PS
I also feel faint and as if I am passing out too during an attack.

When i feel an attack coming on i close my eyes and take a deep breath and say to myself ok you are having a panic attack you are safe and are going to be ok. I imagine myself riding the panic attack like i'm surfing a wave in the ocean. By the time i am done saying those things ot myself the panic attack is gone and it doesn't even reach a full blown panic attack. I hope that this advice helps you as much as it helped me.

hi im going throw the exact same symptoms and it scares the .... out of me i dont really now what to do im just starting to try what rsk3b said i would just like to say you not alone :)

I have the same problem. They are horrid in public. I will end up freezing where I am, closing my eyes tight, and trying deep breaths. This may sounds weird but sometimes biting my fingers hard helps bring me back to reality. Sometimes, I look at the floor and speed walk away. At home its easier. I pace but I've noticed it increases my anxiety instead of reading it. Lately ambient music videos on youtube have helped. Idk... Meds and cigarettes honestly work best for me right now but I'm not in the best shape myself.

Hi; I'm sorry that it is so hard for you.

I too have these symptoms at times. Just one week ago I had to go to the ER to try and get my panic medicine refilled. It was strange how it happened: so many people came at me at once. The one nurse to take my finger into a little unit, another nurse put a big blood pressure cuff on me and squeezed it so hard it triggered my fibromyalgia bad and scared me, all while another nurse asking questions and Dr. comes in and that was it: I blew.

I pulled off blood pressure cuff, and hopped off the bed to the chair where my purse was and my pills. Took my klonopin and chewed it, while a nurse raised her voice at me not to take medicine and "what are you taking?" I said please back off, I have panic and PTSD and it could get ugly, I am taking prescribed medication, I'll show you the bottle, just back off. They backed off and left me alone for 20 minutes. Dr. comes in, and I literally had to beg for my medicine to be refilled. It is a high dose, 2mg 4 times per day. The Dr. said he could not fill "something like this."

I calmly looked into the Dr.'s eyes, never left his gaze, and explained to him in 4-5 minutes the reasons why I have to have this medication or I cannot live. I told him of the sexual abuse etc. When I was done speaking, I reinterated that "this is what I need to live, just to get outside the front door." He said he was sorry all that happened to me and that "I'll fill it." And he did.

That is the first time in a long time that I've had an attack come on that fast. I've broken windows before (my own car windows) in a panic (locked the keys in the car).

I told you all of the above so that you might not feel so alone.

That is what a difficult panic attack is. My official diagnosis is PTSD with panic disorder and GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder).

I have taken lamaze breathing classes, and if I can remember my breathing techniques, it helps a lot. That and turning on some music, I have dvd's of fish in an aqaurium, the ocean and meditation, they help a great deal.

Anything to help "change the channel" in my head.

Please know you are not crazy or anywhere near it, there are a lot of us out there. Also, I would like to say that the books/cd/cassette tapes of Lucinda Basset have helped me in a huge way. They can be found in older versions on Ebay or newer cd's and entire program from this site: http://www.stresscenter.com

The work of this program has helped make me here today and not so anxious or depressed. That is just what it has done for me, I know that not everything works for everyone. This is one great program, it was like someone holding my hand.

Please remember that you are not alone.

Please feel free to email me anytime. Hang on!


Kathy :) :)