Hi feary,

"Unrelenting Panic" - your thread title spoke volumes to me. I have been there.

I remember simply pacing and not knowing what to do with myself. I couldn't sit still. I couldn't relax. Every single thing felt awful. I couldn't sleep. People would tell me to take a nice hot bath and I would look at them like, "you really have no idea do you?"

Prior to this worst part, my OCD wasn't about dying or aging, but it was about food and sickness. I was constantly convinced I had botulism. It sounds crazy to me now. But it was furthest thing from crazy to me back then. I would scrub my cutting boards with bleach over and over again because I was so sure they still had bacteria on them. I would call the canned food company to ask them intricate questions about the canning process, because I was sure that the can I had was infected with the bacteria. So I can relate to having those relentless worries... But I have gotten much better. I know you can and will.

Let me say this...

Yes, there is a connection between low vitamin D and very high anxiety levels. I urge you to go back to your doctor (or even a different doctor who knows about this connection). I have had such similar feelings to those you have described. I know you said that it feels very physical: racing heart, shortness of breath, panic attacks etc. When I was at the worst of my anxiety and depression my vitamin D levels were very low. Anxiety and depression has to be addressed from many angles. But first I urge you to (go see your doc to verify) take a high dose of vitamin D - I took 1,000 IU 2 X per day. The current RDA is too low. I was instructed to take 2,000 IUs per day until my levels came back to normal. Low iron, as well, can make you feel rotten. Especially because it has been related to poor sleep, and lack of sleep is very much tied to depression. Please make sure you are taking enough of these two supplements. A doctor or nutritionist can help you in this case.
I had horrible, debilitating anxiety and found that these things helped me:
Vitamin D (a continuous, high enough dose that was prescribed by my doc)
http://www.purecaps.com/itemdy00.asp?t1=vd11
Iron (when needed, until my levels came back to normal)
(I just took an over-the-counter brand but your doc may have a brand she or he likes)
Therapy (2 - 3 times per week)

Please consider this and don't give up. You deserve to feel better and to NOT have medical professionals tell you all you need is yoga or deep breathing. Sure, those can be helpful later on, but I know the feeling of being so stressed out that you feel like you are going to explode, or die or melt. It feels horrible. My heart goes out to you. Please take these deficiencies seriously and don't give up. Make sure you get your vitamin D levels back up there, your iron levels too. Then give therapy another try - so that you can have someone on your side to look forward to seeing every week. It is so crucial. Then later on meds may be helpful at another time. Many many good wishes to you. You should not have to put up with this debilitating anxiety.

E

http://www.fightingfatigue.org/?p=2045
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/depression.shtml
http://www.springerlink.com/content/m88hj545x60273v8/