panic attacks.and crying for nothing

I agree with Jings. PLEASE ask your GP for the help you need and deserve.

No point in spending your money on St Johns Wart, or anything herbal.

St John Wort takes ages to cut in and then the effect is only very mild.

Go for modern meds.

Are you on any antidepressants? They work for anxiety as well as for depression.
If you are not being given them, I just don't understand why.

hello girls,,,,,thanks again for all your comments...it does help knowing i am not alone,,,,it makes you feel better knowing you are not on your own, i thought i was going mad, i had to have 2 teeth out today,,i worked myself stupid crying all morning and for the last few days,,,plus all the other garbage im putting up with,,,all stress my h says. its the crying i cant stand...the anxiety attacks i felt like i was going to die. i burst into tears in bloomin tesco,s i felt so stupid,,,i had to go back to the car and sit and have a good ball till it passed. when im at home my h doesnt know how to cope with me,,,he just goes in the other room,,which doesnt help, now this hangs around me for about 3 weeks,,,then i will go 2 to 3 weeks with out any crying till it comes back, yes thinking about changing my doctor,,,,im 69 march 10th.......and i do have a thyroid problem.....has anyone taken herbal medicine for all this would be interesting to know,,,,,,,,someone said st johns wort,,,or black koash,,,,im feeling a bit better today,,now the worry of the extraction is over with,,,,,,i feel so stupid

angiebaby, your doctor does not sound helpful. What you describe is classic Stress. I went to my dr telling him the stress in my life was crippling me. I worried all the time to the effect I was not really living properly. My Dr referred me to the local health authorities mental health dept. and I was interviewd on the telephone by a community worker who then put me on a Stress Management course - 4 weekly sessions where stress in explained by sensitive community mental health workers. Its done as a group but they made it feel very gentle and non-threatening. You learned strategies to cope. How to get better sleep, take exercise, relaxing techniques etc etc I cant say I use them a lot now because stress is very time relative and if you give yourself time and put some space between you and whats been causing the problem (we were carers for a while also there were some other nasties to cope with) you do get back a sense of proportion in your life. The sessions allowed me to realise that I was far from alone and many many folks go through this.
In a calmer moment sit a write down how the stress affects you in an organised way and take someone with you that you trust to support you. Good luck.

angie my dd has had panic attacks since she was 19 she now is 42 .x our doctor just handed out tablets now she carnt do with out them x

Go to see another GP. 'It's your age' is a ridiculous thing to say. If you keep bursting into tears it could be hormones, depression or a host of other things. You need to have some blood tests and be listened to.

angie I have some sympathy for GPs. It is hard for them to know how much you are suffering as some people make a lot of fuss about nothing and others do the stiff upper lip thing which was in the media yesterday. May I suggest you go back and give her another chance? Write down a list of how you feel and the way it affects your life and refer to the list when you are in there. Explain how you were before and how you are now. Do you have someone who could go with you and confirm what you say? Just the fact that you have gone back will make her realise that it is more serious than she realised when you went before. We have all been guilty of not taking someone seriously at some time and then later realised we should have done so. Doctors are human too.

I am sure there is help if you can only get it.

angie and gilly It is true, you are not alone. You need help. I was prescribed Fluoxetine. After six weeks, I began to enjoy as opposed to dread waking to a new day.

angiebaby, it is certainly not your age. I had panic attacks when I was in my mid 20s immediately following a very stressful period in my life. much as you are going through now.

You have a lazy GP or one who avoids recognising any symptoms that may have mental rather than physical causes. Far too many GPs just fob off patients with problems that require them to sit and listen and ask gentle probing questions.

My own panic attacks were made immeasurably worse by the old fashioned non-communicatve GP who just gave me pills and a week off work and almost sorted out overnight by the second GP I saw, who listened, empathised and then explained the stress responses in my body that were causing the frightening physical symptoms and what could be done to alleviate them.

gillybob, my symptoms were similar to yours and the cause was hyper ventilation, breathing very quickly and lightly. It reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in your blood and causes the beathlessnes and the symptoms that feel like a heart attack.

When ever I am feeling bad I try and get to the root of it and sort it out before it gets any worse,I sit and work out when I started to feel bad and what brought it on, just as you would treat a friend with a concern, it has worked for me hope it works for you, Crying is a healthy way to release tention stress and even amxiety so its not all bad.

angiebaby I totally sympathise with you. I often experience the same symptoms as you. Crying for no apparent reason ( or crying for something fairly trivial) . Breathing difficulties and raw panic. I did take myself to the doctors after being persuaded to go (by a GN member as I happens) and asking for HRT , only to be told that I wasn't ready for HRT and was suffering from stress related symptoms. Sometimes things are so bad I honestly think I am having a heart attack!

The crying can come on at any time too. In the middle of the day at work ( usually when I am alone) or at night when I am lying in bed.

You are definitely not alone angiebaby. ( was that a song???)

Hello angie lots of kind wishes and help for you here I dont know any of your curcumstances but it sounds to me that you have or have had too much on your plate.

It happens to the best of us, it piles up and piles up and eventually it gets you when you least excpect it because you thought you were coping.

The good news and yes there is good news is that you will make it through the other end. As long as you start giving yourself an importance and take care of yourself in that you have sufficent breaks give yourself a relaxing time out and treat yourself to something you like on a regular basis.

I do speak from experience. It will get better.

Here, here!

Anno well said!

There are three things doctors say when they either don't know the diagnosis or can't be bothered: 'it's your age' or 'it's a virus' or 'there's a lot of it about'. Maybe your GP had had a hard day or perhaps she's menopausal herself. Whatever the situation, she has dismissed you too quickly without thinking it through. Did you tell her what you have been going through recently? Surely that would have given her the clue she needed. Are there other doctors in the practice?

I went through a time when I used to get awful panic attacks, angiebaby. They often happened on a bus which was crammed with passengers or sometimes at work (before I retired). I remember that feeling so well and it felt as if I was going to die! When my son was going through a really bad patch in his life, the attacks came back with a vengeance and I went to my GP. I told him what was going on in my life and I actually remarked that I thought I needed some 'mother's little helpers'. He gave me 2 weeks supply of Diazepam. I used 4 of the tablets: one on each of two days when I had to manage something really difficult, and then on one day when I had to do something quite 'dangerous', I took 2. I attended counselling sessions and I haven't needed to take any further medication. I also haven't had any more attacks.
I do remember the feeling though - it started in my stomach and ended up under my breastbone - the adrenalin firing through my system.
It was NOT my age - it was circumstances that I needed help with.
Go and see your doctor again, angie and tell her that you know it's not your age, and if necessary tell her why.

Panic attacks, depression can also be caused by an overactive thyroid.

HRT works for me.

Like you I was under a bit of emotional stress and started to suffer from breathlessness, panic attacks and a tendency to dissolve in tears especially if anyone showed sympathy. (Like my wonderful doctor.) Just saying it's your age doesn't solve it, that could apply just as much as to say, arthritis. HRT saw me through until things were back on an even keel. The boat is starting to rock a bit again so I'm back on it again, but I prefer it to antidepressants.

Anxiety and depression often go hand in hand. Fluoxetine could help. Go and actually ask for it.

"It's age" my Aunt Fanny! Find a nice sympathetic doctor who can sort this out for you. I am sure it is sortoutable - you just need to talk to the right person.

Good luck.

Sorry, just realised you did go to a female!
Still sounds more like depression or anxiety state!

Either anxiety state or depression.
Find a female doctor. Men seem to always say its age!,

Sounds like depression to me. I have never had anything like you describe not even during the menopause. If you are not coping, time to get some help

Angiebaby you have been through a lot recently and you may well be suffering from depression. You don't say how old you are, but the menopause can make these things seem worse, even insuperable. Do try to talk to someone - counselling or evenjust a sympathetic ear may help, or seek medical advice. From what you say, I suspect your daughter may have something to answer for You are not going mad.