Panic attacks I don't know I'm having

ellzeena

Policy Enforcement
I'm old and I have high blood pressure but it's been controlled since diagnosis 30 years ago, more or less. It doesn't seem to have damaged my heart or circulatory system so far as I can tell from stress tests I had six years ago, doppler echo, no discomfort or shortness of breath, everything normal. But:

I was feeling really weird early September so I took my BP and it was 200/105. That's not only HIGH for anyone, but I'm five feet tall, weight 110 pounds, and had never seen a number like that. So I called 911. And the paramedics told me this wasn't a hypertensive crisis, it was anxiety and fatigue. They said they'd take me to the ER but the reading had already come down and that all the ER would do is keep taking it and observe me then send me home. So I took half a Xanax and put myself in bed in front of the TV and took a half of my 5.0mg lisinopril. Because I was anxious every time I took it, it never went back down to 120 something over 70 somethng but I didn't see that killer number again at least.

It happened again two days ago. I switched cardiologists and saw the new one a couple of weeks ago, there's a very long wait for this doctor so it took months. He said anxiety spikes are common but we still have alot of increase to do in the lisinopril if needed. Because my resting BP first thing in the morning and last thing at night is in the (at its highest) 120s over 70s (and in my age category a good reading is anything under 130/90) no one wants to increase the medication or I could literally pass out if I stand suddenly. Also, I suddenly developed a weird tingling in the pads of my feet out of nowhere and had an MRI last Saturday that hasn't been read yet but lisinopril can cause this and I'm so intolerant of meds that the other BP meds I've tried do bad things and changing this med is going to be difficult.

But two days ago, I was doing something (it was very cold here, 5 degrees f) and my fingers and feet suddenly felt cold (the tingling thing is worrying me so this upset me) and I was totally unaware of what happened to me. There was ZERO thought process. I went from something in my usual day to thinking there's something wrong with me. My fight/flight mode must have been in high gear and i didn't EVEN KNOW IT. I just decided to take my BP, pretty stupid thing to do but I didn't KNOW I was having a panic attack. So the BP reading was 180/100 and that toally freaked me out. I called the cardiologist office and talked to his PA. I took it again and it was coming down. She told me anxiety spikes are very common and that wasn't even high compared to others she'd seen but that I had to come back in and we needed a team effort. She gave me the number of the psychiatrist in their practice to try to get a med that would help lower my overall anxiety to prevent the spikes from going that high. The office just scheduled another appointment in 3 weeks and I have an appointent with the psychiatrist in February also.

So sorry for the long story but obviously no one could understand this without knowing what happened. My question is: how do YOU KNOW you're having a panic attack when you're in the middle of one? I'm always upset, I suffer from compicated grief and complex PTSD from losing my 23 year old daughter in 2011 and that is never going to change. Losing your child kills you. Im surprised to still be alive to be honest. Just as with other forms of mental illness, apparently it's possible to be having a panic attack and NOT KNOW IT. I'm totally alone so there's no one to talk to and no one to tell me I'm having one. What can I do to identify it so this doesn't keep happening? Does anyone KNOW?
 
Some clear tells for me are when my veins get more prominent (without excess sodium), struggling to breathe, tightness in chest, hot (possibly cold) flushes, sweating for no reason, faster heart rate.

There's the feeling of almost dying and feeling like you're going to be stuck like this forever if this makes sense.

Also possibly nausea and lightheadedness, especially when standing after the panic attack. Almost like I'm about to pass out but I already most likely have low blood pressure and blood sugar so not sure if this applies to everyone.
It might also cause numb clammy hands and possibly tingly skin if gone long enough.

The tingling in your feet might also be from electrolyte imbalances. The effects don't show until electrolytes are really high or low and they have the same symptoms on both ends which can be hard to tell which is which. If left unchecked can cause long term nerve damage.
 
awareness is everything. psychotherapy started me monitoring myself for panic attacks back in the 80's. after decades of practice, they still sneak past me with evil ease.

my breathing is my most easily tracked symptom. i tend to hold my breath at the start of a panic attack. if i can catch an attack at the breath holding stage, i can often head off most or all of the gnarlier symptoms. muscle clenching is another primary symptom i can catch with ease, especially my hands.
 

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