[vetttech]

Everytime I have a panic attack, the fear causes me to involuntarily vomit. (Now I fear vomiting, too...think I'm dying when I have to vomit, sick or not). Then upon vomiting, mercifully all regular symptons of my attack are relieved. Does anyone else involuntarilyy vomit during an attack and does it end the attack?

[dalila]

My daughter vomits when she has a panic attack. She was at the doctor's cos she has been vomiting so much and they were trying to get just enough blood for a white count. The tech pricked her finger and it clotted too fast so she told dd that she would need to prick another finger. My daughter panicked and started vomiting. She totally emptied her stomach. she seemed calmer afterwards but still up tight and a bit woozy from the violence of the vomiting.

[Myzen]

Hi vetttech,

I share this unhappy fate with you. For me, the culmination of the attacks is vomiting, and this can go on for a while, just retching, followed by a sort of shaking which goes on for a long time, then comparative peace. If I'm lucky I can get into a bed for the shaking part.

I understand that the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol had these symptoms and in those days it was sometimes called the 'ague' , (I 'm not sure of the spelling).

Of course we fear the circumstances of a panic attack. who wouldn't? I've often said that vomiting without a panic attack is a walk in the park, but vomiting in a panic attack is hell on earth. One wise doctor once wrote that a panic attack is the illest that a person can feel.

The only approach to this thing that has worked for me is to under-dramatise it, to treat it like a job of work, unpleasant but unavoidable. If we can reduce the fear, we can definitely dull the sensation, and all the worrying that hangs around this illness.

Good luck, Myzen,

[Rubylizard]

ha! not laughing at you guys at all, but i'm an emetophobic (phobia of vomiting) and i spend my axiety filled life doing everything humanly possible to prevent myself from getting sick, ever. i was sure people could vomit from panic attacks, as i've almost done so myself. but there is another forum online just for emetophobics, that i go to....and there are many people on there that claim that vomiting is NOT ever a symptom of a panic attack. i almost wish they could read this, so they could get a bit of a reality check, but it might send some of them over the edge.
i've only vomited twice in my life *knocks on wood* and just nausea can send me into the wildest most horrifying panic ever. ugh i hate it. i want to break free of this, but no therapists seem to know what to do with me.

[vetttech]

Thank God others can relate to me and thanks for the replies.

Rubylizard, I think I neglected to mention that for me it works both ways. If I feel nauseaus, 90% of the time it turns into a panic attack and then vomiting. But it also works the other way, too. I could also be legitimately sick and vomiting will turn into a panic attack.

It's been about 4 months since my last attack, but I make sure I'm never far from a bathroom because I couldn't stand the embarrassment of having a full-fledged attack in front of strangers.

[colors]

Well I wish my mind had been smart enough to find a relief of the anxiety attack by doing that.

My anxiety attacks would take hours. It sounds like you have found a faster way. As unpleasant as vomiting is, I wish my body would have used it for an outlet too.

My heart beats, my hands shake, my knees tremble and I am unable to react to what caused the anxiety attack. It leaves me helpless.

I have overcome my attacks by the help of a Labrador. She stays close to me all the time. I know she is watching and will respond to anything near me. I sleep well now, and without lights on (after years of leaving them on). There have been times that she has awaken me in the middle of the night at something going on. I am able to pull from sleep without having to fight the anxiety attack first. I now can respond with strength to the situation.

I hope this helps you cope with the anxiety in some way. I know that vomiting is difficult, but there are solutions. Each person showing the signs a little differently to anxiety, and each one having a soultion.

Time helps a lot of people thru it. Therapy helps others. Talking is another way people deal with it. So please dont think it will last forever. There is a right solution for yours too.

Wishing you the best.

Colors