Panic disorder relapase after 10 years. Spike in blood pressure and mental confusion.

Hi I was diagnosed with Panic disorder in 2011 after getting sudden dissociation feeling while working in the office. This was followed by a period of Panic attacks , Health anxiety , Agoraphobia , DP/DR etc.
Post 3 yrs of therapy and medication was completely cured, Once I realized that symptoms are anxiety related and they have no physical cause.

Recently, one month back, while presenting in a meeting in the office, I felt like I couldn't speak due to mental confusion. Tried to calm myself down but mental confusion was not easing. Went to the office health room where BP came as 150/100 normally has 120/80 . Only after reassurance from doctors in Emergency was I able to feel normal again. Since then I've been getting recurring panic attacks triggered by mental confusion followed by high BP.

My question is it possible for panic disorder to relapse and can it be triggered by mental confusion. Also high BP of 160/100 is it dangerous.

Thanks Karen for the reply. Yeah during normal times by BP is normal range 120/80 . I am seeing a therapist for my anxiety but avoiding medication so far. My fear is triggered by mental confusion which then makes the BP to spike. My worry is this temporary spike might end up doing permanent physical damage.

Thanks Karen for the advise. I am 35 years currently. First episode of panic attack happened when I was 24 years old.

This time round the biggest symptom is sudden onset of mental confusion which then triggers the panic attack.
So far I done 2d in echo,stress test . Thyroid. Brain MRI and full blood work up to rule out any other condition . But somehow not able to convince myself that my Symptoms are anxiety triggered. Even after multiple doctor visits.

I am Bipolar and have had panic attacks.

You say: “Post 3 yrs of therapy and medication was completely cured (of panic attacks). Once I realized that symptoms are anxiety related and they have no physical cause”

In your latest post you said, “But somehow not able to convince myself that my (panic attacks) Symptoms are anxiety triggered. Even after multiple doctor visits.”

You went from “cured” of panic attacks with medication “once I realized that symptoms are anxiety related and they have no physical cause” to “I am seeing a therapist for my anxiety but avoiding medication so far“ to “So far I done 2d in echo,stress test . Thyroid. Brain MRI and full blood work up to rule out any other condition . But somehow not able to convince myself that my Symptoms are anxiety triggered. Even after multiple doctor visits.”

1. You said, ““Hi I was diagnosed with Panic disorder in 2011 after getting sudden dissociation feeling while working in the office. This was followed by a period of Panic attacks.”
1A. One of the symptoms of Panic Disorder: “Feeling unreal or disconnected from oneself” (Johns Hopkins Medicine) [hopkinsmedicine.org]

2. My question is it possible for panic disorder to relapse and can it be triggered by mental confusion. Also high BP of 160/100 is it dangerous.
2A. As a person who had panic attacks, mine were stopped immediately with Lithium, with the antidepressant I was already taking (Sinaquan) while the panic attacks were still going on. It was the addition of Lithium which stopped the attacks, and I’ve never had another one since.

3. How is Panic Diagnosed? “Generally, if you have 4 or more panic attacks and if you are in constant fear of having another, you have panic disorder.” (Johns Hopkins Medicine)
3A. Have you had 4 or more panic attacks?

4. How is panic disorder treated?
4A. *Anti-anxiety and antidepressant medications
"Counseling, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (positive thinking)"


5. What causes panic disorder?
"Panic disorder sometimes runs in families, but no one knows for sure why some family members have it while others don’t."
5A. Do you have someone in your family with emotional problems?

These are my opinions and from what I’ve read on the net.

I don’t know what your reasoning is but I was stuck in a situation where I looked at medicine as the enemy. It wasn’t my choice.

And my brain went through a lot of turmoil because of it. I’ve read where your brain can actually suffer if you don’t get on medicine and you need it. I believe that. You’re worried about blood pressure but you’re not worried about your brain. How do you pick which organ to save?

If I years ago was concerned like I was about medicine, one way I could have gotten back on it sooner would have been to take a partial dose to see what effect it would have. If I was OK with a partial dose, I could have gone up to a little bit higher dose until I felt comfortable with a full dose.

Panic attacks to me were the worst thing in the world. Simply taking medicine to stop them was not a big decision on my part.

My grandmother had no medicine for her Bipolar, which is where I got mine and I encourage you and others to look at your ancestry to see if emotional problems run in the family. That’s how I found out what my DX was. The psychiatrists didn’t know, I didn’t know.

Until a lay counselor said, “I knew your uncle, and he was Bipolar and you probably are too.”

So, people might want to check around with relatives to see if something like that runs in the family.

Again, my grandmother had no medicine for her Bipolar which wasn’t even a DX at that time, they just grouped it in with schizophrenia. And so there in the early 1900s, with no medicine, no DX, my grandmother had to go 100 miles to a central mental hospital which had high walls.

Today we can be thankful that we can be treated with modern medicine in our homes with much improved
Dxing.

As I’ve said before, to be born into an era which has effective medicine is very fortunate for us. This is luck we had no control over.

These are my opinions as a Bipolar.

Akhi:

You keep referring to “mental confusion.” It was a term I had never heard of but I looked on the net and now I see what you are talking about. Webmd.com says:

“Sudden confusion, sometimes called delirium or encephalopathy, can be a sign of many health problems. It comes on quickly, within hours or days. It’s different from dementia (like Alzheimer’s disease), which causes slow changes over months or years.

“If you or someone you know has sudden mental confusion, you need to see a doctor right away. It’s not normal, whether a person is young or old. Once you can figure out and treat the underlying cause, the confusion usually goes away.”

Are you seeing a doctor?

It says:
“Symptoms can vary. Some people become quiet and withdrawn, while others get nervous and upset. They may:"

• Struggle to focus
• Seem groggy, like they can’t wake up all the way
• Mumble or say things that don’t make sense
• Not recognize you or know where they are
• Get worked up and upset for no reason
• See things that aren’t real

Are these the symptoms that you have?

As for causes it says:
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Carbon monoxide poisoning
• Very low amounts of sodium or calcium in your body
• Diabetes (especially low blood sugar or high blood sugar levels)
• Infections anywhere in the body (including the brain, lungs, and urinary tract). This is especially common for older people.
• Medications (including drugs for pain, sleep, anxiety, depression, allergies, and asthma)
• Pain (especially when a person gets too little or too much treatment)

Do you have any of that?

Net says:
“Doctors will need to figure out the health problem that’s causing the symptoms. They’ll do an exam and may run blood tests, X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. They’ll also ask questions about the person’s:"

• Specific symptoms
• Daily medications
• Alcohol and drug use

"Once doctors can get the cause under control, the confusion usually goes away. It can take hours or days to recover, sometimes longer. In the meantime, some people may need medication to keep them calm and help with their confusion."

As the person gets better, it may help to:

• Make sure they get enough to eat and drink.
• Encourage them to move around (with your help).
• Get them on a normal sleep schedule.
• Surround them with comforting and familiar objects (like family photos).
• Don’t overwhelm them with too much noise or too many visitors, but don’t isolate them either.

(I have Bipolar and this data is what I have read on the net.)