I want to say up front for people who are suffering from panic attacks, "YES THEY DO GO AWAY"!! They may tell you that they will stay forever. That's a lie, don't believe it. It's just one of the man symptoms of panic attacks. They feed on fear and negativeity. Nobody who has had panic attacks has ever gone crazy or died from them. I never had heard of panic attacks until I had mine. I learned that even my next door neighbors had them when I consoled in them of what was wrong with me. So just hang in there, it will get better!

In my experience with panic attacks the reason I feel I had them was because I was living in a faced paced environment and trying hard to succeed. I was working three jobs. I had feelings of inadequacy, feelings of being afraid, I felt hopeless. I had financial problems, my best friend was dying of cancer and I had to move because my house I had been renting for 12 years was being torn down for a new parking lot and had no money to move with.

Another reason for panic attacks is an unhealthy diet. This I believe to be one of my main problems accompanied with excessive stress and fear of what the future held for me. Too much caffeine, chocolate and not enough healthy vegetables and a balanced diet. When I took caffeine and chocolate out of my life and started to eat a healthier diet and take vitamins, I got gradual results. Even tho I had "high" stress in my life, I still managed to get rid of my panic attacks. I got through it! It was my main fear that they would never go away. So I am encouraging you, "YES that they do go away"!

For some reason when I am sick alot in the winter with cold's and flu's I will get them again. I blame this on the medications I take that probably cause exciteability. And also I seem to get excited and panicky when I can't breathe with a stuffy nose. For a cold Benadryl works wonders. Doesn't make me nervous and actually calms be down so I can sleep. It was recommended this from another panic attack sufferer.

Symptoms of Panic Attacks

Shortness Of Breath--Feeling of suffocation and not being able to get one's breath. Have to be outside with cool fresh air and can't stand humid days in the summer. Chest feels heavy and tight, feels like you may be having a heart attack.

Dizziness--You may feel dizzy and light headed at times. Your head may feel like it has spun around a few times.

Shakiness--I felt a shakiness especially in the mornings, but with most people it occurs throughout the day.

Night Terrors--The night time was the worst for me. Feelings of the the walls coming in. Couldn't sleep in a totally dark bedroom. Awakened with a severe panic attack and a "jolt" the minute I started to fall asleep. Not being able to sleep at all, just take small cat naps. Waking up several times in the night with fear of doom is about to happen. Terrible thoughts would race across my mind during the night and especially in the mornings. Can't lie down, have a feeling of intense, gotta get up. When I did sleep, I would be so exhausted and have terrible evil monster type dreams. That really intensified the attacks and made them much worse. I walked the floor at night constantly.

Hair Loss--The extreme stress of the panic attacks can cause a large amount of hair loss. Don't worry, you are not going bald! All of your hair will not fall out.

Diarrhea--Frequent trips to the bathroom.

Fear Of Dying--The intense fear that something was wrong with me and I was going to die.

Not Hungry--Feeling nauseous and not being able to eat. Certain foods would immediately give an attack. Any type of fast foods or something that was fried would lay heavy on my stomach. Even anything too hot or too cold would bring on an attack.

Hot And Cold Flashes--Waves of hot and cold flashes with tingling sensations over entire body.

Heart Palpitations--Feelings of heart flipping over and fast heart rate.

Going Crazy--You fear your going crazy. What will I do????? 

Lump In Throat--A lump in the back of your throat. I have read that this is believed to be from stress.

Inability To Sit Still--You feel you have to constantly keep moving, day and night.

Feeling Of Hopelessness--Feelings of impending doom, something bad is about to happen. Unreasonable fears. Uncontrollable thoughts or worry throughout the day. Absolutely have no feelings of peace or well-being. Even to laugh brings on attacks.

Unable To Cope--Not being able to cope with every day activities. Making out bills, housecleaning, a trip to the grocery store, or even giving attention to your loved ones, even pets.

Blurred Vision--Unable to concentrate on anything I was looking at. It seemed to jump around on the page.

Heavy Breathing--Before I had panic attacks, family members and friends noticed I was breathing heavily. Later I learned to breathe more slowly and calm down my breathing.

Sensitive To Smells--Even strong odors would bring on an panic attack.

Sensitive To Loud Noises--Loud music, any sudden loud sounds, especially in the night time would bring on attacks.

Sudden Movement--Any sudden movement that gives extra Adrenalin will cause an attack. Even to play your favorite high action game.

Come On Sudden--Panic attacks can come on sudden with no warning. You may not even been in a stressful situation at the time. Just the excitement of having a good time. I had my first panic attack on the 4th of July, my favorite holiday.

Fear They Are Never Going Away--Suffers feel they are never going away. The fear of having your next one will actually bring on another attack because of the increased anxiety you give your body when you worry about it. This causes extra adrenal flow through your body. It's a vicious cycle. Yes.......THEY GO AWAY.

Here are a list of vitamins that I believe helped me. I would recommend going to your local GNC health food store or any good health food store in your area. Stores like K-mart, Walmart and Walgreen's offer low cost vitamins but have more fillers in their vitamins and have less potency. I recommend buying vitamins at GNC if there is one in your area, or any commercial health food store.

B Complex 50--The B vitamins help reduce anxiety and have a calming effect on the nerves. The B-Complex 50 has vitamin B6 that that helps maintain a healthy nervous system. It also contains vitamin B1, B2, B6, B12, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Pantothenic Acid, Choline Bitartrate, and Para-aminobenzoic Acid. Or any vitamin that has your B vitamins in it. I have tried other variations and they work fine.

Calcium, Magnesium & Zinc--These three vitamins are in one capsule. Calcium is a natural tranquilizer. Magnesium helps to relieve anxiety, tension and nervousness. Zinc has a calming effect on the central nervous system. Also aids in preventing colds. I heard over the radio not long ago that a doctor recomended magnesium for people who had panic attacks. This might be an important vitamin to take.

Vitamin C--is known for keeping your immune system healthy in guarding against colds. One of my biggest fears when I had my attacks was the fear of catching a cold. The fact of being stuffed up and not being able to breathe was frightening to me. And I knew this would trigger more attacks because I already felt like I couldn't breathe. I really recommend taking this vitamin so you don't get a cold and prevent future attacks. Also vitamin C is also known to decrease anxiety. Very helpful in dealing with stress.

Fish Oil Tablets--Helps maintain heart and vascular health. Also aids in calming the body.

Vitamin B12--Aids in the formation of red blood cells and the proper function of all body and brain nerve cells.

Folic Acid--is a B vitamin and is one of the factors involved with vitamin B12. Helps maintain the nervous system and prevent birth defects. Good for the heart and circulation and helps manufacture new red blood cells. Helps lower homocysteine levels which is predominant in people with depression.

Potassium--is effective in keeping down high blood pressure. Aids in the healthy electrical activity in the heart and rapid transmission of nerve impulses throughout the body. Assists in muscle contraction and maintaining fluid in body cells. Helps nerve and muscle function. Also aids in proper functioning of adrenal glands.

L-Glutamine--is known to lift depression. Helps clear and calm the mind. Is an important neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Improves mental alertness, clarity of thinking and improves mood. Glutamine helps prevent muscle wasting that can accompany prolonged bed rest or diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Deficiencies cause anxiety, fearfulness and panic. But you should talk to your doctor first before taking any amino acids. If you are being treated for any serious illness or on medications I recommend talking to your doctor first. Pregnant or nursing mothers should not take this. Can interact with some drugs in certain people. Some studies show there are no side effects. I don't take this vitamin anymore, but when I had my worst panic attacks, I felt it helped.

There is a vitamin I recently discovered that I take everyday after I was sick all winter with colds and flu that I have added to this list. But probably could be just taken by itself because it has most of the vitamins I have listed above. It is Stresstabs Advanced and you can get it at your local Walmart. Also I found Melatonin before bedtime made me relax and go to sleep.

Follow the directions on all these vitamin bottles for proper dosage. Take these viamins with milk at your main mealtime once per day. Vitamins bond with food giving you faster absorption in your body. After the panic attacks are gone you can take these vitamins once a week to keep them flowing in your bloodstream.

I find my panic attacks to gradualy go away. Everynight they get less and less severe. I may have one good night and maybe the next I would be panicky, then a couple more good nights, then maybe just a little bit panicky until finally they are GONE, GONE, GONE!!

DO's AND DON'TS

Eat lots of lettuce--Lettuce has a tranquilizing effect. Helps calm the nerves, relieves heart palpitations, and aids in sleeping better at night. Has vitamins A, C, E, B1, B2, B3.

Eat Foods With Tryptophan--Tryptophan is an essential Amino Acid and helps in niacin (B vitamins) production. Foods that are considered sources of tryptophan are dairy products, beef, poultry, barley, brown rice, fish, soybeans, and peanuts. It happens to be the starting material from which our brains make serotonin, which calms you down and makes you sleepy. When I had my attacks I ate lots of fish, salmon, tuna fish, turkey, and chicken.

Eat Total Cereal--This has quite a few good vitamins in it including the B vitamins that you really need right now. I feel this is one of the foods that made me feel better.

Drink Milk--Try to drink alot of milk. Has lots of tryptophan in it. I feel this also helped me alot.

No Caffeine No Sugar--Don't consume anything with caffeine or sugar in it. It will trigger your adrenalin flow in your body. This includes, coffee, soda pop, alcohol beverages, kool-aid, gum and chocolate. These items put me in a tail spin if I consumed them.

No Additives--Watch out for additives or food colorings in foods. Alot of the fast foods have this in them. I found, that any foods with MSG gave me awful attacks. MSG is also known as monosodium glutamate, a commonly used food enhancer in most fast food restaurants. Has been known to cause severe headaches, difficulty breathing, nausea, or a rapid heart rate.

Be Aware Of Certain Aspirins--Certain over-the-counter aspirins contain caffeine. Also don't take sleeping aids. These made my panic attacks worse.

Be Good To Yourself--If you have overworked yourself, give yourself a pat on the back, you did the best you could, don't worry, nobody can do it all. You will get there in time of whatever it is your trying to achieve. Always keep your hope. Don't give up!! Do the best you can for now under the circumstances you are dealt with. Remind yourself of all your past achievements and victories.

Positive Thoughts--Keep your thoughts positive. Even if you have to say it out loud several times a day, "everything will be ok". I said this to myself alot. This will seep into your subconscious and your body will react and be more relaxed with less Adrenalin flow. It will eventually get to be a habit and you won't have to think about it at all. Your thoughts play a vital role on how you feel. If you are always thinking or sending out negatives, your body prepares itself for fight or flight. The power of suggestion is strong, it can build up or tear down.

Don't Down Yourself--Criticizing yourself gets you nowhere and brings on more panic attacks. When you down yourself your body goes into a defensive mode and sends some more adrenalin, giving you more attacks. Everybody has good traits and talents, I don't care who you are or what your circumstances is. Useful talents that only you have. Don't ever claim yourself to be stupid. Everybody has things they lack in and excel in. Even a idle clock is right twice a day. So give yourself a pat on the back! You deserve it!

Talk To Someone--Talk to someone how you are feeling and release pent up feelings. You need to get your negative feelings out. Talk to a kind friend who will encourage you. Sometimes you just need to talk things over and discuss it. A solution then can be made and it doesn't seem so bad. As the old saying says, "Two heads are better than one".

Take Walks--Walking helps to relieve stress. Helps to get your mind off the attacks and helps in the constant motion of always feeling you have to move. Also tires yourself out so you can sleep better at night.
Take Showers--Taking frequent small showers after you have had a panic attack at night, helps calm the nerves so you can get a little sleep.

Count Sheep--This sounds odd I know. But when I counted sheep at bedtime, I went to sleep a whole lot faster. I think it was because I had my mind on something else besides my troubles. I envisioned counting sheep by a beautiful lake where I always took my walks at. Or count how many houses on your street. Or try thinking about anything positive, anything to drown out the bad thoughts that crowd your mind.

Don't Take Your Troubles To Bed--I know this is easier said than done. Oh how well do I know! But I took on the philosophy, there is nothing I can do about it at this present time anyway. That is tomorrow's problem. It takes some conditioning but you can do this. Your body needs to rest at night, that is when it repairs it's self. You need to let your body rest.

Don't Eat Before Bedtime--Your body uses this time to repair its self. If I ate before bedtime, I had horrific panic attacks.

Keep A Journal--Write down everyday how you feel. Make notes on what things helped you and what things didn't. Writing it down on paper everyday shows your progress and gives you encouragement that the panic attacks are getting less severe and less often. I wrote my progress on a calender. This helped me quite a bit, I could see my progress everyday, until they were absolutely gone.

Get Your Mind On Something Else--For me it helped to join PTP (Paid To Promote), PTC (Paid To Click) and Traffic Exchanges. They would get my mind off my attacks. You visit various websites. You can earn a little money for every site you visit or credits for people to see your site in return. I have made a little website (nothing fancy) that has various Traffic Exchanges, PTP and PTC links. You can check it out 5 Good Surfing Sites. And check out my funny t-shirt site at Expressions Tees.