My first panic attack was while i was in the military during training. I started hyperventilating, got very dizzy, about passed out, and could barely breathe. Everyone has different degrees and symptoms of panic attacks. My mom just gets light headed and cant concentrate at all. Mine, I get dizzy, hyperventilate, i get so out of it to the point when people say something to me i cant respond, my heart races, and i feel like im scared of something that i dont know what it is. its a definite possibility you are, but i would go to a doctor or a psychiatrist to see if you do.

i have suffered from panic attacks for around 5 years now... they really destroyed my life for a while because i let them. i didnt know what a panic attack was and was convinced i was dying for over a year, finally i realized what it was and started being able to put my life back together. what you are describing sounds just like some of the symptoms i get from it, however i am not a doctor so you never know. what i would say though is wether it is or isnt panic attacks you need to go see a doctor. if it is please get in to a doctor and get medication or help. there are many different medication options and many of them still leave you very functional dont worry you wont be like a zombie all the time plus give a medication a chance your first 2 or 3 times taking it it might affect u a bit more strongly then after u get used to it, once u get used to it u hardly notice you are on other than not haveing panic attacks. deppending on what your doctors reccomend and what u like as well u can even take them just on an as need basis as well in case your like me and dont like to have to take a medicine everyday you can just take it when symptoms start to show up. i recomend going with your doctors advice on this though. take what he recomends he may want to start you on something daily to get you going in a good direction! so as i said i highly recomend u seek out your doctor as soon as possible, dont put this off if it is not panic attacks then u deffinately should see a doctor for this, and if it is still you need to get this diagnosed and taken care of, dont do what i did and allow anxiety/ panic attacks to rule your life for any longer than neccesary !! u can overcome this just make sure u get started sooner than later! good luck, and hope this help feel free to reply and let me know if this helps u at all or how things go if u see a doctor!

i saw a doctor. he gave me celexa and it made my symptoms a LOT worse! now i am afraid to try medication for panic attacks/panic disorder/anxiety...

i am not familiar with celexa is it an anti depresent/ anti anxiety taken daily? if so i recently started lexapro and let me tell you the first 2 weeks was hell... i mean i had such bad attacks i called an ambulance, and although not everyone has that reaction( i have many friends that have got on it sucessfully almost always with a bit of discomfort but not like mine, and previous to that one i tryed paxil like 3 years ago and had severly worse symptoms, but i have to tell you im on lexapro now and it does help i have been for almost 6 months and i am finally able to lead a relatively normal life again. the only reason i tell you my bad stories is because i also stayed away out of fear of them after a bad experience however thats part of the reason there are many variations out there and although it might not me ideal going through some discomfort in finding what is right for you, in the end i assure you it is worth it to move past this obstacle in your life. another option you might want to ask your doctor about is getting something to take on an as needed bassis. for example i take clonazepam ( aka klonopin) only when im having attacks, tehre are many oprtions similar to that to help as needed such as xanax zoloft valium etc. if you have had problems with an anti depressent like celexa there are 2 things you can do that could help both involve seeing your doctor again. one is to get a drug as i said for as needed use another is to talk to your doctor about getting on one of those trying it and seeing how you react to to make sure you are comfortable with it, then getting introduced to a new daily drug to take such as trying celexa again or going to lexapro ( a pharmacist friend of mine recomends that one in particualr as virtually no one has strong side efffects to it) and taking your as need drug once a day or so as your body adjusts to the new daily drug you are taking. honestly almsot everyone i know has had some sort of unplesant reaction to the daily drugs in general so you should be prepared for it ( most are very mild, such as just a general felling of spacieness or something) but after a couple weeks of being on it your body adjusts and you dont generally have side effects anymore and you can probably begin to just take that drug in particular without your as needed one. the bottom line is i spaced those out over the course of 5 years because whenever i tried something and had any adverse reactions i would be scared to try again for a long time but there is help there and it might take a few tries to find it. i recomend when you first try something new do it with someone who you are very comfortable with who knows your problem so that way if you start feeling bad you have someone to help you through. also make sure you have a doctor you are comfortable discussing it with and dont be scared to try until u find something right for you. i also want to say as a closing note in my experience the as needed ddrugs like xanax or klonopin work miracles. when you start feeling bad you take it and are almost instantly relaxed. and with those sort of as needed drugs i have never had the same adverse reactions as i did with daily drugs so it might be good for you to try so u can rebuild some confidence in taking medication again. they might make u a bit spacy your first 2 or 3 times taking it so try to not have to drive untill u get used to the effects or see how it effects you but overall after a few times you feel very normal just relaxed. it took me taking those as needed to get on y daily drug, and although now i still have the perscription for them i have not taken one in months my daily drug as said has helped significantly after i got over the side effects. sorry for the long post but i hope this helps, and good luck! go see your doctor again and get it taken care of!

I have had anxiety disorder and panic disorder for a year now. It all started back in April 2008 after one night of heavy drinking and smoking cigarettes (no longer smoke and cut back on drinking). For about a month prior to my first attack, I had been feeling really down about a relationship, had a lot of pressure from school and stress about work. Then my first attack occurred when I was hungover. I had it for four months straight. Dr. prescribed Paxil but I never took it. I seemed to have this under control. After about four straight months of frequent panic attacks--in which my symptoms were unexplained fear, cold flashes, some trembling, tingling of fingers and toes, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, dry throat, occasional nausea, lightheaded, feeling of severe nasal congestion--I experienced a period of 3 months in which I was almost absolutely anxiety and/or panic attack free. Then I got a panic attack again in November and have had occasional ones since then. In fact, even new symptoms developed. I now get occasional tension headaches (severe) which coupled with anxiety completely throw me out of sync and make it difficult for me to work with out missing. I had been feeling anxiety but had not had a panic attack for about the last 3 months straight, until tonight. I will like to add that back in December of 2008, another Dr. prescribed Celexa but I had a weird reaction. It wasn't allergic reaction, but the medicine made my symptoms a lot worse after just one dose. I was rushed to the ER. There they told me not to take it anymore and gave me Ativan. I took about 30 of those pills in about a month and half. They just made me feel drugged up--numb. I still felt the pressure on chest, and still had some difficulty breathing. I decided to stop taking the med. I heard it can be very addicting. I would like to know how to get rid of this alleged panic disorder and anxiety. I used to feel stressed about school but never reacted to this extreme. If it is my environment, well, I cannot quit my job and I plan to get a higher degree. I have been trying to control this without medication. However, I would try something if it will help. I am just afraid to try it, given my scary reaction to Celexa. I have been referred to behavioral health, but before seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist, one must see therapist first. He insists that psychiatrist will not give me anything different than the Ativan. He claims I will only get Zanax, which is almost the same. Furthermore, he claims that I may not have panic attacks. He thinks there might be something physically wrong with me. He thinks the congested sensation and the difficulty breathing even while on Ativan are unusual. He suggested having my heart checked out. I did, it came out normal. I've even stopped seeing the therapist--only met him twice. Usually after panic attack, in which I was seeking help. He just felt that seeing the psychiatrist was unnecessary. I need some advice. I want to get rid of this.

i deffinately understand being worries about trying a new medication, and am also familiar with that numb drugged up feeling, i would say though that often times that that is a dose that is higher than necessary. i think one thing that is a problem ( and plz correct me if i am wrong i dont mean offense) is i dont see you getting good medical attention, from your therepist or from your doctor. just from what you have told me they seem willing to put u on meds wich is good i guess although i do think doctors do that way to easily these days, but i havent heard the comunication between u and them i would want. i know for me one thing that kind of sold me on it was the fact that my doctor was willing to really and continually ( i needed the reafirmation) explain to me the benefits of these things, and to listen to what i didnt like about one and adjust dosages or recomend another similar drug. for instance i tried a few diferent anti anxiety drugs teh first couple made me more spacy than i wanted by far then i tried xanax and i was happy with it for a while (maybe a year of occasional use) but eventually i realised it gave me a bit of a numb feel and i tried klonopin, wich the first couple times i took it deffinately gave me a bit of a buzzed feel (not in a bad way kind of a mini high) but i didnt feel numb and after taking a few times i no longer got the buzzed feeling at all really, so i setteled on being able to take that. i went for almsot 3 years after a while with no attacks untill last summer then it started all back up again and by the beggining of this year my doc had me talked into taking a daily suplement wich in my case is lexapro ( wich i hear has much lower adverse reactions than any other although i am not a medical prefesional so i could be wrong but its worth asking about) honestly it was hard to get on it for the first 2 weeks for me but for most its just mildly uncomfortable i on the other hand being way to overthinking drove myself nuts lol. but i havent had to take anything else for months now jsut that once a day and i feel compleately normal so i guess i would reccomend it and say its worth it. overall i do think it is something you will have to look out for the rest of your life. there will be times it is better maybe years and years but also times you will struggle i have this as well. but i would say either spend more time disscussing your options with your doctor or find one that will be happy to do that with you. many doctors these days just hand out ativan or xanax like candy and it does do th job if you dont really care about the numbness or overly spacy feelings wich most people dont, however any good physician should know about other options and be willing to really discuss what is going to be best for you. also one thing i do personally, is even if i have an as needed drug like my klonopin i dont take it unless it really becomes neccessary ( ie. i am driving or its got really really overwhelming ) i try to pull myself out of it without medication whenver possible, wich actually ends up being most of the time. i drink white tea wich from what i hear has chemicals that help relax u and give a positive mental state. also i have certin movies that greatly help me ( mainly the shrek series ) wich it can be hard to watch at first but if you just drink tea and force yourself to watch, maybe elevate your feet honestly it may be passing in no time at all, a big part of it at least for me is distracting myself from myself i need to stop thinking about my breathing or being scared of dying or wahtever it may be and i find a movie that is happy a little bit smart and a bit funny not to dramatic or overbearing will suck me in enough to distract me wether i want it to or not. not always right away but as i said drink some tea and make yourself try to watch it and eventually you will realize you have been watching it not just trying to and that your not anxious anymore. also for cars or whatever esle when a tv isnt handy have some music wich does the same thing for you. in my case mazzy star works wonders, and willie nellson does me well (i know its a big difference ahah) but whatever it is just find those soothing things in your life you can do to help break the funk and the as needed meds shouldnt be nearly as needed but if you have a few days where ya need them dont be scared to take them either. anyways i hope my rediculously long rambling posts are some help to you : ) im still figureing it all out too!! but as i said i have managed to find some peace with this. and i hope you do to!!!

When I first started on Celexa, I had the tingly arms/body weird feelings, but after about a week they went away. But when I get these attacks, the tingliness makes me feel like that first week that I started the celexa

ARE YOU ON YAZ?

What is yaz?

Hi,
Those are some of the symptoms of a panic attack. When you feel like that, just start doing breathing exercises, it works, you can learn how to be in control, it just takes practice. even when you are not having an attack, you can practice breathing exercises.

Thank you.

Those are certainly some of the symptoms of a panic attack, however you will need to provide a little more information. Try having a look at panic treatments for a detailed play by play of a Panic Attack. It will explain what you are feeling and why you are feeling it. Perhaps that may shed some light on what you are experiencing. Good luck.

I have ruined most of my life with severe panic attacks.
It gets to the point where I feel like Im going to pass out right in the floor! I get hot and it feels like my face is on fire and my head is cold and everything gets numb and ploop.. out.
Or almost out.
You have anxiety, and so do I!!
I am NOT taking any medication for it and I don't plan on it either. I was on several different things and they wore me down.
I am not seeing a doctor either, I have managed to get my emotions under control. It took my 1 year to figure out how to control it but now Im loosing the battle.
I am a pill phob but now I have no choice but to take pills to regulate my periods. Its very scary and I don't know whats going to happen to my body. I haven't take a single pill in 4 years!
The best thing I can tell you... get a brown paper bag and keep it with you at all times.
When you breath too deeply it makes you feel light headed, then your gonna feel like your gonna pass out.
When you start to get the anxiety feelings, ask yourself this.... WHO AND WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND YOU?
Look around, if no one is there and no one is bothering you and nothing is happeneing than say that to yourself!
Nothing is happneing, no one is around, and I am just fine!! I need to center myself and calm down. Count to 10 and breath slowly.
Im sorry you have this, its not fun to deal with.
If you need help, I am here. My IM is available I think. Or just send me an email!