feels like i'm slowly going under...

[wintersong]

It starts out with me feeling pretty warm. I had gotten my period that morning and slowly felt the cramps elevate. When I get home I try to relieve myself of some bowel movements. When I sat on the toliet trying to push the stool, I suddenly feel an elevation of pain from two abdomen movements going at once (menstruation + bowel movement). I start to have difficult breathing (gasping) and it follows with "seeing colors" (spots of black, bright spots from the light, etc.), then I being feeling lightheaded and faint, as if about to lose consciousness. I try to remove some clothing, hoping it'll cool me off but suddenly find myself losing energy. My breathing becomes increasingly difficult and I look at myself in the mirror, noticing that I've turned pale with purple coloring around my lips. I now am hot and sweating, trying to find cool spots of the bathroom to rest my skin on, but I lose control and fall to the ground. The difficulty breathing, faintness, sweatiness, dizziness, and lost of sensation continue. I manage enough effort to prop myself on the toliet and release some tool, which takes alot of energy out of me, and resume to kneeling on the ground again once done because by now I'm having difficulty sitting up. I allow my head to rest between my legs, hoping blood will flow there. It works and I regain enough energy to release more stool and splash cold water on my face for about 5 seconds. I wipe, flush, and head back to the room feeling incredibly weak. The symptoms occur again and I'm forced to lay on the floor. When I feel able I head back to the restroom and force what's left of the stool out. It's not watery but it's a soft solid. When all is done I head back to the bedroom and collapse in bed, exhausted. At this point I don't have the energy to talk or get up, so I fall asleep. Fortunately, my boyfriend had been there to help me with simple needs, like fetching drinking water. When I wake from my nap, I muster myself to sit up and take a sip, then plopped back down and slept some more.

Can someone help me pinpoint the possibility of what this could be? The whole ordeal consisted of a fever/heat increase. I experienced something similar last year and a few years before that, all around the same time of my menstruation. I do not use tampons.

[wintersong]

thanks Reecee!

I had no idea such a thing could have been a panic attack. I thought it was physical due to what could have been an organ collision from two things going at once. I don't remember anything that could have provoked this, except that my abdomen movements were frequent. Honestly, a friend of mine thought it could have been an infection or toxic shock syndrome. And yes, I agree with this being the worst feeling in the world--thinking you're healthy one minute and sudden met with an ambush of uncontrollable symptoms the next. I'm pretty sure I panicked somewhere during the "attack" but I still have feelings it could be from something else at work.

Thanks again for the response :)

[Reecee5]

Sounds exactly like a panic attack.  My first panic attack woke me up in the middle of the night... I didn't "feel" panicky...  I felt like I was going to have diarrhea.  Then my arms went numb.  I started to feel so weak I thought I was going to pass out.  I thought I was going to die or have a stroke!  After it passed I felt all better, until 20 minutes later a wave came up and over me and it happened all over again.  The weakness made me feel like I was going to pass out, and I was terrified I'd go into a coma or something.  I didn't know what was happening to me.  It was the absolute worst physical feeling in the world.  Couldn't breath.  Couldn't walk.  Felt so hot.

I was given Clonopin, a sedative to take when the attacks come, but I didn't like it.  I now take a daily preventative medication that works great.

Don't ignore this!  Go to the doctor!