Called 911

So yesterday at 4:30 am I called 911 for the first time. I was in the middle of doing something and I was completely distracted and not feeling anxious at all when all of the sudden it felt like my chest dropped kind of like your stomach would on a roller coaster. My heartbeat felt weird for a couple seconds and then I got this rush up my neck and into my head and my nose and fingers started tingling. That's about when I called them.

Anyways so they get here, and as I had already told the lady on the phone I have had panic attacks and anxiety before but they never really felt like that and I haven't had on for a while, the paramedics had known about that. They put the oximeter or whatever on my finger and my oxygen level was 100% and my heartrate was at about 135 bpm. They told me it was probably just another panic attack and some other things but my heartrate ended up going up to 155 bpm at one point which felt crazy and I told them I needed to lie down and after a couple minutes it slowed down to around 100. They told me they didn't need to take me to the hospital by ambulance but I should go on my own anyways to get checked out again so a couple hours later that's what I did.

At the hospital they did another ekg and chest X-ray and also took some blood. Apparently everything came back okay and they prescribed me lorazapam because I told them I was on Xanax before and my mom tried to speak for me and say I didn't like the way it made me feel when what I had told her was I didn't like that I needed to take it and didn't want to become dependent on it. They also gave me the information for a doctor that they said I should talk to.

Honestly it sucked. I had wanted them to find something so that maybe it could just be a physical problem that could get fixed or something. It's awful because it happened right in the middle of me playing a game and I was in no way excited or anxious on a conscious level when it just hit me which makes me feel helpless. How could I prevent it if it wasn't something that got worked up to it just happened. It reminds me of the first time I had a panic attack as that was the only other time it came out of nowhere even though that time I was extremely uncomfortable.

Well now I have another medication to take for the first time which I'm pretty nervous about and I always feel on edge for at least a few days after a panic attack. I would really appreciate it if I didn't have another one out of the blue as a little warning would be nice. I guess it's good though that for once I was seen by somebody as it was happening rather than me just telling the doctors about what happened and now I can say for sure I'm not dying during these events. Guess that's all for now.

HI Xxplosive... so sorry to hear about your experience, it's so very frightening. I have had anxiety and panic since high school, actually probably longer but that's when it really got out of control. I am not one to go to the ER but in August I was there twice for anxiety and panic. I really believed it was medical and was so frustrated when everything came back normal.

For me, sometimes it feels as though it comes out of the blue, other times it's related to something. I admitted myself to a behavioral health unit and spent 9 days there getting on meds after my ER visits. During that time I was able to reflect on things and realize how much was bothering me that I wasn't consciously aware of. I'm not saying this is true for you, but in some ways I think my panic was my body's way of grabbing my attention.

The other day I went for a walk and out of the blue I felt heat rising from my chest and the fear and anxiety took over. I was able to manage and finish my walk which was positive. Reflecting on it afterwards I was able to identify something that was on my mind earlier that may have triggered it. I am taking klonopin in the morning and at night as well as Lexapro.

Hang in there, are you seeing a psychiatrist for meds??

Peace to you,
Sue

Sue I am not seeing a psychiatrist but soon I will be talking with a psychologist and I've already probably put that off too long. My regular doctor was the one prescribing me the Xanax and it was the doctors at the hospital yesterday that had prescribed me the Ativan. Now when I was on the Xanax my doctor had me take up to 1.5mg as needed (start with .5) but with the ativan they want me to take .5mg every 8 hours not just as needed. Now from what I've read it isn't as strong as the Xanax but it lasts a little longer. I still haven't tried taking it although I am still a little on edge more than normal after yesterday because I am nervous about taking a new medication. I keep thinking things like what if I end up being allergic to it (although I have never been allergic to anything) or what if it gives me side effects or what if it doesn't help and I don't like it. So I am kind of holding myself back from taking it even though I'm sure that after the initial experience with it I will probably feel somewhat better.

Anyways it was interesting to see on the machine my exact heart rate and it's crazy to think it had went all the way up to 155bpm while I was in the ambulance which makes me wonder if it was higher towards the very start of it or if that was the peak of it. It was only that high for a short period and was around 110-130 before it had spiked up like that which I can only assume was because I was staring at the number and it just kept getting higher lol. Probably wasn't a good idea to focus on it. I thought it was funny when they told me I need to calm down like it was just that easy and I wasn't already trying to.

Well I guess it's another one behind me and I will be alright. It had been a while since I had had one and my brain figured I was due or something. Each time they are more and more spread out and I hope that pattern continues and that maybe one day they will be gone for good. As always I appreciate everyone in this community.