"Panic attack after removal of stitches"

I had surgery  1 week ago and the day came to have the stitches removed. I arrived early for my appointment and was seen quickly. The nurse who removed my bandage on my hand was lovely and chatted away to me to take my mind off the situation. The doctor came in and assessed my wound and I was told everything was fine and I would not need any further appointments. 

The nurse who removed my stitches struggled with getting all 10 of them out. They were painful (6/10) getting removed but as it got to the fourth stitch I had to lie down. I was breathing heavy and had pins and needles going crazy all up my arms and legs. They removed the last of them at which point I was very concerned as to what was happening to me. I asked two nurses if it was normal of which they said it was and all I needed was a cup of tea. They seemed to be in a rush to just get me out the door to the point where I was told to get my coat on while still feeling dizzy. 

The reasoning for my uneasiness was due to me having numbness and pins and needles normally but this was more severe than normal. They just sent me on my way even though I felt I was about to collapse. I sat in the waiting area and tried to calm myself down. After 30 min in distress and not knowing what I was experiencing, I checked my symptoms online. Turns out I was having a panic attack due to anxiety. 

After 45 min of sitting in the hospital waiting room, I managed to text my husband and he had to come and collect me. This involved getting a ferry. I managed to calm down by the time he collected me but some empathy and knowledge would not have gone amiss in this case. If I had known I was having a panic attack I would have been able to calm myself down quicker.