Panic attack and hashimotos mess.

[danie17075rm]

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this.  I am normally hypothyroid.  Six months ago, I had what I thought was a heart attack.  I couldn't breathe and my heart was racing uncontrollably.  I went to the ER and found out my tsh was .001.  They took me off my thyroid meds and placed me on a beta blocker.  They said I was having a panic attack. In one month off meds my tsh shot to 26 and my antibodies were above 250.   My T3 and T4 were normal.  My question is that my panic attacks have not went away.  I have them all the time now.  I had never had one in my life before I went hyperthyroid.  My endocrinologist thinks this is all in my head, but I did not have any stress causing these.  I have stress now because I cannot live a normal life.  At the hospital they gave me xanax and ativan, and neither ever worked so I didn't bother taking them again.  I have tried everything from homeopathy to vitamins.  My tsh was around 7 the last time I went to the docs, but we can't increase my dosages of levothyroxine because the next dose is the one that caused me to go hyper in the first place.  Right now I am taking as little as 1/4 of  .025 every other day.  The dose seems like I shouldn't even need any, but without it my TSH shoots up.  Everytime I take even this small dose I have extreme hyperthyroid symptoms.  I get hot flashes and really hot at night.  I have diarrhea, heart palps, headaches, periods of heart racing, red eyes. and obviously the panic attacks.  I think that I might have both hypothyroid and hyperthyroid symptoms at the same time.  Is this likely? What test should I beg my endo for (as he thinks I just have panic disorder).  I know I do not though, and I cannot get others to listen.  I have also became extremely intolerant to gluten so I have cut that out.  I'm thinking it could be my adrenal glands? Mitro valve prolapse?  The only thing that helps at all is my beta blocker but that leaves me feeling horribly sickish.  I feel it working on my heart rate, but I can still feel my body trying to have a panic attack.  When this first started, I literally could not sit up without my heart rate going out of control.  That caused me to go into panic attacks.  I have a hard time sleeping, and I'm just a mess.  If anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you so much,

Danielle

[danie17075rm]

How old are you?  That *****.  I can totally relate to this.  I am only 31, and at this point, I feel like I can't have any kind of life.  I have no social life because of the fear of panic attacks.  I am on a beta blocker for my heart rate, but without it it was going to 150 and above during my attacks.  The first day it stayed above 120 for hours.  I do have moments of it going high now though.  I get shortness of breath too and I panic.  I can't shop normally.  I feel like I am getting agoraphobia, not because I have a fear of public places, but because I have panic attacks so often that when I get to the back of the store I start to freak out.  I feel like I need to be close to the door as I don't want to embarrass myself in front of other (as I have).  I took my son to an event at a library and felt as if I was going to pass out, and couldn't breathe and my heart was beating out of control.  He was looking forward to it, so I had to ask the guy next to me and the head lady to watch him as I excused myself and called my mom to come stay with him.  It is such a nightmare.  The thing is I KNOW that this is not caused from something in my head, they were caused from going hyperthyroid.  I think in your case you have a lot going on, AND once your brain is used to having panic attacks, it will continue to have them until you train it to not have them anymore.  Even thought the root of your problem might be gone, you still have physiological response in your body that your brain is used to.  I tried xanax at first and it didn't help at all.  I just keep thinking there HAS to be some better treatment for hashimotos.

[stranazingarella]

I am 36 ....well almost 37.  :)  Fortunately, my husband and I never had kids since I have all these issues and we discovered he is bipolar a few years ago.  I can't imagine dealing with panic attacks and raising a son, so kudos to you!  I also used to get the feeling of being trapped while in the back of the store and always try to stay to the front to get out faster.  It made me super nervous.  The worst problem i had was driving in the car on the highway, as a passenger.  I had this for 8-9 years and we didn't go anywhere I couldn't reach through back roads.  The last year before the diagnosis I had started feeling less anxious and was able to finally take trips on the highway;  I think maybe my thyroid was being killed off, or becoming more hypo, so there is definitely a connection between thyroid disorders and anxiety.  I was hoping getting it removed would help, but as you can see, not so.  I also saw a counselor which I think really helped because between my issues and my husband's, I was having a hard time coping emotionally.  

[danie17075rm]

At least you and your husband can help each other!  It seems like your symptoms improved at least.  How often do you have panic attacks now?  Do you have problems at the store and driving still.  I hate it.  I just wish I could go back to before that day I went hyperthyroid.  I'd do anything to prevent it.  In fact I just had a panic attack from just talking about it =(.  I was going to school to get my masters in counseling, but I just decided to switch to health psychology because I want to explore this type of thing more rather than to just tell people they are crazy.

[stranazingarella]

It has not always been  easy with the hubby but at least we understand each other now. . . after 11 years.  hahah. . .  I know how you feel and I hate how life throws all these curve balls at us!  I think doctors are too hasty labeling people as anxious etc.  My GP was just recently trying to put me on Celexa.  I know why I have these feelings. . . and they almost always correspond to low calcium.  I had a panic attack on the way home from work on Tuesday and when I got home, my lip was twitching up a storm (usually indicates very low calcium level) and I was shaky and numb feeling.  Usually, a hefty dose of calcium helps within 2-3 hours.  In your case, it is the thyroid causing all these issues and your doctor clearly has never suffered from them personally!  The thyroid does so much for the body and when that is out of whack, everything else is.

[redheadaussie]

I have Hashimoto's and had my thyroid out 3 years ago. The anxiety attacks, or panic or what ever word you choose to use, are very common. I still have the theory the antibodies are doing a number on our brains. I have read alot of medical information and they also confirm this is true.
People who have certain levels of TSH etc and high antibodies can eventually have a type of paranoia.  I know at my worst, it is very difficult to control the panic attacks, but have learned to recognise them for what they are, just a chemical thing in the body, and not 'real' and I talk myself out of them. For example; I don't drive very often or very far anymore...and recently had to drive my son to the local train station, some 25 minutes drive at high speed on a country road. (also notorious for fatalities)  I started the heart racing, the sweats, the Oh GOD! what if I crash? Oh I am too tired, etc etc etc.....THEN I realised it was the 'panic' attack of the actual act of doing something I hadn't done for a while, but have done a million times before...so broke it down to steps, each one being just the basic performance, of keeping aware, relaxing, untensing muscles.... I got home and slept for 3 hours!

  There are no easy answers, all I can suggest is that you recognise the feelings of it, and accept it for what it is. Medication is not the answer as it can make it worse.

Cheers

[danie17075rm]

It feels good to talk to people that have the same thing!  Redhead I too believe that the antibodies are messing us up.  I had a flare up with the antibodies once before and I didn't have anxiety but I couldn't swallow or sleep without gasping for air.  Things were horrible until it finally just calmed down one day and cleared up. I can totally relate about the panic attacks in trying something new.  I can talk myself out of them now, but every minute is a struggle.  I can't ever just sit down and relax as they pop up at any moment.  I can't exercise because the heart racing puts my body into a panic attack (as it was heart racing that started this). I hate to take meds!  I just don't want to live my life like this.  There is a guy who wants to meet me this weekend, and I want to cancel because I am so afraid of having a panic attack.  I fear that I can never be normal again.  My thryoid is still really out of whack and my antibodies were supposed to be less than 20 and they were over 250.  I know this is just causing my body to freak out.  I wish there was a way to stop these attacks though.  It's so frustrating.  

Stranaz at least the calcium is helping!  It sounds like you have had a rough road.  When I first got diagnosed with hashimoto's I thought it wouldn't be that big of a deal.  Little did I know it would be such a horrible road.  Just out of curiosity, did any of you with hashimotos have any problems with yeast?  I mean external rashes, or dandruff, or heartburn or anything like that?  I read a book from a doctor who swear that a lot of hashimoto's patients had an antibody flare up caused from yeast.  I was thinking about trying a candida diet.  At this point how can it hurt?