Panic attacks?

[too-open-minded]

Okay so my girlfriend had a really bad panic attack today and went to the E.R, they just gave her some anti anxiety medicine and sent her home but were wondering if she has to worry about this in the future and if some medications she is taking could have any roll in this?

 

She wrote on a health forum earlier and has yet to get a reply, I was wondering if some of you here at SF would know anything.

 

hi I just had my first severe anxiety attack this morning. I woke up at around 3 in the morning to turn on my fan because I was hot. soon after I began to get cold and broke out in a cold sweat. I than began to feel like my body was becoming numb and my breathing was getting heavy. I woke my mom up and told her I felt funny, she just said go back to sleep so I laid back down. I than began to realize my heart was pumping so fast and very off beat. I started to freak out and began to get blurry vision and was extremely light headed. My mouth got super dry and I realized I was clenching my jaw and couldn't help it. After that I started to look up some of the symptoms because I got really scared that I might be having a heart attack. I really started to panic and then was hearing some sort of siren in my ear and my whole body began to ache and was completely numb. Woke my mom up once again and told her what was going on and she counted my pulse. she said I was having a panic attack and that I needed to lay down. but I couldn't sleep. Eventually got out of bed around 7 in the morning, had been awake all night freaking out and I was completely zoned out. I couldn't speak correctly and every little thing irritated me. I felt almost exactly the same for about 6 hours, but it was really bad for about 30 mins. I have had panic attacks before but they've never just been out of the blue or had woken me up and the symptoms were never that bad, or stayed that long. I'm sort of worried maybe my meds are messing with me. I take lamictal for a bipolar disorder and I also have been diagnosed with PTSD not too long ago. I have suffered from depression since I was 12 but I've never felt so weird in my life. I felt extremely fearful and cried for no reason at all a couple times. I also smoke cigs and drink on the weekends. Could this be an effect of my occasional drinking or smoking tobacco? I'd really like some feedback on this, I'm super worried and really do not want to feel that ever again. It was one of the scariest experiences iv ever had. Later on in the day when i had waken up from a nap, I began to notice that my body was getting numb once again. Told my mom but she had to go to work. I thought I was going to be fine but I stepped outside to call someone and my whole body began to feel like it was vibrating and my hand locked up and I couldn't move my fingers. I was extremely dizzy and the world was fuzzy to me. I was uncontrollably crying nonstop for that whole time. My legs began to give out and I tried to get up and fell on the floor. I was crying there for a minute because I was extremely scared something might have been wrong. My mom got home and took me to the ER and eventually my hand began to work but I felt very drowsy and dizzy. Still feel a little off right now. I'm just worried this is gonna be an everyday thing because I wasn't even thinking of stressful stuff and still just randomly had one. thanks

 

Basically she woke up from a panic attack which got worse. It wore off, then after she took a nap it came back stronger than the first time to the point her extremities were numb, vision was blurry, and crying hysterically. She went to the ER and was given an anti anxiety medicine, Laprozam I believe. She is wondering what the deal with panic attacks are. If her occasional drinking, cigarettes, and bipolar medication Lamictal could have anything to do with her panic attacks? What are ways you can better handle and subdue panic attacks?

 

 

[sysD]

No one here's qualified to do a differential.

[too-open-minded]

Is anyone here qualified to explain why nicotene doesn't help anxiety? I can't get it through to her, she won't stop smoking, or believe the things we find on yahoo answers.

Edited April 1, 2013 by too-open-minded