panic attacks

[asm2]

I have recently become concerned with my health due to heart palpitations I can't control. They happen when I'm totally relaxed watching t.v., after a workout, or when I'm stressed. There doesn't seem to be a pattern of when it happens.  I remember having a few episodes when I was in high school and a few more when I was in college. It just recently became more frequent when I had started flight school for the Navy. My stress level is high at all times and it is hard for me to cope with. My heart palpitations became more frequent about twice a week, then I would have one a month later, then once or twice a week. This pattern has been occurring for the past 5 months, not including the few episodes I had when I was in college and high school What happens is my heart begins to race uncontrollably and a very intense heart beat continues for about five minutes that causes discomfort in my chest. A few times I have almost fainted and sudden panic that I am having a heart attack or dying rush over me. Then all the sudden my heart seems to take one last big beat and my heart rate is back to normal abruptly without a slow decrease.  I had recently gone to the doctor and I am going through testing to see if it is something wrong with my heart. If it isn't, it seems the only other explanation for this problem is anxiety. I have never been diagnosed with anxiety before, but when I have read the forums and studied the symptoms, they seem to match what I have dealt with alone for years. For instance, I have always get overstressed when something significant is going to happen like a test or something stressful in nature. Even if that event is weeks away, it will consume my every thought and I will not be able to relax until the event is over with. That is just one of the many reasons why I think it might be anxiety if my results turn out negative that there is something wrong with my heart. I'm not a physician but could my heart condition truly be something as strange as anxiety? If so, how is it treated to prevent having another episode with my heart because it is really scary?
Also, is it possible to treat a case like mine without medication, because my flying career greatly depends upon it, and that is also why I am hoping that it is something like anxiety, so I can be relieved that it is not something serious with my heart and still have a chance to save my career. Thank you for any help

[Barbarella]

I've had severe panic attacks and agorophobia for 15 yrs.  No meds or therapy has helped me, I had it all.  I found out about a book by Dr. Claire Weeks, that was 30 yrs ago, she helped me so much, she taught me how to face the panic attack and how to float through it, and most of all she told me and many others that I/we will not die from a panic attack.  For the last 30 yrs, thanks to Dr. Weeks I'm now 95% free of my panic attacks and 100% free of my agorophobia.

[pppp]

how long have you been having panic attacks? I didnt think mine would ever go away, i still panic all the time but its been about 6 months since my last panic attack. this is the longest i have ever gone. before now, id get sooooooo excited if i went a whole day, because i was used to having at least 1 a day, most of the time 2 or 3 though.

[faith_07]

I have a irregular heart beat which is made worse by pannic attacks,I live in a constant state of panic because of the  thought of having another one. my mind races all the time, it is a big deal just to get out to the store, for fear of  having another  a panic attack while I am out.  I get dizzy, my heart pounds, I cant breathe, my eyes dont want to focus,I feel hot all over  I feel like something bad is happening to me .I am on lorezapam, have been put on lexapro but I couldnt take it. Now i dont know what to do  I  am just tired of feeling this way.

[Barbarella]

I think its anxiety, I had your symptoms before, and I too work myself up weeks before a test of any kind.

You say you saw a doctor, and you're going through testing to see if there is anything wrong with your heart.  Do you have the test results yet?

You say you started flight school.  The stress and anxiety about it could cause all your symptoms.

You ask can you get over it without meds, YES!! but its hard for some people, it depends how long you had these symptoms and how severe they are .  Once you know for sure there is nothing physically wrong with you, you have to rule that out FIRST, then ACCEPT your symptoms, don't fight them, accept them until they pass.  That is what I've been doing, and it worked for me.

You need to get it under control because if you want to become a Navy Pilot, or any Pilot for that matter they will check out your health big time, but I have the feeling once you find out its nothing organic you will feel better.

I think you are stressed out about the flight school, and your body reacts to that stress.  Believe me I know all about working yourself up for any kind of upcoming test.

[pppp]

I had Panic Attacks for 6 years now, and now from time to time I find myself in deep panic because I am scared of having another one. I would have to say that i am 99.99% POSITIVE you are just having Panic Attacks. I thought everything was wrong with me. I went to the Hospital ALL the time, told them I WAS dying and I was not leaving untill they found the cause of it. I have had EVERY test known to man, and well 6 years later, they still have NOT found anything. But I still try to talk myself into believing their just doctors, not GOD soooo they could be missing something. One time I went to the hospital 4 times in 1 month !! Panic Attacks as ive gathered over the years are due to a phobia..like mine is the fear of pain before death. I assume that is it because everytime i would hurt myself or got hurt (like when i stomped my toe on a boat, i just knew i would die from an infection) i would have a panic attack. Hell i even had a panic attack once because i "thought" i got struck by lightning > lol no its really NOT funny, i just laugh looking back.  It sucks, everybody thinks your a moron and that you need your head examined, which only makes you that much more scattered brained, because above all that is already happening, your now worried to have one around anybody because of what they might say or think. I had heart-burn for the first time ever, and i thought i was having a heart-attack, so i told my boyfriend to rush me to the hospital, after taking malox and calming down, it went away and i was left there in front of his WHOLE family to look like a mental case! I told you all of this to see if you have the same yet maybe different issues, in case you get your heart results back as negative, and still wonder whats up. BTW I dont care what ANYBODY tells you, PLEASE I BEG YOU ...DO NOT TAKE XANAX!!!!!!   May I ask how old you are??  Duh you don't have to tell me, but i was wondering. Hope your ok, i would like to know, maybe we can keep up with one another, I hope to help you so you dont get as bad off as me. Good luck an CONGRADULATIONS with/on your career, sounds fun and exciting, ASM? is your name SAM? lol