Did I just have a panic attack...?

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Just now, while I was lying in bed, I felt some pretty bad anxiety wash over my body like a tidal wave. It almost felt as if my body was physically ill. I had these sort of "hot flashes," I felt somewhat twitchy, and I felt a general feeling of despair. Also, being conscious of the fact that I was having this brief spell of anxiety sort of exacerbated it. When I went to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror after it began to subside, I noticed that my skin complexion was kind of pale, as if I had just thrown up. Now that I'm recovering at this moment, my body feels sort of like I'm recovering from vomiting or some other kind of physical illness. It's kind of hard to explain, but did I just now experience a panic attack?

I think you may have. When I have panic attacks I feel similar and I also feel like I can't take a breath.

Did you feel panic or more general anxious. For me a panic attack is extreme to the point that I think that I'm going to die. My vision becomes distorted and I become extremely nauseous or throw up. I would do absolutely anything to escape the feeling or the situation that is making me panic. But usually I would be frozen to the spot, struggling to breathe- Like when you have a very bad nightmare and you are so scared that you can't even move.

I get very bad anxiety about certain things, and am generally highly anxious all the time. But an actual panic attack (for me) is a very distinct physical and mental phenomena that (very thankfully) doesn't happen very often.

I guess panic attacks affect each individual differently? All I remember is that I was feeling horrible anxiety, hot flashes, a funny feeling in my chest and stomach, and I was twitching. I'm still trying to recover from the after effects of it at this moment. I had a similar experience back in summer of this year, and it took me about several days to fully recover. Now that I'm on anxiety meds (though I have been neglecting them for a while), I'm trying to start taking them on a daily basis. What I experienced may have been relatively brief in duration, but it was probably one of the most horrible feelings I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing.

I had what my doctor called a "panic attack" yesterday. I was just extremely anxious about the appointment (which was about something else entirely) and my heart rate went up to 124. I lay down on my couch for about an hour before, but it didn't help. It finally went away after the doctor finished her exam and left the room. She came back in a minute later, and I asked her to check my heartbeat again. She said, "You're right, it's a dramatic change. I don't know what you did."

This has happened to me before, usually connected with seeing a doctor for a health concern, but also less severely in social situations. My doctor wants me to try anxiety meds, just to avoid long-term health problems. It is a horrible, scary feeling, so I need to do whatever helps.