Hi,
I have been suffering really badly with panic attacks since Saturday. At first I wasn’t sure what it was because I’ve had panic attacks before but the ones that only take your breath away and cause chest discomfort for a very short while but this time they’ve been much worse and last much longer.
To begin with, Saturday night after having had family over, because it was my husband’s birthday, I started to feel my heart racing, then I started to get breathless, and I felt like I was going to pass out!! I was that bad I set off for a&e after my in-laws came to watch our daughter’s, because I didn’t know what was going on, I felt really, really bad. On the way I felt better so I turned back around but my apple watch said I was having an atrial fibrillation. I did read up that it could be a panic attack from all the symptoms I was experiencing so I decided to try my best to do deep breathing and thing about other things and I managed to fall asleep.
On Sunday, just before we set off for a private gender scan I started to feel breathless again, then the palpitations came, I felt very hot and clammy and again thought I was going to pass out, so I asked my husband to drop me off at a&e and told him to go ahead with our daughter to Smyths because that was the plan and I didn’t want her seeing me like this (luckily my cousin was there too so wasn’t alone!). They checked my heart and my blood and it all came back fine. Possibly could be due to panic attacks. On the way home the same thing happened again and I just cried because am I supposed to feel like this every time I have an attack?! It’s so debilitating.
On Monday I took it easy, stayed in bed most of the day. When my daughter came home from school I played with her a bit. After she went to bed I just felt like my chest was heavy, and I was breathless, but heart wasn’t too bad. I tried to breathe deeply, take my mind off things, but I just couldn’t sleep. I phoned my mum at midnight to come just in case I needed to go again so she could stay with my daughter, I also phoned out of hours. I did feel better when my mum was there and again the GP said they were down to panic attacks and unfortunately not much can be done when pregnant (unless I was already on medication, which I’m not), he was good and suggested a few things like fennel tea and to see my own GP or Midwife to arrange counselling.
I’ve finally phoned my GP today and I am going to see him tomorrow because I’m still suffering on and off and they’re just awful. I don’t know how to cope with them because I’m trying my best to ignore and to breathe deeply (even went for a Reiki session this morning), and I just can’t shake them off.
Has anyone else experienced these and have any tips please?! Or if you suffered them in pregnancy when and how did they stop? It’s taking all the enjoyment out of my pregnancy now. I’ve never been one to go to the doctors but I just feel totally and utterly hopeless at the moment and the guilt I feel for my daughter and husband that I’m like this.