Anxiety and Stress Forum - Hyperventilation Attacks

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Q: Hyperventilation Attacks

asked by: VictoriaGB on December 12th, 2008

Supporter

Hi all,

Last night I had some kind of 'attack', I burst into tears, then hit the floor flapping around like a flish and couldn't breath properly.
Breaths were very quick and short despite trying my hardest to breath properly, I couldn't stop it. I went very light headed and thought I was going to pass out when my vision went. I was also shaking and my chest was killing me. It lasted about 20 minutes and I shook for some time afterwards.

I assume what happened was hyperventilation. Possibly triggered by stress/anxiety/fear. Having spent all evening multitasking 20 things at once while looking after two puppies (one 6 weeks, one 8 months), I went to bed early feeling very stressed as usual. I came back downstairs half hour later to find my husband was in early stages of a hypo (he's type 1 diabetic), but was still conscious and flat out refusing to eat/drink anything. It was at that point it started. What made it worse was since my husbands blood sugar was low, he didn't understand what was wrong with me and was telling me to be quiet and stop making all that noise(!).

If it happens again I'll see a doctor about anything I can do to prevent it (or I may just go anyway due to the anxiety). It's happened before but only a few times throughout my life, and never that bad. Hopefully my husbands low blood sugar isn't becoming a trigger.

And yes of course I'm trying to de-stress Razz

Finding the time to do so is the difficult part.

Has anyone else suffered/dealt with this?

PS apologies if this in the wrong forum

Replies(5)

MandMs

replied on December 12th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

Hyperventilating leads to activated sympathetic nervous system, causing symptoms like rapid heart beat, dizziness, and lightheadedness which can trigger panic attacks.
Overbreathing, can be manifested as taking large volumes in, with normal speed, or, taking normal volumes with increased speed.
The anxiety and the overbreathing continue to fuel one another, leading to a continuation and possible escalation of the situation.
Usual duration of a panic attack is 20 to 30 minutes, and, are intense and sudden episodes.
Panic attacks are included in anxiety disorder.

Do you suffer from certain physiological condition?

VictoriaGB

replied on December 12th, 2008

Supporter

From what I've covered on 'breathing', the reduction in blood CO2 levels would probably be one of the main factors, decrease in hydrogen, rising blood PH and escalating into the dizziness etc.

Nope, I'm not diagnosed with anything. I saw a GP a few months back about anxiety/depression/negative thought patterns and nightmares, together with my continuous head ache I've had for the last 5 years. I was told that I just worry too much and then made it clear my appointment was over(!). The last doctor I saw about my head ache told me he didn't know what the cause was, but if I'd had it that long then I'll probably have it for life anyway. Really annoying, and shocking. I have so many symptoms now I come across as a complete hyerchondriac(sp), but it's a case of symptoms having built up over the years and nothing been fixed.

MandMs

replied on December 16th, 2008

Extremely eHealthy

Having chronic and exaggerated worry and tension is symptom of generalized anxiety disorder.
Physical symptoms that often accompany the anxiety include fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, muscle aches, difficulty swallowing, trembling, twitching, irritability, sweating, nausea, lightheadedness, having to go to the bathroom frequently, feeling out of breath, and hot flashes.
GAD rarely occurs alone, it is usually accompanied by another anxiety disorder (like panic disorder-panic attacks), and depression.
You doctor mustn't overlooked your excessive worry.
It warrants treatment.
Sometimes, anxiety can be resemble by certain physiological conditions, like heart problems, asthma, thyroid gland disorders, abnormal blood sugar levels, or even by side effects of medications.
Depression and anxiety are common causes for having chronic tension headache.

Visit a doctor!
Anxiety can be treated successfully!
Have a good day!
Marija

pslui

replied on February 6th, 2009

New User

Hyperventilation can be cured!

If you have hyperventilation please learn more about it!

It helped me a lot to understand it.....

Best regards,

Peter

wiziwig76

replied on August 21st, 2009

New User

Yes, it is so important to learn about proper breathing techniques to overcome anxiety. I found a great book called Hope and Help for Hyperventilation Syndrome that helped my immensely.

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