You are definitely not alone! I wish I had some wonderful advice to give you to help you get through it...but I don't. I had horrible panic attacks about a year ago. It was very difficult for me to work or go to school. I would have to take frequent breaks away from my desk just to go outside (seemed to be the only place I could get air!)
This happened for about 2 months. How did I get through it? Sounds like you are doing just that! I went to the doctor and was put on a new medication and I started seeing a therapist. I didn't see results overnight. But trust me, IT DOES GET BETTER! Give it time and be patient. You'll be okay I promise!

My goodness - ANYONE who has experienced such an attack would want to take a little break from life. Give yourself some time and trust your instincts. I'll tell you what helped me and maybe you can ask your therapist about trying it.

What has helped me, though, has been to find whatever support I need to have to venture out as soon as I feel at all able. Just do what you can. You WILL feel the anxiety but stick with it. Just be with it and allow it to be while you do what you want to do with the support you need.

A sad truth is that the longer you wait, the harder it is. But the other truth is that you don't have to do much to push the envelope. Just ONE step our of your comfort zone each day.

Start small. If it's hard to get out of bed, just go to the living room for a few minutes. If you have a hard time leaving the house, just sit outside. If you feel you can't leave your property, just walk a few steps off of it. Go somewhere you used to feel safe and keep going back - with support - until you feel safe there again.

Do the small thing over and over until you feel safe. Then take the next step - over and over until you feel safe. Then the next step. Over and over. And every single time you start to feel safe, give yourself a huge congrats and celebrate.

It'll be a process but it gets easier each time..

It also helped me to have things on hand that helped me feel safer - people to call, medicines if useful, music that soothes, movies that make me happy and make me laugh, etc. and a written plan I take with me in case I get panic attacks because I have a hard time thinking of what to do when I'm freaking out!

You're not alone and most people have experienced at least some anxiety with a LOT of folks familiar with panic attacks.

You WILL get better. For now, just take care of yourself!

P.S. For the auto-immune stuff, alternative health care seems to be a better fit for a lot of folks than MD's. You might also look up the role folic acid intolerance plays in auto-immune issues.

Hi summerbabe88,

Just curious for I have not seen you post before. Has anyone explained to you why you are having these panic attacks? Has anyone explained what is physically happening in your body that makes you feel so awful? Has anyone given you a set of tools to help you overcome this condition?

The reason I ask is because I too had horrible panic attacks while driving umungst other things! Anyway, no one during that time of my life ever explained to me the answers to any of the above questions. I suffered needlessly due to lack of improper information about what I was experiencing. Doctors would write a script....and send me on my way. My symptoms would go away temporarily only to come back with a vengeance when the medication wore off.....I was getting worse and worse. I did not want a bandaid for anxiety.....I wanted anxiety gone!!!!

If you are at all interested in how I completely overcame anxiety (and in my case depression also)....friend me. I have a 12 week tool kit to help folks with anxiety navigate through common issues present in an anxious mind...like mine was. I have been free from anxiety and depression for years now and would love nothing more then to help as many folks as possible do the same.

The only cost is your time and willingness to change. The only thing I ask...is that when you overcome anxiety that you too pay it forward and help others to do the same.

Also I noticed in you avatar...(if that is you)....a coffee drink in your hand. If you do the 12 weeks....you will learn that caffeine alone can be the culprit for some anxiety sufferers. Sometimes just quitting the "Joe" is all they need to do to overcome anxiety. Who knows?

My best to you!

I look at your picture and read your post and think to myself what a smart pretty girl you are. The reason I came on to this forum was because I was having a horrible time dealing with anxiety and other issues. After reading through many of the posts on this site and all the suffering people were going through, it suddenly hit me like a bolt of lightening that I was creating the anxiety in myself. It's the strangest thing but as soon as I realized it the anxiety went away and hasn't come back. My sister had even said to me that I was creating this anxiety myself but it didn't penetrate until I realized it myself.
Years ago I had a friend who was seeing a psychologist because she was suffering from severe depression. Her analyst kept saying to her, :"But that's because your mother yada, yada, yada." And she kept saying back to the analyst, "I know it's because of my mother, yada, yada, yada", while thinking to herself 'why does she keep saying what I already know'. Then one day she was driving to work in her car and it suddenly hit her like a bolt of lightening, so much so that she had to pull over her car - 'I'M DOING THAT BECAUSE MY MOTHER YADA, YADA, YADA.' The realization is what set her free and she's been depression free ever since. That's how epiphanies work. That's how we learn. That's how psychology works. Someone can tell us something over and over again but until we realize it ourselves we can't get better.

I still have the other issues like lack of privacy from having too big a family and too many friends (which I really am grateful for, though I do wish they would give me a little more space), and stress at work from having a sadistic abusive bully for a boss, but other than that, the anxiety has gone. Now if I can only get a handle on this depression (situational - looking for another job right now and trying to regain some space in my life) I might become a whole human being again. LOL.
Whatever the way, I just wish that you eventually conquer this and not be like my friend who was addicted to pain meds for years. She said she wished she could go back again and regain all the years she lost through her addiction. Though hers was a physical addiction, thanks to doctors overmedicating her for pain management, it's still relevant here. Anxiety can be crippling every bit as much as dealing with physical pain and can stop your life in it's tracks. Try to realize that by focusing on your symptoms you might be making them worse. Get out there, see friends, go places. But most importantly, realize that you are not alone, that a lot of other people are going through what you are, and that things will eventually get better - faster if you realize that you might be creating the anxiety yourself. .

Well you're definitely not alone. I have anxiety problems when I drive too, but I can still drive. Sometimes I also have chest pressure from my anxiety.

I hope you feel better soon.