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What Happened? Panic, Anxiety?

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Posted 8/11/2009 8:10 PM (GMT 0)
This morning was a strange morning.  I finally felt good enough to go to breakfast with my sister and two cousins and then my car wouldn't start because the battery was dead.  Hubby jumped it and then when I shut it off just to see if it would start again,  no go.  Okay so I took the truck and when I was at breakfast I  started feeling dizzy, thought it was because I hadn't eaten and it was 2 hours later than I normally eat.  I thought since I was in town (I live about 20 minutes from the grocery store) I would go and get some groceries.  As I was thinking about this, I felt my heart beating a little fast and it was hard to focus on anything so my first thought was I needed to get home right now! 

I think I have had a panic or anxiety attack before, but nothing like this.  As soon as I was close to my house, I seemed to settle down and once I was in the house it became okay.  Anyone ever experience this or something like this?  Maybe the car not starting this morning was an indication that I should have just stayed home.

Thanks

American Woman

 

Posted 8/11/2009 8:46 PM (GMT 0)

Hi AW...the symptoms you describe are classic anxiety and since they stopped when you got closer to home I'm guessing that's what it is.  But...if they persist or you are concerned be sure to see your doc.  I always get a racing heart when I'm anxious, along with many other lovely symptoms.

Huggies

Donna

Posted 8/11/2009 8:53 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Donna

I guess I wasn't sure if it was a panic attack because I was doing something that I enjoy and I thought these attacks came on if you were stressed or upset.  Any thoughts?

Posted 8/11/2009 9:40 PM (GMT 0)

Hey AW...I have suffered from anxiety/panic for many years.  The attacks, for me, have come out of nowhere.  One of the worst ones I ever had was one night watching Saturday Night Live.  It just swept through me for no known reason.  Sometimes they are a delayed reaction to something upsetting that might have happened a week before.  When you listen to people who have anxiety, they will  say things like 'I was just driving along..or I was standing in line at the grocery store..."

Again, if this worries you it is best to get it checked out for your own peace of mind.  The real problem with panic attacks is that we tend to associate what we were doing when the attack happened and avoid getting in that situation again.  I had an attack in a store once, and wouldn't go shopping alone for five years.  It had nothing to do with the store.

Try not to dwell on it, or figure it out.  It may never happen again.

huggies

Donna

Posted 8/11/2009 9:42 PM (GMT 0)
It sure sounds like anxiety to me but most of us fibromites have anxiety issues.  When the dizziness started the "fear" probably made your heart pound and that made everything worse. 

 

I used to have anxiety like this and when it happened it felt like my arms and legs turned to jelly, too.  Home was my safe haven.  But once I learned to recognize the signs of anxiety, I learned how to basically "dismiss" it.  I knew I wasn't going to die from anxiety so I just got busy doing something and stopped thinking about how I was feeling and it would go away. 

 

Sherrine 

Posted 8/11/2009 11:13 PM (GMT 0)
WOW!
That article says it all for me. I have trouble being in a car if I can't see out of the windshield.
I've also had to pull over because I had that same feeling or panic. I usually have these attacks when I am in a car (with me driving, not so bad if someone else is driving) or in Walmart where I do most of my grocery shopping. I like to grocery shop but sometimes when I get there all I want to do is leave before I've even started shopping.
Thanks for the info, danib. I really appreciate it and it now starts to make a little sense. I can always count on my fibro family.
Posted 8/12/2009 4:15 AM (GMT 0)
HOLY COW, this is mind-bending for me! That described me, literally! A couple weeks ago I posted about getting nauseous while driving/ riding in tunnels... this MUST be the same thing.

I read this post a few mnutes ago and have been sitting at my desk thinking on all the times I have been panicky/ uncomfortable and realized I might have anxiety! Wow. Fibro opens up a new world each and every day!
Posted 8/12/2009 12:29 PM (GMT 0)
I get tremendous anxiety in Walmart, of all places, usually about ten minutes in. At first, i go great guns, am excited to find a bargain, and then within a couple of minutes, I feel dizzy, squeamish, don't know where I'm at, or what I'm doing there, cut the trip as short as possible, usually dropping whatever I have in my hands and bolting for the door. I don't get it in grocery stores so much, but the bigger they are, the more likely it will happen. Odd. Over stimulated, I guess. Thank-you for this.
Posted 8/12/2009 9:45 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I made a point of going to Walmart today, followed by the Grocery store, just to see what was making me anxious. It hit me, as clear as a bell; in Walmart, they yell over the intercom system. It is excruciatingly painful. Yelling about everything, usually about things to do with various departments getting their returns to re shelve, or about inventory sheets, or about safety. Well, then off to the Grocery store. No yelling. I was much more comfortable. I seem to have oversensitivity to loud noise. Sets me high on the balls of my feet and running away. Until I find a Walmart where they don't yell, they'll lose any business I might have for them. Toodle loo, Wally World.
Posted 8/12/2009 11:48 PM (GMT 0)

I've had anxiety issues since childhood.  I started having panic attacks at 17, I'm 64 now.  When I lived in the city, I had panic attacks everyday, because of having to drive to work and back.  Moved to a very small town 19 years ago.  Don't get too panicky usually when I drive to a small city to shop, but I never vary my route--because I have no sense of direction--can't tell right from left.  I do panic in Wal-Mart, always have, unless I go early on Sunday morning when it is fairly quiet and not very crowded.  Still, if the crowds and the noise start before I finish shopping, I just don't finish.  Sometimes I have to leave the cart and go home with nothing.  I can't get out as early as I used to anymore because of fibro, IBS, osteo arthritis and sacroiliitis.  Thinking too long about having to go to Wal-Mart causes anxiety for me.  I only go now when I have to.  They have run all the other stores out, and there are not many choices about where to shop.  I know people who get anxiety in Wal-Mart and other such big noisy, crowded stores, and don't have anxiety about other things in their life. 

I try to avoid the things that cause these feelings.

Thanks for posting this.

SL

Posted 8/13/2009 12:59 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone for all your input. I went to the grocery store this morning and was almost waiting for something to happen. Luckily, nothing did and it was a very uneventful shopping trip. (Hooray!) I feel that all this craziness is starting to make some kind of sense.
Posted 8/13/2009 4:19 PM (GMT 0)
Danib,

Thank you SO MUCH for posting that! That is absolutely fascinating information..Can I ask where you found it?

I really have to wonder about this-I always have anxiety in cars and in stores-especially big ones. I am also really interested in this info because I have definite visual problems and can barely see out of my left eye (born with a severe lazy eye, had surgery, surgery didn't quite correct it and now I only use my left eye for peripheral vision)...so I definitely have to wonder if there's some connection there!

Very very interesting..
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