panic/anxiety attacks or chiari?

[Munchies2012]

Thursday I had to leave work because all of a sudden my right side went numb and I started shaking, I had to pace back and forward I was so restless and felt like I was going to pass out. I ended up going to the ER had ECG ( which was normal ) and after 6 hours and an injection for dizziness I went home and they basically said " anxiety"

And just now on the bus home from work it happend again, just everything felt numb this time, my face started burning, heart started racing, breathing funny and I felt like I wasnt me....

I have calmed down atm, but I still feel weak all over...

I am starting to worry that its not anxiety or panic.... and that my chiari is getting worse within the space of a few days

I have been having anxiety and panic for  years now, and since my diagnosis in Jan I have done nothing but worry about my chiari and stress over it, and I have worked ALOT lately...

Could these be stress related incidences or something much worse?

[S_Chaney]

Keep in mind, when you get stressed the muscles deep in your neck tense up. This will constrict the space which chiari is already restricting. Vicious cycle unfortunately since one triggers the other in endless repetition.

Ask your Dr.for zanax or something along those lines to help reduce the anxiety rapidly. I would bet that will help you quite a bit. A good neck message might be very helpful as well to try and short circuit the cycle.

[Mumsymel]

Hi, I am so glad I have come across this page.  I have been going out of my mind with worry.  My gp informed me, (after yr's of telling different ones that there's something not right, attending a&e numerous times to be told I had sciatica (twice) and sent home with no investigation, and repeatedly making gp visits to say something needed doing) that I have cm and he told me it's a rare condition which he knows nothing about and that I need to see a neurologist for further investigation (which I am still waiting to do).  I have been experiencing these kinds of anxiety attacks for sometime and literally one evening thought I was going to die.  I've been told for yr's it's my anxiety and depression which I believed but it all seems to be making sense now that I'm piecing bits together. The only things I know about it is what I have read which I hate doing as things can seem a lot more dramatic than what they are.  I'm experiencing really bed restlessness and agitation at the moment and it's awful because I wake up every hour feeling like I can not keep still. Does anyone else get this symptom?

From what I have read from you guys it looks like there's a medication I maybe able to take which would help a lot of the symptoms I'm experiencing, if this is the case then someone needs to see me ASAP. I've been waiting to see someone for months and they've told me it can be early next year before I do.  I feel like I'm going mad because my symptoms are getting worse very quickly and I don't know what is the cm and what isn't.

Can anyone put my mind at ease. Thanks

[Mumsymel]

Hi, I am so glad I have come across this page.  I have been going out of my mind with worry.  My gp informed me, (after yr's of telling different ones that there's something not right, attending a&e numerous times to be told I had sciatica (twice) and sent home with no investigation, and repeatedly making gp visits to say something needed doing) that I have cm and he told me it's a rare condition which he knows nothing about and that I need to see a neurologist for further investigation (which I am still waiting to do).  I have been experiencing these kinds of anxiety attacks for sometime and literally one evening thought I was going to die.  I've been told for yr's it's my anxiety and depression which I believed but it all seems to be making sense now that I'm piecing bits together. The only things I know about it is what I have read which I hate doing as things can seem a lot more dramatic than what they are.  I'm experiencing really bed restlessness and agitation at the moment and it's awful because I wake up every hour feeling like I can not keep still. Does anyone else get this symptom?

From what I have read from you guys it looks like there's a medication I maybe able to take which would help a lot of the symptoms I'm experiencing, if this is the case then someone needs to see me ASAP. I've been waiting to see someone for months and they've told me it can be early next year before I do.  I feel like I'm going mad because my symptoms are getting worse very quickly and I don't know what is the cm and what isn't.

Can anyone put my mind at ease. Thanks

[Andreas21son]

How are things going now

[selmaS]

Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.
This is an older thread and the member you are addressing may no longer be active, you can create a new thread to get replies from active members or send a PM to this member to get their attention. If I can be of any help please let me know.

[selmaS]

  Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.

Many with Chiari also have related  conditions that can cause heart palps...like POTS, EDS, IIH.....and a syrinx due to Syringomyelia.

  Chiari causes compression of the nerves in the spinal cord, and depending on which nerves are being compressed will depend on what symptoms we have.

Too many Drs do not fully understand Chiari and it's affect on us, this is why it is so important to find  a true Chiari specialist.

[conklemw]

I am so glad i found this post. I have the same exact things going on. Been diagnosed for 1 year with CM  only diagnosed due to having many ct's and mri's to see what was going on with me.. started out with palpitations and tachycardia..ER visits and seeing multiple doctors. None of my doctors have connected anxiety/panic like symptoms to CM but I swear there is a definate connection. Its a difficult struggle.

[billyz123]

I had a similar experience, panic attacks started happening nearly everyday and found myself in the ER over and over. Switched from Xanax to Klonopin and I haven't had any attacks since.

I think it's the CM causing them because although I have a history of having anxiety, I had no idea why I would all of sudden have a panic attack. For some reason I think the Klonopin just shuts down the reaction... thank freakin God because that was an unpredictable and frightening time. Good luck<3

[JessiLinn]

I have the same thing. I can be sitting in the chair watching tv and all of a sudden my heart will start racing for no reason, I'll start having trouble breathing. Sometimes I have the numbness, sometimes I don't. It's really scary. My NS said that it is tachycardia and heart palpitations. I also have premature ventricular contraction. So far I haven't got any relief from it. I'm going to see a cardioligist in a couple months for it. Hope you can get some relief.

[selmaS]

  Hi this could be both, chiari and anxiety....chiari symptoms cycle and u said u r not sleeping well which is typical for chiarians and u said u were stressed, that will make ur chiari symptoms worse. And Chiari compression can cause anxiety issues to occur, so when u were affected yrs ago it may have been triggered by the death of a love one, but it may have been the Chiari then already.....

[irislita]

Ok ... I mean its not good to have panic attacks,but maybe better if its not chiari.talk to ur doctor.i would be glad if u find a solution.keep me updated.have a nice sunday.

[Munchies2012]

Ahh mine matches anxiety attacks when i look. I Dont get that many times either nor swallowing problems. I need to relax i think before i give myself a stroke....

[irislita]

I just remember that i googled anxiety and found out that several points didnt fit.one was that all of a sudden i awoke with this pounding heart beat...and they were lasting really short,but reapeted a hundred times a day...and i figured my breathing and swalloing problems were there just laying down...and i felt it was coming from my brain...i dont know if it helps u...but be aware it can be both

[Munchies2012]

ok I feel fairly confident that it is panic... I just woke from sleep in petrified state, shaking and scared heart racing and thinking I was going to die, once I woken properly I am fine again ( feel so tired and trembling still ) but not so bad as when I woke up...

I was googling about decomprssion suergery before I slept and was scared reading and I was shaking then...

Any other thoughts?

[irislita]

So ok didnt know that...so could be both.just the way u described it sounded like my own story

[Munchies2012]

I must also add, I became a really bad anxiety sufferer in 2007 after losing my grandmother, and it was really severe, but I got better, and stopped the meds and stuff in about 2009, and I was fine until my chiari diagnoses..... since jan this year I have been a nervous wreck, which is why i am leaning towards it being anxiety. But then I dont know.... I just want it to go away :(

[Munchies2012]

Surely if it was my chiari, it would be constant, these happend with me not doing anything like moving head, etc

When I saw my neuro 3 weeks ago, he said there was no sign of brainstem compression

[irislita]

I totally understand u and am almost 100percent sure its ur chiari acting up.what u describe was exactly the point i noticed sth is just not right with me.i was also diagnosed with anxiety...and it was not the case.i dont know about ur case,but brainstem compression could play a big part in that.dont let them tell u u r crazy...get a specialist asap

[Munchies2012]

I failed to add that I have been having real problems sleeping lately also unless I am REAAAAALLLY tired, I am in such a panic mode when I am in bed, scared I wont wake up from sleep so I force awake