Went to the E.R last night.

[DCal430]

I was having bad arm numbness, mild chest pains, resting hear rate was 120bpm, blood pressure was 185 over 95, and strange sweating. I though I was having a heart attack. Turns out I was having a panic attack. So embarrassed.

 

[Saint Nick]

Panic attacks cause arm numbness? Were you hyperventilating?

 

[purbeast0]

did it happen in the middle of the night? sometimes i wake up having them but i know they are in my head and i control them by just breathing very slow and taking long deep breaths, then they go away.

they all started over 3 years ago when my dad died. i still get them randomly and i think it happens more when i'm stressed out. but the weird part is i don't feel stressed out most of the time even when i have them. i was having them quite often during the holiday season though.

 

[techs]

Well, as I proved about 9 months ago arm pain can be a heart attack.
Glad you are ok.

And of course:
"Don't Panic"

 

[DCal430]

Panic attacks cause arm numbness? Were you hyperventilating?

Hyperventilation is a common symptom of pannic attacks.

 

[techs]

Hyperventilation is a common symptom of pannic attacks.

Nonventilation can be a common symptom of death.

 

[HumblePie]

Buy a gun, or several. Should cure that all right up!

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Are panic attacks synonomous with anxiety attacks? I had my first attack around Sept. and it was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. My Dr. said it was stress enduced anxiety and I've been fine for the most part since. Learning how to deal with stress better has prevented me from having another attack so far. And I'm not taking any meds for it so that's a plus.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Basically, not surprised.

 

[Paulson]

I've done that before... lot of fun.

Except my resting heart rate was over 150bpm and my blood pressure was 199/110

Did they prescribe anything? I'm on citalopram and altenelol for my anxiety.

 

[Jaskalas]

Panic attacks cause arm numbness?

^This. Seems like a strange connection. Though... if it was racing your heart... then circulatory issues may certainly result, eh?

Never experienced a panic attack... wonder if I ever will. Or maybe I have but they were minor? Now I'm going to wander off and look them up.

 

[Paulson]

^This. Seems like a strange connection. Though... if it was racing your heart... then circulatory issues may certainly result, eh?

Never experienced a panic attack... wonder if I ever will. Or maybe I have but they were minor? Now I'm going to wander off and look them up.

Honestly you don't want to experience one.

They are bad... not fun at all. You essentially feel like you're dying.

 

[Saint Nick]

Honestly you don't want to experience one.

They are bad... not fun at all. You essentially feel like you're dying.

Oh yikes. :thumbsdown:

 

[Paulson]

I've had anxiety since I was in middle school... it's hereditary... didn't know I had it until the rents finally spilled the beans when I was in college.

It gets bad but if you find the right cocktail of medication and continue to do normal things you won't get stuck in your house not being able to go anywhere (almost happened to me.)

 

[Jaskalas]

Wiki

Panic attacks are distinguished from other forms of anxiety by their intensity and their sudden, episodic nature.

So they're defined by their severity. Lesser forms of anxiety don't seem to count.

 

[SandEagle]

why didn't you just go to urgent care? the ER is for emergencies only.

 

[preslove]

Buy a gun, or several. Should cure that all right up!

Wat

 

[SaurusX]

I've never had a panic attack, but I've heard that's once you've had one your body pretty much "learns" how to have them. As such, you're more likely to have another some time in the future.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

why didn't you just go to urgent care? the ER is for emergencies only.

He thought he was having a heart attack. And it's not just him, a whole lot of people mistake the symptoms for a heart attack. And if you think you're having a heart attack, you don't go to an after-hours urgent care place staffed by under-paid, overworked interns.

 

[KidNiki1]

I've never had a panic attack, but I've heard that's once you've had one your body pretty much "learns" how to have them. As such, you're more likely to have another some time in the future.

almost 2 years ago, i had the exact same symptoms as OP...except the arm numbness. thought i was having a heart attack. went to ER. next day they let me go, but no one ever said what really happened. spent the next year and a half having repeated 'episodes' where i thought i was dying, where i thought my heart was giving out and it was the end. finally talked to a different doc who looked at my chart and was like, uhhh, yeah, you had a panic attack. and all these 'episodes' are smaller ones, anxiety attacks.

i never gave much credence to panic attacks before. but never in my life have i felt such an overwhelming sense that i was dying, that i was going to leave my kids motherless, that my life was over. it was scary as fuck and having smaller versions on occasion sucks big time.

i'm getting much much better at nipping them in the bud and talking myself out of them, but sometimes i still kiss my kids goodnight and get this sudden fear that i am going to die in my sleep and never see them again.

i hate my brain.

 

[vi edit]

i never gave much credence to panic attacks before. but never in my life have i felt such an overwhelming sense that i was dying, that i was going to leave my kids motherless, that my life was over. it was scary as fuck and having smaller versions on occasion sucks big time.

Almost sounds self feeding...in that it starts...then you think you are dying...which feeds the panic...which makes the symptoms worse...which *really* makes you think are dying...which makes the symptoms even worse than they were.

Yikes. Not cool.

 

[diesbudt]

Almost sounds self feeding...in that it starts...then you think you are dying...which feeds the panic...which makes the symptoms worse...which *really* makes you think are dying...which makes the symptoms even worse than they were.

Yikes. Not cool.

Its an ugly self sustaining circle until their nerves can be calmed or tired, or medicined up.

 

[BoomerD]

Well, as I proved about 9 months ago arm pain can be a heart attack.
Glad you are ok.

And of course:
"Don't Panic"

Yer lying...everyone knows you have no heart...I think you just had a fart stuck crosswise.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

almost 2 years ago, i had the exact same symptoms as OP...except the arm numbness. thought i was having a heart attack. went to ER. next day they let me go, but no one ever said what really happened. spent the next year and a half having repeated 'episodes' where i thought i was dying, where i thought my heart was giving out and it was the end. finally talked to a different doc who looked at my chart and was like, uhhh, yeah, you had a panic attack. and all these 'episodes' are smaller ones, anxiety attacks.

i never gave much credence to panic attacks before. but never in my life have i felt such an overwhelming sense that i was dying, that i was going to leave my kids motherless, that my life was over. it was scary as fuck and having smaller versions on occasion sucks big time.

i'm getting much much better at nipping them in the bud and talking myself out of them, but sometimes i still kiss my kids goodnight and get this sudden fear that i am going to die in my sleep and never see them again.

i hate my brain.

I hear you there. I've had maybe one or two smaller attacks since, never really anything major, and def. not as debillitating as the very first one. I didn't go to the hospital that night, but the next day I went to the Dr. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest and I couldn't really move once the attack set in. My mind was racing and I was thinking all kinds of crazy, out of the blue thoughts the whole time.

 

[Abe Froman]

I've never had a panic attack, but I've heard that's once you've had one your body pretty much "learns" how to have them. As such, you're more likely to have another some time in the future.

Eventually you get to a point where worrying about having them contributes to having them and it can spiral out of control if not managed properly.

That said, realize that you can't let it run your life or ruin your day. You have to own it.