightheadedness, and I always end up legging it in any random direction and collapsing.

Any ways that I can stop them being so frequent, or hopefully get rid of them all together. Or at the very least stop me from having the full-blown ones where I'm convinced I'm going to die.

VisionOfClarity

Are you seeing a therapist or are you on any medication/being treated by a doctor for this?

Stevie2Sxc

No, no sort of medication or treatment at all

VisionOfClarity

Have you considered seeing a doctor? Also, are these diagnosed by a doctor or a hospital as a panic attack or did you diagnose them?

Richard_Dastardly

If they're true panic attacks, then medication and therapy are probably your best bet. Do you have health insurance?

I assume you could also carry around a paper bag just in case, but I don't know how effective that'd be.

Stevie2Sxc

A fully-fledged Doctor didn't but the first time I had a really bad one my cousin was there, who at the time was in medical school, so he diagnosed it. Didn't treat it in any way though

VisionOfClarity

Stevie2Sxc wrote: »

A fully-fledged Doctor didn't but the first time I had a really bad one my cousin was there, who at the time was in medical school, so he diagnosed it. Didn't treat it in any way though

I would suggest visiting a doctor first and foremost, preferably before your next attack. If that's not possible then make sure you get to a doctor or hospital when you have your next one. The frequency of your attacks could mean there is something more to this.

Meiz

If it's that severe, you need medication in order to manage them. Something like Cipralex for the long term and lorazepam for the short term.

Other then that, cut out caffeine and/or smoking as those make it worse.

There's behavioral therapy as well that can help in the long term.

Stevie2Sxc

I'll try and get myself checked out by a doctor as soon as possible then. Seems such an obvious thing to do when I think about it...oh well.

And call me crazy but I dunno how behavioral therapy can be of much help with stuff like this, since there doesn't seem to be anything that set them off. I could just be walking to town or something and one of em suddenly strikes. Seems purely random to be honest

Richard_Dastardly

Therapy might help you learn how to deal with the attacks themselves, but I dunno. My wife occasionally has the sort of panic attacks where she starts acting like a cat that really doesn't like baths. She pops a pill when she starts feeling the attack and it works, but she refused therapy.

Sarcastro

Any patterns to what you are thinking about when you get one? Life, future decisions, guilt?

Elin

Yes, probably far fetched but to illustrate the point of going to a doctor:

Typical heart attack symptoms

Chest discomfort or pain This discomfort or pain can feel like a tight ache, pressure, fullness or squeezing in the center of your chest lasting more than a few minutes. This discomfort may come and go.
Upper body pain Pain or discomfort may spread beyond your chest to your shoulders, arms, back, neck, teeth or jaw. You may have upper body pain with no chest discomfort.

Stomach pain Pain may extend downward into your abdominal area and may feel like heartburn.

Shortness of breath You may pant for breath or try to take in deep breaths. This often occurs before you develop chest discomfort.

Anxiety You may feel a sense of doom or feel as if you're having a panic attack for no apparent reason.

Lightheadedness You may feel dizzy or feel like you might pass out.

Sweating You may suddenly break into a sweat with cold, clammy skin.

Nausea and vomiting You may feel sick to your stomach or vomit.

My uncle actually had 3 mini heart attacks in 6 months before he saw the doctor and found out what was happening.

Stevie2Sxc

Sarcastro wrote: »

Any patterns to what you are thinking about when you get one? Life, future decisions, guilt?

Not that I can actively remember, no.

mully

Definitely go see a doctor. There are medications out there that can make these things manageable. Take some time out every day to just breathe. Remember that what's happening to you can be taken care of -- the worst thing you can do in that situation is start panicking about your panicky condition.

These are some interesting symptoms though, I've never heard of anyone trying to "leg it" away during a panic attack. I'm guessing they differ from person to person, and I only know my own symptoms. (Mine are weird, too -- my esophagus pretty much closes up.)

How long does each bout last?

Also, are you on medication for anything else? Your latter description is very similar to how I was feeling before I discovered I was on too high of a dosage of hydrochlorathiozide.

Stevie2Sxc

I'm not on any other meds, no.

And when my cousin first diagnosed it he said something like "they often make the sufferer feel like they need to escape from where they are" which would account for my random impulse to just get the hell away from wherever i might be at the time.

and the bouts get longer depending on the severity of the symptoms. Well, mostly. Usually the lesser ones are about a minutes or two, if that. The more severe ones can last about an hour, but there are times when the severe ones only last less than a minute and the minor ones last for ages.

Edilith

I've had panic attacks on and off for just over a year, and really I have to echo what everyone else has said and suggest you talk to your doctor. Though please, make sure you see a doctor you are comfortable with and who will actually listen properly to what you have to say; my previous doctor back home basically shrugged off everything I said with things like "Oh yes everyone gets like that".


My recent doctor suggested the site MoodGYM to me to try out before persuing with anything else, it's free and I must admit I found pretty good.

Ninja Edit: I get similar feelings OP, of feeling like you're going to die and that you need to get the hell away (though not to the extent of running).

Stevie2Sxc

Edilith wrote: »

I've had panic attacks on and off for just over a year, and really I have to echo what everyone else has said and suggest you talk to your doctor. Though please, make sure you see a doctor you are comfortable with and who will actually listen properly to what you have to say; my previous doctor back home basically shrugged off everything I said with things like "Oh yes everyone gets like that".


My recent doctor suggested the site MoodGYM to me to try out before persuing with anything else, it's free and I must admit I found pretty good.

Ninja Edit: I get similar feelings OP, of feeling like you're going to die and that you need to get the hell away (though not to the extent of running).

In retrospect if I think about it now running seems like the stupidest thing to do in that situation, but when those bad ones hit me all sense of logic falls under the wheels of "i'm gonna die! i gotta get the fuck outta here! now!"

Edilith

Stevie2Sxc wrote: »

In retrospect if I think about it now running seems like the stupidest thing to do in that situation, but when those bad ones hit me all sense of logic falls under the wheels of "i'm gonna die! i gotta get the fuck outta here! now!"

It may seem stupid yes, but at the end of the day in the situation you're not thinking straight and are probably chocked with adrenaline at that point in time Another small thing you might like to do is carry a (clean) paper bag around with you to breathe into, if you're able to.

Now that I re-read your original post you say you collapse as well, do you black out or grow faint from hyperventilation?

Stevie2Sxc

Edilith wrote: »

Stevie2Sxc wrote: »

In retrospect if I think about it now running seems like the stupidest thing to do in that situation, but when those bad ones hit me all sense of logic falls under the wheels of "i'm gonna die! i gotta get the fuck outta here! now!"

It may seem stupid yes, but at the end of the day in the situation you're not thinking straight and are probably chocked with adrenaline at that point in time Another small thing you might like to do is carry a (clean) paper bag around with you to breathe into, if you're able to.

Now that I re-read your original post you say you collapse as well, do you black out or grow faint from hyperventilation?

I get a bit faint but I think that's just cause I don't run very often and I'm not exactly a fit person. If I ran as hard as I did in those situations normally I'd probably collapse.

Sarcastro

Stevie2Sxc wrote: »

Edilith wrote: »

I've had panic attacks on and off for just over a year, and really I have to echo what everyone else has said and suggest you talk to your doctor. Though please, make sure you see a doctor you are comfortable with and who will actually listen properly to what you have to say; my previous doctor back home basically shrugged off everything I said with things like "Oh yes everyone gets like that".


My recent doctor suggested the site MoodGYM to me to try out before persuing with anything else, it's free and I must admit I found pretty good.

Ninja Edit: I get similar feelings OP, of feeling like you're going to die and that you need to get the hell away (though not to the extent of running).

In retrospect if I think about it now running seems like the stupidest thing to do in that situation, but when those bad ones hit me all sense of logic falls under the wheels of "i'm gonna die! i gotta get the fuck outta here! now!"

That would normal for a panic attack- its more or less the unprovoked (or overreaction of) the flight response trigger. Like a power surge on your Get the Fuck Out circuit. Pretty treatable, alls in all.