Panic Attacks Support Group
A panic attack is a period of intense fear or discomfort, typically with an abrupt onset and usually lasting no more than thirty minutes. Symptoms include trembling, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sweating, nausea, dizziness, hyperventilation, and sensations of choking or smothering. Panic attacks can be very sudden, appear to be unprovoked, and are often...
Ugh.
I had an appointment on Tuesday to have a birth control implant placed in my arm (Implanon, it's kind of great). I knew it would involve a needle to inject the numbing agent into my arm, and that I then wouldn't feel the insertion at all, but I was nervous. I'd misplaced my refill of Xanax during my recent move, and had been more on edge than usual for a few days at the point that I got to the doctor's office. I could feel the panic rising while I sat in the waiting room, but tried hard to breathe and to will it away. I figured that I was likely to pass out (I'm a fainter), and told the doctor and nurse as much, and they suggested I'd be fine - the procedure required laying down, anyway.
The numbing injection burned quite a bit, but I got through it. As soon as it was done, though, I could feel the fainting begin. I told them I was going to pass out, and when I woke up (very dazed and confused), they both looked pretty panicked. Apparently when I passed out I began seizing. My eyes rolled back, and I had a lot of body movement... one of my shoes had even come off halfway. It's happened maybe 6 times since childhood - while fainting at doctor's offices is nothing new for me, the seizing behavior has only occurred during moments of substantial pain or stress, and hasn't happened in at least 10 years. It was pretty embarrassing, and now I have to see a neurologist. I can only assume that my impending panic attack was what brought it on, but I have no idea... has anyone had similar experiences?
I'm so nervous! And mostly I just wanted to vent about another way in which all of this panicking has made life difficult. The only silver lining was that I convinced them to proceed with the procedure, so it wasn't all in vain!
I had an appointment on Tuesday to have a birth control implant placed in my arm (Implanon, it's kind of great). I knew it would involve a needle to inject the numbing agent into my arm, and that I then wouldn't feel the insertion at all, but I was nervous. I'd misplaced my refill of Xanax during my recent move, and had been more on edge than usual for a few days at the point that I got to the doctor's office. I could feel the panic rising while I sat in the waiting room, but tried hard to breathe and to will it away. I figured that I was likely to pass out (I'm a fainter), and told the doctor and nurse as much, and they suggested I'd be fine - the procedure required laying down, anyway.
The numbing injection burned quite a bit, but I got through it. As soon as it was done, though, I could feel the fainting begin. I told them I was going to pass out, and when I woke up (very dazed and confused), they both looked pretty panicked. Apparently when I passed out I began seizing. My eyes rolled back, and I had a lot of body movement... one of my shoes had even come off halfway. It's happened maybe 6 times since childhood - while fainting at doctor's offices is nothing new for me, the seizing behavior has only occurred during moments of substantial pain or stress, and hasn't happened in at least 10 years. It was pretty embarrassing, and now I have to see a neurologist. I can only assume that my impending panic attack was what brought it on, but I have no idea... has anyone had similar experiences?
I'm so nervous! And mostly I just wanted to vent about another way in which all of this panicking has made life difficult. The only silver lining was that I convinced them to proceed with the procedure, so it wasn't all in vain!
fainting during panic attacks is rare, it helps to relax as much as you can and to breathe deep and slow, don't forget to breathe and don't hold your breath
fear of fainting is common but seldom happens