[AynaDee]

Hey there everyone..

I have been doing pretty decent with my MS lately.. except the past few days...

I got off work at 6 the other day, came straight home and went directly to sleep. Didn't even wake up for dinner, slept til 8:30 the next morning. Woke up that morning and went to work, got off at 6 and drank an espresso to keep me awake til 9 I'd say.

I have today off, so I went outside to hula hoop (which has been improving my strength and core balance) and realized I am too weak to keep the hoop up so I stopped after trying for about 2 minutes.

When I came inside and sat down this overwhelming feeling came about myself. My insides just did not feel right at all, it was a very scary feeling.

The feeling was much like the feeling I have when I am abruptly woke out of my sleep with that whole 'I feel like I am dying' feeling. It felt almost like I couldn't breathe properly. I was staying as calm as possible, pacing the house, no one is home right now and I wasn't sure what to do.

Has anyone else experienced this bizarre feeling in their bodies?

It wasn't a panic attack. That's what my doctor always refers to it as, I have watched my mom and gma suffer through panic attacks and I KNOW that whatever it is that is happening at the time is NOT a panic attack. The feeling is truly awful. and now that I am thinking about it I have done that 'freak out' thing in my sleep every night for the past week... maybe I am in another flare

[Debbie D]

Yes I get this occasionally. It does feel like an anxiety attack to me. I just try to breathe through it or distract myself by reading or turning on a TV show that is light & meaningless.
Hope you feel better soon

[SallyC]

I used to get those attacks, years ago when I was still RRMS. And mine were a mild form of anxiety attacks, I think. The other thing it could have been, is an active lesion in the brain stem. I prefer anxiety..

Ayna, you may be starting an exacerbation. Call your Doc..

[Dejibo]

I get a feeling of "hyper vigilance" just before an attack. now, the attack may be quite mild and almost nothing, or it can be a full blown smack down. I feel like I need to be "on guard" ready! and its exhausting! I feel like folks are watching me in the grocery store, like my loved ones are talking about me, like I need to be ready, and the MDs are speaking about me in a bad light. (that doesnt mean their not) and when the flair runs its course, im back to the I dont really care attitude.

I hate this disease.

[karilann]

Yes it does sound like anxiety. Lets not forget that M.S. can cause anxiety and depression....not that the disease makes us anxious and depressed (although it can) but it also can cause them.

I developed these types of symptoms years ago and they were out of the blue. They got worse very quickly and I also started getting phobias I never had before also.

After awhile they lightened considerably. I still had some issues and the doctor had me try Celexa (antidepressant) which has properties for anxiety, OCD, phobia etc. It really helped.

Learn to deep breath properly and you may be able to get through these episodes rather easily. Don't become afraid of it or you may set yourself up for even more anxiety.
Note: Let your doctor know about these "feelings" to make sure other things are not going on (hormones, cardiac etc)

[Judy2]

Just a thought that crossed my mind when reading your post -- you mention working and sleeping and espresso -- are you eating? From experience, that will definitely cause the jitters and a weak, shakey, scarey feeling. Of course the anxiety thing too. For what it's worth...............