Panic Disorder?

[Hal2000]

Hello, I'm a 46 year old male cigarette smoker and live in upstate New York. About 5 months ago I had an "episode". While visiting my friends mother in the hospital I experienced a sudden rapid heartbeat, palpatations, and profuse sweating. It scared me very much and felt as if getting up from the chair and walking around would help. It did not. A nurse came into the room and saw my dillema and quickly brought a wheelchair to take me to the ER. I declined because I started to feel better within minutes. Subsequently while leaving the hospital I experienced problems with my balance, almost a vertigo type feeling.

I went to my family doctor and explained what happened at the hospital. The first word she said were, "sounds like you had a panic attack". She sent me for an EKG which was normal. Blood glucose normal. Blood pressure and heartrate normal. She then sent me off with a prescription for a bllod test and a stress test. Due to the fact that I am self employed I have no medical insurance. I did not go for the stress and blood test. I have not been to my family doctor since my intitial consultation.

I informed my mother (who is a clinical nutritionist) and she indicated that she had these same symptoms at about age 40. As it turned out she was diagnosed with Hypoglycemia. She indicated that I was probably hypoglycemic as well. I purchased a blood glucose monitor and measured myself closely (every hour)for about a month. My blood sugar is stable and holding steady at around 100-120.

I have changed my diet to a low glycemic diet. However I don't get much exercise and smoke cigarettes.

Since my first "episode" as described above I went about a month without another episode. For the past couple of months a have experienced these episodes of varying intensity multiple times daily. Sometimes abruptly woken by a racing heartbeat and palpatations (of course panic ensues because I feel like I'm having a heart attack). Other symptoms which have manifested are dizziness or a feeling like I'm going to pass out, an urge to flee, an urge to urinate, feelings of unreality, fear of imminant death, occasional ringing in my right ear, occasional sweating directly after a meal, chills, and weakening of my legs. These episodes happen at all times of the day and night and I have no warning when they will strike.

Relief is sometimes obtained by getting up and moving around and calming myself down.

Generally after these episodes I am exhausted, forgetfull, fatigued, and I get headaches and sometimes will sleep during the day.

Due to the fact that I never know when an episode will strike, I have been avoiding certain situations. Work is one of the biggest problems for me. Eating out at restaurants, and driving are some things I have been avoiding due to the fact I'm embarrassed by my symptoms in public and afraid I'll cause an accident while driving.

This problem is very real for me and making me very unstable. I'm hoping someone will identify my symptoms and guide me in the right direction for appropriate treatment.

Thank You All in advance for reading my story.

[kenn]

Your symptoms sound to me like some sort of sugar imbalance. It might be that it is a type of reactive hypoglycemia - a rapid fall in blood sugar level which naturally corrects itself after a while. It is worth checking your blood sugar level when you are shivering and shaking as well as when you are feeling normal.

I have suffered almost exactly the same symptoms as yours and these were corrected by diet and moderate exercise. Don't expect it to happen overnight though. In my case, I seemed to have symptoms either soon after eating or some hours later (which to me at first appeared totally random). It sounds like you have too.

The control of blood sugar levels is very complicated, with uptake by receptors being controlled by insulin and falling levels prevented by adrenalin (and others). If this balance is upset (by stress or diet for example) then you can expect some problems. Smoking doesn't help, as it stimulates adrenalin production upsetting the balance further. It is worth adding that it is sometimes possible to have quite normal blood sugar levels and still feel the symptoms of hypoglycemia (due to insulin resistance or low levels of insulin).

Interestingly, the temptation to avoid certain situations is widely reported by hypoglycemics. What you are doing is exactly the same as everybody else!

I should go back to your doctor with this hypothesis, since there are other potential causes of hypoglycemia also. I would not accept a diagnosis of panic attacks unless all else had been considered thoroughly. Try and get your problem sorted though, otherwise you will end up having panic attacks!

[sbgrl925]

Sounds nearly exactly like my panic attacks which I used to get. I used to think that I was having a heart attack because of the symptoms are so similar. I used to be worried about going out in fear of having another episode which only caused me to have more in the end. I suggest therapy, which helped me to manage the attacks. I hope this helps and you feel better.

[rebeccakk]

I am 27 and have a panic disorder. I was diagnosed when I was 17 and I get all the same symptoms. I have had heaps of medical tests and they are all normal. So I would safetly say it is a panic disorder. Its all to do with how your brain wants to think. Its the fight & flight response. Researching up on Panic/anxiety books. I find them really good.

[kate1982]

Definately sounds like panic attacks and maybe generalized anxiety disorder as well. It sounds like it could be leading into agoraphobia which is exactly what happened to me. You should talk to your doctor about what you're experiencing because anxiety, even panic attacks and agoraphobia, can be treated very successfully, usually with a combination of anti anxiety medication and cognitive therapy/relaxation techniques. Hope everything works out for you.

[Lori2006]

I have the same thing ... panic attacks ... I haven't had an episode since my mom was dying, I got on antidepresants and anxiety meds at the same time to help calm me down and it helped so much. Now I am weening off of them, no problems now. Anxiety disorders are one of the few mental health problems that can be cured with a combination of meds and counseling.

[Unregistered]

Hey Im from new york city and seeing what you wrote really caught my attention. I'm 22 years old and I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder when I was 18. Panic disorder has changed my life in ways that i never thought possible but about a year and a half ago i finally started working and soon after started school also and although I wasn't able to get on trains, due to the fact that I had my first panic attack in one, i still managed to get around by bus. unfortunatley just last week I had a relapse. I stopped going to school and working and i feel like my life is over. I have cried so much b/c I had so many plans for my life and i feel like now i can't do anything. basically the reason i stopped going out is because when I'm outside I have this sensation that I can't balance my body, I feel like i walk in zig zags and bump into people as if i cant control my body and i'm gonna pass out which then causes me to have a full blown panic attack. is there anyone out there who has these feelings also? I'm so scared I can't even go to the grocery store b/c as soon as i step out my building i have that feeling. it like if it were the vertigo thing that you were talking about. I also expirience this feeling like when i look ahead in a block and the block is empty i feel like i have no one to hold on to like im just going to fall flat on my face. Is there anyone out there that can help me understand this a little better? My name is Rocio

[kate1982]

Hey Rocio,
I can relate to what you're going through. I have very similar symptoms with the dizziness and feelings similar to that. Agoraphobia is very disabling, I lost my job because of it. Anyways, just know that you aren't alone.

[Unregistered]

I am having similar symptoms and very confused about what is going on. A little over a year ago I was diagnosed as hypoglycemic. I was told to eat more complex carbs, etc. and was sent on my way. Being 21, I didn't think too much about it however was a little more aware. About 10 months after being diagnosed hypoglycemic, in August, I had a horrible reaction. I had been drinking coffee, smoking cigs, etc. and broke out into a full panic attack. It was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Ever since then I feel very different. I used to be carefree, not worrying about anything and now I am very weary of going places, drinking coffee, smoking cigs, etc. as I'm afraid that I may have another panic attack. However, I still do go a lot of places, I am 22 and in college so I have quite a bit going on! But I'm not very comfortable in these places and sometimes begin to feel dizzy or feel as though I need to leave, etc. Usually if I eat something I feel better, but sometimes this happens like one or two hours after I'm eating and when in public places it usually happens all the time. I have basically quit smoking, which is probably a good thing, but not because I wanted to. I also try to eat all the time because I'm afraid that I may get low blood sugar which would lead me to a panic attack. I'm not even hungry most of the times I eat. I do however try to eat very healthy meals and snacks although sometimes I may cheat! I'm just really confused on if this is symptoms from hypoglycemia or if I may have some anxiety disorder such as panic disorder. I just want to feel normal again!! Anyone have any suggestions?

[kenn]

Smoking can cause problems because it stimulates adrenalin which interferes with sugar uptake. What you are describing (i.e. feeling bad a couple of hours after eating) sounds like reactive hypoglycemia. If you stimulate adrenalin further by worrying about having a panic attack, then you are probably going to have a one! Hypoglycemics nearly always associate past incidences with certain types of places, so it is likely you are causing a lot of the problems yourself (the most important thing is that you realise it).

You need to get a dietician to advise you on the best way of tackling it (something more than just telling you to eat more complex carbs - which is right incidentally). I don't understand who you think you are cheating when you stray from your healthy diet. It is certainly not your doctor!

You could do worse than get a blood glucose meter to try and find out what is going on. You would be unwise to suggest to your doctor that you thought you had an anxiety disorder unless you were pretty sure that was the case.