Panic Attacks or SOMETHING ELSE?

[ThisEndUp]

I am curious how many people here have been diagnosed with panic attacks?  And if so after what sort of workup on the doctors part?  It seems to be common that when doctors don't know what is wrong with you or when they only have slightly off labs or tests they ALWAYS say you're having anxiety or panic disorder.  I am beginning to wonder if panic disorder was invented by egotictical doctors who , rather then be wrong or not have an answer, would rather add insult to injury then to actually have to look for the reason for peoples problems.  So many disorders are out there and yet so many people are given the disorder panic attack or anxiety even when later on it was found that they had something else.    I think people should start questioning this practice.  I recently discovered panic attacks weren't even a diagnosis until the 1980's!   The fact is EVERYONE has anxiety at times and certainly when you re in some kindof pain or distress anxiety would also be normal for anyone!  I mean geeze a person can cut a finger and it produces pain and a degree of anxiety.  So I think these diagnosis are WAY over used and its disgusting....like kicking people when they are down and causing them self doubt when instead they should be working on a real diagnosis.  

[BerthaJ]

Whew!!! Wow! What a great pro-con discussion!  Now this is what forums are all about!  This is what there're for!   I must say I actually agree with BOTH of you.... depending on the point of view, of course.  Yes. I happen to know from  personal experience that chemicals, polutants, medications, as well as vitamin, mineral and nutrient deficiencies or imbalances DO really affect the body(and its glands-- and likewise, hormones), and therefore the mind is affected also.  People don't know how powerful hormones are, or how at the control of their glands that they are.  And the brain is a VERY powerful thing!  .....Especially when you add in the spiritual or psychic or whatever other ethereal element to the compound.  (There have been times when I have actually been able to control this thing(i.e., my combination of symptoms)  ....and this really confounded me!  Thanks to you both for the great input!

[ThisEndUp]

Sorry but none of this flies with me.  First of all if someone has a problem with cortisol, they might be diagnosed with either Cushings Disease or Addisons disease, not panic attacks, and its the same with insulin( also a hormone) Diabetes is not considered a mental health disorder.  Vitamin deficiencies are called things like pernicious anemia ( B12 deficiency) excesses are often referred to as hyper.......followed by whatever the electrolyte.  In NONE of these cases are the disorders considered mental health issues.  Since epinephrine is a hormone then why is it the ONLY hormone with the distinction of labeling folks as mentally deficient.  And my friend its not ME who has a problem with pts. who have a mental health diagnosis.  Its your DOCTOR!  I've been an  RN for the past 20 years and I cant tell you the amount of times a doctor has made a snide comment to me before going into a pts room about the nutjob he is about to face.  They make judgements about pts. sight unseen and often without any real justification.  Its not called KISS , its called pass the buck, I'm too tired to be bothered to listen, or I'm God and therefore never wrong, if you question me I will label you a mental case.  Pts. need to stop putting up with this.  And people who foster the God complex do themselves and everyone else a disservice because it costs time and money for sick people to be forced to go through doctor after doctor and test after test until they meet up with that one physician who actually does care and decides to LISTEN and actually think about or do some research on what they are saying.  As for studies, its often a case of- if you look for something hard enough you will eventually find it, they LOOK for factors to support their studies, hell thats what hypothesis ARE....I decide what I am looking for then I try to PROVE it exists!  I mean come on...room for error there much?  lol  These people WANT to be RIGHT, sometimes they NEED to be especially if the almighty BUCK is involved!   They are not looking for others reasons why the people in their studies may be behaving the way they are.  I read that recent studies suggest pts. with mental disorders are more likely to have heart disease.  There is no way a study like that can be accurate.  What a joke, these are the same people that say folks with type A personalities ( you know the folks in most LEADERSHIP positions) also are more prone to heart disease.  So now isn't it refreshing to know that all the folks in these power positions might  be nutjobs?  Gimme a break!   Also we already know that things like heart disease have fluctuations based on things like geography or culture.  In China they may have less heart disease and in the USA more.  So if you do the same study in China you may have completely different results.  The Symptoms of panic disorder conveniently can be attributed to almost anything.....so basically what this means is if the doctor feels like it, he can label you a nut whenevr he wants, because it will fit almost ANYTHING , lets say you have a stomach ache because you have an ulcer and it erodes your stomach lining and you bleed internally , then your adrenoline  starts pumping then you will have guess what???  Symptoms of a panic attack! Give me a break!   Panic disorder has not been shown to be biological, all thats been shown is that when people have hormonal problems they LABEL them mentally ill, give them a tranqulizer and stop looking for the real problem.   And thanks for proving my point by saying that narcissisitic egotistical physicians were calling people crazy over legitimate health concerns like tuberculosis since time began.  You can add many more legitimate health concerns to that list by the way.  Its about time people stopped putting up with it.  People need to speak out more because otherwise  it will take much longer for an answer.

[Weesy68]

I do not have panic disorder but have read about it.  There have been studies to show that calcium levels in your brain may have a connection to panic disorder, so no it isn't made up.  However, it may be caused be excesses or deficiencies.  If you learn about hormones and the adrenal/thryoid/pituitary/parathyroid you will find that they work together to get the hormones in your body right as well and certain hormones like cortisol control reactions like the fight or flee reaction.  They can go out of whack because of vitamin deficiencies, iron deficiencies, tumors, and other disorders because they all interact and when one messenger doesn't do his job the other messengers get messed up.  So I do agree that Panic/Anxiety/Depression are and have been shown to be biological in many studies but yes it is also true that an underlying disorder is what is causing it, and some of those disorders are yet to be discovered.  As far as Panic Disorder not being a diganosis until the 1980s....Dates have nothing to do with whether something exists or doesn't exist.  Tuberculosis was considered a mental disorder long before they realized it was actually physiological.  The problem in this country is that we allow for someone to have a heart disorder or a kidney disorder, but heaven forbid the brain go awry.  Isn't the brain considered an organ?  We have to stop looking at what are deemed "mental disorders" as something that automatically makes you crazy and realize that they are no different than any other disorder in your body.  The goal should be to research and hopefully someday find a cure for the problem.  Yes, doctors will give you the send off by saying you have that when later on you find out it was actually your adrenal glands, but those are generally doctors who can't think outside the box, who have been told to live by the KISS rule -- Keep it Simple Stupid -- or who have large enough egos that they won't admit they don't know and refer you to someone who they think might.  As patients, our job is to drop those kind of doctors in favor of the ones who are doing their jobs.  

[BerthaJ]

The two of you are SO right! I am so tired of doctors telling me it's all in my head.  Taking an anxiety medicine may help you not to worry about it as much, but the disease is still there!  Only because I know other people who have the same complaints and symptoms that I have is the reason that I know it's not just in my head.  I watch mystery diagnosis also, and I keep thinking-- "What if those poor souls had just given up?"!

[ThisEndUp]

Have you ever atched Mystery Diagnosis on TLC or Discovery Channel?  I have not seen one person on that show who wasn't first told they were having either panic attacks, depression, or anxiety.  It disgusts me.  

[mszqreen]

I was diagnosed with "panic attacks" when i was 6 years old and 4 months later found out i actually had Epilepsy. The doctor in the ER had said my seizure was brought on by stress and worriness. I noticed doctors like to diagnose without doing test to actually determine. If my mom wouln't have took the time to call a neurologist i would have never known it was actually epilepsy