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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 16 of 16. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by tina on March 26, 2003, at 12:09:34
Ok. I get these awful nocturnal panic attacks. 13 years ago, when my panic disorder started, I seemed to be more able to deal with them but these days, I feel totally out of control.
Anyone have any advice as to how to calm my way through the attack as it's going on? I do the breathing thing, and the pacing thing but the attack just seems to go on and on.
thanks
tina
Posted by Dinah on March 26, 2003, at 12:57:22
In reply to Dealing with Panic attacks while they happen, posted by tina on March 26, 2003, at 12:09:34
Distraction works sometimes. If I've got some busy work to do that requires enough of my attention to pull it away from the sensations, but where the consequences aren't severe if I screw up. I sometimes come here and read posts for the same reason. It's about the right level of distraction. Then once the klonopin kicks in I go back to bed.
I read in some book, and found it to be true, that it even helps to do simple math problems.
I know how rotten nocturnal panic attacks can be. They're a big problem for me, while I've got the daytime panic attacks more or less under control.
If you find the magic bullet, let me know.
Posted by noa on March 26, 2003, at 17:47:12
In reply to Re: Dealing with Panic attacks while they happen » tina, posted by Dinah on March 26, 2003, at 12:57:22
I also wonder--do these happen while you're sleeping, ie, waking you up out of sleep?
Posted by Dinah on March 26, 2003, at 19:51:31
In reply to Re: Dealing with Panic attacks while they happen, posted by noa on March 26, 2003, at 17:47:12
Posted by paxvox on March 26, 2003, at 20:41:04
In reply to Dealing with Panic attacks while they happen, posted by tina on March 26, 2003, at 12:09:34
Out of curiosity, have you had your hormone level and your heart checked out lately? I had panic attacks for a period over several years, but my night awakenings are very different. I do know that because you are a female, certain hormones as well as your thyroid hormones, can cause panic-like attacks that occur mostly at night. Do you get hot and sweaty as well, and very tachycardic? I would get the 30,000 mile check-up and have your GP run a thyroid uptake panel if necessary. You never know, it might JUST be a physical thing that could be fixed by other meds.
PAX
Posted by coral on March 26, 2003, at 21:22:36
In reply to Dealing with Panic attacks while they happen, posted by tina on March 26, 2003, at 12:09:34
When I had panic attacks, they included the blasted, middle-of-the-night, waking-me-up-from-a-sound-sleep variety. Reminding myself that panic attacks send massive doses of adrenaline through the system helped me understand that until the adrenaline burned off, the panic attack couldn't abate. That knowledge helped. (The longest attack lasted 3.5 hours -- seemed like a constant adrenaline flow.) For me, just "riding it out" helped --- while waiting for meds to kick in, rather like being nauseated from a carnival ride, knowing only time would ease the swirling world.
Posted by wendy b. on March 27, 2003, at 9:03:53
In reply to Dealing with Panic attacks while they happen, posted by tina on March 26, 2003, at 12:09:34
Tina,
Sorry to give a meds answer on the Psych board, but -
I think taking a low dose of Xanax might help a lot, and if taken right at the onset of the attack, you could get back to sleep. You've probably been on it before, I'd reckon, because you've suffered from panic attacks for a while. If you haven't ever tried it, it's the best for panic.Hope to hear back from you,
Wendy
Posted by paxvox on March 27, 2003, at 12:21:06
In reply to Re: Dealing with Panic attacks » tina, posted by wendy b. on March 27, 2003, at 9:03:53
That IS a good point, cause my panic attacks only stopped when I got on benzos several years ago. Xanax is good for night time, but unfortunately, a lot of docs don't like chronic benzo use. Can't have people "addicted" to benzos even if it improves the quality of their life! Just like pain relief for terminally ill people, can't get them addicted to more effective pain killers because, heaven forbid, they MIGHT get addicted!
PAX
Posted by WorryGirl on March 27, 2003, at 13:34:44
In reply to Dealing with Panic attacks while they happen, posted by tina on March 26, 2003, at 12:09:34
Tina,
I've had them, too, although I have insomnia the most often. In both cases, reading seems to help calm me the most, as long as I can turn off the light and shut my eyes immediately after I start feeling drowsy. I know this can be hard when panicking, but if you can somehow manage to concentrate it might work for you. If I watch TV or use the computer, for some reason I can't go to sleep immediately afterwards. I wish that worked for me.Sometimes I'll panic because of the lack of sleep that I'm getting - I know I'll feel rotten and everything is three times as hard to cope with the next day.
It sounds like there's some good advice in these other posts. Someone mentioned hormones - I think that might play a big part, too.
Posted by noa on March 28, 2003, at 18:27:09
In reply to Re: Mine do. Yours Tina? (nm) » noa, posted by Dinah on March 26, 2003, at 19:51:31
I guess I was thinking possible sleep disorder. I know that before my apnea was treated, I woke in a panic a lot--from not being able to breathe. And when I've had myoclonus, it can feel like a sudden fall, which causes a kind of panicky feeling with heart racing.
There are apparently a lot of different kinds of sleep disorders.
Anyway, one sleep info site (http://members.tripod.com/~sleephealth/11ins.html#panic%20attacks) had this to say about how panic attacks can cause major sleep problems:
-PATIENTS WITH HISTORIES OF PANIC ATTACKS OR CHRONIC TENSION often appear hyperarousable in sleep.
"--In our experience, many of these individuals experience repeated partial arousals from non-REM sleep--with up to several arousals per minute, and often with abrupt increases in pulse, flushing of the face and clenching of the teeth. These arousals, too brief for the person to recall, can result in light, fragmented sleep, daytime sleepiness or both. Some patients even experience attacks of full-blown panic from sleep: with screaming, frantic behaviors and running with serious risk of self-injury, should the individual fail to awaken during the attack.
--Individuals who experience the above often seem to be extremely conscientious--perfectionists in an imperfect world. They typically appear to be striving to achieve the impossible, after which they sleep much as if they had "dragged a load of adrenaline to bed with them". We also have noted that many seem to have "two basic speed: off and way too fast"--a number of them swing between extremes of intense work at high speed, followed by exhaustion and fatigue."
Posted by beardedlady on March 28, 2003, at 18:56:40
In reply to Dealing with Panic attacks while they happen, posted by tina on March 26, 2003, at 12:09:34
We talked about this before, and you said that heat makes you anxious. I used to get these attacks that would wake me from a sound sleep (even on Xanax, because the med only lasts four hours for me, and then I'd be up like a shot!), and the only thing that ever helped was taking a hot bath and reading a book. Oh, hugging helps, but I don't know if that's an option. Try putting something very heavy on your legs or wrap them up in sheets if you are shaking.
I have put a mattress on top of me before--a feather bed, actually. That works.
Maybe you could do a cold bath?
beardy
Posted by Dinah on March 28, 2003, at 19:25:00
In reply to Re: Mine do. Yours Tina?, posted by noa on March 28, 2003, at 18:27:09
> We also have noted that many seem to have "two basic speed: off and way too fast"--a number of them swing between extremes of intense work at high speed, followed by exhaustion and fatigue."
>
>Boy, a lot of that seemed to apply to me, but especially the above statement.
I do sometimes wonder if I have sleep apnea. I wake up a lot with the odd feeling that I had forgotten to breathe.
Posted by tina on April 1, 2003, at 11:37:11
In reply to Re: Mine do. Yours Tina? (nm) » noa, posted by Dinah on March 26, 2003, at 19:51:31
Posted by tina on April 1, 2003, at 11:43:27
In reply to Re: Mine do. Yours Tina?, posted by Dinah on March 28, 2003, at 19:25:00
I do take klonopin at night. The worst attacks I have happen about two hours after falling asleep. I sometimes go to bed feeling a little anxious but can still manage to fall asleep. I have had my thyroid checked and rechecked and it's fine. I've always wondered about my hormones but I can't get a doc to do anything about it. I've asked 4 and they all say I'm too young to worry about my hormones.
My panic attacks and anxiety are always the worst during the week before my period. Sounds hormonal, at least a partly, to me. What kind of tests should I be asking for?
thanks for all the input and great ideas
tina
Posted by Hollygirl on April 2, 2003, at 21:43:59
In reply to Panic Attacks at night, posted by tina on April 1, 2003, at 11:43:27
Man, I am freaking out here...nothing is working...trying to distract myself by reading posts, but no luck...
Posted by noa on April 3, 2003, at 15:54:41
In reply to I am having a panic attack right now!!!, posted by Hollygirl on April 2, 2003, at 21:43:59
Hope it passed, Holly. How are you today?
This is the end of the thread.
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