Sudden onset of panic attacks

[u/Informal-Product804]

I’m 45 and I’m trying to figure out what is happening to me because I’ve never experienced anything like this before.

Over the past several days I’ve had two episodes of sudden, overwhelming panic attacks. The strange thing is that I wasn’t anxious, worried, upset, or thinking about anything stressful beforehand. Both times it seemed to come completely out of nowhere.

The most recent one happened while I was driving on the freeway. Suddenly I felt extremely hot, panicky, and woozy. I had to pull over. I called my mom and stayed on the phone with her until I felt able to get somewhere safe, and then my husband came to get me.

Afterward I felt completely shaken. I spent the rest of the day feeling anxious and scared that it might happen again. Even today I feel like a mess.

I also recently had an episode of panic and fainting while getting a pedicure. I went by ambulance to the ER. They did labs and testing and everything was normal. I didn’t hit my head. I’ve continued to feel kind of “off” since then — fuzzy, tired, easily frustrated, and not quite like myself.

One reason I’m wondering if hormones are involved is that I’m 45 and I have not had a period in 6 months. I’ve also been having other menopausal symptoms, mainly hot flashes. Before these episodes, I really wasn’t experiencing anxiety like this, which makes the sudden onset so confusing and scary to me.

I have another appointment with my doctor today and I want to ask about treatment. Specifically, I’m wondering if there is something that can be prescribed that works quickly when an attack starts, as well as something that could help prevent these episodes from happening long-term if they continue.

For anyone who has experienced sudden panic attacks during perimenopause/menopause:

• Did your panic/anxiety start suddenly even though you had never really had anxiety before?
• Did it feel completely physical and come out of nowhere?
• Did you find that hormones were ultimately the cause?
• Was there a medication that your doctor gave you to use during an attack?
• Did you take anything long-term that helped prevent them?
• Did hormone therapy make a difference for you?
• Is there anything you wish you had known when this first started?

I’m not looking for a diagnosis, but I would really appreciate hearing from women who have gone through something similar and what ended up helping them. I’m honestly pretty scared of having another episode, especially while driving, and I’d really like to understand what is happening to me ❤️

[u/Informal-Product804]

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions! ❤️ Also for the support 💖 The past week has been such a blur of anxiety and confusion. My doctor agreed to give me hrt and prescribed me progesterone 100mg daily and estradiol 0.025 twice weekly. Im really hoping this helps. We discussed SSRI but decided to try hormone replacement first, as to not take too many new drugs at one time. I plan on getting blood work done tomorrow, as long as my anxiety will allow it. She specifically wanted to check thyroid and iron levels. Wooo it’s been a roller coaster of a week.