I became vegan at age sixteen for moral reasons and immediately felt healthier. Ever since then I’ve experimented with foods’ effects on emotionality. About two years ago I realized that every time I ate cane sugar/glucose I became very angry, and I know that anger and anxiety are closely related. I’m also gluten-free because I get diarrhea, severe neck tension, and headaches from gluten, probably since gluten turns to sugar once digested . . . I’ve had chronic anxiety since at least toddler-hood which has surely resulted from poor diet. I was also an “irritable baby syndrome” baby and think that it probably had something to do with my baby food. My family and friends think I’m ridiculous for choosing strange diets, which makes it difficult to eat only what is healthy for me emotionally. I wonder how your family and/or social life have affected your your dietary decisions?

It’s covered by insurance, harmless, no side effects, actually pretty cool and fun. Try it!

Oh, and yeah, some herbs have the opposite effect on “us” – St. John’s Wort, ex. For most people with normal stress levels, it cheers them up and whatever. For those like us with panic issues, it can increase stress and cause attacks.

Oh, jeez, I just saw Anne’s suggestion about low iron. I had that, too, and my hormones were messed up, so I had both racing heart and tons and tons of palpitations; often multiples per minute. If that won’t cause a panic attack, I don’t know what will. Perhaps you could see your acupuncturist again, but not for stress but hormone balancing. S/he’ll fix you right up! Did me :)

PS screw the drs. They don’t know squat and the meds….God…I wish I had the memory I used to, for one thing. They just made a stultified, sexually malfunctioning, somnolent, hallucinating (!), confused, mood-disordered mess of me. Thankfully that stuff was temporary.

OH! Cut out simple carbs. Brown rice, whole wheat. Might not be an immediate trigger, but people who tend to have panic attacks tend to eat lots of simple carbs.

BTW – I recently had McDonalds chips and had a horrible “panic attack” – there is dairy in those chips can you believe!!!!!!

Best wishes x

I just started having anxiety attacks three weeks ago, for the first time, ever. After a trip in ambulance to the ER room and spending the night there, the doctor finally saw me. My heart has an irregular beat – I had been diagnosed by a cardiologist the week before – but she said that what I had just undergone – heart pounding, loss of feeling in limbs and shortness of breath/hyperventilation, was anxiety. She said to stay away from caffeine, alcohol, chocolate, and – hard cheese. I asked her about the cheese part and she said that hard cheese has something in it that contributes to anxiety. Hope this helps.

It is good to know I’m not alone, and it’s also nice to see that searching for “dairy and panic attacks” gives this post! Yay! Hopefully more people who are looking for a connection will find this post and realize they aren’t alone.

Thanks, and good luck with your journey, too!

Dealing with some similar things. Here’s an article to check out: http://www.womentowomen.com/depressionanxietyandmood/anxiety.aspx
Scroll about halfway down for the part about food, quote:
“In some people, food allergies and food sensitivities trigger anxiety symptoms, much like dust triggers an asthma attack. Your nutrition heavily influences your mood. And the gut is a source of serotonin, the major hormone of mood. Your digestive system is intricately tied into your hormonal balance, your brain chemistry, and your moods.

Dr. Abraham Hoffer, a pioneer in the connection between nutrition and mental disorders, discovered in 1960 the link between a niacin deficiency and the improper conversion of adrenaline in the brain that leads to psychosis. If administered early in a diagnosis, Dr. Hoffer found that over 90% of his mentally ill patients were effectively treated with nutrition therapy. There are many similar links between nutrition and neurotransmitters.”

Might be worth googling! Good luck!