“In these stories, the identities and locations have been changed to ensure client confidentiality.”
A 42-year old married woman presented with a three-year history of panic attacks. The attacks came over her in “waves,” and were characterized by typical signs of panic attacks including her feeling a flushing sensation in her face, feeling she would die, a rapid heartbeat, nausea and a sense of doom. In addition, she developed excessive sleepiness, depression, crying spells, episodes of “feeling funny,” déjà vu, ringing in her ears and episodes where people “sound incoherent.” Also, she suffered from headaches and a change in her sense of taste.
Past history was revealing that she had sustained three concussions when younger, that she had initially forgotten about, but remembered when closely questioned. Following these concussions she had trouble sustaining attention, was easily distracted, and had difficulty completing her homework. Medical history was unremarkable. Preliminary diagnosis was Panic Disorder with secondary Major Depression, possible Temporal Lobe Seizures and Attention Deficit Disorder as a result of the concussions.
