Was this a panic attack?

[Caminante]

I went out the other night and started to feel unwell on the way home (no alcohol involved).
Fast heartbeat, shoulder pain, feeling of doom, couldn't stop crying, nausea. Just felt really wrong.
When I got home I called 111 and they advised an ambulance-I was v reluctant and embarrassed but they insisted. Long story short, everything was normal (12 lead ECG), but I felt awful for a few hours after, nausea, waves of awfulness.Paramedics were lovely and reassuring.
We discussed that I'd taken ADHD meds that day and I often get palpitations etc.
That was a few days ago and I've only just started to feel less exhausted, weepy etc.

Was that a panic attack? Should I follow up with my GP? There was nothing physically wrong with me but I felt so awful.

I would follow up with the gp just to have a plan in place and a formal diagnosis. I’m glad the ecg was clear. I have the same when I’m going through stressful times and I have put them down to panic attacks although I know I do have very low ferritin too.

Just to give more relevant info...I do already take propranolol as and when and I'd already had my full dose for the day.

Thanks @Realitea, interesting about the Ferritin.

Has anyone else had an experience like this?

That doesn't sound like a panic attack to me and I've had a few.

Im not sure what it sounds like but the fatigue , nausea and pain to me suggest it's something like a virus or a side effect of the meds.
How long have you been on the ADHD meds?

Actually that's not a bad point.

When I've had low iron, I've felt faint, fast heartbeat, nausea and general tiredness.

In fact, I always used to think how similar those feelings were to a panic attack.

Yes, get your bloods done

Any chance your drink could have been spiked?
any relation to the exertion/walking?

It's hard to say. Isn't propanalol meant to slow your heart rate down and help with panic attacks? Did anything happen on the night out to trigger a panic attack? Have you suffered from this type of thing before? Shoulder pain is a strange one for anxiety but I know it can give a range of physical symptoms. Did you try to take deep breaths to see if that improved things?

I can say my panic attacks can exhaust me for the rest of the day after one but not for days on end. Go to GP and get it checked. Probably is anxiety but for your peace of mind go to GP.

I've been taking them a couple of years but a low dose and not every day. I'm very sensitive to anything like that, can't have caffeine.

No alcohol, just a bottle of water that I had hold of all evening.

Yes the propranolol should have dealt with any symptoms like palpitations.

It was a stressful day, I suppose that's fair to say, and I don't often go out at night these days.
The crying I can almost understand as a release of tension and post-event relaxing, but not the rest.

It might be that you had a panic attack but because of the meds your on it was an atypical presentation

I think any unexplained trip to the hospital requires further investigation - yes, do speak to your GP! As has been said, given the medication you're on, you may have an atypical presentation. Your GP will be best placed to check that out.

I'm glad you're feeling better.

If you were bad enough to need an ambulance visit I’d say you do need to follow up with the GP.

Thanks for all the responses, I've booked a GP appointment for next week. I'm going to ask for some follow up blood tests to check vitamins, ferritin, thyroid etc.

I was really hoping that out there in the MN world there would be someone who has had a similar experience.

I would be checking with the GP for bloods etc - and looking at your medication.

Whenever I've had panic attacks it's usually been triggered by something, even if it's tiny. I have had symptoms of panic that have then snowballed into panic if that makes sense - so maybe something minor like an upset stomach that I've then become anxious about and ended up panicking over. Not sure if that could be the case here, that you felt slightly off and then snowballed it.

That said I've woken up to a panic attack, so entirely possible that it could have come out of nowhere - especially if you had a stressful day and were out in the evening and having to mask (typical with ADHD). It could be the adrenaline of the day/evening caused a spike in flight symptoms that got worse?

Either way, my panic attacks can take a day or two to get over if they were really bad - which whatever happened to you was, because you were frightened enough to get an ambulance out. The worry you've had since will contribute to the feeling that has persisted but definitely don't rule out anything physical.

@PollyDarton1 thank you so much for replying! And for understanding about masking. You're right, I find social events difficult and this was a packed gig, standing, crammed in with strangers. I was determined to enjoy it so I didn't register maybe the intense stress of it.
I had heard that panic attacks can come out of apparently nowhere.
It's just a bit baffling how it went on for so long, even at 4-5am I was having waves of nausea and I was somehow 'afraid' to let myself relax and sleep.

Oh this makes so much more sense. I've been to gigs before where I've enjoyed the gig but have felt that panicky feeling - the music, the jostling, the crowd and heat. It's more than likely a physical reaction to intense stimulation. If you were stressed anyway or potentially dehydrated that would make it so much worse.

The brain is a horrible thing post panic attack and tricks you into thinking another one is imminent so you're on edge expecting it. If you were up all night keeping these feelings at bay especially after having an ambulance out then no wonder you couldn't 'wind' down. I'd expect the next day to be a bit of a write off, maybe even two if you were sleep deprived.

Definitely get checked with the GP though.

@PollyDarton1 that's such a comforting reply, thank you.
I'm sure you're right, a tally of factors adding up higher and higher, the anxiety, the meds, the physical stimulation (was dripping with sweat before, during and after the gig), and as soon as I was safely on my way home it all came whooshing out.
Luckily I have a very lovely adult daughter who lives with me, she had to get out of bed to come meet me from the train as I was all wobbly and couldn't stop crying. Probably scared the life out of her!

Hey @Caminante - just wanted to see how you were feeling now?

@PollyDarton1 You are so kind!
Better I suppose? But mentally very low still. GP on Friday, am going to write everything down to keep my thoughts straight.

I was thinking about you over the weekend.

I'm sorry you feel low mentally - is this a consistent feeling or since the panic attack? I'm glad you've got a GP appointment Friday - is there anyone else you could talk to in the meantime? If you aren't already involved with community mental health, I think you can set refer these days?

@PollyDarton1 being menopause aged/ADHD it's usually a fairly bumpy ride 😂 but yes, more anxiety than usual at the moment.

Thanks for reminding me, I am going to follow up with my local community health place, I've been on a waiting list for months now.

I will make sure I find someone to talk to about it. I was going to reply that yes of course, I've got adult kids, sisters and a partner but it's actually very hard to talk about this and make it not sound like menopausal angst. Well you know what I mean 😂

ADHD and menopause sounds like a difficult combination, I've got that all to come and dreading it so you're doing brilliantly.

Yep definitely follow that up, and see if you can get some feedback in terms of where you are before GP appointment.

Are you on meds for the ADHD? I find sometimes my anxiety can spike on it if I've missed a dose or have had a stressful day. I know full well if I had a panic attack today I would be worrying for the rest of the week (and probably two) that it would happen again so I don't think that is particularly unusual (but annoying).

Feel free to PM me btw, I'm here if you want to chat x