r/PanicAttack

I just had a suspected severe panic/anxiety attack. This was also my first ever attack in general.

When driving, I noticed that I was getting dizzy and ultimately started getting my hands locked up and my legs felt like static. From there, I parked my car in the nearest urgent care, ran in, and told them what was happening.

From there, my tongue, mouth, arms, and fingers all tensed up with increasing contort and I was barely able to speak. While feeling TV static on my face and stomach and thighs, my heart was beating out of its chest. I was scared and in a fog.

For some background context: my cat had to be unexpectedly put down on Wednesday and that’s been hitting me very hard. I picked up her ashes today. On my way back home? Boom. This happens. Out of nowhere.

Has anyone had a panic attack like this before? They made me go to ER afterwards to get blood tests which came back normal.

I’m kind of scared to sleep tonight even though they gave me 1mg of ativan. I just still feel a little strange in my heart and head.

For almost 10+ years I’ve always had a fear of restaurants. I get so worried that I’m going to get nauseous/throw up that going out to any restaurant makes me dread going. I don’t have a big appetite anyways and I easily get nauseous, but at restaurants it just gets worse. If the restaurant is empty I’m good, but if it’s crowded/ too noisy/ weird lights I get panicky and nauseous easily. I would love this feeling to go because my friends love going out to eat and trying new restaurants, but I’d just cancel most of the time because I hate going. I’m always scared of getting nauseous and it’s not only in restaurants, literally any where I go. As soon as I’m in I’m ready to order and get out of there so fast. My boyfriend and his family love going to restaurants and I’m struggling so much with this issue it’s driving me nuts.

Its 1am on the east coast and I've been having symptoms all night. Thought maybe if I jot my thoughts down it might help calm me.

I've had GAD for 7 years now. Started on Lexapro but recently switched to Zoloft, as the Lexapro no longer felt effective. I take Xanax on an as needed basis.

I had open heart surgery at infancy - so you know the health anxiety is through the roof.

I guess what I want to share is the strange shift I'm having in physical symptoms.

Typically chest pressure, restlessness, tremors and cold sweat. I never had an elevated heart rate during anxiety or panic attacks, until the last 2 months.

Especially in the early morning - like 4 to 5am. Either a bad dream wakes me up or my dog and within seconds my heart rate goes up and I'm getting shivers too.

Now its also happening during the day and its just so hard to function.

I walked outside to toss recyclables, I go back in the house and BAM heart is racing and I go into the bedroom and start box breathing. It subsides within 15 - 20 minutes. Then I just feel fatigued.

I have a heart condition so you can imagine where my thoughts start going.

I see my cardiologist every 6 months. Last year I noticed an increase in palpitations and mentioned it - I went home with a holter monitor - and nothing of concern showed up in the data.

I see him this Monday. And you bet I'm going to ask for another holter monitor.

Its just so frustrating. I go to the gym, I eat a high protein diet, I walk my dogs every day. I'm 41 and trying to do everything right for my body and mind.

Though a few months ago I had an incident at the gym - my heart rate just would not go down. I ended up at the hospital - all tests were fine. Normal EKG. Normal troponin level. Cool. I had a panic attack at the gym in front of everyone.

I'm sure being in perimenopause doesn't help things right now either.

All the 'what ifs' come pouring into my mind - I must have AFib, maybe its my thyroid, is it serotonin syndrome?

And sleep? Forget it. I feel like I'm developing insomnia now.

It's like there's no light at the end of the tunnel.

You get a handle on your anxiety and start feeling like yourself again... the meds and the therapy working together to bring balance.

And then a new trauma emerges and it's back to the drawing board.

I don't know if writing this has made me feel better - but at least now I finally feel tired. Going to try to gwt some sleep. Thanks to anyone who read this. Just needed to share thoughts with people who will understand. ❤️

Long story short, I fainted in 2021 at the mall with what doctors are saying was a panic attack that induced low blood sugar...dropped to 61 even after eating an hour before. Apparently a panic attack can cause your blood pressure or blood sugar to drop? Which I thought was suppose to be the total opposite.

Now, I'm getting them more and more often. Not fainting because I tend to leave wherever is making me feel faint and anxious before it happens. But how can I fix this?

I'm trying to eat more often but without fail I keep feeling on the verge of fainting while out. I lose all color in my face, I'm super sweaty, shakey, can barely get words out because when I talk I get closer and closer to fainting.

I'm so tired of this, I never had this issue before I first fainted. I got so much blood work even a 3 hour glucose test and all my doctor said was I need to eat every couple hours as my metabolism is probably just really fast. But the problem persists.

I keep glucose tablets in my bag and sour candy to try to shock the panic away but nothing is working. It's affecting my daily life. I need to go out and do things like get my car fixed, or go to the hair salon. But once I’m there I get the extremely faint feeling again and am so close to passing out until I finally escape and leave.

Hi all. I just got a new management position after walking out of my previous job (I had the new job before I did that, I'm not THAT dumb) and it's in the opposite direction of my house that I used to drive. And it also requires me to be there super early in the morning, which is also not something I'm used to.

Anyway, I almost had a panic attack the first time driving there early in the morning. I'm not used to the area, I didn't know where the turn was coming, and I just... I can't explain it. I started to panic. So much so that when I finally did pull into the parking lot, I felt tingles down my entire body.

That was 3 days ago. This morning driving to work, it was one of the worst panic attacks I've ever had. I was reaching my hand into my water cup to splash cold water on my face. Didn't help. I tried deep breathing for a minute. It helped for a minute, then everything came back full force. Even worse than it was. I actually thought to myself, "this is it. this is how I go". Trying to reassure myself the entire time that, no, you are in control of this vehicle. But it didn't work. By the time I got to the turnaround to get to my job, my entire body was shaking so bad that my foot wasn't making secure contact with the pedal. It's like my car was stalling - stopping and starting in crazy intervals - because I was so not in control of my muscles.

I'm scared and I don't know what to do. I'm prescribed Clonazepam for anxiety and it didn't do shit. I'm at my wits end. Am I always going to have to drive to work like this? I can't. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long, ranting post

I’m constantly dizzy, floaty, and my heart races sometimes —unsure if it’s anemia or something else

I’m not sure where to start, but I’ve been dealing with something that’s affecting my life a lot. My symptoms have been going on for years, but lately it’s gotten worse, and I’m really scared it might be my heart. Here’s what’s happening: I don’t get heart rate going high as I get up everytime as it says in pots

•	I feel dizzy all the time, but some days it’s worse than others. It feels like my head is floaty, like I’m slipping or sinking even when I’m standing still.

•	My heart races even with small movements sometimes , like getting up, bending, or doing chores. Sometimes it races after eating a little food.

•	My legs, feet, and hands get cold

•	My hands and nails look pale, and my feet are almost always cold.

•	I get shaky, jelly legs, and weak arms, sometimes even from moving my head or arms a little and I’m dizzy 

•	Certain things trigger worse dizziness: moving my head down, washing my face with water, showering, bending forward, or emotional stress.

•	I feel tired, drained, and sleepy all the time, especially at night, and sometimes even after sleeping I still feel heavy and weak.

•	My symptoms spike after emotional stress, especially arguments or fights. I get anxious, shallow breathing, and my heart races.

Some context: these symptoms started after an accident a while ago, and while some days are tolerable, other days I feel almost like I’m slipping away. I’ve noticed my dizziness is often worse in the morning, and it’s like my body reacts to everything as danger.

Getting in shower is the worst one I’m fine taking shower on a flat surface but tub ones gives me shakiness and dizziness

Putting water over my head gets me gasp for air almost like a baby when you put water and they gasp for air does my body feels that it’s danger

I’ve read that these could be symptoms of anemia, but I’m scared it might be something heart-related. My legs aren’t swollen, and most of the time the chest discomfort improves with rest, warmth, or slow breathing, but the floating, shaky, dizziness and pale feelings never fully go away.

I’m trying to figure out if this is anemia, circulation issues, vestibular/inner ear problems, or something else. I just want to feel safe and normal again.

i have pretty chronic brain fog. i don’t know if it’s caused by the medicine i take (effexor/auvelity), or just because my mind is anxious and my brain produces brain fog as a way to keep me calm.

anyway i dont know but today, i had a really bad panic attack while at work. it was more like i was panicking for almost an hour or two and i couldn’t do shit but go to the bathroom just once. 😭 after i calmed down a bit, i was still having that anxious voice in my head. it was freaking out.

however, for some odd reason, even tho i had heightened anxiety and i was trying to keep my cool during a fight or flight feeling… my mind was clear. while i was talking to customers, i was speedy with my responses. i even used a word i wouldn’t normally use when answering a customers question- because had i been dealing with brain fog, i would have dumbed down my response and used basic words to respond.

i type all this to basically ask, has anyone ever had their brain fog disappear for a bit after a panic attack? has a panic attack ever kind of reduced or removed that fog in your head?

i hope this isn’t an original experience and maybe someone else can relate or explain how this is.

anyways i’m back to brain fog and being normal hours and hours later.

I’ve been having panic attacks for years. I’ve never held a good job because of them. I get them when driving longer than 20 minutes so I need a job close to home, which is limited. When I have them I’m a complete wreck for hours and can’t function. If I take my klonopin to try and control the panic attacks then I’m too tired and need a nap. The next day after one I’m completely drained and partially bed bound.

Does anyone have recommendations of accommodations I could ask for at work?

I’ve been offered a few jobs but they’re almost an hour drive and just thinking about trying to make that commute makes me nauseous.

I’ve applied for disability and they told me my husband’s income is too high for them to approve me? Not sure what his income has to do with me being house bound but whatever.

I’m just exhausted from constantly dealing with this. I’m really over living like this and some days I can’t wait for my life to end.

Hello!

Found this subreddit, while I'm trying to "survive", my panic attack hangover, and wanted to share my story and also ask for help! :)

TL;DR at the bottom.

First of all, I'm 31M and probably in the best shape of my life, but I do care about my health a lot (maybe too much lol).

I'm not officially diagnosed with axiety, but it is strongly suggested, that I have anxiety that causes panic attacks.

I had my first panic attack roughly 6 months ago, while meeting up with my family in a store at an outlet. I got out of the car and my heart suddenly started racing while walking towards the store where my brother and his family were.

When we entered the store, I suddenly got insanely dizzy, and by the time I reached my brother, I was about to pass out. I pulled my dad's jacket and said that something is wrong.

We went outside, my heart still racing like I'd just finished a marathon. My dad told me I was pale like a ghost. So I called the ER, and after a facetime call, they wanted to check me.

They took vitals and an ECG (took 7 hours before the vitals came back lol), and everything looked great, besides the elevated heart rate, that lasted over 6 hours. It was around midnight the doctor released me, after ensuring it wasn't life threatening and he said it was probably an anxiety/panic attack.

I was a little uneasy the next couple of days, I had this strange feeling in my body, like I was drained, weak and fragile. A few days later I was perfectly fine, and I was fine for almost 6 months - until now.

5 days ago, I was sitting at the computer in my office, when suddenly it happened again out of nowhere, but somehow it was different this time, my chest felt compressed, like someone was sitting on my chest.

Calling the ER only to be number 17 in line, when I hit number 11, I almost passed out and had to call an ambulance, since I live alone, and didn't want to pass out alone.

They came, took an ECG, and everything was fine, around 100 in heart rate, and after talking about it, one of them said, "You were pale as a ghost when we arrived, but now you seem to have regained your color".

They wanted me to come with them to the ER, but I insisted I wanted to drive myself, since I was starting to put 2 and 2 together, and this seemed familiar and not lethal. (The ER is a 30 minute drive from me, so I didn't want to be stuck there, not being able to drive home).

Same as first time, vitals and ECG all perfectly fine, except an increased number of white blood cells (that also was the case the first time), but I was told it was perfectly normal, because the body has been under a lot of stress.

But this time, the anxiety didn't disappear. It is Friday night as of writing this, the attack happened Monday night. I've since had 2 mini attacks.

One yesterday while getting a back massage, I suddenly got a sharp sting in my left chest, and then my heart rate exploded, I tried calming myself, told myself it's just a panic attack, it's not dangerous and focused on my breathing. I somehow got through it, but it was hella uncomfortable, because I was lying on my stomach with my head down the donut head rest thingy, and my masseuse going crazy at my back lol.

I felt so bad, because the attack happened again, that didn't happen last time, so I got crazy anxiety.

I slept 2 hours that night, and today, I had to go to my grandmother's funeral. So I felt like shit when I woke up, while getting ready my heart rate went up and down and I felt hollow and uneasy.

When I arrived at the ceremony in the church, I felt the same feeling, insanely uneasy. Then the church bells started ringing and my heart went bat shit, as it was about to jump out of my chest. I calmed down a bit under the ceremony. Had to carry the chest to the car, but that somehow calmed me down a lot, especially when we came outside in the pouring rain.

The rest of the day, I've felt like shit. Heart rate going up and down, every ache or little pain makes my heart rate go crazy and then I feel dizzy and lightheaded.

I've also noticed that I'm really hyper sensitive to sound as of lately, the bells in the church for example, I also saw a reel on Instagram, where someone bit into a cake with a chocolate layer, that crunch sound almost made me jump up and made me feel really uneasy.

TL;DR

It's been 5 days now, and the anxiety is yet to disappear. I feel like shit.

Any recommendations? I've tried breathing deeply trough my nose and exhaling slowly out of my mouth, but that somehow makes it worse. Tried counting, kinda helps, but as soon as I stop, it's back. watching movies helps a bit, but I still get 'ultra mini attacks'.

How do you cope with this? How do you manage it? And have you tried experiencing it for 5 straight days, with mini attacks?

As of writing this, I've calmed down a bit. I took a 15mg Mirtazapine pill before writing this, it might have kicked in. Funny mention: I started taking Mirtazapine before my very first panic attack 6 months ago, but not for anxiety, my doctor prescribed it to help me sleep and feel more rested, because I've been drained the last 5 years, even with 10 or 12 hours of sleep, always tired.

The very first day after I didn't take Mirtazapine, I had my first panic attack ever. I stopped Mirtazapine completely like 4 months ago, but could Mirtazapine maybe be connected to why I started having panic attacks in the first place?

Sorry for the long post lol, hopefully this will help others after me also.

Thanks in advance!

I was wondering if you could share things/tips which helped you deal with/overcome trauma?

i’ve lost my dad suddenly and seeing him die in front of my eyes has really hurt me, i tried therapy and taking meds now (lexapro) but im not sure if it’s helping me much. so any positive story would help.

So, my heart started racing and pounding but went on for hours, then everything started scaring me. I was trying to go to bed and when I’d close my eyes I felt like I was being consumed into darkness and thought my vision was going out. The panic loop because of my strong heart beat was scaring the shit out of me and eventually I fell asleep. Does anyone else get a pounding heart that lasts for hours? Is there anything I can do?

I had a panic attack last night after starting lexapro and woke up with a racing heart. I felt better though our day but now that I’m at work I feel dissociated, out of it / tingly / lightheaded or slow ? and I’m trying to not have a panic attack. I work in restaurant so it’s pretty fast paced and I just would like some advice pls. My heads also pounding which I’m assuming is from panic attack so I took advil

I had my first panic attack three months ago during a stressful week at work, and it was quite extreme which I believe is because it was my first one and I didn’t know what was happening, I thought I was dying as I read many people feel.

While it was really traumatic, I felt normal the next day and was fine for ages, just thinking it was a once off stress thing.

I’ve had two since then (three in total) both of which have been in the last fortnight, so after my first one I actually didn’t get one for three months.

The first one I had recently wasn’t as bad as the very first one months ago because I immediately knew what was happening, and I tried my best to keep positive and calm. For me, it’s purely a sudden physiological adrenaline spike with no warning, and the mental aspect is just how I react/spiral to the uncomfortable physical symptoms. The worst part for me is the uncontrollable shaking I have for about an hour after that initial adrenaline dump. I was getting in my head about it because I felt like the shaking wasn’t getting better and was lasting a long time and started to make myself feel worse mentally and physically which wasn’t pleasant. I then had virtually no appetite and in fact nausea at the thought of food for 2-3 days after this and was extremely tired needing to sleep a lot. I also felt extremely anxious particularly when it got dark at night. I felt back to normal within a week though but I had a really messed up ‘hangover’ after that one which was new for me.

Just as I was feeling back to normal for a couple of days, and it had been over a week since the last one (appetite back, fear and anxiety had subsided) it happened again. I was laying in bed on my phone and felt the adrenaline dump hit me and my heart rate instantly escalated. I immediately sat up and very calmly did breath-work for 5 minutes or so and was feeling very calm mentally despite my heart rate still up there. Then the shakes set in about 10 minutes post adrenaline dump as usual which was uncomfortable but I was able to stay calm and just joke to my partner about how annoying and uncomfortable it is. About 20 minutes in, I decided to try Propranolol 10mg as my heart rate was around 100-120 still, which my doctor had given me as an emergency med, never had it before. It took probably close to an hour to start working (Or, perhaps the attack naturally subsided by then anyway?) however this time I noticed my shakes went away first, and the the heart rate went down after. Usually the shakes are the last thing to go. Today (the day after) I feel completely fine and not particularly worried about it happening again because last night seemed manageable and not scary, just uncomfortable. I wonder if the Propranolol actually somehow prevented the hangover I felt from the last one because I feel absolutely fine today.

Every panic attack I’ve had so far has been at home, at night around 10-11pm right before bed. Once the shaking stops and my heart rate starts to get back to normal I can finally lay down and I get to sleep super easy as I’m exhausted after it.

Now getting to the point - Other than that first panic attack I had (stressful week at work, overworked etc), I really have no idea WHY I am getting panic attacks. I wonder if there are other people feeling this way and just feeling super fixated on needing to find some sort of root cause. Perhaps I need to accept that there isn’t one. They seem to hit me out of no where when I’m at rest and calm at night, but I’m not really anxious or extremely stressed during the day at work or anything. I see a lot of people on here seem to get panic attacks from a build up of anxiety and fear which makes sense, but for me they just hit me randomly.

Is it just because I had that first panic attack that it’s switched something in my body/brain that makes me far more sensitive to the day to day micro stressors of life? Even then, it makes no sense to me why I had that first one months ago, then nothing for 3 months, then two in a fortnight. Really weird.

I have a bunch of deficiencies which were only checked after my first panic attack - iron (ferritin), vit D, and B12 (fixed via injections now) so I wonder if that has something to do with it. Have been supplementing Iron and vit D for 3 months now.

Also, if anyone has any medication recommendations I should speak to my doctor about for an emergency med that might be better / faster onset than Propranolol, I would love to hear what works for you. Waiting 40 minutes or so for it to start working wasn’t ideal.

I don’t really fear having another panic attack (and I try not to) but I do worry that if they started happening during the day while working, or outside of the house, that it’ll make me spiral and feel out of control. I’ve been lucky they’ve only happened at night at home so far…