Hi,
A few months ago whilst sufering a bout of anxiety I had what I think (and for that matter my doctor seemed to think) was a panic attack. Now I think I may have had another....
This morning started off really well, I'd had a good nights sleep and was generally relaxed. As I was snoozing I felt a pain in my chest - looking back, it was nothing too dramatic and I have frequent acid reflux problems, which often produce that sort of pain. I am however a bit of a hypochondriac and the possibility of a heart condition has never entirely left my mind, depite an 'ok' from the doctor. I don't know why, but probably as a result of this paranoia I sat bolt upright in bed when I felt the pain. Next came a fluttering in my chest, followed by a feeling of slight dizziness. I started to feel like I was about to be sick. At this point the dizziness got much worse, almost as if I was about to pass out and I began sweating profusely. I was still sat up and the symptoms weren't getting any better I tried to control my breathing which didn't seem to have a massive effect and finnally I lay down on my side, at which point the symptoms fairly rapidly eased. In the space of 5 minutes I'd gone from being relaxed and feeling good, to the worst I've ever felt and back again. Ok, I was a little shook up, but I was physically ok in probably somewhat less than 5 minutes.
From what I've heard this sounds like a fairly text book panic attack. As mentioned, I have mild chest pains, which after a brief examination my doctor concluded were due to acid reflux. Ever since I was a kid I've had occasional 'flutters' in my chest which occured rarely and never really worried me. Recently, I've put this down to esophegeal spasms caused by the acid reflux. I also have occasional bouts of feeling rather spaced out (like your drunk, but I hasten to add I'm not a heavy drinker or a drug user) I just put these down to an unfulfilling job and recent anxiety. A friend suggested those symptoms combined might point to Mitral Valve Prolapse. I'm a young (24) healthy male with no history of heart disease in the family, whatsmore I have a rather under-used analytical mind which likes going off on scary tangents! So, it may just be esophegeal spasms mimiking the chest flutters, the occasional panic attack when I get too worried about it and a spot of general anxiety causing the unreality..... Who knows. Just feel a bit happier sharing my experience on here.