Does Anyone Know If This Is Normal

[lieze]

Well after the first wave of tachycardia went through and had slowed down. Then I got the extreme nausea and feeling I was going to poop. My nurse said this was the bodies way to preserve the heart to pull all blood out of the stomach and divert it to the heart.

I then went through another wave of tachycardia not as fast as the first and then another wave of the nausea not as bad as the first. By this time my head was just swimming. I was plastered on the ceiling felt like I was in the twilight zone. I don't know if this is what a panic attack feels like?

If you read and don't feel like you can comment either way I guess I'll understand. I guess I'm just looking for some kind of reassurance that I'm okay.

[MomtoGiuliana]

These sound like symptoms of a panic attack to me.

I am not completely sure that what POTS patients experience is exactly a panic attack, although some of us may get panic attacks. I used to get weird episodes like this when my POTS was more disabling than it is now. I was told initially I was panicking. It seemed odd b/c I couldn't link the panic attack to any stress or anxiety in my life, and the dr and nurse I saw at the time kept telling me I was stressed, until I started to believe that I was. I think the thing is that both POTS and panic attacks involve the sympathetic nervous system so it can be hard to identify what the cause/trigger is.

[lieze]

One of the things that makes me suspicious is with almost every episode I've had by the time the squad arrives the worst of it seems like it's over. I may still be tachy in the squad but that is it.

I do get that paralyzing sensation that I cannot get up.

But I still feel as if I'm in crisis even though my vital signs have returned to normal.

Then I do the muscles trembling, and waves go through that I feel that can feel quite severe although if you look at the monitor my vitals do not react at all.

This is why I am so suspicious as to how much of this is just panic and anxiety.

Like you there really is no stimulus most times for this extreme anxiety unless it is a type of chemical imbalance in the body and I just have a hair trigger for stress to the point of just standing up sets me off.

[juliegee]

Lieze,

I know that frustration of trying to figure things out w/o medical help. No one has more of a vested interest than you in getting to the bottom of things. Once you do, you can treat most appropriately & start to get some control.

At the middle/end of an allergic reaction, many folks have nausea, "D," and even vomiting and have to urinate badly. I don't mean to stir the POT (no pun intended) by throwing another scenario out there. I've been DXed with MCAD and what many here call episodes or panic attacks are apparently anaphylaxis for me.

Hope you get it figured out soon.

Hugs-

Julie

[futurehope]

I've had two "attacks" since the dawn of my POTS life. Both times, I was extremely weak (not the "normal" weak), extremely dizzy, a la vertigo, felt like I was going to throw up, and poop at the same time. Not fun. Actually, my bowels would empty, but I never threw up.

Looking back, I figure it was some kind of "adrenaline response" of sorts, kind of like an extreme case of "fight or flight", except I was unable to do either one. But, what do I know?

One time, it was right before a house move while I was still working part-time, a very stressfull time for me. The other time was also during an extremely stressful time for me. I was relatively "new" with the POTS diagnosis. My husband was in Europe for 10 days. I, all alone, had to get up at 5AM daily to go down two flights of stairs and walk two dogs. I had to drive one dog to the PET ER, and ultimately put her to sleep. Needless to say, I was extremely depleted.

So, in my case, I attribute my attacks to extreme stress.

Only you know what you are going through, and how you are responding. Only you know if there are any preceding triggers.

It would be near impossible for anyone on this forum to give you a accurate picture of the cause of your crises. I hope you figure it out, or at least, learn what to do, or what to expect. I may be wrong, but I suspect in my case, if it happened to me again, I would tell myself "Oh, I've had this before. I'll make it through again." Actually, it is so nerve-wracking to experience this, that I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I hope I never have this again. And, I hope you don't have this again either.

ETA....I'm assuming that you are aware of possible food triggers, such as tea coffee, chocolate or other caffeine-containing foods. Also, be sure your foods are in their original state, not processed and without chemicals, if possible. Another thought, don't let your blood sugar go into major highs and lows. IOW, don't wait and get real hungry, and then ingest a donut (full of sugar) or candy. Stay away from additives and preservatives, if possible. Also, I hope you are not on any decongestants or other meds that can trigger this response in you? Hopefully, you are not ingesting any "ginsing" or other supplement that could mimic a stimulant? Maybe your responses are triggered by a "certain time of month"? I'm assuming you have already been tested for hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid)?

[dianne.fraser]

Lieze

I really do think you're ok - we're probably all experiencing panic attacks in similar and different ways. The important thing is that sharing our experience breaks the isolation of it.

This is my experience (in grisly detail).

For me, at the beginning of a panic attack my heart races - the onset is very rapid. During my first panic attack my heart rate was so high that I recall thinking that my heart was barely pumping - it was next to useless - I had a feeling of suffocation - I couldn't get any oxygen - my throat closed over and I was unable to speak - I was gasping for breath. My clearest recollection of my first panic attack is of standing in a crowded room with people staring at me with a mixture of curiosity and contempt. In particular, I remember the pale eyes of one man who was staring at me intently, but not moving to help me. When my heart rate slowed, I felt faint, light-headed and exhausted - as though I had run a marathon (I guess my heart HAD run a marathon). I was much sicker in the couple of days afterwards - much, much more fatigued. And, of course, crushed and humiliated.

I remember crying through most of the night afterwards, then getting up in the morning, putting on my lipstick and going back to work.

This pattern has been repeated many, many times - the racing heart, suffocation, inability to speak, gasping for breath, being viewed as a basket case (and feeling like one), crying all night and picking myself up in the morning and going back.

I haven't had a panic attack now for more than six months - not because I worked out how to stop them (I haven't - I've tried many techniques and approaches, but nothing stopped them or reduced their frequency or severity), but because I stopped resisting - I have an agreement at work that I will no longer be placed under the conditions that trigger my attacks. I'm also managing my dysautonomia better now - this has had a bigger impact than any of the techniques and approaches I tried over many years.

Lieze, I think we're all ok.

[Kujiforo]

My panick symptoms come on whenever I start feeling bad, my mind doesn't make it happen...but its more of my body's way of reacting to being under so much stress and pain with symptoms all the time. Mine feels like an adrenaline rush to my head, making it spin, then I get cold and hot numb or tingling sensations, and find it hard to breathe. I feel like I am floating above my body and my body is dead weight being pressed down to whatever surface I am sitting on. Most all of my panick attack symptoms come at night when my body is trying to relax, because alot of my dysautonomia type symptoms flare up then. Its annoying at best. I just pray my way through it and try to force myself asleep so I do not have to feel it.