Body panicking but mind calm?!

[ShatParp]

Hi! Has anyone experienced this and what helped you? For a few months I've been waking up with extreme physical feelings of panic in the early morning. Palpitations, heart racing, shaking, sweating...but my mind is completely calm. It comes in waves every couple of minutes for a while, then fades. The whole time I am mentally calm. I get it in the day, too, but usually when I'm rushing around. What on earth is happening?! For context, I'm 45 and 2 stone overweight. Not diabetic. I have low ferritin.
Thank you!

Low ferritin can cause rapid heart rate/ pounding head type symptoms but that sounds a bit extreme for anaemia? (No medical knowledge here but I’ve had low ferritin too.) Couple of thoughts: do you drink alcohol and could it be related to drinking the night before? And is anything stressful happening at the moment? Because you say you feel completely calm but sometimes anxiety/ panic attacks feel very physical iyswim.

Sounds exactly like perimenopausal symptom and you are also the right age for this. Even if your periods are still regular, your hormones may be changing and causing these symptoms

@FreedaCarlow I don't drink at all, I am quite stressy in the day time but no more than normal at the mo! I guess it could be coming out in my sleep?! When it happens in the day it can be completely random but sort of understandable, for example walking around Lidl! I wondered if it was changes of temperature as I definitely get it then.

@FlowerBarrow I did wonder! Time to book an appt with the hormone nurse at the surgery I think! 😬

Yes sounds like a good idea. Good luck.

Yes to peri symptoms! I was having these ‘panic attacks’ but saying to my gp ‘but I’m not panicking, my body is just doing it’ - HRT has pretty much stopped it all.

This happened to me on Thursday for the first time. It lasted ages and no amount of ensuring I was mentally calm was helping. I was sure it wasn't a panic attack but physically that's what it seemed like. I'm 41.

I have this- thought it was peri but recent blood tests show over active thyroid.

Hi OP just seen your thread and have been wondering the exact same thing. It would probably be quite early for it to be peri with me.... did you get anywhere?

@HeartRacingatChristmas sorry, I've only just seen your post!! I had an appt with the hormone nurse who felt that I was a little young to be perimenopausal (although I'm 45!) and she suggested it was more likely to be due to the low ferritin and to get that sorted first. Unfortunately the side effects from the tablets are bloody awful and I can't take them!!
I had a load of various hormone tests back in Oct and nothing unusual showing.
You could book in with your GP, they could do some blood tests?

It's pretty much gone away now after several months (a year ago) , although I had a few ECGs that didn't show anything odd. If it happens again I will try and get some sort of test.

I'll bear low ferritin in mind... thanks for updating!