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dekra

Panic attack?

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Yesterday after a particularly bad night my 4 year old climbed into my bed beside me (I was working on a Uni assignment in the bedroom so my daughter could play with her toys in the bedroom) and he fell asleep for over 3 hours. When he awoke he was badly agitated and upset as he often is but it became worse, he seemed to be struggling to breath and in pain although he couldn't tell me if he was in pain or not, his heart was racing and bounding. It was very very upsetting for us both and it took almost an hour to calm him down and even then he was still complaining he was cold and I had to wrap him in a blanket and snuggle him under the covers to get a heat in him he was shivering so badly but he wasn't cold or fevered to the touch. Then after another half hour he was suddenly fine again as if nothing had happened. By this point I'd made an urgent dr's appt for later in the afternoon and we still took him along. Dr checked him out and said he was fine, heart rate slightly elevated but nothing much (it had calmed down a LOT since it had first happened). Dr thinks he had a night terror and when I confirmed he has a history of them nodded and said that will have been what happened.

 

Later on hubby and I were talking and about the similarities and differences from his usual sleep distrubances. We are wondering if maybe he's had a night terror but that has triggered a panic attack afterwards and therefore been the cause of the tachycardia and hyperventilating. Does anyone else have experiences of panic attacks that can tell me if this sounds like it may be the case?

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I have these too - my doc said its cuz of the fight or flight reflex... Nice knowing why, but not great to experience - I get cold after, have a bath, then get so tired I have to sleep for half an hour or so, then often completely fine afterwards if a little washed out. A friend used to get them bad and use a paper bag to breathe in but I can't stand things near my face so I have to calm myself - can take a while when its really bad - hope the little mite doesn't have it happen too often x

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i used suffer with them ( panic attacks) bad in my early teens feel sweaty dizzy disorientated confused shaky heart beating too fast i now am experiencing them back again of a night time as i worry about things in my head and so toss and turn of a night due to this so my sleep is disturbed! gr! so can empathise with your son not nice to experience at all really! i been on anti-depressant worked well with anxiety aswell seemed to take real 'edge' off it to be honest!

 

XKLX

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panic attacks are scary frightening and do make feel 'out of control' strange weird! more try stop it worst it becomes with me if try slow breathing down or heart beat so annoying!

 

XKLX

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I don't know if distracting him with something he likes would help him recover and take his mind of how he is feeling ie. putting on a favourite DVD. Not ideal if it is the middle of the night. But you could watch it together snugged up in bed???

 

My son used to have abdominal migraines and that was awful because he would be in so much pain, and he was not speaking yet. I always had to give him both Calpol and Ibuprofen and it would take a good hour before it kicked in. As he got older [around 4], these turned into migraine type headaches. On a number of occasions I have been on the point of taking him to A&E, when he has started to recover.

 

I would have a word with the GP to see if he would endorse this, but there are some medications for pain eg. Medised, that has a mild sedative in it. It is an over the counter product. I use it on my son. Not on a regular basis obviously. But as a last resort.

 

If he has a general problem with getting to sleep and staying asleep, you could also ask to be referred to the Padiatrician that diagnosed him and ask about Melatonin?? And you could also ask the Paediatrician to refer you to the OT for some relaxation techniques. I know it takes a long time to be seen once referred. But it is worth getting all these things in the pipeline, because if/when you need their advice, or when you are seeking extra support, evidence of these needs and written advice from these professionals can be useful in getting the whole package and multi team approach. If you see no-one it is always assumed that everything is fine.

Edited by Sally44

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my nurse came by and dropped off a card for me to carry around with me when i have a panic attack it says:

 

'What happens when Special_talent123 has a panic attack'

  • Fast breathing
  • Chest goes tight
  • Can't breathe
  • Fast heart beat
  • Shaking

Support Special_talent123 by reminding

  • Having music with earphones
  • Concentrate on a song
  • Take slower breaths, in through nose out through the mouth
  • If in house go to room and lie down
  • Breathe into cupped hands/paper bag
  • Hold on textured object, pebble/sandpaper
  • Eat regulary
  • Look at pictures on phone

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Thanks for the replies everyone and special talent that's nice succinct set of instructions thanks for sharing.

 

So far there hasn't been a repeat of the event on Monday and I am hoping it's been a one-off but I'm being vigilent and if it happens again I'll be right back at the dr again so that he can confirm if he thinks it is panic attacks and it can be offically recorded that they are happening.

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