I hate to ask this question about panic attack. In life & death situation, people go into panic attack seizure. What medication do you carry to stop panic seizure. The person freezes and his eyes turn white and rolls upward. He can't move arms or legs. His heart beats very fast. He is too scare to move. I had this panic seizure a few times. Any ideas???

Having panic attacks can be a serious, debilitating condition but what you're describing may be something other than a panic attack.

First, you shouldn't seek medical advice on a forum like this; God knows what crazy advice you'll receive... <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Second, you should see your doctor, who will likely refer you to a good psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist, or neurologist. There are several drugs, e.g., xanax, that are effective against panic attacks but you first need a doctor to diagnose the condition before you medicate it. Otherwise, you run the serious risk of not treating it appropriately or missing a more urgent underlying problem.

Best of luck to you.

Picard,
Having been the victim of panic attacks in the past, I can tell you that once you recognize it coming, you can control it with your mind and finally get to the point that they finally go away.
I don't associate seizures with panic attacks but I am no physician. You didn't mention that you think you are going to die during such an attack but that is one the symptoms. Read the following from Mayo Clinic and it should lead you in the right direction to overcome your problem. Good luck. It ain't as bad as it seems, believe me, but it does scare the hell out of you if you never had one before. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=DS00338

I believe I would consult a doctor if seizures are involved. It sounds like something more than a panic attack. Just my opinion mind you. Speaking from experience and witnessing some others and talking with them. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Definitely seek your doctor's medical advice...

As a paramedic, I have treated anxiety attacks and seizures. Seizures result from a number of things: central nervous system damage/disease, Epilepsy, drugs, heat, lack of oxygen, etc. Treatment for seizures includes protecting the patient from hitting objects when they are seizing, maintaining an open airway (do not try to use bite blocks or any other item to keep teeth apart) and drugs (benzodiazepines) Treating anxiety attacks often involves calming the patient and slowing breathing. Some other medical proffesionals will disagree with me, but rebreathing into a bag or O2 mask to increase the carbon dioxide will help in certain cases.

Panic attacks aren't seizures. Panic attacks (true panic attacks) are miserable, but do not cause any physical harm. They are typically time-limited (20min). I know that can seem like forever when you're having one.. but they will and do pass. It is very rare for them to occur repeatedly in a short time span: if this is apt to happen to you, it probably already has happened to you.. and you've probably already gone for a medical or psychological evaluation.
Your best treatment if you're having one is 1)tell yourself or the victim that you know what this is.. that it is a panic attack.. and it will pass. 2)Slow deep breaths (or better yet, learn the Benson Breathing technique). I think I've described that technique in other threads here in the past.

Some medications used for panic attacks (xanax and other benzodiazepine type drugs)really aren't a good idea in an emergency because they can impair other cognitive abilities. They also do not stop an attack: panic attacks are over before these drugs can metabolize. They may prevent or reduce the severity of subsequent attacks, however. There are other drugs available for individuals with genuine panic disorder, such as Paxil (SSRI and SNRI antidepressants). No drug should be used alone without also learning the proper psychological techniques a properly trained Psychologist can help you with.

With all respect to the primary care physicians on this thread, I think the diagnosis and treatment of panic disorder should be done by a mental health specialist. 80-90% of the panic attack patients I see who are medicated by a primary care physician alone are not getting the most effective treatment we can offer them.

The link to the Benson Breathing technique

I googled it and fond it in the origenal post.

Neil, reading your bio, forget about orienteering (sorry Benjammin). Just get you a good GPS and a topo map and learn UTM. Much simpler and more accurate. Getting REALLY lost can bring on a panic attack of gigantic proportions. With your GPS you will never get lost again. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

"Just get you a good GPS ..."

First one I had refused to initialize. In the wilds of Idaho. I know they're better now, but haven't taken the plunge again. But this reputation for getting lost isn't all bad. My buddies don't let me out of their sight.

Maybe you had one of the old five channel units. Sometimes they would NEVER acquire the sats. I suppose all now are twelve channel and I believe I saw one advertised the other day with fifteen. Garmin seems to dominate but I prefer Lowrance. Sorta like the Ford/Chevy pickup dispute.

I used to squirrel hunt in the river bottoms with a friend who was absolutely paranoid about getting lost. His navigation aid was this huge ball of string which he tied to the door handle of my Jeep and hunted out as far as the string permitted. His brother used a different system. He left a trail of bits of toilet paper which gave him more range and less aggravation from fooling with the string thing. Go figure.

WWDBD? Hint: Died in Missouri in 1820 after a lifetime in the wilderness. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />