Had a panic attack when trying to drive from home :((

Hey Rn! Oh no... :( You sound so scared. :( I really wish I could fix this for you... I feel so bad, I've been there and know how scary it can feel. There wasn't much anyone could do to make me feel better when I was in extreme panic mode. Just remember, you have been checked by your doctor. Your heart is structurally sound. Your chances of getting SVT are hardly possible. Try to allow yourself to feel the anxiety without being afraid of it. Try to relax while the anxiety is happening... 100 pulse is not too bad. Please let us know how we can help!!!!

RN,

You made it through the attack, and that is good news! Try not to anticipate any more anxiety for tonight.;)

It takes awile for the sympathetic nervous system to calm down, and for the parasympathetic to take over. Therefore your heart rate may stay elevated for some time, and that's not unusual.

I hope that you can do that slow breathing and/or meditation to get you centered and feeling calm again....and have an anxiety free rest of the weekend!

Let us know how you are doing soon.

S.C.

So sorry you had a rough time. That used to be my worst anxiety trigger. I couldn't drive anywhere without panic and then I got to where I didn't want to go anywhere. If I had my daughter with me it would be so much worse because I would fear I wouldn't make it home with her. Just think you made it home and you are fine. I ended up accepting that I might have one in the car and told myself it's no different than anywhere else. I started listen to spiritual CDs to keep my mind occupied. I now tell myself I will be fine and just enjoy where I'm going. I hope you get to feeling better soon. You can beat this.

Sing! I have thwarted panic attacks while driving my turning up the radio and singing. It forces you to breathe properly and it distracts you from the panic.
You'll need to follow your own doctors orders for taking xannax but that sounds like a very low dose and I believe my prescrip is for every 6 hrs. as needed
I wish you all the best

You've gotteb great advice. One of my greatest problems is panic attacks while driving. So singing is definitely something I've tried because you can't hyperventilate when you're singing. Also, I am not a doctor, but if your doctor has given you a Rx for Xanax, I would say try not to be afraid of it, because it can really help break a cycle of panic. If .25 doesn't do much, .5 May be better and those are still really low doses, so ask your doctor, because there is no shame in taking a benzo. I'm on ine 3 times a day, in combination with CBT. At a stoplight just try and remind yourself that in addition to your anxiety, you're just starting to feel frustrated because you want to get home and those feelings only make anxiety worse. I sit there flipping out and then I literally start talking to myself and saying, it's ok, you're just getting annoyed and that's not helping anything. I remind myself that this has happened to me a million times and nothing catastrophic has ever happened and that does help.

Thank you im going to try theses things , yea even ten min from my house is too far , and how am going to live my life only going ten min away from home , it's not a LIFE Im going to try my best to face the monster with out running away its really really scary , pretty sure it will take a while to not be too scared of it .
immutable doctor gave me Xanax .5 to take twice a day as needed but i don't take it unless i feel the way I did last night .
Is atvian or klonopin (don't know spell) safer then Xanax to take ?

Ativan and xanax are shorter acting benzos, but fast acting. They have a half life of 4-6 hours. Klonopin lasts longer, but takes longer to kick in. Xanax has worked great for me. I prefer the fast acting, gonna get me out of a panic situation quicker medicine:)

I totally relate. I tried Zoloft very briefly, but my doctor took me off and now since I've such a bad 6 months, I'm on xanax 3x a day. I do have times where it doesn't work like I wish it would, but it's been pretty dependable so far.