Menopause :: Vitamin B Complex / 5 Htp? Panic Attacks, Shaking, Sweating, Hot Flashes
Apr 1, 2016
Need help as I've been suffering terribly with menopause, severe panic attacks, shaking, sweating, hot flushes, legs like jelly!
I had severe chest pain, it woke up from sleep at 4am Easter Sunday. Ambulance came and took to A/E. Hospital said ECG fine but it was a heart spasm probably caused by panic attack in sleep, can that happen?
I shake at any sudden sound? Get that nervous pit feeling in your stomach, goes right through me! Even watching tv any sudden movements make me jump. My question is would vitamin b complex help plus 5 htp at night to help with sleep? I'm in the menopause also, have hot flushes during day and night. Have used menopace but not working now.
Any advice would help as I feel so not myself, low energy, nervy all the time even my speech sounds jittery !!
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I have never written any sort of review or comment online but I wanted to get this out there because it changed my life and it was something the Dr's hadn't even considered and even now, when I have brought it up with them they find it "unlikely". Yet it has worked, and not just for me.
I am 27yrs old and started having what seemed like panic attacks just under a year ago. The first one was unbelievable, I had no idea what was happening to me and thought I was going to die. It lasted for hours and I felt like I couldn't breath and that my chest was tight, I felt dizzy and a bit sick and had a tremendous pain deep into my neck and skull base. Adrenalin seemed to be pumping round my body consistently and it was all I could do to make a concerted conscious effort to breathe in and out - as if my body wasn't going to do it on its own. After it finally subsided I was tired and relieved it was gone but was left feeling not quite normal but thought this would pass. I had had a small cold at the time and attributed the experience to breathing difficulties and a tight chest and throat. However, from that time onwards I was aware that I didn't feel quite right but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I started getting these "attacks". It would suddenly hit, seemingly out of nowhere and I would get a sudden hot sweat followed by dizziness and then the breathing thing would start again. Sometimes they were milder, other times they would become severe and I would be totally chair bound and in fear I would stop being able to breathe. All the physical symptoms that you see listed under "panic attacks" were there and I realised I had to see a Dr.
When I saw my Dr he confirmed what I had suspected from my own web findings and he felt that antidepressants would be the way to go. However, I should note here that I was not or am not depressed, I felt no worry or anxiety except about these attacks that were happening. So when my Dr thought that it could be depression or general anxiety disorder (GAD) it didn't seem right as I had no mood problems. I was happy in my life and content with what I was doing - so these attacks had literally come from nowhere.
I was on antidepressants for 5 weeks when I realised these were not helping me, the attacks were fewer, but I still felt weird and on top of that I felt a bit spacey. So then the Dr put me on beta blockers and I felt as though I was always walking on sponge and that my stomach was turning all the time.
This problem started to cause me to avoid situations, not want to go out, not do too much, not do too little - it was the fear of oncoming attacks that started to live with me all the time. I stopped enjoying the things I had enjoyed and was starting to get very down about why I felt all wrong.
So I started to research panic disorders and causes and alternative ways of treating them. I had always known that it was very psychological and had felt guilty and ashamed of having some sort of "neurosis", but had not really tried any of the psychological or relaxation exercises that are suggested. It was hard to think straight at the time of an attack and I would find it difficult to try and "relax", even though I had found out that this is a very important part of the panic attack syndrome.
Anyway, I've put this history in of my experience so that you can see what was happening to me personally.
I started finding references to various deficiencies in the body as having direct links to panic attacks and the very same symptoms, so I started to investigate this.
I came across lots of personal references and people's experiences of being deficient in various vitamins and minerals and discovering that this was the cause of their GAD. I also found some medical references to such findings when I dug a little deeper.
What I found out was that not enough of the B-vitamins in the body can cause lots of the same symptoms of panic disorders, there were ones in particular but I found that the best way was to get a good b-complex as they all help each other to be absorbed into the body etc. I also found that magnesium deficiency brings about the same symptoms and iron and folic acid.
So I ordered a range of supplements willing to give it a go, mainly the b-complex vitamins (but for good measure I got multi vits, vit c and zinc, iron and chelated magnesium - NOT magnesium oxide)
I have been taking them now for about 2 months and I feel normal again, NO panic attacks and no feeling of being "not quite right". I feel great! Better than normal and I can enjoy the things I had enjoyed again!
It has really worked, and the evidence after I started taking the supplements is, for me, indisputable - I feel as though my body is saying yes, this is it, this is what we wanted. An undoubtable feeling of normalcy and health. I KNOW that this is what was causing me panic attacks and to never feel quite right. Any day at any time I was aware that I didn't feel myself - this has completely gone.
There has been a noticeable difference in my energy, skin, ability to function well, my mood and so many other things it would be too long to list.
I feel like I did not have GAD or panic disorder, I was not suffering from a neurosis and I did not need medical treatment and drugs. I simply was deficient in some things.
So I wanted to put this out there for anyone going through those awful symptoms - try these vitamins, suppliment your diet, it can do no harm and if it IS a deficiency then my god, you'll know it and feel better!
The relief is so massive I can't tell you.
I have since discovered quite a lot of online content with others experiencing this very thing - being "cured" of an "anxiety disorder" (that had sometimes been lived with for years!) simply by supplementing their diets with the right vitamins.
Of course, this may not always be the case, obviously, but it is certainly worth a try - especially if you have that feeling I had of ALWAYS feeling like you were not feeling "right" in yourself. I found out afterwards that GAD sufferers feel normal and ok until an attack happens.
Good luck and I hope this helps some people to get back to a normal life!
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I was vitamin D deficient a little over 6 months ago and prescribed 50,000 iu (once a week for 3 months). I barely got through 3 weeks as I started showing symptoms of too much vitamin D. The doctor ran another test and my levels were within range. Fast forward to this month and I started having panic attacks while I was sleeping. I went back to my doctor since it occurred three nights in a row. She ran some more tests to make sure my heart, liver, thyroid, etc. were fine and went ahead and checked my vitamin D levels again. Again, they are low! What I can't understand is that I've spent plenty of time outside in the Carolina sun! My Cholesterol levels indicate that I am eating enough leafy greens. I can't understand why this happens. My tests also indicate my bilirubin is a little high as well. I have to go back in a few weeks to have that tested again. My B12 levels were also slightly low. I have a swollen tonsil and may have been fighting an infection as my WBC levels were also low - I don't know if this would have affected it or not.
Maybe one of you is going through what I'm going through and can give me some direction on how to maintain my vitamin D levels.
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It seems like all woman have different symptoms to menopause. I have posted before about ill feeling with peri menopause now to add further the reluctant panic barracks and doom. It seems anything I eat anymore causes pain in my upper abdominal area four days of upper gastric pain under right rib cage past test of ct and ultrasound should negative for gallbladder problems now I just panic every night over the pain and discomfort of hot flashes but no sweating ER visits negative for cardiac GYN is reluctant to give me HRT due to past death of daughter after giving birth factor five I have been tested negative results but GYN says factor five is something that no one really know about. I need relief I have read about B complex and magnesium and started three days ago but symptoms are still there. Any suggestion? The fun also gave me Valium which of course I am afraid to try
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Is there a vitamin that will help with the nighttime hot flashes?
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Not really sure where to begin...wasn't at all sure what was wrong with me until I started reading that my symptoms were connected to the menopause...Unfortunately I am experiencing the lot in some form or other...anxiety is extreme and panic attacks regular...moods are erratic..can't focus or think straight and there appears to be a sense of doom follows me around..I also suffer from severe heavy periods which take a lot out of me for 2 of the 4 wks of the month so am not in a very good place just now! I am generally NOT this type of person and am really struggling with all this but not sure where to begin
I was given HRT which I only lasted 3wks with as I began to take migraines again which I hadn't suffered from for a lot of yrs
I am really keen to try the alternative/natural route but I don't seem to be improving at all with what I am taking
If anyone hasn't lost the will to live reading this I am also being considered for hysterectomy which to me is a very viable option and would like to hear from anyone who has had the surgery and how it was for them.
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Upped to 40mg and God I'm depressed, crying non stop, shaking , sweating it's hell. Can't eat can't sleep. Keep telling myself it will settle soon but I'm like a heroin addict cold turkey. Anyone else been here I need some hope. Worse before better? I'm a million times worse. Increase as after baby post natal depression was showing signs again.
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I was diagnosed as hypothyroid 3 years ago. I currently take 100mcg of levothyroxine daily. My problem is frequent hot flashes and sweating. This has been happening since I've been taking levothyroxine. I initially thought it was menopause but hormone tests show I'm through this now and to be honest, the hot flashes feel different to menopause flushes. At least every hour I become extremely hot and start sweating badly. This can last for 10 mins to half hour. It continues through the night and wakes me frequently. It is ruining my life!
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So..my daughter wanted to go shopping. I felt a little blah, tightness in chest before we left. A light was changing from yellow to red, and i made a very fast right hand turn so i wouldn't be stuck at a dreaded red light. After the turn I felt a burning in my stomach that quickly spread throughout my whole body. I glanced in the mirror and was bright red..had to pull over. Heart started slamming and so fast...legs shaking. Opened the door, and got out to get air..telling myself im ok, im ok as my daughter sat there ( really sad) 20 mins later and heart slowed enough to drive and here i am. Daughter very angry and confused. Cold feeling in my arms, headache and a slight burning in chest and exhausted. Feeling guilty. Although i feel i managed ok...and made it through...ehh...feel bad. Does this even sound like a panic attack?
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I suddenly started feeling not myself like out of body and my heart is beating so fast! I can't stop shaking, feels like someone is squeezing my head and really hot I hate this it feels like I'm gonna loose control
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The only way to get through this "transition" in the best possible way is to stay informed as to what is going on with our bodies. Being as though every woman is different, what may work for one may not work for the other. But knowledge is key to being able to live our lives the best and healthiest way possible.
With that being said, I came across some information on the internal shaking and jitters. Now this info may not apply to you, but if if does, by all means take it and do more research on your own to help yourself. Some of the first symptoms that I experienced that started to really ramp up anxiety for me is the racing heart and the internal shaking. I felt the the shaking in my chest and stomach mainly, but I could feel it all over. At times I would get the racing heart with it.
The shakiness and jitters first. We already know that the decline in estradiol can affect blood sugars, and digestive issues. For some the shakiness and jitters can be due to the blood sugars and dietary changes can help to stable that during peri/meno if you are not a true diabetic. It can also be due to anxiety and adrenaline surges. The other possibility can be digestive related. Since the digestive system is affected by declining hormones we digest food slower and have more gas than we usually do as well as an excess of stomach acid. I since have been diagnosed with GERD as many women do in peri/meno and I do have excessive gas and stomach acid which causes that burning feeling. For me what has been causing that internal shaky feeling in my chest and stomach is stomach acid putting pressure behind the breast bone which irritates the vagus nerve that can cause the anxiety type symptoms. If I chew a tums or take an acid reflux tablet the internal shakiness and jitters stop. Drinking chamomile tea, ginger capsules or tea, tums, rolaids, omeprazole, zantac, cal/mags or whatever you choose to use calms the stomach acid, calms the vagus nerve and neutralizes excess gas. Also when the vagus nerve is irritated it can cause heart palps and that is why when your reflux is acting up the excess acid pushing the vagus nerve can start palps. Now again this may not be the case for all, but it may be for some. So I thought that I would share the info just in case it may help you.
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I have had extreme trouble breathing lately, i can't take deep breathes and it feels like i have to yawn in order to get my breath. I also have depression and ocd could these just be some form of panic attacks?
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How do some of you overcome your panic attacks ? Or at least make them a lot more comfortable to live with?
Any advice apart from deep breathing would be useful as I'm continuing to have them almost every few hours .
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I first started sertraline in 2012 after getting pnd and fluoxetine not suiting me, then I stopped sertraline gradually in march 2014 as I felt I no longer needed them. First few weeks I was fine, then panic attacks came back awful maybe 7/8 a day for no reason at all :-( In august i went back on sertraline and started on 25mg and it has took Me all of this time to gradually build up to 100 mg due to anxiety. I have been on 100mg for 3 days now and suffering awful headaches, feel as though i'm going to fall over when I walk,(this scares the life out of me) and chest pains, I can deal with these as I have for over 4 years. Its the new symptom of feeling I have excess saliva and swallowing all the time, also upper stomach pains that is worrying me. I have lost weight and have no appetite but the actual panic attacks have subsided almost. Just wondered if anyone is on 100mg for panic and if they feel normal.
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I have been on sertraline for about 4 months starting on 50 mg and now on 100 I have started to feel better but today had a panic attack I'm also on propranolol I was just wondering if people on sertraline still get panic attacks it wasn't as bad as others but still scary ...
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So my hubby took me into the hospital last night. Since Thursday I had been having a hard time breathing and yesterday my chest got really tight and no matter what I did just couldn't catch that breath... so of course I started to panic. It turns out it's just he baby really pushing on my chest diaphragm. Apparently I have serious anxiety. I didn't realize how much I don't sleep and eat until they gave me meds to sleep and I got a full nights rest. I woke up this morning SO HUNGRY and ate like I hadn't eaten in ages. Before I was eating little at a time. So even though this trip to the hospital was pointless... it actually is helping me in the long run!
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I've had panic attacks for a year and half now i take 40mg x3 propranolol and 10 mg x2 citalopram a day. Which has touch wood seemed to cease my attacks now for 4 months. 1st 1 was bad an hour and 10 mins of thinking i was dying plus i have 2 set of twins who were following me round watching it all.! However i really really miss having the occasional wine as i quit drinking and quit smoking weed a year and a half ago i wasn't a major pot head i had 1 or 2 j's on the night 2 chill me out. Now any sort of buzz puts me off so i quit everything including caffeine. So my question is is there any way i can have a drink or 2 again?!? i do miss my odd glass of wine but as soon as i try my heart races so i don't bother. Help any advice welcome i think i know what will be said! Just don't drink.
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Well I've been suffering with panic attacks for about 2yrs now and I can honestly say it's taken a lot put of me to the point where I can't or don't want to leave my home or I can't watch tv without it being triggered I sometimes tell myself why are you anxious there is notHing to be anxious about. But I've been taking sertraline 50mg for about 5 months now and buspirone 10mg and nothing is happening here sometimes makes me wonder if these meds even help you. Any suggestions on what meds actually help for panic attacks?? I also take lorazepam when needed but sometimes I have to take it everyday
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The doctor prescribed me gabapentin 300mg 3x a day for panic attacks instead of klonopin... there are tapering me off .. does anyone know how this works for anxiety if you have had success. . I have severe anxiety.. heart palps all day constant anxiety.. I'm getting on effexor xr 150mgs now it's been 2 weeks since I've upped from 75mgs. Feels like anxiety is getting worse.. hopefully this ad will kick in soon.. any positive thoughts about this medicine would be great.. I need some support I've been trying everything to get this anxiety under control..
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i've had panic attacks for 15 years and take xanax 0,5 for 15 years i started at 3 a day now 6 a day but its not better i get up in morning it starts i'm afraid my wife sees me like this so it seems to get worst what to do?
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i recently had surgery about 8 months ago now and got a severe infection that required emergency surgery to remove the e coli infection. It took forever to go away and was very sick through this to the point I wondered if i might die. Then after I was better I was nervous and on edge. Then now three months ago my aunt that I worked with and have for 21 years was diagnosed with brain cancer. She had surgery but died from the cancer growing back. I was devastated. Since all of this I had my first attack in the middle of sleep one night. I awoke from a dead sleep with right hand numb , nausea, feeling of death, chest hurt, shaking and crying and went to the ER and heart looked fine and no heart attack. So they put me on ativans. I am on wellbutrin also for this time to help me get through my grief. Since then I have them more and more. I might skip a night but they will return or in the later day at work when i'm tired and stressed, Is it normal to have them so much? Its a feeling of sacredness just to go to bed at night. I also get sinus pressure during these attacks and dizziness. Any others with this?
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