I've never had any quite that bad but I have blacked out before from them. Usually I'm alone and try to talk myself down. Also a few times I've been on the phone with my boyfriend and had him help talk me down. Most of the time when they're that bad I get exhausted enough from them to fall asleep. And then spend the day trying to recover. Also I never try to stand when they're that bad. I stay seated where ever I might be. If I catch it early sometimes I will get in the closet (my safety zone, where I feel safe from myself) else I just stay where I am. The hardest part for me is the not breathing feeling plus the feeling that my chest is being compressed, because those make it hard for me to breathe for a day or two even though the panic is gone.

My minor panic attacks last around 1-10 min, but the bad ones like I mentioned above sometimes last up to 2 hours.

Mostly I can talk myself down, but sometimes if my breathing and heartbeat get out of control I take an anti anxiety med.

I'm not sure what I'd do if I had children. How old are they? I know you said one was 3, but do you have others that are older? Do they know you have panic attacks or are old enough to comprehend what to do if you have one and they are there? If one is old enough to take care of themselves and the younger one for as long as you will be the only one home then I'd be more likely to say don't worry about it. It would be good though if at least one was old enough to use the phone and had a list of people they could/should call if you ever need them to. I would also suggest talking to your husband about what he thinks you should do to prepare if this ever happens and it is just you and the kids.

That really bites that you have to go through all this.

I hope you are feeling a bit better now though.

Good Luck