Full Blown Panic Attack

[mapleleafgirl25]

Last night i woke up out of my sleep at 2:30am having a full blown panic attack..the last time i had one was 2.5 years ago that being the reason my doctor put me on paxil in the first place...i managed to calm myself down finally..it was scary..i had this pain in my arm..which then of course led me to think i was having a heart attack..then as you know the rest is history...it just happens...

I cant let this win..that is the main thing..i cant let anxiety and panic take over my life...i wont go back on paxil..that is not an option to me...i now have another person to think of ..the baby ..and i cant bring harm in anyway to it...i just have to fight it...i noticed the withdrawal becomming worse when i got pregnant..i am assuming it is because my body freaked out a little that there was something foreign inside...now another persons dna is mixed in with mine..that being the hubby's....and my body needs time to adjust to it...well its hard enough for someone who doesnt have anxiety..but when you put that in the mix...it magnifies it...and when you are pregnant..there are so many supplements that you cannot take..so many things you cannot eat...and so on.......i now have morning sickness mixed in with paxil withdrawal nausea...and lets face it..there is no point in telling the doctor..when i went to my appointment this past week..i told him that i still had paxil withdrawal nausea..now i was pretty sure he was going to tell me what he did "no michele its morning sickness..you no longer have withdrawal" so ..........how nice not to have the support of your doctor....eveyone in my family is supportive..BUT the only people that know what i am physically and mentally going through are the people on here...no one knows what it is like to have anxiety and panic attacks unless they suffer from it....

thanks for listening...

michele

[MizzT]

hey michele. sorry to hear you are having a rough one. i have never been pg so i dont know the mix of feelings....im sure it is unusual at least!
I can tell you what i have learned to help calm down the panic. easy tap....you need to focus mentally on the problem....even verbalize what it is. try to listen to your inner voice and ask it when was the first time i felt like this. try to mentally prepare exactly WHAT it is that the panic is about.
say it out loud. Inhale and hold the breath. begin tapping on the upper lip.
then release the breath as you tap.....then breath in and out real fast while you tap.
this is the upper lip above the lip...below the nose. OR....middle of the breast bone.

I would suggest the book Woman Heal Thyself by Jeanne Elizabeth Blum.
It is about the 24 forbidden pregnancy points and other acupressure techniques. It can help with morning sickness, back ache, contractions etc.
as well as give you a HUGE insight into how Acupressure works. a wonderful book!!!

Im thinking of you and will rub all the buddha bellys in the house and send you "no nausea" vibes.

you have my # if you ever want to chat. hope you are a little better this afternoon.

xoxox

[silence4now]

Hey michele, I know how frightening it is. And the fact that it's spontaneous makes it even more suspicious. BUt I assure you it is just your mind playing tricks on your body. I used to sit up for hours worrying if I would have a heart attack. Last night I started having pains in my back, which went through all the way to my chest. Of course, I started to play the "what if" game again and could feel my heart racing. I immediately told myself "STOP worrying. This is nothing life threatening." I'm sure it was just a muscle spasm or something, but geeeeeeeez it sure felt like something else..... Hopefully that nausea will pass soon. When is your baby due?

[darcyb]

When you worry about the panic attack you had for days and days, you turn a 10 minute thing into a week long drama. Don't go there.

Have faith in yourself. Notice that you didn't get any permanent harm from that early morning experience. Treat it just as it was, one single experience, and don't make any rash decisions nor invent a drawn out forsaking of your future because of it. These panic attacks may visit you from time to time, which is the boring familiar stuff. What's new and really worth focusing on, are the days in which you're NOT having that experience. That's the new and exciting part, so focus on that.

If you've got to count black and white marbles, don't get upset while counting one color and not the other. Be pleased with both. Balance.

Congrats on being an expecting mother! Woohoo!!!!!!!

[sarah]

Michelle, 2:30am used to be the witching hour for me. I had my first full blown panic attack at that time, 6 or so years ago. I was rushed to hospital by ambulance thinking I was having a heart attack, to be told it was "only" a panic attack. It sucks to be jolted awake in that state, but you got through it. You survived it. It didn't kill you. My doctor told me that no-one in the world has ever died of a panic attack, I found that very reassuring. It might be because you are feeling so anxious so early on in your pregnancy. The hormones do funny things to a person. I now know that my panic attacks started as a result of being sterilised. The doctors, nurses, and counsellors forgot to tell me that being sterilised can fool your body for a little while, into believing it is going through the menopause. Huge thing to forget to tell me wouldn't you say? That is probably what is happening to you. On top of being anxious, your hormones have gone into overdrive. They do settle down again, thank god. Try to keep calm about it all and be extra nice to yourself. Let other people take care of you for a while. You deserve lots of pampering and tlc.
Lots of love
Sarah x

[mapleleafgirl25]

Hi eveyone..

thank you for your support....i basically stayed in bed today..i had such bad nausea..even when i first came off paxil it was never that bad..but my doc said this week 7th week the nausea hits full force..he told me to take a gravol..if i felt really bad..it is safe to take when pregnant for nausea...so i feel ALOT better..i am going to have pasta for dinner..my Italian mother in-law made us containers full of lasagna..ect...that is a full carb meal..lots of energy....

Bev..i am going to get that book for sure..thank you!!....and of course for your ongoing support always...

silence....the whole heart attack thing is the worse...and for me i constantly check my pulse...i think i get my blood pressure checked more than anyone else on this earth...lol....my baby will be due early September...

Darcy..thank you for your words of wisdom..always..putting things in great prospective.....

sarah...i notice i feel more anxious at night..i wonder why that is...since i found out i am pregnant...i dont sleep as well..and notice i have higher anxiety levels in the night....

at least i am prepared that starting week 11..my heart rate is going to increase by atleast 15 beats per min...so i wont be in for any suprises..and that farther along..i will have shortness of breath due to the pressue from the baby...

when i was having my panic attack..i almost said to my hubby take me to the hospital...(lucky for me its 1 block away) but i said to myself..no way..i am going to just sit up and relax..adn then i eventually calmed back down and went to sleep.....

michele

[scotty]

Michelle, pregnancy can do a whole lot of strange things to a body and mind! Hang in there, the end result is soooo worth it! (even if they do drive you nuts sometime!)

[Abby]

Michele, this may be a passing thing...being pregnant is HELLISHLY stressful on your body, esp. if you have really bad morning sickness. Try not to generalise out too far or freak out about 'what it means'...your body (and brain) are under an enormous amount of pressure right now, and panic/anxiety is ALWAYS worse with stress.

You may find if you can stay calm about the panic (there's an oxymoron!) that it takes care of itself once your system is better adjusted to the hormones.

It's great that you managed to calm yourself...hang onto that thought. It means you CAN do it, and what I have found with anxiety/panic is that the more you can deal with it, the more practiced you get, the better you get at managing it.

Carbs are a sure fire anxiety-starter for me - I can no longer eat spaghetti or fettucine or whatever, esp. without TRUCKLOADS of protein to slow down the absorption of sugar...your whole system gets hormonally out of whack with pregnancy...what with that, and the natural and normal anxieties that go with it..it's totally understandable.

Do you have some good 'tools' for dealing with your panic?

[MizzT]

Michele: my other new book that i am LOvin!!
Acupressure's most Potent Points by Michael Reed Gach is Awesome!! It give ailment by ailment treatment. So some points for morning sickness and nausea:

SI17 In the indentation between the earlobe and the tip of the jawbone.
P5 Four finger widths above the center of the inner wrist crease between the tendons
P6 two and a half finger widths above the wrist crease in the middle of the inner side of the forearm.
SP16 below the edge of the ribcage....at the junction of the 9th rib and 8th rib....in line with the earlobe....(so follow the earlobe straight down your body to the edge of the ribcage.)
ST36 4 finger widths below the kneecap, one finger width outside your shinbone. The muscle will flex when you move your foot up and down.
LV3 In the valley between the big toe and second toe.

So go thru the first 4 points...one at a time. be relaxed and breathing deeply. start at the first one below the ear...hold it for 30 seconds or a minute while you breath....go on with each point that way....comfortable, breathing, holding pressure on the point so you feel it. the 5th...ST36....needs to be stimulated. Rub briskly on that point beside the shinbone for 30 seconds.
then go to the foot point.
see if it helps the nausea.

[Scott]

Originally Posted by scotty

Michelle, pregnancy can do a whole lot of strange things to a body and mind! Hang in there, the end result is soooo worth it! (even if they do drive you nuts sometime!)

i felt so strange i thought i may have been pregnant.. it turns out i wasn't though

[mapleleafgirl25]

FUNNY SCOTT!!!!

bev..i am going to try that..see how it works..i am ordering that other book tomorrow as well...when i go see the obgyn..i am going to see what she thinks about paxil..because maybe she will be more understanding than my family doctor..and realize that i have withdrawal nausea..and morning sickness all in one...before christmas the nausea was starting to get better..then before i got preg..i couldnt figure out why i felt nausea at night too..which i had not had in a month..i only felt a bit queezy during the day sometimes...so hopefully this doctor..will see where i am comming from...

i stay far away from caffeine..that is what makes me anxious (no caffine since i went off paxil oct 15)...and chocolate..which i have not had in weeks...i am also really drinking lots of water..i had gingerale today..because my stomach just needed some carbonation...other than that..i drink water...and i take those pre-natal vitamins that have tons of iron ect..

michele

[Scott]

Originally Posted by mapleleafgirl25

i stay far away from caffeine..that is what makes me anxious (no caffine since i went off paxil oct 15)...and chocolate..which i have not had in weeks...

something to keep in mind later on.. that supplement suntheanine which is the compound in green tea that seems to counter caffeine.. you may find that helpful not only for anxiety but for when you want to have something caffeinated. I'm guessing it would counter the caffeine in anything if taken at the same time. Not sure how much of a difference if any you'll notice while tapering though.

[Cyndee]

Michelle--what a chemical roller coaster. Either being pregnant OR going off paxil brings on all sorts of strange, new things happening to our body/brains. My panic/anxiety attacks are real unpleasant, but I've learned that they will go away--sometimes I just stay in bed, like you did yesterday, and go through it. Sometimes I get up, get fresh air, cook, exercise, see friends--as I start to move the panic subsides--so I can always remember in the middle of an attack, that this is not a permanent state--I'lll be better again. Hope you are better right now!