anxiety attack or panic?

[leedsman]

I had another episode last night I went to sleep and suddenly I woke up , like a jolt woke me up.

I had one last week , and in the last 6 months I have had at least one every 2 weeks. My symptoms, I start feeling
weird, then I get this rush, like adrenaline, burning feeling through my veins and my stomach sometimes feels funny
and upset. I check my blood pressure and it has gone up to 190/105, with about 110 beats racing per minute.
They used to last for a short time , but lately they have been longer and now I start shaking when the blood pressure
starts coming down /

I am on Paxil for years, and my psychiatrist says it could be from caffeine consumption or something,
but my regular doctor had me take a 24 hr. urine test to rule out adrenal gland problem, which would cause the
adrenaline rush and rise in BP and racing heartbeat, but i am waiting for results. He says if its a panic attack , there
is nothing to worry about, but if the adrenal gland has a benign tumor or something  on it, it could cause a
stroke. I have been under a lot of job stress lately and am wondering if that is contributing to this.

[RubyWitch]

There are numerous blood pressure meds out there, all have pros and cons, all can do different things, some can do multiple things..........but it is between you and your doctor to decide which is the right one for you. I could tell you what I know about beta blockers, but it would no doubt be similar to what you've read. You do need to get your BP under control, but be aware that you may have to try several different ones before you hit the one that works the best for you. I tried at least 3 before we decided that a combination of two would work the best. I take Norvasc in the morning and Nadolol in the evening. For the past 5 years my BP has held steady at 115/65. (Which is an AVERAGE......our BPs are never exactly the same)
When I have a panic attack, which is pretty rare these days, I'm sure my BP goes up, but I don't care to know to where! It would only make my panic worse. My heart rate is out of this world, probably at least 120+ but that is something else I no longer monitor as it only increases the fear. I work on my breathing and other techniques learned over the years to get things under control. That your heart rate was 82 is nothing! Really. That is totally within the "normal" range and while it may be higher than your resting heart rate, it's all part and parcel of an anxiety/panic attack.
Good deal on the adrenal test! Congrats! Now stop worrying about that. You possibly have high blood pressure and it's good that you're looking into and better yet that you'll get it under control, and once you do, I'm sure these nightly (?) freak outs will stop.
Please stay off the web sites that talk about all the scary things uncontrolled HBP can do. If you want to learn about the different BP meds, go to a reliable source like the Mayo Clinic or talk to your pharmacist. They ARE Doctors of Pharmacology and trust me, they know medicines! Your doctor is gonna fix you up. And don't be taking your BP 6000 times a day either! Your anxiety about it will gaurantee a high reading.
Please keep in touch and let me know what this next doc comes up with. And if you have any other questions, feel free to PM me!
You're gonna be fine, just like I said before!
Peace
Greenlydia  

[leedsman]

When you get the panic attacks. does your blood pressure go up high also .or do you just have a fast heart rate?

[leedsman]

I just talked to my doctor and he said the urine test was normal , and no problem with
adrenal glands . He scheduled me to see an internal medicine doctor the beginning of
March . Let me ask you , I had a smaller episode last night no heart beat racing, but blood pressure was up to 165/102 with a beat of 82 bpm.

I read on the internet that there are beta blockers or some other medication that can control something like this.

Do you know anything about them?

[RubyWitch]

If you saw your doc on Monday, you should be getting those results soon. Please let us know as soon as possible what he says.
You're gonna be fine.........I just know it.
Peace
Greenlydia

[leedsman]

Thank you for your response. I usually have normal blood pressure , which in fact the doctor just took on Monday, when I went in for this symptom.

As soon as I get results, I will post it and thanks again for your support and concern.

[RubyWitch]

I WAS going to berate your psychiatrist for saying "it could be from the caffeine consumption or........something." What the hell kind of answer is "or something?"
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he knew you were seeing your regular doctor for some tests. Given your symptoms, "or something" verges on stupidity.
(In my humble opinion, naturally)
I'm glad you're getting tested, it's definitely called for.
Do these "attacks" ONLY happen while you're sleeping? If so, I find that odd. Waking up into a panic attack is not unusual, having them ONLY while you're sleeping I do find strange.
A BP of 190/105 is not good, which I don't have to tell you. Do you know what your normal BP is? Do you have HBP? Are you on meds for it if you do? A heart rate of 110, while fast, is not dangerously so. A "normal" HR can be anywhere from 60-100 BPM, so given those numbers, 110 is not that far out of the ball park. Most of us during a panic attack can achieve numbers much higher than that. MY personal best is 130. Plenty scary enough for me, thank you.
That you start to shake when your BP begins to drop I believe is fairly common. An "OD" of adrenaline is probably what caused your BP and HR to rise in the first place, so as that is absorbed by your body, it can produce the shakes. It's a very powerful hormone. Observe anyone who does something..........."heroic." Runs into a burning building or jumps into the ocean to save someone, or runs into traffic to pull a child to safety...........after the event, that person will often experience severe shaking as the adrenaline dissapates.
So, what your doctor is looking for is the possibility that your adrenal gland is dumping adrenaline into your system at the wrong time, for the wrong reason. Which would explain the panic. While waiting for test results is nerve wracking and anxiety producing, we don't have much choice. You just gotta hang in there as best you can. If it does turn out that your adrenal gland is malfunctioning, they can fix it. And I will also assume that if your doctor was really concerned about you having a stroke due to these increases in BP, he would be doing something about that as well, even temporarily, while waiting for the test results to come in.
You say you have been on paroxetine, (Paxil) "for years." I have no reason to think this has anything to do with your use of Paxil, but you may want to discuss it with your doctor. I don't know what, if anything, long term use of this medication could do. It was just a thought, but why not look at every possibility while you're there.
So, it seems your only question here is if an increase in stress at work could be causing this, to which I have to answer it's possible. It's possible that during the day you handle the added stress fine, but at night, during sleep, your mind is churning from that stress and you wake up to a panic attack. These are just guesses on my part and you know that you must wait for your test results and go from there.
Don't think I was much help, but just knowing you've put yourself and your health in the hands of your doctor was the best and only thing you could have done.
Try not to worry, which is lame in the extreme, but give it a shot anyway.
And please let us know what they find, (or don't find) OK?
We're all wishing you the best outcome.
Peace
Greenlydia