Is this normal for an anxiety attack?

[torimarie3]

I suffer from depression and anxiety. I have had many panic attacks and usually when it happens, I just cry and hyperventilate. Although, today something very strange happened. I became discombobulated and then started talking to my mom in gibberish. It only lasted for a minute or two but it really freaked me out.

[specialmom]

It does sound like it is time for a psychiatrist.  I think that would be a good next step for you.  Good luck

[Paxiled]

I will say, my own preference is to see a psychologist first to see if this can be solved without the use of medication.  If the psychologist sees you need it, he or she will refer you to a psychiatrist.  The problem with nurse practitioners and general docs isn't the time they spend with you only, it's the amount of education they get in mental illness, which is a very specialized field.  Psychologists study for many many years before getting certified to practice -- grad school alone is 5 years, and usually they studied it in undergrad before that.  Psychiatrists study medicine first, as do general docs, and there is very little mental illness training there.  Psychiatrists then do a residency and further training divided between about a year of medication training and a year of psychology usually taught by a psychologist.  So by time spent training, the best ones for diagnosis is a good psychologist.  For medication, it's a psychiatrist because they just do it more often and studied some of the special pharmacology involved, which regular docs don't do.  As for nurse practitioners and physician's assistants, they just study the most basic things and then learn more from whoever they end up working for.  But they have very little formal training, and most can't even properly diagnose a wart from a mole.  It's not a rap on them, this stuff is just very hard to do well thought it's very easy to just do.  

[torimarie3]

I agree with you. It's just that I don't have a regular insurance. I only have AHCCS. It's really hard to get into a psychiatrist with AHCCS. You have to wait for weeks. Honestly though, at this point, I think it's what I have to do. They are just a lot more qualified and my parents are telling me that I might have some kind of personality disorder due to some of the odd things that I've been doing when I get upset. I've been talking to myself, speaking gibberish, saying crazy things I would never say in my normal state. I feel very disconnected from my mind and body at times. It's actually kind of frightening.

[Paxiled]

I said psychologist, not psychiatrist, but if you've decided you want meds, that is the best thing.  As for insurance, I've been through this for a very long time, and psychologists and psychiatrists who take insurance are usually not very good and are very very time pressured.  It's very hard to afford a psychologist without insurance because you have to see them a lot, but psychiatrists, even though it's expensive when you do see them, you don't have to see them very often.  Once you're on meds, you only see them occasionally unless you're having problems.  So in the end, they're not that expensive overall.  Good luck whatever you decide.

[torimarie3]

I've been to psychologists. Yes, it helps to talk to someone but I feel like I have something serious going on now so I think going to a psychiatrist might be the best thing. Thank you for the advice. Much appreciated.

[Paxiled]

Talking to a psychologist isn't what you're supposed to do.  That's what many of us do -- for years often -- but that's a bad psychologist.  They should be making you work on getting better and thinking differently, not just talking that makes you feel a little better for a few hours.  CBT is the form of therapy that has shown the best long-term results for anxiety treatment.  But again, some us do need medication, and therapy doesn't work for most of us -- neither does any particular drug, so be aware it's a trial and error process either way -- so if you're at that point, again, psychiatrists seem more expensive than they really are because once you're settled on a drug that works for you the visits are rare.

[specialmom]

I'm glad you've talked to a health care professional about this.  Nurse practitioners sometimes take more time than doctors these days.  :>)  But that is just the first step.  If you are suffering frequent panic attacks or high anxiety, I'd make sure to go back to your primary care office and consider A. a psychologist to do talk therapy and B. a psychiatrist to take your mental health care one step further.  Let us know how you are doing.  Good luck

[AnxiousNoMore]

If it just lasted a minute or two it is probably just from being in panic mode making you not able to think right. As long as it doesn't happen when you aren't having a panic, then I wouldn't worry about it.
If it happens again during a panic you might mention it to your doctor though I am not sure it would be a problem.

[Paxiled]

How old are you?  Have you been to a therapist who specializes in anxiety treatment who can teach you some breathing exercises and meditation techniques that might bring you some relief and help you figure this out?

[torimarie3]

I'm 27. I have only been to a nurse practitioner and I was prescribed medication. It has helped to some degree but I still have occasional panic attacks. The most recent one was very odd. It was almost like I had a seizure without collapsing and shaking. I couldn't speak normally. I was speaking gibberish and it was completely uncontrollable.  

[Paxiled]

First off, a nurse practitioner doesn't know anything about anything but the simplest things.  Most regular docs don't know anything about the meds used for mental problems.  Psychiatrists are the specialists here who do it the most often, and even they can be clueless.  Second, always get a complete work-up from a really good doctor to rule out possible physiological causes before deciding it's a mental disorder.  Lots of things that happen in the body can trigger anxiety attack-like symptoms, including, just off the top of my amateur head, thyroid problems, blood sugar imbalances, hormonal imbalances, hidden viruses, inner ear problems, etc.  Good luck.

[Pinkskill]

She's probably more knowledgeable then most people responding.    lexapro and an anti anxiety medication would probably do wonders.