PCOS and panic attacks

my panic attacks and anxiety also started around the time I was diagnosed with PCOS

Hi. An update. I basically begged the last doctor saying that it is all the PCOS fault for my panic attacks!  Well, she has now put me on testosterone tablets and so far I think it has calmed me down a bit....will update more when I've been on them for a while. Good luck to you all

I'm not medically trained, but i have PCOS and i suffer from panic attacks. I always assumed that the panic attacks went hand in hand with my depression, but i know if you're worrying about your pcos, or your hormones are extremely unbalanced, that might contribute towards it.

I think there is yes!

I started getting anxiety and panic attacks at 18 yrs then was diagnosed with PCOS at 22yrs. Just before a period (or when I should get one) I get increased anxiety and some mild depression. As soon as my period starts, it is gone, just like magic! At other times, if I have missed a few periods and my hormones are unbalanced,  I am anxious all the time..

Hi I know this thread is a year old but hopefully someone will read my post!

I was diagnosed with pcos when I was about 23/24 and not long after I began suffering from anxiety attacks and depression... I was put on antidepressants. When I wanted to start a family I was put on metformin and clomid and I noticed that I lost lots of weight and began to feel much better... I didn't conceive but I did with ivf treatment. My scans confirmed my pcos. I've suffered a lot with palpitations, shakes, dizzy spells, irritability ect and I definitely believe that pcos is the cause and I think it's down to being insulin resistant, a side effect from pcos, hypoglycaemia causes the same symptoms and it's all down to blood sugar levels. Metformin levels out your blood sugar levels therefore reduces the other symptoms... This is my take on things and I've been back and forth my gp and I keep getting fobbed off.. But I know that it's down to pcos.

Hello. I am now 36 and my gynecologist has always seen polycystic ovaries in the regular internal ultrasound scan I do every 1-2 years. I do this checkup since I was in my early 20s. However I do not know whether I have PCO syndrome or whether I only have PC ovaries. As my gynecologist has never given importance to it, so have I. But now, I really see a connection between my PC ovaries and my anxiety and panic attacks. This is a summary of my health during the last years.

-Till 2010 I was taking oral contraceptives during many years (c.a. 10) to prevent the acne caused by my PCO. During this time I had anxiety problems, but they were not too strong.

-About a month after stopping with the pill I had my first panic attack. It coincided with some personal issues and I have always related my attack to them. But now I start to relate it with my hormones…

-After several panic attacks I started with medication against anxiety (ketazolam and paroxetine), and I got better. After several months I stopped with ketazolam too fast and I got panic attacks again, so I started with medication again. I got better and I stopped very slowly. When I was just taking ¼ of paroxetine, I got pregnant and I stopped with medication. I have to say that I had no problem with getting pregnant (fortunately)

-During my pregnancy I had no anxiety, although I was very stressed and worried. I had no problem during the pregnancy such as high blood pressure. After having my baby I had no anxiety for 2 years despite having too much pressure at work. I have always experienced a relaxing effect when breastfeeding. This and the fact of having no anxiety during the pregnancy have made me think about a hormonal origin for my anxiety. I started having my period 7 months after the delivery, but they were not painful.

-Last summer, after several weeks very stressed at work I had a strong panic attack. I just thought it was because I overdid during too long time at work and with my baby, which is true. But at the same time, I realize now that there was hormonal imbalance related. 2 days after the attack, I had the period, and it was really painful, not like the previous ones. I am still breastfeeding (and still relaxes me) but less often of course than at the beginning.

-From then, I had other panic attacks and I started again with medication (diazepam and paroxetine). I am feeling better after 4 months with medication but still not completely. I have observed that I have more anxiety some days before the period and also during the period. So I am really thinking that I have PCOS and that my anxiety has a hormonal origin related to it. After reading this forum I believe more in that.

How can I know whether I am correct and my anxiety is related to a hormonal imbalance? How can I know whether I have the PCO syndrome or only PC ovaries? If that is true, maybe I should take another type of medication. I have also read that PCOS can lead to other important problems (diabetes, heart attack…) if it is not well treated.

About other symptoms, I am not obese but I do have a bit too much hair, but not extreme. I have still acne. I’d really like to find a specialist on this in Spain (my country) or in the Netherlands, where I live.

Have you found more information about research on this topic?

Thanks for your advice!!!

Hi Clare,

I know this post is old but I wanted to say I've been wondering the same thing. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 14, now 36 and was told at 14 that I would never be able to have children. I had my first daughter 18 years ago and shortly after she was born I started having really bad anxiety, since then I've had two more children ages 16 and 4 and my anxiety has only gotten worse. I have horrible panic attacks with agoraphobia. I've asked all my doctors and all they can say is that they do think my hormones have something to do with my anxiety but can't offer any help but a hysterectomy which may cause more anxiety, there is no way to tell beforehand. I take an antidepressant and mood stabilizer but they don't help very much. The week before my period my anxiety is 100 times worse and my moods are off the charts. I defiantly think there's a link between the two, I just wish there was some sort of help for all of us suffering from this.

I believe there is a strong link there. I just spent last night in the ER because my panic attacks have been bad. I've always had some level of anxiety, but never this bad. I was diagnosed in 2015 and my anxiety just went downhill from there.