Panic Attacks

[SirLoin]

anyone else ever had one?

Last nite i was at work on the assembly line,not stressed out at all(was listening to Neil Young's "Tonite's The Night") when i started feeling faint..hands,feet & face went numb and the HR was 140.i could barely speak.

i thought it was a heart attack and so did the plant medical staff..The paramedics arrived and measured my blood sugur at 17 and said i was hypoglycimic and gave me an IV that slowly lowered the heart rate(and sent me off into bumble-bee land...musta been some Demerol in there)

i had no chest pains so it was determined that it was a panic attack,and that 3 large coffee's might have been the cause.But i tell you,it scared the sheet outta me.

it also shut the Ford plant down for almost an hour(big $$ lost)

I'll be going back to work Monday but was wondering if anyone else has experienced something like this..and how did you explain it to those who had witnessed it.

[red26]

Its not like your but now I cant ride in cars with other people and they are driving I panic it gets hard to breath and I get sick to my stomach. Dont know why this started happing but it just did.

[Maverick]

It sounds more like an issue with your sugar levels and possibly a reaction to caffeine rather than anything related to a panic attack. Were you under a severe amount of stress just before the incident?

[storch]

if I worked at a ford plant I'd be panicking also.  I hope you recover soon, all the best

[Ripsnort]

Did they give you an oral paste? That's what para's carry in the states now apparently. Its a high glucose sugar-based paste to help elevate your blood sugar levels.

[SirLoin]

Rip,sugur level was 3 times higher than it shoud have been(as apposed to too low)...many organs kick into hyper-drive during an attack(heart,liver..etc)..the pancreas was pumpin out 3 times the amount of insullin so that's why blood sugur was too high(as opposed to it being too low like a diabetic)

It just happened outta the blue and was wondering if anyone else has been through one.

[AquaShrimp]

I'm a little confused, but heres some basic facts.

Insulin transports sugar into the cells, lowering blood sugar levels.

Glucagon transports sugars from muscles and the liver into the blood stream, elevating blood sugar levels.

During times of low blood sugar, adrenaline is produced to aid in raising blood sugar levels.

So if your sugar got way too low, your body would be producing massive amounts of adrenaline to try to get it back to a normal level (~80-100).  This would cause the jittery, panicky feeling.  I think you said your blood sugar was at 17?  Well thats extremely low.  I didn't even think a person could be conscious at that level.

In college, I worked at a warehouse at night.  I drank massive amounts of coffee and did very hard labor.  I never had a panic attack, but I did get the feelings of being extremely jittery and having a high heart rate.  Just the fact of not knowing why your body is acting strangely can cause a panic attack.

[Dichotomy]

SirLoin

I get them on a fairly regular basis.  Generally speaking, in my case, they are a delayed reaction to a stressful situation.  Fight with the spouse, kids going over the top, forgetting to pay a bill, etc.  I have a prescription for xanax that I take when I feel the symptoms coming on.  They are NOT fun and can sometimes put me in bed for a couple of hours.  I'd suggest seeing your doctor and getting a complete physical to see if there's a medical condition that is causing them.  Failing that you can get a prescription that alleviates the symptoms to a degree.

Good luck

[Maverick]

I hate to say it, but the Shrimp is right regarding blood sugal levels and the action of insulin. It's insulin a diabetic takes to lower sugar levels, not the other way around.

[SirLoin]

Ok i got that backwards..

[FiLtH]

The first time I had a panic attack I was watching Point Blank w/ Bridgette Fonda. It was towards the end of the movie and I started feeling all jumpy. My pulse went up and I couldnt sit still. Weird feeling. I had to leave. The second time was the Heavy Horse charge in Braveheart. I also had a few in heavy traffic on the freeway. Too much sugar or caffeine seems to trigger me as well. I was on a mild dose of klonopin for a couple years. Thankfully I havent had any attacks for 10 years now.

  Its a scary thing. You just feel totally out of control.

[Yeager]

sounds "exactly" like what happened to me while I was on strike back in 2001.
Although I was not particularly stressed out, my diet was all messed up.  I hadn't had anything to eat all day (was about 5pm) and was on my 2nd or 3rd  cup of coffee when I started feeling odd, a sort of displaced state of mind.  Then I started to tingle all over and noticed my heart beat was very rapid but very shallow.  I started seeing a strobe effect of light and called 911 right away.  Thought I was dying.

Took about a month but the doctors finally diagnosed it as type 2 diabetic onset event.  Have your doctor evaluate you for type 2 diabetes.  

PS if you wind up with type 2 its not a big deal at all if you take care of yourself.  All you have to do is eat smart, exercise 30 minutes a day  and monitor your sugar levels.  Chances are you will feel better for life.

[Mr No Name]

Sir Loin,

This does sound more like a severe hypoglycemic attack (DANGEROUSLY LOW) sugar level.  I would highly suggest looking at all meds and every OTC medicine and vitamin supplement that you take.  I had a bad arrhythmia that Drs were treating with harsh drugs that was caused by taking a walmart generic version of centrum.  (Turns out the hype aboute the products "equating" the brand name in quality control OR ingredients is BS no matter what the label says.)  I just happened to run out of the vitamin while on vacation and the irregular heartbeat returned to normal within 36 hours - after 8 months of problems 24/7.  You need to follow up with a Dr about the hypoglycemic attack and not take the explanation of a $8/hour paramedic.

As for panic attacks I have been having them for awhile... Good news is, they wont kill ya... AND They do go away.  I had them many years ago and had them daily, yes daily for 3 years then they suddenly went away and did not return in any way, shape or form for 13 years.  I have been under a VERY heavy stress load for a few years, sooooo this was my wake-up call to make some changes. IF these are panic attacks and i do not believe they are based on your extremely low sugar level, then get off caffiene and start walking for relaxation, it will occupy both body and mind.

Serious business, go see a doctor and bring the bottle for every vitamin, otc medication, everything...  Some people overlook these because they contain the catchphrase "all-natural"  well, some of the greatest poisons/toxins are all natural.  Good Luck!  

[Shaky]

Originally posted by SirLoin
anyone else ever had one?

Last nite i was at work on the assembly line,not stressed out at all(was listening to Neil Young's "Tonite's The Night") when i started feeling faint..hands,feet & face went numb and the HR was 140.i could barely speak.

i thought it was a heart attack and so did the plant medical staff..The paramedics arrived and measured my blood sugur at 17 and said i was hypoglycimic and gave me an IV that slowly lowered the heart rate(and sent me off into bumble-bee land...musta been some Demerol in there)

i had no chest pains so it was determined that it was a panic attack,and that 3 large coffee's might have been the cause.But i tell you,it scared the sheet outta me.

it also shut the Ford plant down for almost an hour(big $$ lost)

I'll be going back to work Monday but was wondering if anyone else has experienced something like this..and how did you explain it to those who had witnessed it.

Well, a blood sugar of 17 would probably put you unconcious (probably nothing...definately), so I really doubt you were that low. In the event you were low, what this "8 dollar an hour paramedic" would have done was IV dextrose 50%, usually 25g. That would have woken you up but left you feeling cold and lethargic.

That being said.....nothing else in your post really helps me figure what was going on. Panic attacks can and do occur with chest pain, simalar to a heart problem, 3 cups of coffee plus stress could kick your heart rate up to 140 or so, and I have no idea what you looked like or what your signs were Blood sugar of 17? I doubt it unless you were taking insulin.

See your doctor. If your are taking unprescribed over the counter stuff for anything stop now until you see your doctor. Make that appointment ASAP and try to remember everything that happened.

[SirLoin]

Originally posted by Yeager
 Thought I was dying.

Yeah...exactly the same feeling