I agree with Melissa, see a doctor, but if you can afford definitely go to a naturopathic doctor, since a MD will most likely want you to take antipsychotics or antidepressants which only make things worse in the long run. In the meantime, try l-theanine (which increases Gaba) and tryptophan, which increases serotonin. I've found that they help me rather quickly in times of stress. Having had panic attacks and known people who have had them I can really empathize with you, they produce some of the worst feelings imaginable, you feel like you're gonna die even though you aren't. Ideally you need extensively testing to see what kind of imbalances are going on in your body. You likely have high cortisol and low dhea, in which case dhea would help significantly. Pregnenolone has also been shown to reduce stress while providing emotional stability and relaxation http://vitanetonline.com/forums/1/Thread/154. If magnesium doesn't work for you it may be the form you're taking, try epsom salts, which are absorbed directly through the skin and much more effectively than oral forms. They also have calmed me down effectively.
Without knowing your diet and lifestyle I can't really give you the best advice possible, but I can still give you general guidelines, like make sure you have no caffeine in your diet, reduce sugar, and don't go too long without eating since that will raise your cortisol levels. Also, exercise helps a great deal, and not being alone does too. It always helps to have someone to vent to during your times of greatest stress. That takes away some of the negative thoughts and prevents them from feeding off each other.
It could be an allergic reaction to a food you're eating like wheat or dairy so make sure to observe and keep track of what you ate the day the panic attack happened. I hope you find peace and get through this ok, let us know how things go for you.

Hi,

I am so sorry you are going through this. I have had a panic disorder for most of my aldult life and it is truly horrid, you have my complete sympathy.

I totally agree you should go to see a doctor, there are plenty of things they can do do help you. My doctor put me on beta blockers when my panic attacks got really bad, you still have the same thoughts, the tablets are not mind altering, but they "blocked" the physical symptoms. the adrenaline was under control so mo more shaking, excessive sweating, dizziness or palpitations and then it was up to me to work on the mental side of things, though of course therapy can be a huge help for that.

Are you going through a particularly stressful time at the moment? Do you have any triggers that you know of? I would suggest keeping a diary of food and feelings and see if there is a common denominator around the times you have a panic attack. Sometimes just the action of writing it down can help on it's own.

Another thing that helps me MASSIVELY is listening to hypnosis tracks. I listen to one every night to help me drop off to sleep and there are tracks specifically dedicated to anxiety and panic attacks. You are taken down into a deep state of relaxation and then given gentle suggestions to your subconcious while in "trance". It can take a while for them to be affective but once your brain is used to them, and you fall into trance easily, the affects are honestly outstanding. I use Andrew Johnson's which you can get as an app on a smart phone, or simply go to his webpage on the net. there are of course plenty of other hypnotherapists out there with tracks you can download, but this guy works particularly well for me.

I wish you all the luck in the world, book the doctor's appointment now, and let us know how you get on.

Take care.

I started getting panic attacks when I started drinking fully caffeinated coffee some years ago. Even though I don't drink fully caffeinated coffee anymore, even if I have too much tea, or tea and chocolate, I'm susceptible. If you haven't already, I recommend cutting out all sources of caffeine and other stimulants: coffee, tea, chocolate, etc.

What are some things you've changed recently that are correlated with the increase in panic attacks? If you had them in high school, were you doing something different then that you think contributed (like increased caffeine intake, less sleep, etc) or do you think it is hormonally linked?

If plain Paleo doesn't work for you, you might want to go Paleo-ketogenic (Paleo-keto is more effective for mental problems than plain Paleo). I'd go for 30 gr of carbs daily for 3 months, then go 40gr for another 3 months, then 50gr, etc. up to 100 gr 2 years later, and stabilize there. I've written about Paleo-keto here: http://eugenia.queru.com/2011/11/22/paleo-ketogenic-diet-for-mental-disorders/

Another important thing is that you need to do proper Paleo for it to work, e.g. eating offal and fermented foods, cook with coconut oil (very good for brain health), take krill oil & D3 (also good for brain health), exercise etc. Just removing grains and other foods is only part of the puzzle. The rest of the puzzle is actually adding ancient kinds of foods.

It's quite dangerous to just post a thread that you are getting panic attacks without giving the full picture. You have posted in previous threads that you have hypoglycemia, you replied to a post about binge eating that you can totally relate it is real and difficult to control - digestive enzymes come in handy for me, especially for the discomfort, on 17 jan you posted that you had a freaky experience a week ago from too much meat, your gallbladder was hurting making you very uncomfortable and super anxious/panic attacks, so slowed down on meat consumption,you are taking chromium, magnesium and adrenal tissue/gland. It is probably your cortisol levels and as suggested by Dr BG it's best to have 150g carb daily split into 3 meals containing protein and fat.