I’m starting to think my ‘panic attacks’ are adrenaline dumps
Hoping for any insight/advice
I have been having fairly regular ‘panic attacks’ for the last four years. I have had panic attacks since childhood which I could always relate to a thought process and also could always control through breathwork/distraction. These episodes feel entirely different…
They’re often triggered by large meals, overheating, post-exercise, not when I’m having anxious thoughts. Commonly I’ll have a racing heart, sweating, shakiness and an indescribable sense of impending doom, which I never felt when I had panic attacks as a kid. One of the scariest parts of this is these attacks often wake me from a nap or 1-2 hours into sleep with these symptoms and I feel absolutely awful even once the symptoms pass.
For the last four years these symptoms have been put down to anxiety/panic attacks and I have been on multiple SSRIs and SNRIs with little to no impact. The best result I’ve had was from beta blockers as required but it’s very difficult to predict these episodes and take the medication beforehand.
My question is, is it possible that these episodes are actually an adrenaline dump/surge and if anyone has a similar experience or have been able to improve these sorts of symptoms?
Thanks!