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[AuntHelen]

I’m here because I think my sister is having panic attacks. Does a one suffer from them here?

She has these episodes that usually wake her up from sleep. Her left side goes super cold and tingling, feeling faint, like losing consciousness, but not. Nausea/ diarrhea, weak muscles. These episodes have landed her in the hospital, but they never find anything wrong. In normal day to day life she is a very Anxious person and worries about everything, but still is very social and loves being with people.

She defiantly thinks there is something physically wrong with here. She is scared to be alone. I don’t know how to help her.

[Agora1]

Hi AuntHelen...you've certainly come to the right place to discuss panic attacks. I don't

think there is one person who hasn't gone through the terror of a full blown attack.

It's one of the ways anxiety gets our attention for sure. Many ER visits later tend to

prove that it is anxiety and nothing more life threatening. How lucky your sister is

to have you want to help her through this. Support and understanding of what it's

like when you don't have it yourself is difficult to find.

Your sister could be anyone of us on the forum as you describe her symptoms and

her demeanor. I think it will help you by reading some of the posts and responding

with questions you may have. This is an incredibly caring group of people who are

more than willing to help. I'm glad you found us. Stay positive, it's going to be okay. xx

[AuntHelen in reply to Agora1]

Thank you for the support. I am so glad I found this group.

[dawgloverr]

Just because she saw a medical doctor and they said she was fine does not mean that she is fine. Unfortunately it sounds like she needs professional help. She seems to be really suffering. Mental health issues can DIRECTLY impact individuals physically. I have had panic attacks where I've felt like going to the ER because I thought I was having a heart attack. I would strongly urge for her to seek therapy. It has changed my life. Hope this helps!

[AuntHelen in reply to dawgloverr]

I agree, She just moved to the area and recently saw a new Primary. He wants to rule out all the physical part of it. I hope that he will recommend therapy.

[dawgloverr in reply to AuntHelen]

Absolutely. If he does not seem like he is actively searching for a therapist, calling the number on the back of her health insurance card will give her all the therapists in the area who she can see. Finding the RIGHT therapist can take weeks to months so it is important to stay proactive on getting those initial appointments

[gleason9guy]

I spent two years in this condition until I was finally diagnosed with prostate cancer. It seemed that for me, my body was going into "full alert" over the issue, while I was not consciously aware there was a problem. The doctors treated the symptoms until I broke down and submitted to a blood panel. It was then the problem was detected. I would recommend a complete blood panel work up. If I had done this earlier, it would have bought me more time, perhaps.

[Hidden]

I commend you for reaching out and being an advocate for your sister. It is great that your sister has found a primary that wants to rule out any physical issues that may be going on. Many mental health disorders are treated without making sure something as little and as important as thyroid levels are within normal range. A complete lab (blood and urine) workup and ekg are important start.

As with any doctor, it is important to discuss all symptoms being experienced. If all is clear physically, advocate for a psychiatrist and therapist to be involved in any further treatment. There is hope and your sister is very lucky to have you on her side.

From personal experience, the onset of panic attacks is terrifying and trips to an er aren’t exactly a calming experience. I was lucky to have a primary doctor who made sure my physical health was fine and she started me on a medication along with referring me to a psychiatrist. I had every test imaginable to rule out any physical health issues and while they were not always pleasant, it did help ease my mind when each came back normal or negative. Upon my mental health disorder diagnosis, I was almost ecstatic that there was a name to it and I was not “crazy”.

A diagnosis of any sort is not something most would like to hear but it is the first step into addressing our symptoms and working towards finding relief and coping skills.

[Gilbertina]

I used to wake up in middle of night with panic attacks and my husband would have to "walk" me in the middle of the night! Then I went on a low doseage of medicine, Paxil, which also has a slight calming agent, versus something like Prozac, which I had heard makes people hyper a bit then.....She needs medicine in my opinion. If this is happening at night it is severe. While on medicine she can then get a workbook and work through some of the issues causing anxiety. It is a terrible thing panic attacks, and acute fear, nervousness, fleeing (like needing to go outside and walk), heart palps, etc all are symptoms that I had. It sucked. I am very analytical and sensitive, and recently my doctor told me don't feel bad, some people are just wired like me...i.e. this is our gift and curse as well. But doing psychology work or a workbook (Awesome workbook: The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Bourne) will help her understand some of the problem which is our thoughts. Thank you for helping your sister! Message me personally here if you have further questions as I don't always come on that often....again, get the workbook and some meds. It save me from believing I was nuts and thinking I deserved to be in a looney farm....one cannot solve it alone, just like if you have high blood pressure meds help along with diet modificaitons. Panic attacks: medicine plus + learning about disorder/turning off thoughts.

[Hidden in reply to Gilbertina]

It’s interesting and nice to find someone else who “walks” during times of panic and/or anxiety! The adrenaline has to go somewhere and I don’t just let it sit there doing its own thing; I help expend it as best as I can. I’ve done that workbook and one other as well and it truly does help you get to know yourself. It’s amazing how much you sound like me when it comes to viewpoints and methods of handling things. You are exactly right; it is our gift and curse. One of my current “homework” assignments with my therapist is to come up with some of the good things about anxiety.

[AuntHelen in reply to Gilbertina]

I got the workbook for her, but then I left for a trip to California. I don’t think she has worked in it. When I get back we will work together on it.

Thank you everyone, this site has given me insight on what she is feeling. It helps me more compassionate.

[Gilbertina]

Good to know you can empathize a bit. I am a successful female engineer, but when I used to worry about what people thought of me due to more men and insecurity (age helps that, and I was doing just fine compared to them), then anxiety kicked in. That constant worry about what we perceive leads to panic attacks. Thank God I found medicine and eventually learned to consider/reason with my thoughts...lol. Occasionally it is still a battle like when I had the flu/bronchitus, then I started the stupid "what if" thinking.....then had that generalized anxious feeling for a week....dumb considering a doctor had me on a slough of meds to hit it from every angle, and I knew I would get better. I believe I know what is driving that issue/anxiety; now I need to tackle that. But one has to really consider what we are thinking and then solve it or let it go! I live in Northern CA. Hope you had a good trip to the sunny state. Take care.

[AuntHelen in reply to Gilbertina]

Gilbertina, I understand what you are saying, when I worked, it was hard not to overthink comments people said to me.

I moved to Florida, but still own a condo in San Jose. It feels like home here.

[Gilbertina in reply to AuntHelen]

Nice! I get down to SJ occasionally. We are lucky in NorCal.