Suggest Treatment For Anxiety And Panic

Posted on Sat, 13 Jun 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 13 Jun 2015 Answered on

Mon, 6 Jul 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I have severe anxiety and panic lately it has not been responsive to meds I have change the mess and still not quite right. I've had my thyroid checked and I don't understand the levels--are there high or low adding to my anxiety? Tsh 2.730 t4 free 1.29 t3 1.130

Answered by Dr. Shehzad Topiwala (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Thyroid

Detailed Answer:
Sorry to learn about your anxiety and panic.

The blood test results for thyroid appear normal.

Often each laboratory has their own reference range depending on the test method they have chosen to perform the analysis with. So it would be best to confirm that your thyroid labs are normal by looking at the normal ranges on your lab report particularly for the free T4 and T3.

So it is very likely your thyroid is normal.

There is a rare condition that mimics panic attacks. It is called Pheochromocytoma. There is a simple blood test to check for this called Plasma Free Metanephrines.

However the Paxil medication that you are on will likely give falsely positive results in this test. So do not stop it just like that. Speak with the physician who prescribes it to you, to see if you can gradually go off it for couple weeks before you consider testing for this medical condition. This blood test does not require any fasting and can be done at any time of the day

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar