Hi, for about 8 years now i have been suffering from extreme pains in my chest and diaphragm area. I thought they might have been due to eating certain foods like tomato products or caffine. Taking those out of my diet hasnt helped and i still have problems. The pains come on suddenly and start as a nagging pain but most of the time often develop into these sudden pains in my chest and it feels like it is hard to breathe and i often start sweating and feeling light headed. I found that breathing through it and controlling my breathing is the only way to help me get through it. I had one of these attacks when i was at school and since i had no idea what was goin on with me, i went to the hospital and had an ECG and bloodwork done which all came back good. I know that these attacks wont kill me but when i get them, it is like i cant do anything for like 10-15 mins and i just have to be completely still until it passes. Most of the times these attacks last for 10-20 minutes then ago away. Sometimes it can last for hours or even days. I can go months without having one attack and then sudden have them almost everyday. I am a very stressed out person and i worry about every little thing. It doesnt help that I am in college and will be starting the nursing program soon. I always feel tense and can never seem to relax. I also just broke up with my bf and trying to keep him as a friend and i started to get the attacks here recently after that happened and have them now almost everyday for the past week and a half. Is this a panic attack i am having??? what can i do to help lessen the pain or try to prevent them? Its very important i try to control them because it is interfearing with my daily life an activities and i am not sure what to do. Sometimes they come on for no reason at all-maybe i have built up stress and it comes on when i come down off of a stressful week like this past one with the breakup. Help me
Hi Christina,
you may need to get doc to do more tests, panic attacks are often diagnosed after ruling out lots of other possibilities
carry some valium type meds with you and disolve 1 under the tongue at the start of an attack, if it is a panic attack this will calm you and greatly reduce it Also relax as much as you can, dont tense up or fight back and do breathe deep and slow and wait for the valium to take effect
You can tell people you are having a migrane
BTW, psychiatrists who specialise in treating panic attacks prefer to use valium.....
After going to the doc to rule out all physical causes, I would try to learn as much as you can about the disorder. Becoming knowlegeble on the subject really helped me. You sound like someone that is on the right track and it's a positive step that you have been able to use breathing to help you to get through some attacks. You mentioned that you are stressed out and sound like maybe you are one of those people that is hard on yourself (I am too.) Our self talk really is sooo important. For me, the best thing has been yoga. It has taught me not only to breath correctly and relax, but also to be easier on myself and not judge.
