Nocturnal Panic Attack...

[mylittledemon]

Anyone ever had one?

[David]

Anyone ever had one?
It can be scary because you might think you're having a heart attack, or that you can't breathe, or something. Sometimes people even call 911.

The composer Schumann sometimes had nocturnal panic attacks.
He ended his days in an asylum, drawing pictures with his poopoo.

[mylittledemon]

Went to the dr. today after my little bout last night. That has NEVER happened to me before. I've never felt anything like that. I thought I was losing my mind, felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin. Evidently this "panic attack" is what I was diagnosed with. Bizarre. Looks like I'm losing my marbles.

[David]

Went to the dr. today after my little bout last night. That has NEVER happened to me before. I've never felt anything like that. I thought I was losing my mind, felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin. Evidently this "panic attack" is what I was diagnosed with. Bizarre. Looks like I'm losing my marbles.Sorry to hear that, demon. I know millions of people occasionally suffer these anxiety (or panic) attacks, & millions of people are sometimes even diagnosed with anxiety disorder & given medication for it.

Can you pinpoint anything you've been dwelling on mentally? Your move Down Under? Your dad's death? Career? Anything?

[mylittledemon]

Can you pinpoint anything you've been dwelling on mentally? Your move Down Under? Your dad's death? Career? Anything?

All of those things, yes. Dr. says I'm probably just overwhelmed.

[estranged4life]

I can understand the feeling of being overwhelmed. Trust me, My life has been pure hell since that night of Wednesday October 22nd (Lucky me, I get to lay flowers on two graves this weekend both with that #$%^&* date of Oct.22 listed as date of death)

My sense of humor and cynical ways (My grief counselor, who has a PhD in Psychology says I am the MOST cynical person alive, but yet I am the most realistic person at the same time) have kept me alive since Debbie left this existence.

I hope my sense of humor helps this coming weekend (Memorial Day will be bad, but the day before would have been our 16th anniversary...My first Memorial Day without my loved one).

Just hang in there and try to find positive ways of looking at life.

[GypsyJas]

I never suffered from panic attacks before I was 24, but they seemingly came without a warning and I still get them years later. Different people have different symptoms, and I seem to get them while driving (although I doubt the reason for my attacks has anything to do with cars).

What are your symptoms?

[mylittledemon]

Well i woke up around 2am in a sweat. I felt like it was hard to breathe. I tried to calm down but my mind kept focusing on these really odd thoughts...as if I was still in a dream and I couldn't control what I was thinking. It was an extremely bizarre feeling. Like I wanted to crawl out of my own skin and jump out the window...haha...scary I know...After about 10 minutes I finally got out of bed and went into the bathroom. I just tried doing some routine stuff to take my mind off it. It took about an hour or so before I was able to get back in the bed.

[iamnotafraid]

Dr. says I'm probably just overwhelmed.

I hope you'll get over this problem littledemon.
The only advice I would give you, is to be very
careful with the medications the Doc's will give
you. Be sure to read up on anything they prescribe
for you. Know what you're taking.

[mylittledemon]

I hope you'll get over this problem littledemon.
The only advice I would give you, is to be very
careful with the medications the Doc's will give
you. Be sure to read up on anything they prescribe
for you. Know what you're taking.

Hey, yeah he offered a prescription which I refused. I don't like taking medication. if this becomes a recurring problem, then I'll think about it.

[LngPrmsdRd]

Wow...well I've never had a panic attack wake me up like that, but I have had many panic attacks in the past. When I started getting them, I was severely overwhelmed and pretty much on the edge of a nervous breakdown, and they'd have triggers, like a song or even a scent that brought on a certain memory, etc. I would get them extremely frequently (like once a week or so, occasionally more).

Over the years things have gotten better, and I only get them now once in a blue moon (maybe 1 or 2 a year). They don't have specific triggers anymore, but if I'm feeling stressed or getting overwhelmed and I don't make the effort to calm myself the heck down *fast*, one will happen. However, the last one was brought on by me stressing myself out *about* being stressed out, lol...so apparently, it's also important not to worry too much about them!

They're absolutely terrifying things aren't they? The feeling of being totally unable to concentrate (on anything but those really strange thoughts, anyway) is so freaky. But...a LOT of people have them. And...now that you know what they are and what they feel like...focus on the fact that you got through that one, and you can get through it again if you happen to have one. Don't freak yourself out about them or worry that they might recur. Just concentrate on dealing with the stresses in your life instead of letting things build up, try to relax when you can, and know that if it happens again, well, you're stronger than it and it will pass. That's not any sort of expert advice of any kind, for the record, lol... That's just speaking from 8 years of experience, and going from near-constant attacks to the occasional "oh, damn, happened again" occurance.

And re: meds... I don't like taking stuff either, and I never have. Granted, when they were at their worst, I maybe *should* have... But the side effects of those things can be 10 times worse than what they are supposed to treat (up to and including *worsening* of the attacks!). As you said, if they become a recurring problem, it might be worth looking into... But it sounds like they're just a byproduct of too much going on in your life at the moment, and that will get better with time.

...Wow, sorry...this became a lot longer than I intended...! :o Best of luck to you, hang in there!

[SuzeQuze]

Yeah it's your thoughts and in this case your dreams that bring them on, although you may not even be fully aware of them. It helps to read about the problem. I had panic attacks for the first time 10 years ago when I was planning a wedding that I was ambivalent about. It forced me to take a hard look at what was going on in my life and take the reigns.

I think you are going through so much and easing up on yourself may help. Also, don't sweat the small stuff, and everything is small stuff. If you take your fears to the end result it takes away their power. Honestly that book helped me so much with panic because it is so simple. http://www.amazon.com/Sweat-Small-Stuff-Stuff-ebook/dp/B000FC1VX8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242830833&sr=8-2 Also, I never have panic attacks now.

[chiliD]

4mg of Lorazepam works wonders. :nod:

[BTFLCHLD]

The composer Schumann sometimes had nocturnal panic attacks. He ended his days in an asylum, drawing pictures with his poopoo. comforting. :p

Went to the dr. today after my little bout last night. That has NEVER happened to me before. I've never felt anything like that. I thought I was losing my mind, felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin. Evidently this "panic attack" is what I was diagnosed with. Bizarre. Looks like I'm losing my marbles.

Considering this is your first time, I would wait to see what happens before accepting dr.quickdraw's diagnosis.

Brandon, I hope you feel better soon.
I think I know what you may be suffering from...
I shall send my diagnosis to you via PM for maximum :laugh: :xoxo:

[wheart]

Went to the dr. today after my little bout last night. That has NEVER happened to me before. I've never felt anything like that. I thought I was losing my mind, felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin. Evidently this "panic attack" is what I was diagnosed with. Bizarre. Looks like I'm losing my marbles.

I used to get them when I was around 12 years old, right before I went to sleep. I would start to shake and sweat and feel very nauseated. They went on for almost a year and then just mysteriously vanished. Not fun at all. I think I began to bring them on myself because I was so worried about having one. Eventually I started listening to talk radio (weird, I know) before I went to sleep and that got my mind off my craziness and they eventually stopped. I remember those first few nights when I was able to fall asleep without an attack, it was such a relief. Anyway, I hope you're feeling better! Take care

[jannieC]

Hey Brandon,

I am inclined to think this was NOT a panic attack (based on the duration and your description of symptoms). Sounds like you are experiencing some anxiety, but panic attacks are pretty specific and often much shorter in duration. Not minimizing what you experienced, just trying to reassure that you're probably not losing your marbles.

[mylittledemon]

Hey Brandon,

I am inclined to think this was NOT a panic attack (based on the duration and your description of symptoms). Sounds like you are experiencing some anxiety, but panic attacks are pretty specific and often much shorter in duration. Not minimizing what you experienced, just trying to reassure that you're probably not losing your marbles.

Hey thanks! I hope that's not what it was. I talked to my brother and sister about it on Skype. My sister, evidently, has then once or twice a month. She has for years. I never knew this! So is this genetic or what?

[GypsyJas]

Well i woke up around 2am in a sweat. I felt like it was hard to breathe. I tried to calm down but my mind kept focusing on these really odd thoughts...as if I was still in a dream and I couldn't control what I was thinking. It was an extremely bizarre feeling. Like I wanted to crawl out of my own skin and jump out the window...haha...scary I know...After about 10 minutes I finally got out of bed and went into the bathroom. I just tried doing some routine stuff to take my mind off it. It took about an hour or so before I was able to get back in the bed.
Wow, that sounds intense. To use the word "panic" doesn't really do it justice, does it? When I get them it is like the most horrifyingly frightened feeling that just creeps in out of nowhere. I tend to get them in weird driving situations like driving over very high, very arched bridges...and I suddenly feel like I can't control my car, I can't stop, I can't gauge how fast I'm going and my depth perception to things around me is totally thrown off. People say panic attacks stem from a subconscious "issue" or vulnerability that is lingering or unresolved. You're right about staying away from the medication, it's sole purpose is to stop the panic attacks by keeping you sedated. When did these start happening?
Hope it gets better for you, I know exactly what you're going through.
Oh, and it is genetic....I told my mother about my attacks and to my total shock she told me she has been getting the same type of panic attacks for years...same symptoms and everything. Sounds like the same thing between you and your sister.

[mylittledemon]

GypsyJas, this was the 1st and only time this has ever happened to me

[SuzeQuze]

Hey thanks! I hope that's not what it was. I talked to my brother and sister about it on Skype. My sister, evidently, has then once or twice a month. She has for years. I never knew this! So is this genetic or what?

Yeah, you have a genetic predisposition for it and environmental factors bring it out. Given you have similar genetics and grew up together having same environment it stands to reason you might have the same panic experience. Anxiety is a bitch but you can learn to manage it.

[petep9000]

4mg of Lorazepam works wonders. :nod:

4 mg?????????

Whoah!

I take .05 mg as needed, holy crap I couldn't imagine 4. That must REALLY relax!

[petep9000]

I suffer from anxiety myself, for many years. I used to get panic attacks. They were very severe, all of a sudden I would feel an attack come on and it was like a freight train was running me over. My heart would start pounding out of my chest, my thoughts would be racing and I thought I was going insane. Reality felt weird, like I was an outsider looking at my own body from a different vantage point. THAT was scary. My hands and body would shake, I couldn't catch a breath, my ears would ring, my chest and neck broke out in hives. Awful. They would last around 30 minutes or so, then subside in intensity with medication.

The first time it happened I was not yet being treated by an MD, and it happened at nighttime in bed so this is why I hopped on this thread. It was so scary, and I felt so lonely, sitting in bed at 2:00 am and feeling like I was going to die and was all alone in the universe. The house was eerily still, everyone was asleep. So I hunkered down in bed, and lay quiet and tried to force different thoughts into my head. I was 17. After that horror, which seemed to last until morning, I lived in fear of another one. I lived in fear of nighttime and, oddly, Sundays because it was a Sunday night that the attack happened. I developed lots of weird rituals and compulsions and thoughts too, like a fear that someone would accidently drug me with LSD and I would then spend the rest of my life in one long panicky freak-out. I was eating chicken parmesan with my family in 1990 and literally had tears running down my face as I was trying to chew. My mother tried to console me, I remember that so well. She said she thinks that she understood what I was feeling, but no matter what that I had to believe that no one in my family had LSD and certainly wouldn't just pop it into someones food, that I was safe, and that it was just nerves. I think actually that was more than anxiety, looking back that was more like a psychotic episode!

Now, I have anxiety but I dont have the panic attacks like that. But one thing that I do have is the fear that an attack WILL happen. And, I'm terrified it will happen in front of Humberto (my partner for the last year) because he's never seen it before in me and I don't want to scare him. The Ativan helps, also Wellbutrin. But, I think by nature I'm just a bit more tense than the average Joe anyway.

[mylittledemon]

it was like a freight train was running me over. My heart would start pounding out of my chest, my thoughts would be racing and I thought I was going insane. Reality felt weird, like I was an outsider looking at my own body from a different vantage point. My hands and body would shake, I couldn't catch a breath, my ears would ring, my chest and neck broke out in hives. Awful. They would last around 30 minutes or so.
.

PeteyP...this happened me again a 2nd time...not 3 nights ago, and exactly the way you've described it here. Not only is is embarrassing (to what pride I have) but it's scaring my wife methinks.

[JazmenFlowers]

I am no expert, but I do suffer from OCD and anxiety. I used to have panic attacks regularly. they tend to follow when there's something highly stressful going on at the moment. I go through times when I have them all the time and then months will pass without anything. medication is nothing to be afraid of. I have taken medication just to get my mind to rest although I don't currently take anything. don't deny yourself help because it's medication. it could help you and then you can ween yourself off of it when you are ready.