I had them quite frequently in college. Various things would set me off, being in a movie theater, long (4 hour+) drive, etc. etc.

Then I cut caffeine out of my diet. Have not had one since. No medication, none of that, just drop caffeine completely.

I can relate to the going to the ER however, i'm asthmatic and as soon as I had one I would feel as though I were having a asthma attack. Spent a pretty penny for nothing. My main concern at the time was since my panic attacks had very similar symptoms to a heart attack that I would start ignoring them and when I got older end up dying from something I could have prevented. That didn't help matters much.

Come to find out my father also had them around that time in his life. I notice that a good percentage have them in their late teens and early twenties. I wonder if it's not possibly hormonal in some nature, couple that with the stress of going to college or moving out etc. and you've got a pretty rough situation.

I think the causes are the environmental stress factors such as:

1. Chemical Food Additives including MSG, Perservatives, Colors, GMO Food
2. Fluoride in our water supply
3. Increased stresses of daily life, post 911 stemming from fear, distrust of the government, growing divide between political ideologies
4. Constant fear mongering by the MSM

All of these things induce a very high level of emotional and physical stress on the body causing irregular heart beat lack of sleep, and it all begins to self perpetuate if you are not replenishing what your body is losing as a result of this stress.

Long story short, I was having panic attacks about 8 years ago after the birth of my first son and helping a friend start a company. This was all just after 911, and I was eating a lot of junk and fast food, not working out, working myself to the bone and dealing with the stresses of having a new family. Oh, it was also about this time that I started listening to things like republic radio, Alex Jones, Michael Savage, etc, and this awakening process added to the stress.

I starting having episodes of rapid heart beat (very fast) that would last the majority of the day. It got to the point that I thought I was dying and wold avoid feeling my own heartbeat, or even snuggling with my wife in such a way as she could hear my heart beat. I hated everything to do with my heart as it terrified me and caused the panic attacks to intensify in severity and frequency.

Finally I went to the Doctor. By this time I was so freaked out that my pulse at the Dr.s Office was off the charts. They left me hooked up to an EKG for an hour, came back and said I was fine. I had researched and had a list with me of possible conditions. We went through each one and eliminated it as a possibility. Finally the Dr. came back with a diagnosis of "acute anxiety disorder," which he explained was a general heading under which cases like mine were bucketed.

I was prescribed Klonipin (Clonazepam) in .5mg as a rescue drug and paxil as an ongoing treatment. I was well aware that these drugs were merely treatments and would do nothing to address the root cause of my condition. But, I was able to buy myself some time to calm down, focus, and realize that I wasn't going to die (well not anymore than we all are going to die), and set about the process of researching causes and cures for anxiety.

As with any condition, there is a ton of material out there to sift through and at the end of the day, it's all theory and observation. So, what I am about to say is not a prescription that you should all run out to try, but rather the process that I went through and what has worked for me.

My research led me to believe that the key cause of my rapid heart beat associated with these bouts of panic, which as you can imagine was the most stressful and disconcerting part of the ordeal, was caused by my magnesium levels being depleted. I kept reading but started experimenting with different preparations of Magnesium. Here is what I tried and what I have since learned and come to believe to be the best way to address anxiety and panic attacks.

1. Magnesium Aspartate - felt immediate relief, but reading uncovered that this is not the ideal magnesium for the body based on this type of magnesium "stealing a chloride ion from the sodium and other electrolytes in the body, which gives rise to free radicals and perpetuates a systemic problem of body damage." So I quit using that.

2. Magnesium Citrate - again, felt immediate relief upon large doses, but this is also a laxative called Milk of Magnesia. I was using a readily available preparation called a "Natural Calm," but quit using it due to the laxative effect and because it began to lose effectiveness quickly.

3. I continue reading and uncovered that the best type of magnesium for the body is Magnesium Chloride. I searched high and low for this stuff and it is not easy to find. Continued on subsequent post....

Continued from above....

I was almost ready to place an order for bulk food grade Magnesium Chloride from a lab when I ran across two sources that I still use today. One is a product called Slo Mag...it can be had at your local grocery store or pharmacy like CVS, Rite-aid, or Walgreens. You may be able to find it on the net. The other product is one that I get from www dot ihsite dot com (don't know if linking to commercial sites is allowed or appropriate) and I use their transdermal magnesium chloride. IT IS AWEOME! The slo mag was a good find because I was desperate, but it is low dose and I had to eat a lot of it to get back to normal. The transdermal stuff is cheaper, gets in the body more quickly and more easily, and you dont' have to use it as often due to the potency and bioavailability. Also, it has other essential minerals as it is made from concentrated sea water. The primary means of delivery is mixed in a hot bath.

Long story short, by going through this research process and treating myself based on my own reading and common sense, I was able to get off of the Klonopin and Paxil just 6 weeks after taking my first does. I did step down my doses of paxil as it is not advised to quit cold turkey as it can really mess you up and make you suicidal. I kept carrying the Klonopin around with me in my pocket as a security blanket for another month or so, but now, I have been prescription and panic attack free for the last 9 years.

Other complimentary therapies:
1. I lost a good bit of weight
2. Started eating as much raw and organic fruits and veggies as I could stand
3. For dietary salt I use only unheated organic sea salt
4. Exercise of any kind at least 3 times a week.
5. If a food has more than 5 ingredients or any that have a scientific name or are just named as "Flavors" or "Spices" I don't eat it. It's hard at first, but as with anything, you'll settle into a pattern.
6. Get at least 7 hours of sleep at night. If you snore, get one of those bite guards from TV. They work. If you have sleep apnea, get a CPAP. Bottom line....GET PLENTY OF SLEEP.
7. Seek therapy or hypnosis or even accupuncture to help you relax your mind and bring yourself back into balance.
8. READ READ READ READ...do your own research and once you can honestly say that you have read all of what you need to know about it, make a decision and trust yourself. Doctors are not any smarter than you, and you don't have any incentive but to get healthy. Doctors have your health in mind, but they also have to worry about malpractice, pharmceutical sales, collecting on insurance, etc. Doctors are not God, so don't treat them as they are. If you have a Doctor that will not tolerate your questions or outlandish ideas, then ask around for referrals or do research and find one that is open to non drug therapies.

I hope this was helpful.

Bryan

My wife has been suffering panic attacks for the last two years.

symptoms mimic those of a heart attack which in turn causes more panic.
I'm definitely inclined to suspect hormones play a part because the panic attacks intensify and increase in frequency when her monthly cycle comes round.
She has been prescribed medication called citalopram which is chemically similar to the herb st johns wort but is stronger.This has helped massively.

Some anxiety issues can be alleviated with finding your appropriate personal does of vitamin B6.

Originally posted by Aeons
Some anxiety issues can be alleviated with finding your appropriate personal does of vitamin B6.

If you would have to name one vitamin, it would be vitamin D3 that is the 'cure-all' wonderdrug.

Originally posted by above

Originally posted by Aeons
Some anxiety issues can be alleviated with finding your appropriate personal does of vitamin B6.

If you would have to name one vitamin, it would be vitamin D3 that is the 'cure-all' wonderdrug.

I didn't claim B6 was a wonder drug.

You can calm an institutionalized psycho by large doses of B6.

D3 probably does help some people with depression like issues. I would imagine that these are the same people have a sub-clinical form of seasonal depressive disorder.