I thought I was having a heart attack.

[JanetPluchinsky]

I woke up this morning with severe chest pains, dizziness, heart beating almost out of my chest. I really thought I was done for. I was sweating and shaking and nauseous. All the heart attack symptoms.

Dh called an ambulance and they were here super quickly, did an ecg etc but it was all inconclusive. So they took me to hospital. The pain in my chest moved down to my abdomen by this point but I still could barely breathe with the pain.

All blood tests and further scans came back clear. My pain lessened throughout the day and by mid afternoon I was discharged and called DH to come and get me.

Then it all went horribly wrong. One minute I was sitting in the waiting room, the next minute I was on the floor, the room was spinning, my chest was back to full pain, I couldn’t feel my hands or feet. Cue five or six hospital staff rushing over and dealing with me.

I am completely mortified. The whole thing was panic attacks. I had no idea this was what panic attacks are like. It wasn’t like I was panicking, either, but they’ve explained that I have been running too stressed for months and this was like a cortisol overload.

They were all really really lovely to me but I feel like just a massive time waster. Both of these episodes felt like I was dying. The second one passed a lot quicker because the doctor immediately recognised it as a panic attack and not a heart attack so was able to help me properly instead of sticking wires all over me and needles in me which they (rightly) did before and meant the attack went on for hours.

I had no idea this is what panic attacks were. I’ve always assumed it would be something you experienced because you were panicking or worried and these both came out of nowhere. The first one then fed into itself what with all the stress about dying and being in hospital. No idea why the second one happened as I was actually calm and looking forward to going home.

Not sure what I’m posting for really, just needed to get it out I think. AIBU to not have realised how awful and uncontrollable panic attacks can be?

Now I need to make some serious lifestyle changes because I can’t be this stressed all the time and I never want to experience this again.

Thank you for posting this. I didn't know either but I've heard before about the effects of just pushing on through stress regardless. I hope you do manage to achieve a better work life balance. It's really really hard especially as a woman to do this.

I had two panic attacks like this after Covid - very scary. I work in mental health and didn’t recognise them as panic attacks, because I thought the chest pain and breathlessness were part of ongoing Covid. I wasn’t even feeling stressed at the time, it was like my body just started to panic without me noticing.
Covid has left me with anxiety that I didn’t have before.
I also need to simplify life - too many commitments.

I had a really scary panic attack when o had kidney stones - the pain from the stones scared me into the panic attack. But with all the symptoms I literally thought I was dying and got an ambulance into hospital. My whole body started going numb, my speech was slurred and my hands froze up. It was truly terrifying, and you should NOT feel like a time waster.

It's absolutely ok. Anxiety attacks like yours are terrifying and horrible medical events. I hope you get the follow up you need. After a few attacks some people are able to find techniques to reduce the impact of them. Take care of yourself, you deserve it.

your story is exactly like a relative's.
high achieving job, busy but not too bad. busy life. after therapy relative came to the conclusion that it was due to bottled up feeling since an accident many years prior.

panic attacks are very physical and very scary.
op you did not waste time in hospital. it could have been a heart attack and needed to be investigated.

I used to work for a senior surgeon. He presented at his own A&E with symptoms almost identical and that was anxiety as well. He described it as 'a funny turn', but the truth was that he thought he was dying. It came after a particularly traumatic case.

If a surgeon can think he is having a heart attack (and lots of us know just how unlikely it is for them to ever admit to feeling even slightly off), there's absolutely no reason for you to regret being responsible, rather than ignoring symptoms that could just as easily be something life threatening.

Be kinder to yourself in all ways, don't feel guilty, because that's just another way of putting unnecessary pressure on you.

I have severe anxiety op, well used to panic attacks but I have been suffering attacks just like you describe frequently recently, extremely scary and I’ve nearly called an ambulance a few times. Mine come on when I’m relaxing and wake me from sleep, sometimes several times a night.
I have been very stressed due to a recent bereavement so I think my body is struggling to cope and panic attacks are the result.

I had my first proper panic attack about 18 months ago and it was absolutely horrific.

I have had stressful meltdowns and moments of overwhelming anxiety before and I always thought that was what a ‘panic attack’ was. Then I actually had one and ohhhh boy.

I didn’t have chest pains like you describe, I’m not sure I can even describe mine properly but it was sort of like I felt all the blood drain out of my head at once. My face felt numb and I genuinely thought I was having a stroke. I then just had the most overwhelming sense of dread, like I literally thought I was about to drop dead right then and there. I quite seriously felt like I was seconds away from my heart just stopping forever. It was HORRIBLE and I don’t think I will ever fully be able to articulate it.

I went to the doc and had a bunch of tests and there was nothing physically wrong with me but thankfully I had a lovely doctor who got me talking about all the stress I was under at the time and made me realise how much I was struggling. It was no wonder my body eventually reacted how it did.

Please please don’t ever feel ashamed or like a time waster, there’s no such thing as ‘just’ a panic attack and your mental health is every bit as important as your physical health - in fact they go hand in hand and one can easily affect the other! This is a sign that you’re under more stress than you can take right now and that you need to look after yourself however you can.

Sending you so much love

I’m 42 so that would make sense.

My peri started at 40, so definitely. If you can go to a private peri/menopause clinic, I can't recommend it highly enough. HRT is a lifesaver and very important for heart and bone health.

I’ve been there op. Rushed in on two separate occasions thinking I was having a heart attack but was a panic attack. I’m a nurse and still didn’t recognise it. One was mid shift, colleagues came running and rushed me downstairs. It’s scary.

Hope you are okay and manage to work out coping strategies that works for you.

YANBU They are horrific. I have a panic disorder brought on by a prolonged period of high stress. Sometimes I wake up with them, other times they can go on for hours and hours, day after day. It is exhausting. Like you, they just show up out of nowhere.

Before I became ill, I used to think, what is all the fuss about, just calm down and you will be okay. How wrong was I, there is no calming down for me, just have to ride it out.

I cannot take even the smallest amount of stress now, it's like a pavlovian response. It really pisses me off and despite drugs, therapy and CBT, nothing has really helped. Sometimes working out helps, but not always.

I think it's good you are looking at your life/work/study balance. There is nothing as important as your health.

Good luck

I had my first panic attack in the middle of the night earlier this year aged 50. I woke up and thought I had been sleeping funny on my arm as it felt odd and I had a weird cramping feeling going across my chest and up my neck.
I laid in bed for ages, feeling really calm wondering if this was a heart attack and when would be the best time to phone for an ambulance. I was then trying to work out how to let them in without the dog going crazy.
I got up to go to the loo and felt really quite awful, quite clammy but freezing cold. I got back into bed and looked up how to calm my breathing down (whilst my dh snored away next to me) and managed to get it calmer. It took a few goes, but it must have worked as I woke up the next morning feeling much better physically but absolutely wiped out and quite teary about it.
I didn't wake my dh as he would have panicked which would not have helped. I think I must have known at the back of my mind what was happening, but my brain was racing away with all sorts of what ifs.

It’s really, really common to think you are having a heart attack when you first have a panic attack. I hope you feel better soon.

Sorry to hear you've experienced this. I wouldn't wish panic attacks on anyone.
The medical staff sounded lovely and certainly no reason to feel bad about going. It truly does feel like you're dying at the time.

Yes, I've definitely been woke up in the middle of the night with them.
It does help knowing what they are.

I take medication for them but I still have learned all the techniques over the years to deal with them.
Meditation, breathing techniques, 5 senses, CBT do work.

I had a similar situation last weekend. Complete sudden numbness of my left hand, forearm, face, tongue and throat. Cue ambulance rushing me in with a suspected TIA or Stroke. I'm 34! Turns out it was a migraine. Brain MRI booked for a couple weeks just incase.
Don't feel mortified OP. The medical staff were clearly concerned enough to take you in which they rarely do unnecessarily.

You poor thing. It’s so scary for you. You are not a time waster! It’s real and incredibly distressing.

I hope you can get some real rest and time off x

You poor love that sounds horrible - glad you were looked after properly.

I feel for you so so much. I have had one episode like this, a few weeks ago, I was certain it was a stroke and I was about to die. Went away quickly though, I had an appointment the next day where the (lovely) doctor did a lot of tests and then very tactfully brought up anxiety.

I know exactly how it feels like you’re time wasting. But it really feels exactly like a medical emergency at the time and there’s no possible way you can just ignore it. I also thought anxiety attacks built up as a result of conscious panicking/worrying, but like you I was completely minding my own business and not thinking of anything in particular (actually think I was reading mumsnet lol) then it hit me.

They're awful, I was crying at my worst that I would rather crash my car than have another one

Things that helped

This website, mostly reading about the symptoms and why they happen https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms

Acknowledging the panic and carrying on (this sound ridiculous I know but it worked) I would say "oh hi panic! I know it's just you" it squished it down to a tiny thing

Any form of game/app that's really detailed/complex. Even candy crush! Nonogram and clockmaker are the other two I have. For when you need distracting. Also some form of comfort TV programme

Recognising what triggers them. For me it's lack of sleep

Talking to someone online or posting on here if it's happening

Exercise. It reminds you that being out of breath and sore can be a positive thing and helps you control your breathing as well as endorphins

Calm app. Or similar, the sleep stories are amazing if you're worrying and I HATE being read to!

Don't be embarrassed, you didn't waste anyone's time but if you are stressed I can see why you might think this way.

This is a warning sign and you are very lucky the warning came as a panic attack so you can make changes rather than a heart attack or worse.

Your brain & your body are literally screaming at you to make changes and reduce your mental load.

Do you need time of work?
I'd work need you to be contact able, then you need a work phone or just use Teams or whatever is available on your work systems.
Have a clear cut off time, I.e. 5pm and that is it etc.
If working from home, it the computer is a room that you can shut the door at the end of the evening rather than being in your living room?
Can college be deferred? Or less modules or abandon it altogether.
Put personal time into your diary. If you have trouble working extra in the evening, may plans so you have to sleep away.
What are your relax hours weekly, I.e. never ever work late of certain evenings, weekly massage, hour in the gym, yoga class etc.

Mental & physical health must be prioritised above all else right now. I don't want to be negative, you if you ignore the warning sign, what happens next won't be something you can ignore. Please mind yourself.

Dd has exactly this panic ..its awful.

Be kind to yourself. Panic attacks are awful, I've suffered for years

Oh they are truly awful. I had my first severe one coincided with the first lockdown. I was pacing my living room floor at 5am, struggling to breath. I thought it was a heart attack too.
I made myself worse thinking I couldn't ring an ambulance or go to hospital because of the pandemic.
I managed to get hold of my psychiatrist the next day and was prescribed a couple of diazepam, which a lovely nurse collected for me. My GP prescribed Propanol following more episodes. They've really helped. I still take them regularly.
I hope you're able to fully rest and recover.

It’s horrible how panic attacks can affect you so don’t feel like a time waster, you’re absolutely not.

My mum had a panic attack years ago when driving..it was the scariest thing, her face went all distorted and it was like her hands really tightened on the steering wheel.. we had to pull over, just with the way she looked I thought she was having a stroke, I had to use one of the sos phones at the side of the road as didn’t know what else to do and really thought it was a stroke, but we didn’t know panic attacks could cause anything like this either. X

Please, please don't feel like you wasted anyone's time. It was 100% the right thing to get yourself seen.
Panic attacks are the work of the devil and I've never known anyone (including myself) who didn't honestly think they were dying when it first happened. Why wouldn't you?!
You're already on the right track, thinking about how to reduce your stress.
I would see the GP too.