Cold flashes

Emp_Fab

Anyone else get them ?  I was cooking dinner last night and suddenly felt a wave of coldness flood over my midriff and upper torso.  Slight pins & needles in my hands and slight numbness of the inner arms.  Very unnerving - especially considering my cardiac history.  It's human nature to worry in these circumstances, so made a concerted effort to keep a lid on the rising panic.
I've had a few 'false alarms' since my heart attack and each time it has resulted in me going to A&E in an ambulance, to be poked and tested, and turfed out the next morning with a "it's not your heart" diagnosis.  This time I decided to fight the panic and see what happened.  I lay down and tried to relax, working on the logic that I've felt like this before and it's never been heart-related.  I really really didn't want to endure all the bloody drama of another A&E overnighter so I waited for something to change - i.e. feel better or maybe something else would happen that made the decision for me.

It eased slowly and I started feeling better, but really exhausted and sleepy.  A few minutes after that, it started to come back and I decided to quickly try a little experiment...  As it started again, my initial reaction was to try to pay no attention to it...  treat it as nothing serious, and the sensation grew very slowly.  Then I deliberately focussed on it and 'made myself' worry that it was something very serious.  In a millisecond, the sensation amplified hugely, flooding over me like before.  At that point I knew it was psychological rather than physiological - i.e. adrenaline etc.  -  i.e. an anxiety/panic attack.  Bastard things.  I'm not under any stress that I'm aware of and I'm not worrying about anything.  I was happily cooking dinner and completely out of the blue, for absolutely no reason, my whateveritis glands start pumping stress hormones out and scare the shit out of me.

Anyway.... this post has become far longer than I intended....

So, 'cold flashes' - does anyone know what I'm talking about and have you ever had them ?

Ossyrocks

The mind has enormous capability over the physical body.
My daughter has been blue lighted to A&E three times with paramedics taking her symptoms very seriously. Each time it was an anxiety attack.
Anxiety attacks can occur at the most mundane and unlikely times, almost at your most chilled moments. She manages herself with mindfulness, yoga, diet and exercise now and is doing much better. But it’s something she always has to be aware of.

Hope you feel better soon.

Rob

Grunfeld

Emp_Fab said:

So, 'cold flashes' - does anyone know what I'm talking about and have you ever had them ?

I don't get them but I see them and all sorts of somatisation in the people I see.  It's a pretty common feature in my case load. 

jonnyburgo

My wife works as a CBT- er and sometimes if its appropriate she asks somebody to try to induce a panic attack and stay with it, even if they think it isn't going to end.  Eventually it passes, the point being made is that an anxiety attack can't kill you, it comes and it goes,  Obviously its a bit more technical than that but its an interesting point.