Hello, I am so glad I found this support group!
My name is Sarah, I live in Los Angeles and have a 20 month old daughter. I believe I have been suffering from panic attacks. I would have them every now and then for the last few years. but they were always triggered by certain thoughts and fears. Until the last couple of months! Last month about this time they started. They hit me out of nowhere and for no reason! I was just playing in the living room with my daughter the first time. I suddenly felt dizzy, and scared. I can't really describe exactly how it feels. Just a feeling that my body/nerves/brain are not functioning properly and I don't know why. They only last about 30 seconds to a minute. After they started last month, I had them repeatedly for a few days... then they dissapeared only to return the other day (about the same time of the month as last). I can actually handle the attacks pretty well. Knowing for the most part what it is and that I'll live through it really helps. The thing I can't handle is the migraine afterward. I seem to always develop a bad migraine within minutes of the end of an attack.
Here are some unusual things that happen with my attacks.
* They always start with a Deja Vu! All of a sudden I will get this feeling that I have either experienced the exact moment, or had a dream of the exact moment. The more I try to figure out what is what, the more panicked I get, and then the attack. It feels almost as if my brain is crossing wires and telling me I have dreamed about the current time when I actually have not.
* A strange scent that I cannot pin point. I don't know if my sense of smell is hieghtened, but I feel like there is always an intense scent that comes after the attack begins. But not a specific scent.
* Last month I had a panic attack in my sleep- I woke up half way through.
* Several times, the panic attack came when I was about to cross the street- even when no cars were around.
* And again, the fact that I always develop a migraine has me woried a little as I have had headache issues since i was 12.
* My Mother has had panic attacks since she was 7 and she still does. After talking with my Dad about my issues, I learned that he, too, has suffered panick attacks since the age of 17... and he go