Is this a panic attack?

[lunaemma]

The other night I was about to go to sleep so lying down, and out the blue I felt like I couldn’t breathe, my heart was racing and I got the feeling I was going to faint (fainted a lot as a child so I know and hate the feeling!) My chest was tight and couldn’t get a deep breath

Ended up ringing 999 as it was terrifying and I was on my own but it did pass. Went really shaky afterwards
Last night, similar again, lying down just before sleep and my heart starts racing and felt like I was short of breath

Have had panic attacks before but not for years

What did the paramedics say? Did they do an ecg and all was normal?

Lots of things can cause racing heart, palpatation and feelings of being short of breath or air hunger (low ferritin, peri menopause or thyroid issues for example). Probably best to discuss with a GP and arrange blood tests to begin with and, if the paramedics didn’t do one, an ECG.

I don't think so. Were you having a lot of racing thoughts or anxiety before it started happening?

It sounds more of a medical thing to me.

I cancelled it because I didn’t want to waste their time and I stopped feeling faint

Was just very shaky after but I think I did then panic because I was worrying about passing out by myself
I’ve had prev ECG but not for a while, regular bloods which show I’m anaemic but now on iron tablets and also have hashimotos so on meds for that

No but I had been watching adolescence! Last night I was watching black mirror
Not sure if that’s linked at all but..

it was just kind of my hearts racing… oh I can’t breathe… oh fuck

It could be linked to the Hashimotos, when did you last have a medication review and your thyroid levels checked?

Bloods done about 4 weeks ago and every 12 weeks before that
TSH was 3.45 and T4 13.5
my iron saturation was 14% (25-50%) so low and my serum iron was 9

Low iron can definitely cause palpitations, are you now taking iron?

Yes I’ve been on it a few weeks, taking alternate days with vitamin c
also take a multi vitamin, extra vitamin d and folic acid as my folate is low

OP do you have the lab ranges for the thyroid results? I’m not sure about your t4 but I wouldn’t feel well with such a high TSH. How much thyroxine do you take?

Oh and you may already know but you need to separate the iron from the thyroxine, make sure you take them at least four hours apart.

Could be panic attacks. They can come out of nowhere, even when you're chilling. The fact that you had another, in similar circumstances, could mean that the second was triggered by remembering the first one. Especially as you didn't get a medical diagnosis to put your mind at rest.

Another thing it could be is blood sugar related.

i take 100mcg and had to fight for that, and actually moved doctors over it
says TSH range 0.35-5 mU/L
t4 range 11-23 pmol/L

i know it’s not ideal but if the doctors won’t increase it and I can’t afford to go private then not much I can do, I guess it goes up and down as it’s hashimotos

the recent symptoms are very new though and my thyroid has never been at optimal since I was diagnosed

Yep!

I do my multi vitamin and iron in the morning with a fizzy vitamin c tablet, then thyroxine at night as I also have to take painkillers at night

Great! So many details can get lost, I just thought it was worth mentioning.

Sorry you’ve had a hard time getting your meds right. You probably already know about Thyroid UK. I had problems myself, eventually got a prescription for liothyronine which has really helped.

Hope you get to the bottom of it and feel better.

I’ve made a doctors appointment for this afternoon so will see what they say

When I had this it was SVT

@trainedopossumi asked for a levo increase today, they said no, my TSH is perfect and I’m right in the middle of the range
She thinks it’s anaemia or panic attacks, did my BP and HR both sitting and standing. I’m going for a chest x ray on Monday and an ECG at the start of May

No, your TSH isn't perfect if it's in the middle of the range. The range is too broad and your TSH is too high. It shouldn't really be higher than 1.5, closer to 1.0 is better. Your ferritin is also very, very low and will be giving you symptoms such as breathlessness, it needs to be around 90, not 9!! I am not sure what they are teaching doctors these days but yours knows precious little about the thyroid and iron.

Sorry my serum iron is 9, my ferritin is 66
They did say my saturation is low and they want me to stay on iron as my periods are bad, and it could be the anaemia causing the breathlessness

I know my TSH is too high, but if they won’t increase my levo there is absolutely nothing I can do. I moved doctors to this one as the last one put me on 25mcg levo with a TSH of 8 and I’m 5ft 10
Haematology rang them and asked if they were treating thyroid problems with homeopathy or could they actually do a decent dose

I am planning to stay on the iron as ferrous fumerate is cheap enough and I don’t have any side effects

Just in case useful, I was told levothyroxine needs to be taken on an empty stomach, so in morning.

Yeah I ended up swapping mine to night as I’m on so many other meds, spacing them became an issue and I need my morning caffeine!

Not to derail your thread but GPs are sometimes not very helpful with thyroid stuff at the first pass. I had to go back a number of times with endocrinology guidelines until eventually the GP said yes, he knew some people only felt well with a TSH low in range and it got better after that. I also understand that not everyone has the inclination to push back, I’m just saying there is help if you want it. The Thyroid UK forum is a good place to start.
I don’t understand why a GP would be under the impression that the middle of the range is an ideal place for someone on levothyroxine. I don’t think there is any evidence to suggest that and many people would still be symptomatic.
Sorry again to take you down a thyroid rabbit hole.
I hope you feel better soon.

It’s been ridiculous and going on for years and years. My mum had a thyroid issue and had part of it removed (not sure why), my nans was just deranged, my auntie has an overactive one

first doctors - said it was fine. Wasn’t until my T3 dropped and my TSH got to 8 they said maybe we try 25mcg
I had accidentally (don’t ask) ended up at immunology who looked like they were having a quiet day and found I had thyroid antibodies and wrote to my GP asking for a referral to endocrinologist
GP refused
haematology rang my GP and said can you put her on more than a homeopathic dose and refer. Increase to 50mcg, still no referral
upped to 75mcg after I argued

moved doctors as I had enough with various things
new one said T3 v important, did a barrage of bloods and upped me to 100mcg
now I’m stuck as I’ve asked them again and they won’t increase. Can’t afford private

Chest x ray is back as normal and I’m going for an ECG on Wednesday
the air hunger and faint feeling are only happening when I’m in bed at night so I’m thinking it is panic