Any doctors around please?

[KnifeAngel]

My Dd is 16 and doing her GCSE's. She has said she doesn't feel too worried about them. She is bright and should do well. She is her usual self and doesn't seem stressed. We have tried not to put any pressure on her.

She has had three occasions recently where she has struggled to breath. Each time she has been sitting still and not recently exercised. Once in a lesson she loves at school, once at the hairdressers and the last time having a meal in the pub.

I took her to the GP who said they were panic attacks and he is referring her to CAMHS. She doesn't feel this is what is happening to her. She says it feels like her throat is closing up and her chest feels heavy like there is a weight on it. The GP listened to her chest and it was clear.

Do these sound like panic attacks and if not what else could it be?

Thanks

That does sound very much like a panic attack although they are different for different people.

Not a dr but sounds exactly like panic attack. I had these as a teenager and wouldn't ever have said I was feeling stressed or worried, but I was it's just it manifested itself into these attacks. My dr taught me some breathing and calming exercises and eventually I outgrew them.

Thank you both. I have never had them but would have thought it would happen in an actual exam for instance not doing every day things.

Hopeful bump.

I too have experience of them. They're a result of shallow constricted breathing for a period of time.

The best way to avoid them happening is to do some exercise that gets you slightly out of breath and forces you to breath more deeply.

Hope your dd gets a handle on it.

I tend to get the panic attacks exactly when I’m NOT panicking. So when my body relaxes, it’s like a rush and BOOM. usually, for me, as I’m going to sleep, or when I have a calm, quiet sit down.

I’m pretty sure mine are panic attacks. Went to gp because was feeling breathless and like my heart was pounding, as above. Logically I could totally understand why I was feeling a stress response. My father had just died unexpectedly. Outwardly I was coping just fine, getting on with stuff (work/children/house/arrangements). While getting on with all of that there wasn’t the space for responding to the stress. It was only as I relaxed and had no other distractions that it was like I was having a delayed response. Really weird. That’s not to say that this is definitely what your dd has, but if the GP is happy that there isn’t any other underlying issue, then maybe see what comes from CAMHS. plus I definitely am more prone to the physical response when I am low on vitamin d and iron. Is your dd having any vitamin supplements?

I would definitely take the camhs appointment if her issues continue. In our area the threshold to get a referral for support is really high.

Yes, I think these could be panic attacks. Apparently the hairdresser's is not an unusual place to get them, possibly because you are a sitting duck and don't have a lot of choice other than to sit and wait/look at yourself in a mirror for the duration. I wonder also if breathing habits can contribute a lot - find it better when I can stand and walk, but in the last few years have had real trouble on trains (when I have travelled various times and distances very regularly since my teens - so I find this really annoying and surprising to come seemingly from nowhere).

This flashed up in active threads and I was just about to suggest anaemia as it can cause breathlessness and anxiety. Has the GP done a blood test?

Vocal Cord Dysfunction VCD

Did the GP see your DD in private? If so, she may have shared anxieties she may not feel able to tell you. A referral is not usually given on a first consultation.

Possibly? I meant to add a ? but hit 'Post' instead.

DD has VCD as well as asthma, the VCD has only just been diagnosed, she always knew some of her 'asthma' attacks were not asthma (asthmatic since she was a tiny dot) but it has taken her until the age of 28 to be diagnosed with VCD too.

Thank you. I went with her and within a minute he had diagnosed panic attacks. It is my daughter who is adamant she isn't having them. He didn't offer a blood test. We were in there less than 5 minutes and he began the referral straight away.

She is on the pill for problems with her periods. I asked if these could be linked to it but he didn't want to know.

She eats quite a varied diet so don't know if she would need vitamins.

it Sounds like a panic attack - you could go back and maybe asks for some tests. Being on pill makes anaemia less likely but maybe worth checking other bloods. If she is vegetarian worth thinking B12 level.
You could also ask ECG ( electric tracing heart ) panic attacks are common and we GP’s are pretty good at recognising.
Exercises to slow breathing and things like yoga and Pilates great as they encourage slowing the mind and the breathing. People with panic breathe fast ( hyperventilate) and a physiotherapist with special interest in breathing can help
Enourage time off screens and outside too walking or excercose so you get puffed is good.
I tend to normalise panic attacks - most women will get an episode at some stage - I have had them
If they keep on happening after simple things then take her back to GP
You sound like lovely mum!

Thank you @LunaTheCat she only has two weeks of exams left so will see if it continues.

It's difficult to say - there are many causes of episodes of breathlessness and you don't say how long they lasted, whether there were any associated features ( wheeze, pain, cough,) and what helped them to resolve, as well as what seemed to bring them on.
Does she have any h/o hay fever, asthma, have a viral infection ?
Does she feel as if her heart beats quickly, in fast forward, trembly, shaky, worried at the same time?
A full on panic attack is a physical manifestation of the sympathetic nervous system discharging adrenaline triggering the fight and flight response ie fast HR fast breathing , urge to flee etc. It's usually associated with a flash of severe anxiety and mental panic / impending doom, but a lesser attack of physical anxiety symptoms could be milder eg feeling trembly or fidgety or short of breath.
Really difficult to say from the information . ime CAMHs don't accept a lot of patient referrals but that could be our area. Keep an eye and have a chat with her about whether she feels generally het up or experiencing any other physical symptoms