menopause,thyroid ,panic attacks...advice needed .

[chelle23976]

hi guys michelle here i am really sorry about this . i know at this moment and time there is more important things for people to be worrying about but i'm just looking for a little more advice on somethings . 3 months ago i found out i am going through perimenopause and i decided at the time to take HRT . i am just over 2 months in and 2 weeks ago i was starting to feel a bit normal. on the 26/3/20 i had what i think was a panic attack which took me nearly 2 hrs to get back to normal as i'd took another 1 and then another 1 in bed. i went for a thyroid blood test on the 9th of march and i received a letter from the doctor to make an appointment. i live in Scotland and at the minute the doctors are only giving phone consultations. the doctor explained to me the my thyroid test had come back a little off explaining to me about immune and antibodies which i really did not understand what she was talking about.. i'm now having about 3/5 attack a day and my tongue feels like it's swollen and preventing me from getting air into my lungs ,i am really struggling , i feel like i'm losing my memory i can't concentrate, feel dizzy. friday 3rd of april i was called back to get blood taken for thyroid antibodies and i'm just waiting on the results. i had another phone consultation with 1 of the triage nurses who worked with me at the beginning of the year and i spoke to her about the panic attacks .she said to try and hold off and if i could use paper bags to control my breathing with the panic attacks. she said if they got worse and i couldn't control them she would prescribe me a low dose of propranalol but would prefer not to at the moment until my thyroid test comes back .. i am really sorry for this being soo long but i am at my wits end and feel like i cannot deal with this anymore. i just want to know if anyone else has ever felt like this and would much appreciate some advice if any at this time.

many thanks

michelle x

[wobblybee Administrator Pioneer]

🙂 Michelle, it must be horrendous being in the throes of panic attacks. It’s good that you are able to be in touch with your Practice Nurse, and that there’s a possibility of having medication to help, although I realise this is dependant on results coming back. If you feel you absolutely can’t manage despite the advice, ring back and tell her..

You can search Healthunlocked for previous discussions about panic attacks. Scroll to the top of this page and type ‘panic attack’ in the search box next to your profile picture 🙂

[TaraJR]

I can only say that when my thyroid was wrong again, I had several panic attacks (which I'd never had ever before) Also one of the symptoms of an underactive thyroid (HYPOthyroid) can be a swollen tongue, and a feeling that you can't swallow properly.

When I went on HRT, my thyroid went further underactive too.

There's a thyroid forum on Health Unlocked and they will give you the best advice. But you need to get all your blood test results from your dr, with the reference ranges and post them on there.

Eg it would like something like test result 15.6 (range 12.0 - 22.0)

Ideally, your dr would test Free T4, Free T3, TSH and thyroid antibodies. Plus Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, folate and ferritin because these can all go very low too.

Ask for a print out of them to collect, or get them to dictate them over the phone, results AND ranges

I would try to keep off propranolol, as that can affect thyroid too I think. Use slow breathing instead.

Also look at Thyroid UK website - brilliant info on there.

Hope this helps.

[karen50plus]

I m sorry to hear you re going through such a horrible time . My thought is .... maybe the HRT isn’t agreeing with you ? Are there different HRT s ( like there are different contraceptive pills ? ) . I m not much I know , just thinking out loud ?