globus hystericus?

Hi Aydinmuh,

I have never had this experience of not being able to swallow when I was anxious.  Have you called your doctor about it?  In a quick search on Google, I see that it can be caused for physical conditions like GERD (gastro-esophogeal reflux disease).

Good luck with this.

Lynne

HI,

Boy do I know what you are going through! I had it for seven months, was not able to eat any solid foods and was totally miserable! I went into Cognative Behavioral Therapy and realized that it was entirely anxiety driven. The hard part for me was trusting that I wouldn't choke if I ate again. It took a while but I came out ok, and you can too. Go to therapy immediately! It will do wonders...you might be able to care for it without meds, just the therapy (which I did)..everyone is different. Best of luck!

Linda

Hi Aydinmuh,

I know what you are suffering, Ito have experienced globus hystericus for the past 18 months,at first I felt lumps in my throat and could not eat any solid food (everything liquidised.) this lasted about 6 months then went overnight and I started eating again.since then the lumps in my throat become painful and felt like sharp objects,(splinters of glass or needles ).I had every test there is and told it is all stress related.I am stilllooking for relief as no medical help seems available,I even had a course of C.B.T.without success.

good luck.

Regards Barbara.

Hi Aydinmuh.

After 6 months of not eating solids my daughter-in-law persuaded me to try to eat a piece of my favorate cake,which very slowly and much effort I did.That night I lay in bed thinking for hours if I could do this then why can`t I eat.The next morning I nervously started eating and within days I was eating normally although I still have terrible pains in my throat when I eat they are not there.

C.B.T.ect.did not seem to help me it seemed to come from myself,I only hope the pains in my throat will do the same.

good luck.Barbara.

My rare attacks happen while sleeping at night.  I ocassionally, have the sensation that I have accidentally swallowed an object, ususally something sharp/hard.  I then have a heart-pounding panic attack, I jump out of bed, run to the bathroom, and try to remove the imagined object.  This is so wierd!!!

hi aydinmuh,

I know what you are going through. i am a student nurse and everyone keps telling me that it is stress and then they go on about how the human body works. obviously i know all of this through my training but to be honest, it does not make it any easier. My one big worry is that there does not seem to be a definate type of medicine that seems to work. i have had this swallowing problem for 2 weeks just and i am going out of my mind. it does get worse when iam stresssed. the doc has put me on beta blockers and then another doc put meon omeprazole, so far neither has worked.i am not put off food, i feel better when i eat as this reassures me im not choking.apparently this is quite a common illness.i know i had stress before but this has made my life much more difficut. hopefully we will be free of it soon. goodluck.

I have had globus hystericus for years and can sympathize. It does get worse with stress and can also be associated with GERD (gastrointestinal problems, such as acid reflux). I'm not sure if you know this, but caffeine is the enemy for globus hystericus and if you drink coffee, eat chocolate, sodas, etc. it will exacerbate the condition. I have recently tried Globutab. Go to www.globutab.com

It seems to be helping, but to cure it you have to take the pills for a month. If it cures me, I'll be eternally grateful to the creator of it. It's worth a try. I have been on everything from antidepressants (even though I swore I wasn't depressed, Regalan (to relax the muscles) and Prilosec for Gerd and others. Nothing did the trick. All the psychologists and doctors who said it would disappear on antidepressants were wrong and then I had side effects from the pills. I also felt I would choke, but mostly when I ate meat, which is a problem since the condition can also be related to an iron defiency (one more thing for you doctor to check). If none of this helps, the lump could be caused by hypothyroidism and sometimes people who have this seen to have a predisposition to getting thyroid problems. So check this one out. My best of luck to you! - Gloria

Hi my doc has told me i have Globus,it is horrible.I have found swallowing difficult,i had a blood test to check for other problems all ok.The swallowing has improved greatly,but some times it wakes me at night with a dry throat, & i get this sensation that my throat is closing ,i know that is not the case.It also happens when i drive ,not all the time,it comes & goes ,really makes me fell so low.

Regards Ian.

I felt a lump in my throat for abot a week, and when a went to a doctor he told me it was all phycological so it went away. This feeling came back a few days ago and sometimes I get scared to even drink! Everything I eat seems to go down so slow... or thats how it feels.

I'm adding on from the post before this one... because its the same person.

Anyways I get panic attacks from this and its driving me crazy. In a few days I'm going to a doctor about my panic attacks but I really really really really want this feeling to go away. I wish I didnt have to go through this its making me so stressed. I wish humans didnt have to eat to survive.

Hello all, two days after my 40th Bday I had my 1st panic attack ever at a restraunt 100s of miles from home.  I thought I was having a flippn' heart attack.  I am very active..I race Mt Bikes, work out at the gym, run and don't smoke.  Currently I'm in training for an Xterra game in Tahoe.  I went to the closest Hospital where it took me about 3 hours to catch my breath.  After all the poking and prodding of needles, xrays and an ekg it was determined nothing is wrong with me and I was having a panic attack.  Every since then I have experienced what has now been identified as Globus.  What the hell is this??  I understand every persons comment and feel your pain.  However...I will not let this run my life.  I found the following help....when I run or bike for hours I forget all about it and eat like a champ, Xannax does help me but I only take 1 a day so I wait until 11am-1pm to take.  Having a couple of beers before dinner eases the anxiety of choking and food goes down pretty good.  Sex...I found that having sex when I'm feeling the feeling.....you know what I'm talking about....makes me stop thinking about it and I go back to dinner.  The feeling absolutely sucks but it is manageable....see your Doctor.  Protein shakes with raw egg whites, yogurt drinks and eating whenever your feeling good stops the weight and energy loss.  Also stop drinking coffee and soda.  I'm a lifetime coffee drinker and switched to green tea and I drink a lot of water.

Stop thinking about....see your Doc....if he's no help find another.....LIVE YOUR LIFE!!

I just found out i probably have globus.I have had it for about 3mths but then again i remember this same feeling like 3 1/2yrs ago.I thought i was going crazy because it felt like i had food stuck in my troat.Actually my troat feels better when i eat and drink.After reading this i do notice that at nite it does get worst,then there are days when i dont feel a thing.

I do live a stressful life soooo mayb it has to do wit that.I guess ill jus keep reading on it...

PARKSLOPE

Yes, I have had this condition for several years and it goes away with the proper level of an antidepressant.  It is apparently connected with depression and/or stress.  It caused me so much stress I thought I was going out of my mind until I mentioned it to my OB/GYN !! I had been treated years ago for depression and eventually thought I could come off my antidepressant.  Big mistake!!  Within several months the globus started and it would not go away.  I had no idea what it was until my ob/gyn said it is a tightening of the esophagus that sometimes happens with depression.  I have been back on an antidepressant ever since.  Sometimes I have to switch antidepressants or up the dosage if the globus starts again.  I think my tolerance level of the medication changes over time and the dosage needs to be adjusted or I need to try another medication.  I've been on (individually) Nortriptyline, prozac, zoloft, and now lexapro.  Each one of them worked for several years until my tolerence level made them less effective and I had to switch to a different one.  I think I will probably always need to be on an antidepressant.  They take away the globus and make my life so much better!  Talk to a doctor.  Good Luck!

Hi, I'm so glad I stumbled on this site and found out that I'm not the only one with globus - it's been almost 2 months now...

After a couple of embarrassing trips to the emergency department (once because i felt like i couldn't breathe, and the other because i couldn't sleep and still had the choking feeling in my throat) where the doctors basically told me "it's globus, it'll go away, go home" and the globus didn't go away i felt so lost and annoyed.

I've had a barium swallow since which, as expected, showed up nothing - but that doesn't stop the feeling of my throat choking...

I'm so glad that there's other people out there with this who are getting on with their lives :) it's really encouraging, thanks guys!

Interesting!  My wife seems a bit different; she doesn't have panic attacks, she isn't depressed, but she is close to menopause.  Every 20 seconds she feels a throat tightening, and sometimes there's an accompanying hot flash from her head to her toes.  It would get worse when trying to sleep, and if something startled her, the spasm was intense. 

She says her symptoms get stronger if she soaks in the bathtub (raised body temp??).  So far the best help has been from alprazolam and Lyrica.

How old are all of you fellow sufferers?  Any of you past menopause?  One doc says it might go away once menopause is finished.  Thanks.

  Yes! I have had mine for almost 3 years!

   Daily-continually!  The only thing that

   gave me ANY relief was 6 mg daily of

   the most potent Xanax (an anti-anxiety

   medication that gets into the body fast!)

   I don't recommend this because it is

   highly addictive and you just want more

   and more and more-it starts to control

   you and your life!  I firmly believe it is

   because of anxiety!!!!!!!!!!!  I never had

   a problem until I was diagnosed with

   a mole that turned out to be melanoma.

   (I am fine.)  My best friend died of

    breast cancer (age 41) at the same time.

   I then got encephalitis-severe headaches,dizziness, blurriness-the past

    three years have been hell!  I have

    tried everything and I am so ashamed

    to admit even felt suicidal!  I have

    amazingly not gone into therapy! I am

    ashamed.  I have never been a drinker

    but started to relax-it I found out has

    a very relaxing effect and helped me to

    sleep, but drinking is against my religion

    and out of guilt.  I stopped.  Read the

    the book "You can heal your life" by

    Louse Hay.  You can get it at Barnes

    and Noble in the self help section. It

    It is amazing!  I now have ordered other

    of her products. Her website is www.

    hayhouse.com.  I finally just decided to

    "play it straight" and eat and almost

     challenged the "lump" to go ahead and

     destroy me.  I get out of bed and go

     on with my routine.  I am now having

     some better days with on going im-

     provement.  Louise swears this is

     caused by fear!  You are so afraid of

     the lump and choking that you become

     obsessed with it and it becomes your

     captor!  Say enough! This will never

     kill you I promise-no matter had bad

     and scary it feels.  It is your sub-

     conscious mind and nervous system

     playing tricks and after awhile it does

     become a habit to be frightened.

     Say "bring it on"  eat everything and

     just keep going no matter what!  I

     can only say this because I am living

     it too!  What the brain creates, the

     brain can cure.  You might want to

     try cognitive or even hyno-therapy.

     But I still believe YOU can stop this

     dead in it's tracks.  Kill the fear. Talk

     to people, go on-line, get educated

     and don't let doctors, or ANYONE tell

     you you're crazy!  They couldn't deal

     with it for 5 minutes!  If you're religious

     go there as well.  Please let me know

     how you're doing. The good news is

     that if and when you DO conquer this,

     I promise-nothing will ever scare you

     again!   Good Luck.  MF

I suffer from anxiety/panic attacks on off and have done for years. Every so often i get a new anxiety symptom pop up. Last year i had you what have. I also had a sensation of a lump in my throat even when not eating, and couldnt seem to talk either.

I obsessed over it. Hours on google, looking up related conditions, worrying, on my mind subconsiously all the time too propabably. My dodctor said is was just anxiety, nothing wrong physically.

It went away after about a month or so. I dont know why, but it hasnt been back since.

Now my latest symptom is palpitations! Another fun one to get through... ;)

Good luck anyway - it'll go on its own eventually. Until then just go easy on your self and eat buttery baked potatoes (w cheese/mayo) very small mouthfuls, healthy homemade soups in a mug (with a straw?), quiche, other soft foods. Please dont worry - just accept that its like that for now, but wont be forever!

Last summer,while on vacation with extended family I was hit with panic attacks and globus. I had the lump in my throat, felt like I had to swallow constantly and felt the need to clear my throat. Nothing helped. It was very scary! I couldn't eat solid foods and really didn't want to drink either. It was a long vacation and drive home. I called my doctor and he prescribed Ativan to relax me until I could get some tests done. I had an upper GI done - normal. My doctor said it was anxiety disorder and prescribed Paxil cr. It is a wonder drug. The globus eventually disappeared, after about 6 weeks. The panic attacks also disappeared. When I am stressed I feel a slight lump in the throat starting. But since I know what it is, I don't panic and I talk myself down. If it doesn't go away I have Ativan I can take , as needed. That helps a lot.  I have suffered with panic for 13 years off and on, but had never had globus until lately. New symptoms sometimes pop up with anxiety disorders. Other solutions to try are yoga, listening to meditation and relaxation tapes, exercize, abstain from alcohol and caffeine, get lots of sleep, deep breathing, seeing a therapist.

I have had panic disorder since a very young age, and I am 48 now.  I always seem to have a "main" symptom that dominates more than the others.  First it was feeling like I couldn't breathe, then dizziness, etc.  I have had globus on and off throughout the years, and it seems like it has returned for some reason out of the blue.  I don't have as much of a problem with food and liquids as I do with my own saliva.  Sometimes I go to swallow and can't, and that is when the panic sets in.  I try and try for what seems like thirty seconds and then I feel like I will stop breathing.  The palps set in and I run for the water.  I keep mints and gum with me at all times, and if for some reason I am out I panic and have to go to the nearest store to buy more.  Now I am concentrating on it all the time, and feel like I have to clear my throat before every swallow and I find myself "trying" to swallow constantly.  The only thing that helps sometimes is to push against my throat.  One time I had a tooth pulled and I felt like I couldn't swallow and they told me to do that, and it helped.  My therapist calls it the "foot in your shoe dilemma."  If you think about how your foot feels in your shoe, sandal, etc. you can feel the sole of your foot.  If you concentrate on it, you can always feel it.  If you are not aware, then you can't really feel it there.  Once you start concentrating on one thing, you are going to become hyper aware and that will become your new symptom.  When I had bad palps I would take my pulse every minute and if it felt like it was going just a little bit faster, I would panic and it would make it worse.  I had to force myself to stop feeling my neck and taking my pulse.  Eating sugar has helped my palps so much, and drinking caffeine (even though I never drank a lot) makes the globus worse.  Even as I sit here and write this, I am having trouble swallowing because it's all I can think about.  Usually if I am watching TV or working I don't notice it as much.  I am on a low dose of xanax, but that doesn't seem to help that much with the globus but I guess I stay a bit calmer and try not to react as much.  It's a scary feeling when you go to swallow and you just can't.  I'm lucky I don't have a problem with swallowing food like some of you do.  Good luck to everyone, and if you have any suggestions...please post them!

Jody

I can relate to most of the symptoms described. I have had my globus for 5.5 years now and still no signs it will ever go away. I have gone through the panic attacks, and cured myself of them. I lost 4 stone in 3 months because I thought I couldnt swallow, now like the other people describe it actually feels better when eating and drinking. I caused terrible spasms in my throat by focussing on it so much. Mine came on so suddenly after my mother was diagnosed as terminally ill with cancer. I tried the drugs and all sorts of expensive therapy and tests you name them I had them all. I now accept that it is my burden, but I have not given up on the thought that one dy it may go as suddenly as it started. I had dreams also that I was choking, I suffered bad throats as a teenager and had my tonsils out at 16. So all these things seem related. It started one night out of the blue with a huge panic attack, and the rest is history.

I moved to NZ four years ago from the UK and I have done a lot here, but I cannot shake this dry painful throat, always wanting to swallow, and stopping myself from doing that.

Drugs made me feel suicidal, so I stopped those after 6 months. Now I always look for a cure, not all the time but just when it gets me down. I know some people get rid of it, as my mother had told me that when her mother died she got it, drugs cured her in 2 weeks, my friend got better of it , so maybe one day mine will go.

The weird thing is that my husband aslo got it for a short time after I had had mine for 6 months or so, he found it so hard to understand how I felt, then he got it. His got better after a few months, but now he has had a taste of it he can understand how sick of it you can be. I have forgotten what it is like not to have it now. Maybe I will find a cure, because it doesnt scare me anymore, I just get frustrated with it. I am 52 and going through the change, flushes etc, I still hope it has something to do with that , then at least one day it will go away.

I am going to try those globutab, there was a link on here for them, hope they help as they say they guarantee a cure, thats the first time anyone has ever said that. Keep your fingers crossed for me, as after 5 years I deserve a cure. Love to you all, I have suffered with you and no doctors understand what it is like.

From childhood, I, too, had the sensation that some things I ate were so very hard to swallow - mashed potatoes especially! You would think they would slide down but it was as if they were stuck in my throat for a long time --I believe anxiety affects people in many different ways and this is one. You should first speak with your doctor about this feeling to rule out anything else that could be causing the feeling. With that said, if your test(s) come back normal, you may want to ask for an anti-anxiety med to help you, especially with eating. I am now taking generic Xanax (alprazolam) and it has helped me tremendously. I am actually getting fingernails slowly instead of bloody nubs! God Bless!

Hi everyone,

I also feel like I have a lump stuck in my esophagus. It feels swollen and tight and like food is going to get stuck. I feel it even when I swallow saliva. It is constant now. I just went to my doc and he thinks it is globus hystericus from my generalized anxiety disorder. He wants me to try Xanax .5 three times per day. I don't want to (I just weaned off it recently) but he thinks I really should so I am going to try it.

He said if I don't feel relief by Monday after a weekend course of regular Xanax he is going to send me to the ENT and have them take a look. I was just at the ENT and he said take Prilosec, but now I can't because it interferes with Xanax from what I've read and my doc said not to so we can focus on one therapy at a time.

I am terrified that I have esophageal cancer or throat cancer from 15 years of drinking, smoking and substance abuse. The doctor doesn't seem too concerned about that.

I am a definite worrier and this is driving me crazy. I took a Xanax .5 a few hours ago but it really didn't help the problem. I don't know what to do. I'm so scared of cancer.

I may have GERD because I do burp a lot and there is some mucus in my throat, but I don't have heartburn with it. I don't know what to take or do other than this Xanax. I really want to follow doctor's orders but I also want to do the right thing for myself. I feel like I could crawl in a hole and die. I am sick of worrying about cancer but I can't help it because I can always feel this sensation.

Angie

I'm so glad I decided to play with Google tonight! It makes me feel a lot better knowing there's a name, I'm not crazy, and other people are in this with me.

I was diagnosed with GAD at 18 (25 now), and I took Paxil until the age of 24. I got sick of being controlled by the pills, and their effectiveness was starting to wear off. So I did the hardest thing I've ever done and came off Paxil. Worst two weeks of my life. That was September '07, and I was doing fine without meds until February '08. I started having attacks periodically, without triggers, and this throat thing was part of it (and I never recall it happening during the attacks when I was younger).

Now this happens, on average, twice daily (often while driving - lucky me), and sometimes it's severe to the point that I need to abandon whatever it is I'm doing and go calm down (oddly enough, I've found chewing gum helps). I do notice that caffiene and sugar exacerbate it, so I try to limit my intake. But that's not fail-safe. When I go a day without this happening, I'm the happiest person in the world. I've been freaking out and thinking about seeing an ENT (my tonsils are huge, so that makes it even worse, and I have allergies which make it near impossible to breathe through my nose this time of year), and stressing about swallowing my pride (no pun intended) and going to a psychiatrist to get back on meds.

But...now that I have some answers, and can be pretty certain this is anxiety-related... I'm going to make some phone calls tomorrow, find myself a psychiatrist, and take my life back...darnit!

I'm 26 year old male whom has been taking it day by day like most of you. I see that alot of you have had attacks and such after friend or family is diagnosed with illness (cancer, what not). There are sooo many people on here who have given great ideas, mine started when I took a headache way out of proportion. I went months with fullness of ears, head pressure would move from head to ear to behind eye, felt like my eye was going to shoot out of my head. I finally went to the ER for MRI with the dreads of a tumor. All came clear and once the diagnosis of a clean bill of health came I have not had those symptoms (other than headpain) since.

But that is what started my anxiety, I found this thread because I feel like a piece of hair is stuck in my throat when I worry, it tingles to the tip of my tounge sometimes.

I have learned that there are a few ways to get your mind right:\

Sadly I saw this mentioned, alcohol...yes there is NO pain...but could lead to future problems.

Working out, I saw this too and it will focus your mind on the task at hand and you feel great when you leave the gym...seriously!

A Doc's diagnosis will put the stomach at ease...but pricey.

Me and my wife LOVE the beach, people take time for yourself!!!  I go to the beach and have NO worries, my stressfull job is gone and I'm a compulsive cleaner, neat freak. No worries bout doing yard work/ cleaning house. When I go on vacation...I feel so good, life stops...slows down. It seemed to drop 2nd gear already from 21 to now, breathe and know that it is all realated. Headaches that come from adrenale gland shooting of charts making you all with GERD flare up, stomach acid is churning making all these symptoms scare you even more. As they say, '' IT's A VICIOUS CYCLE''.

I pray you all find peace and live this short life to the fullest you can!

Hi all,

For the last month or so I too have been having the strange tightness/"lump" in my throat that I am discovering might be Globus.  It all started when I was eating a brownie...my mouth got itchy and then my throat started tightening.  I freaked out that I might be having an allergic reaction, so I took Benadryl right away.  The itchiness stopped...but the throat tightness has remained and has not gotten any better.  I have never had any food allergies, but I was so worried about the POSSIBILITY of food allergies that I went to an allergist and had tests done.  No food allergies showed up on my arm with the skin tests, but they took blood to run more tests and I'm still waiting for those results.  In the meantime, I am scared to eat anything!  As soon as I start thinking about my throat I can feel it get tighter...when I am busy exercising or out with friends I can hardly notice it, but at any moment when I am by myself it can get really bad.  Sounds weird, but alcohol actually makes it feel better too...maybe because it relaxes me?  I've gone to the ER, where they looked at me and told me I was fine.  I've gone to an Ear Nose and Throat doctor, who told me I probably have seasonal allergies but that my throat looks fine.  The allergist put me on antibiotics thinking it might be some kind of infection, as well as Prednisone to stop any breathing difficulties.  My normal doctor just recently put me on Celexa because she attributed it to anxiety, but I had such bad side effects that I had to stop taking it after only 2 days.  I'm not depressed, but I have been a "worrier" my whole life.  Do any of you have similar experiences?  At this point I am not eating any wheat products because ever since that brownie, any wheat product I put into my body causes me to freak out, which makes my throat worse, etc until I start panicking.  I feel like it is almost a sudden obsession - I can't stop thinking about my throat.  I KNOW that when I'm not thinking about it, it feels slightly better, but I can't help not thinking about it.  It's driving me nuts!  Do any of you out there have any advice for me?  I'd really like to stay AWAY from the anti-depressant drugs, because Celexa REALLY messed me up and apparently that's one of the mildest ones out there and I was on the lightest dose possible (10 mg).  Any other remedies work for any of you?  HELP!

Erica

I am suffering with the same kind of anyxiety as you are also. My Dr. just recently diagnosed me with it. right now I am living off of yoggurt and anything that is east to swallow like tomatoe soup etc. and I even feel like I am choking on that. I even go into panic attacks while eating this stuff sometimes... I am always wondering if I will ever be "normal" again. If you would like to chat sometime... here is my yahoo email and IM.

skyisthelimit2007@yahoo.com

I was 13 when it started. I ate a butterfinger and I guess it went down the wrong way. But I thought I was choking. I felt like I was choking. I took a drink and I could still breathe but I could feel that poking sensation still lingering. A couple days went by and I couldn't eat. I was afraid to choke. I could not sleep, it felt horrible because the pain was still there everytime I swallowed and all I did was think about it and think about it. I mean how could you not? One night it got really bad and I felt like I couldn't handle it anymore, I went to the hospital and they took an X Ray and told me nothing was there. I said "THERE HAS TO BE!" "I FEEL IT!" They reassured me nothing was there.

About 3 weeks later I went back to the hospital because the problem still persisted. I wasn't eating anything except mashed potatoes and drinking liquid bevarages. They took another XRay this time with barium. I swallowed it. They took the XRAY and once again reassured me your fine nothing is there. "THEN WHY DO I FEEL LIKE THIS?" They thought it was all in my mind.

I went to a nose ears and throat doctor. They stuck a tube through my nose to see if anything was in my throat. They told me nothing was there. Maybe you have acid reflux? I believed them.

The problem was still there. A few months went by and I was getting thinner and thinner because I was deathly afraid to eat. People told me it was all in my head. I couldn't believe them because it felt so real. It's hard to explain to anyone who doesn't believe you.

I lastly saw my family doctor and I told her my symptoms and she flat out told me I have "Globus" She explained it to me and she told me it in fact was all up in my head. There was nothing there. This can be related to stress, depression, panic disorders. She gave me some pills. I took them for about 2 months they worked. I didn't feel anything in my throat.

I then turned 14 and the problem seemed to subside for a good 3 years. But came back when I turned 17. A taquito must of went down the wrong way or something because I felt like it was there.  I felt like I was choking. And it's really hard to believe that it was all in my head, because the pain and the panic was clearly visible.

And now I have it still. I'm afraid to eat. I only eat bananas, pancakes, carnation instant breakfast, oatmeal (although it's hard to still swallow) and that is about it. It's horrible... I often feel ridiculous, people don't seem to think i'm sane.

But once I take deep breaths and realize it's all in my head I'm usually fine.

I just hate this disease. I don't want it anymore. It's crazy that this many people have it and they still don't have known reasons for this disease.

I'm glad I'm not alone though, I thought I was going insane.

But I guess the best advice would be: To be careful, breathe deeply, think about something pleasent? and I usually pace around the floor; it usually calms me down. Drink lots of water!