Fainting and Passing out from a Panic Attack!

[pauly j]

Hey there

I have been reading lots of posts lately and several of them said that they fainted and passed out from a Panic Attack!
I have read numerous books and they ALL say that it is not possible!  Theory being that when you panic your blood pressure is raised and fainting is usually caused by low blood pressure!  Only if you have a Phobia to blood is it possible!  If any of you ever experienced passing out or fainting from a panic attack please tell your story!  I personally never did faint from a panic attack!  I felt like I ALMOST did but never ever did~

pauly j

[SeaRunner]

PaulyJ -

My therapist has told me the exact same thing.  It's nice to hear it again.

I've often gotten very dizzy and thought I was going to pass out but I never have.  I would imagine it's happened hundreds of times if not more over the twenty something years I've had anxiety.  So count me in the column of people afraid of passing out but never have.  I like to comfort myself by thinking of my symptoms in terms of probability.  Let's say just for purposes of illustration that I've thought I was going to pass out 500 times in my lifetime.  Since I've never actually passed out and based on my history, that makes the probability that I'll pass out in the future 0 out of 500, or in other words 0%.  I like those odds!

Jamie

[Duckie]

I've been dizzy lots of times and never passed out either, but it sure felt like it was going to happen. 
I like those odds, Jamie.  I wonder why it's still such a frightful thing when we get dizzy?  I'm sure it has something to do with loss of control.  I just know that I'd rather have any other affliction than dizziness.  In all the times I've been dizzy, it still freaks me out.  sigh...........

[Paisleegreen]

I have posted that I experienced my first panic attack because I felt I was going to faint. So I panicked and went to see my husband and wanted him to call 911. He wouldn't do it, so instead I had him call a family Dr who is a friend. The friend/DR could tell that I was hyperventilating, then my stomach went into spasms and then my gut region. It was like electrical shocks and was very painful.   Prior to this happening, I had three events or "therapies" that caused my body to be very relaxed and caused me to feel weak and gave me the thought that I was going to pass out.

The only thing that calmed me after this event was that I had taken a Temazepam , a sleeping pill, that relaxes the body and I already had had a massage the day before and then a Soma and then added the Temazepam. So the sleeping pill kicked in after the painful spasms.   Plus I had been weaned off of my AD's two months prior, so not much blood pressure happening.       Paislee

[29sillygirl]

Hi,
I have suffered from panic attacks since my mid 40s.  I had never heard of them before then.

 Now, am retired and 75.  Have had two significant events in the past three years.  Anal cancer and my son's murder.

And, I have passed out from panic in connection with these events.  All I can say is that the consensus 0213 ER was anxiety was the core issue.  There was nothing wrong with me.

 In one case, an overly strong colonoscopy prep triggered a nerve to react. I also had all the symptoms of panic.

 In the second case, I had just gone through my son's memorial and forgotten to take a small amount of clonazpam. 

For what it is worth section!  I believe experts need to take age into consideration when they make sweeping statements about effects of anxiety attacks.

[SeaRunner]

SillyGirl -

I have posted this before but I want to say again how sorry I am to hear of both the loss of your son and your struggle with cancer.  My heart goes out to you and your family.  You went through particularly traumatic, real-life events that most of us have not ever experienced.

My thoughts are that there are no absolutes.  Nobody can rule out with one hundred percent certainty anything with regards to our anxiety.  There will always be exceptions.  However, I think it's reasonable to make generalizations that apply *almost* all of the time.

Jamie

[Paisleegreen]

Silly girl, I think age should be included in their discussions as well with anxiety attacks or panic attacks.

I'm sorry about you having to experience anal cancer and the loss of your son through murder. Those are both horrendous experiences that can leave a woman/mother devastated and definitely feeling anxiety for quite some time. Hugs sent your way, Paislee

[Rae Rae]

Like Paisleegreen, I know that someone could pass out if they are hyperventilating. I've felt like I was going to faint tons of times over the past 4 years & I also NEVER have.

[29sillygirl]

Thanks SR and  Paisley for kind words.  Actually I agree with theories that support description of panic episodes....and also that we need to consider the most common experiences....not the exceptions, as I believe mine were.

So we work on anxiety...lets not get off track or scare ourselves with 'what ifs'. 

Hope I didn't inadvertently frighten anyone.  Just sharing that it is possible.  Extreme situations/extreme reactions.

[Paisleegreen]

I just wanted to point out that I started to panic because I  thought I was going to faint. I was in a very relaxed state that "feeling faint or weak" caused me to panic and hyperventilate.  But I have passed out from heavy breathing and then trying to blow up a balloon. Thus experiencing the effect as a young kid what the "passing out" game was all about.  Us 6th graders discussed this on the school yard eons ago, but never to the point of having someone choke us. We were all so innocent back then.
I do not recommend passing out as a form of recreation. It is scary enough to even feel like you are going to pass out and where you land from passing out can be dangerous.                                   Paislee                                                                             

[Loriebell1016]

I have also passed out twice from panic attacks. I think I get my self so worked up my body kinda shuts its self down and reboots. I did go to the ER one of the times actually the first time it happened, and got the all clear. But I do know it can happen.

[Slackitude]

I've felt like I was going to pass out, and my vision has narrowed down to tunnel vision and gotten darker and darker so it seems like I'm surely going to go under, but it's never happened.

[BuschLegion]

I've collapsed, but never lost consciousness.

[Bowtie]

I've felt like I was going to pass out, and my vision has narrowed down to tunnel vision and gotten darker and darker so it seems like I'm surely going to go under, but it's never happened.

same here

I think actually passing out is pretty rare

[AdaBear]

Hey there!

In my many years of my panic disorder, I don't think I can fully say that I have ever fainted. I can say that I have gotten 'sick' many times in the early years, I have completely lost vision or had tunnel vision a few times, I have lost feeling in my body and was not able to walk and once had courage to get over it and stand up anyway, but never fainted. It's tough. Really tough. But for me, it's just a feeling and not something that will happen. Everyone is different, however. Just don't let it fool you.