A little over a month ago in the middle of the night, I woke up to an "episode" of some sort. I had had these "episodes" twice before. Once on a plane which was said to be a response to migraine medication and once in the hospital when Essie was born. This "episode" that woke me lasted 3 hours and involved a racing heart, crazy blood pressure, nausea, dizziness, shaking, and the need to pace. After this episode, the doctor ruled out heart issues and assumed my syncope (pre-diagnosed condition) had flared up as it has some of the same symptoms.
Several nights later, another "episode" woke me. Same scenario. Off to the doctor again and this time they are using the words, anxiety attack. I said, no way. Not me. You see, I had developed some judgements in my head about panic/anxiety attacks. If I was really someone who trusted Jesus, why would anxiety be attacking me? I have 2 great kids. Our adoption dream came true. I have an awesome hubby. Not possible.
Well, the attacks grew much worse and more frequent. Night was now not the only time the attacks hit. I had them at church, at the grocery store, at friends houses, and every night at bedtime. I was having panic attacks over my fear of having an attack.
There is no obvious trigger for these and no real stresses in my life right now. However, there may be a predisposition as I researched some family history. So, why these are happening, I don't know. I do know that I have learned humility during this process. I have erased my judgements of those who suffer from these awful attacks now knowing that these can not be controlled.
I am slowly improving. We take baby steps daily! My days are pretty good with random small episodes that easily can be kicked out. My nights are worse and require much focus to be able to sleep. Everyone keeps saying it is because I turned 30...it's the number when all these imbalances kick in. Who knows. All I know is that it is the path I must walk right now and the Lord has asked me to walk it publicly. So, as much as I want to hid this chapter of my life from view, I write it so the Lord may do with it as He wills.
My daughter suffered the exact same symptoms as in your episodes. We have been to a lot of specialists (cardiologist, asthma specialist, digestive health dr., and neurologist with 2 trips to the ER) this year and it was finally discovered that it was due to hypoglycemia...the cure? simple...eat lots of protein at every meal with quality carbs (whole wheat and grains) and eat every 3 hours. When she feels like she's getting spacy, she eats peanuts and a few minutes later is back to normal. Absolutley NO SUGAR!!! I can't stress that enough. NOOOOOO SUGARRRR!!!! She must eat a snack before bed...usually peanuts and pretzels. Stress, medicines, & hormones will get your system out of balance easy. Try eating more protein and whole grains every 3 hours and no sugar and see if it helps. She hasn't had an episode since starting to eat this way. If it sounds confusing, go see a nutritionist/dietician and get exact amounts of carbs, protein, and fat. I hope this reaches you in time. I know I searched for answers for at least a year and it was a "fluke" (well, really, God's grace) that it showed up in a random blood test done by the neurologist. PTL!!
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