Marc Damon wrote:
Wow. Sounds pretty to me. I hope it doesn't happen again but if it truly was an anxiety attack, perhaps you should consider seeing your regular doctor for any chronic physical problems (blood pressure, lipids, etc) and maybe even a therapist for any psyc/stress issues you may be unaware of having.

I'm heading back to my regular doctor tomorrow. I saw him just last week, and the blood work he did only showed high cholesterol and low Vitamin D. The bloodwork from today's ER visit shows low potassium and high hematocrit. It looks like I'll be getting a prescription for potassium pills or bananas. Frankly I'd prefer the pills, but it's probably better overall if I go with the bananas. I hate the damn things, though.

Marc Damon wrote:
10 high potassium foods.
http://www.healthaliciousness.com/artic … assium.php
The banana ain't all that. I hope you like apricots.

Spinach and white beans. I can do that.

Lawrence Guy wrote:
to cap off this lovely day.

So I went to pick up a prescription, and on my way home I started feeling faint and overheated. The symptoms got worse and my entire body started going numb. I was only a few minutes from home so I pushed on.  By the time I got home I was seriously numb and worried. I asked my father to drive me to the ER.

During the drive the symptoms got worse. The muscles in my arms and hands seized up completely and I couldn't move them. My jaw and tongue seized up so I couldn't talk. I was having severe trouble breathing. I was convinced that it was entirely possible that I would arrive at the hospital unconscious.

I had some important moments thinking about my life, and how at the age of 40 I have not yet fully accepted my mortality. I decided tonight that there I things I have yet to do; this is not an acceptable time for me to shed my mortal coil.

At the ER they needed two men to get me out of the car and onto the gurney. I was unable to open my eyes at that point.

I was wheeled in to the ER and the first thing I heard was "It's an anxiety attack." This came as quite a surprise to me, since I had once had a panic attack and that was completely different. However, they took my blood, gave me an IV with Ativan, and gave me an EKG, and after about 90 minutes I was walking out like nothing had happened - albeit a bit slowly and with all sorts of aches from where those muscles had seized up.

Interesting wake-up call. I will have to spend some time processing this.

EDIT: I just read the paperwork that they game me. The actual diagnosis is hyperventilation syndrome.

My girlfriend had the same thing happen to her. It was stress and prescription meds doing it to her.
Her potassium was very low too.

Ask your doctor to test you for pernicious anemia.

Apodyopsis wrote:
Well that's something. Were you actually feeling any sort of anxious, or is that the sort of thing that comes out of nowhere for absolutely no reason at all? Glad you're okay.

I've had very severe fatigue for the last month or two, and I actually missed worked because of it on several occasions. This was one of them. On top of that, I was spaced out and forgot to eat, and only had one glass of water during the day, so physical stress was definitely present.

As for anxiety, I have GAD but I'm on medication for it, though I've been ramping off the dosage. However, the symptoms of this attack were very different from anything I experienced in the past, so I'm not inclined to think the meds were a proximate cause.

I've been giving real thought to changing jobs (I've been sending out resumes), so that could cause a little bit of stress.

I'm going to go with general physical decrepitude as the most significant contributor to this whole thing. I had already started taking action to get myself in better shape, but this just gives me some additional motivation.

-Jen- wrote:

My girlfriend had the same thing happen to her. It was stress and prescription meds doing it to her.
Her potassium was very low too.

Ask your doctor to test you for pernicious anemia.

I was going to say that it couldn't be that because my hematocrit level is high, but then I googled "pernicious anemia hematocrit level."

I don't think all of the blood tests are back yet. Maybe I have more surprises in store.

Koryn Locke wrote:
That's a hell of an anxiety attack. I have anxiety also, and a history of mild panic attacks. I know what it is; I only ever went to a doctor for it once, when I was 22, working a high stress job and one day thought I was having a heart attack during a staff meeting. My whole left arm went numb.

A couple of years later, I had a friend who told me she would give me $50 if I would get in a tanning bed. I had a pretty serious panic attack in the tanning bed. I kept alternating between feeling like I was dead, in a coffin and couldn't breathe, to feeling like I was floating in a pod in space, and there was no earth outside. That shit was incredibly .


Now, it will just feel like there is a horse galloping in my chest, and I get weird stabbing/gasping/clenching sensation through my chest. It is manageable if I sit down and breathe. It's always sucked really really bad - nothing like what you reported though

The thing that threw my off on this was that it really was different from anything I've ever experienced before. I've had panic and anxiety attacks, but they displayed very different symptoms (most significantly, they always triggered the flight reflex, which this one didn't). While I've had anxiety attacks that had a degree of numbness, it never EVER had anything close to the muscle cramping. Add in the freezing up of my mouth and the problems breathing and I thought this was as some kind of cardiac, neural, or hystemine problem (while I was experiencing it, that is).

Laura Ann - Fashion wrote:
Oh no Lawrence!  That sounds so and I  hate that you went through that.

Take care of yourself as much as you can, and if you need to vent to blow off stress, you know we're here for ya.

Lawrence Guy wrote:

The thing that threw my off on this was that it really was different from anything I've ever experienced before. I've had panic and anxiety attacks, but they displayed very different symptoms (most significantly, they always triggered the flight reflex, which this one didn't). While I've had anxiety attacks that had a degree of numbness, it never EVER had anything close to the muscle cramping. Add in the freezing up of my mouth and the problems breathing and I thought this was as some kind of cardiac, neural, or hystemine problem (while I was experiencing it, that is).

yeah, it kind of read like anaphylactic shock, from a food or beesting allergy.

Lawrence Guy wrote:

The thing that threw my off on this was that it really was different from anything I've ever experienced before. I've had panic and anxiety attacks, but they displayed very different symptoms (most significantly, they always triggered the flight reflex, which this one didn't). While I've had anxiety attacks that had a degree of numbness, it never EVER had anything close to the muscle cramping. Add in the freezing up of my mouth and the problems breathing and I thought this was as some kind of cardiac, neural, or hystemine problem (while I was experiencing it, that is).

low potassium symptoms may include:

    Weakness
    Fatigue
    Muscle cramps
    Constipation

Sounds like what you've have lately, doesnt it? 

you need potassium for your heart, if your potassium is extremely low you can have serious heart complications like arrhythmia. (abnormal heart rhythm)

And trust me, you do not want to drink the potassium they give you in the hospital.  Its NASTY!  The pills arent that great either.

Oh and pernicious anemia (your body doesnt absorb vitamins)

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitami … N=symptoms

The stress levels you have at your new job (I read your one thread) can contribute to your problem and the new medications you are taking can also be doing this.

-Jen- wrote:

low potassium symptoms may include:

    Weakness
    Fatigue
    Muscle cramps
    Constipation

Sounds like what you've have lately, doesnt it? 

you need potassium for your heart, if your potassium is extremely low you can have serious heart complications like arrhythmia. (abnormal heart rhythm)

And trust me, you do not want to drink the potassium they give you in the hospital.  Its NASTY!  The pills arent that great either.

Oh and pernicious anemia (your body doesnt absorb vitamins)

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitami … N=symptoms

The stress levels you have at your new job (I read your one thread) can contribute to your problem and the new medications you are taking can also be doing this.

I know a couple people with pernicious anemia.  As long as they take their meds, they feel wonderful.

Fergy wrote:

I know a couple people with pernicious anemia.  As long as they take their meds, they feel wonderful.

quit talking to me like i dont know, dork. lol

(our dad has pernicious anemia)

-Jen- wrote:
Weakness
    Fatigue
    Muscle cramps
    Constipation

Sounds like what you've have lately, doesnt it?

The fatigue, yes. The muscle cramps yesterday were definitely from the hyperventilation. The other two aren't manifesting.

I had a blood test last week that didn't show low potassium. The one last night did. I'll definitely be adding more potassium to my diet, but there are enough other things in my life that I can't consider it the *sole* cause (I just had my appointment with my doctor and discussed this), though it could be a contributing cause.  We'll check my levels again in 6-8 weeks when we follow up on my cholesterol and VitD.

ontherocks wrote:
i'm a bit skeptical about this whole panic attack thing (there was a tv show about it the other day regarding that golfer). my suspicion is the body gets out of whack and exhibits panic symptoms but it's not a mental thing.

Physical stress can make panic and anxiety attacks more likely, but there is usually a mental aspect to it. This can be seen quite easily by noting that the triggers are usually emotional situations, and that mental training can reduce or eliminate them.

-Jen- wrote:

quit talking to me like i dont know, dork. lol

(our dad has pernicious anemia)

I forgot to mention the pernicious anemia to my doctor, but we did discuss my hematocrit levels. According to the blood test from his office I'm barely over the high end. He didn't have the report from the blood test done by the ER yet.

-Jen- wrote:
low potassium symptoms may include:

    Weakness
    Fatigue
    Muscle cramps
    Constipation

Sounds like what you've have lately, doesnt it? 

you need potassium for your heart, if your potassium is extremely low you can have serious heart complications like arrhythmia. (abnormal heart rhythm)

And trust me, you do not want to drink the potassium they give you in the hospital.  Its NASTY!  The pills arent that great either.

Oh and pernicious anemia (your body doesnt absorb vitamins)

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitami … N=symptoms

The stress levels you have at your new job (I read your one thread) can contribute to your problem and the new medications you are taking can also be doing this.

From that site:
Fatigue                       chronic and crippling
Shortness of breath    maybe sometimes?
Dizziness                    often
Pale or yellowish skin   I'm totally black
Swollen tongue that may appear dark red        nope
Weight loss                 nope
Diarrhea                      Do you really want to know?
Numbness or tingling in your hands and feet   occasionally
Muscle weakness        yes
Irritability                     yes
Unsteady movements   yes
Mental confusion or forgetfulness   yes to the forgetfulness


You might be onto something there.

EDIT: And after reading more about it, I hope you're not.

-Nicole- wrote:
That's terrifying!

I'm glad you're alright

Lawrence Guy wrote:

From that site:
Fatigue                       chronic and crippling
Shortness of breath    maybe sometimes?
Dizziness                    often
Pale or yellowish skin   I'm totally black
Swollen tongue that may appear dark red        nope
Weight loss                 nope
Diarrhea                      Do you really want to know?
Numbness or tingling in your hands and feet   occasionally
Muscle weakness        yes
Irritability                     yes
Unsteady movements   yes
Mental confusion or forgetfulness   yes to the forgetfulness


You might be onto something there.

EDIT: And after reading more about it, I hope you're not.

My dad has it, they think he had it for 20+ years and had no idea.
He only has 20% of his stomach because he had a bleeding ulcer he almost died from back when we were babies.
But he gets vitamin b12 shots and drinks this stuff every morning (he says it tastes good) and he's doing fine.

Art Silva Photography wrote:
That is Crazy... glad you survived.

I had a similar scare last week. I had a gallstone attack, went to the ER and had to have surgery to remove the gallbladder after a different procedure to blast the obstruction (stone) first.

Sounds like your situation was actually dangerous. Mine turned out to not be dangerous at all - just . I was figuring that there was a good chance I was a goner, but I walked out of the ER 90 minutes later with nothing more than instructions to see my regular doctor the next day. There's something profound about that, I think.

Lawrence Guy wrote:
Sounds like your situation was actually dangerous. Mine turned out to not be dangerous at all - just scary. I was figuring that there was a good chance I was a goner, but I walked out of the ER 90 minutes later with nothing more than instructions to see my regular doctor the next day. There's something profound about that, I think.

scary is something. It's called anxiety and panic. A really good friend of mine suffered from panic attacks for a long time and she would  suffer from them so badly that she was unable to leave her house for quite some time. Any place she did not know, or had ever been to before, stirred a panic in her. With therapy, and medicine, she was able to get to the root of things and she is now free of any panic attacks for years. She always had some minor stuff, but it got overwhelming for her at one point in her life. It is great to be able to know that nothing may be physically wrong with you, and that stress can cause all kinds of physical things within us. IM not saying that there arent any underlying medical things going on, but stress and anxiety definitely can affect one's health in great ways. My friend used to say that her panic attacks felt like she was going to die every time. Breathe as much as possible. Try deep breathing as relaxation. Perhaps a new form of therapy may be beneficial. hang in there.