Imagine waking up in the night not being able to breathe.. (My Experience of Anxiety and Panic Attacks)

Member Name: lazytowner

Product:	My Experience of Anxiety and Panic Attacks
Date:	18/10/08 (126 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: none

Disadvantages: It can ruin your life if you let it

10 years I woke up in the middle of night and I just could not breathe , at the time my husband and I were living with his parents and my husbands mum is a practice nurse so we woke her up and she thought I must be having some sort of asthma attack even though I had never had asthma before.

My chest hurt so much and I was very breathless , my mother in law got me a paper bag and told me to breath into it . It took a while but eventually I calmed down.

Over the next few weeks I continued to have these episodes , I felt fear , racing heart , and I really thought I was going to die of a heart attack. I went to the GP who sent me up to the hospital and the hospital found that I had a heart murmor they did a scan and everything was fine. While I was in hospital I felt really ill again and the doctor said I was having a panic attack.

I have now learnt that if I get stressed out over something , if I am worried or do something new I get anxiety and then the panic attack.

****Symptoms of A Panic Attack ****

Racing Heartbeat
Fear
Shaking , feeling nervous
dizziness and nausea
chest pains
The feeling like you are going to choke
Pins and needles in your fingers and toes
Fear that you are going to die or have a heart attack

The most weirdest thing for me is I cannot go into Asda , as soon as we go into the carpark my palms start to feel sweaty . We go into the shop and I will start to feel sick physically sick. Then the pain in my chest starts with the pins and needles and I know I just have to get out of the shop.

Anxiety & Panic attacks can really rule my life though I am trying very hard not to let this happen but at the moment I can`t go on a bus , I don`t go to church because I just panic everytime my friends talk to me , I don`t go out with my friends or family , and the dentist scares the life out of me!
On the plus side I have now started to take my son out for walks we walk for 20 - 30 minutes at a time. I can now do a full shop in Tesco`s without feeling sick and if the sickness does start I just stop what I am doing , pick up something from the trolley and start to read what is on the packaging and i have to say because I am concentrating on this the sickness does go!

If you do suffer with anxiety and panic attacks don`t suffer in silence , talk to your GP there are lots of courses now for managing this condition and there are councellors around as well.

Summary: Don`t be afraid to ask for help!