Amidst His Grace  -
1. Peace, be still Mark 4:39
By "Tammi"
Copywrited - Not to be copied or distributed without written consent Tammi

Picture yourself waking along calmly and suddenly loosing your balance in one quick instance. Suddenly you find yourself dangling from a straight edge cliff and clinging to life on a bending branch. Your breathing is fast and shallow, heart racing and beating with such fury it seems to deafen any other sound; eyes are wide and full of fear, adrenalin rushing and causing your arms and legs to tingle and feel akward. Your face is flushed, palms sweaty, your afraid to move and slip further, and you are sure you are going to die. This is sometimes how I explain what a panic attack feels like when someone never having experienced one asks.

Chances are pretty good that you either have or will experience a panic attack at least once in your lifetime or that you know of someone who has. You may not be aware of those suffering from them but many endure a silent struggle. Sometimes these panic atttacks (PAs) compound with Agoraphobia where a person becomes so sensitive to PAs or the possibility of another that they begin to alter their otherwise normal routine and lifestyle around their fear. I dealt with both PAs and Agoraphobia.

Symptoms of PAs are very real; physically and emotionally. Some of the common symptoms of PAs follow. They can be comprised of any of several combinations of the following or even the whole list during a single PA.

Pounding, racing heart
Blurriness of vision
Lightheadedness
Dizziness or unstable feeling
Air hungry
Flushed face and neck
Tingling sensations in limbs, face, temple
Sweaty Palms
Intense almost overwhelming fear
Trembling hands or legs
Fear of dying, losing control, or going crazy
Fear of heart attack, stroke
Chest pains, heaviness in chest

This list is only partial and could continue on. Needless to say it is not an understatement to say a panic sufferer deals with very frightening and very real issues.

When to Seek Medical Assistance

If you can relate to the above list or feel you have panic attacks then it is very important to get a complete physical from a trusted family doctor. This will rule out or confirm any underlying factors that may be contributing to the symptoms you are experiencing or causing them all together.

Some health situations that can stimulate or be mis-diagnosed as unexplained panic attacks are:

Mitral Valve Prolapse
Hypo/Hyper glycemia (low/high blood sugar)
Diabetes
Thyroid (over/underactive)
...(list incomplete)

You may have any of the above and not suffer from PA's and that is normal as well. What you want to ensure is that if there is an underlying physical cause for your PAs that you identify it so it can be treated. That treatment may be all that is necessary to free your life from PAs! Sometimes physical causes only contribute to a portion of why you suffer PAs. That is OK too. In my personal situation I had a combination of contributing physical, emotional, and unexplained factors! Each person is unique in life experiences, physical, and emotional make up and needs to be evaluated independently.

In addition to seeking help in identifying and treating physical causes, you must also seek help from a professional if you have any of the following:

Hear voices
Have thoughts of huting yourself or someone else
Suffer blackouts or memory loss

The above requires immediate medical evaluation and is not considered a panic attack and requires assistance.

Money, Help, and Waste

Choose your help wisely. Your family doctor may have treated you for years but if he/she does not have experience with PAs or agoraphobia patients then you will save time and money by seeking someone with that experience. You also want a doctor who listens to you and cares about your input. Your the one experiencing the panic, you know what your symptoms are better than anyone else. If your doctor does not treat you with respect and professional compassion - look elsewhere.

Ask the doctor who you will be seeking for medical evaluation to schedule you for a blood glucose tolerance test. This is very important and is a common underlying factor of PAs. Your doctor should be willing to schedule this test at your request. Note - other blood tests can show negative for low blood sugar problems. This was the case with me. Be prepared for this test to be performed usually at a hospital and to last 3-4 hours. It is well worth it and nobody can hate needles anymore than I do...

Once you have had a physical, ruled out main underlying causes through your doctor, then trust this evaluation. Many times PAs and Agoraphobics sufferers spend enormous amounts of money going doctor and treatment hopping looking for that magic cure. Sufferers reach a point of desperation and search every 'instant cure' remedy that is put in front of them in hopes of stopping the PAs. Unfortunately that leaves us targets for scams and lots of money out the window. Save yourself the hassle and the money.

I fell into the same way of thinking... I was just so certain that if I could just try this 'one more' doctor or 'one more' test I'd find all the answers I had been searching for. Maybe the other person didn't do the test right. Maybe they did the wrong test. Maybe.... Each time I walked away with a little less hope, allot more sadness, and allot lighter checkbook.

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