Been Having Unexplained Panic Attacks

On the night of january 14th, I noticed I started feeling strangely. I felt a little anxious, and I felt off. That's the only way I can describe it. I woke up the next morning at about 4:30 shaking terribly. I started feeling a very disturbing amount of anxiety around 6:30am, and it peaked at about 6:45 into a full blown panic attack. It subsided about 8:00am. I felt fine the rst of the day, except for bouts of anxiety, fearing I would have another. I'd had panic attacks before, due to withdrawal from medication. That should not have been the case this time, because i'd not taken anything. I had started exercising, though, about a week before they started.

The next morning, monday the 16th, I had another panic attack. It wasn't as severe as the first, but was still horrifying. The time duration was the same. I tried taking magnesium, drinking water, breathing exercises used just for panic attacks- nothing made it stop. The rest of the evening was spent crying in fear that i'd have yet another. Only two unexplained panic attacks, and I felt like it was tearing my life apart. The next morning, I woke with the same trembling that preceded the previous two. Then the anxiety started. I took about 750mg of phenibut, remembering that it acted on the benzodiazepine receptors. It helped. The forming panic attack didn't progress any further. I've been taking it until today (01/21), when I took a smaller dose at around 2 in the morning and went back to bed. I woke up about 3:40am. Unable to go back to sleep, I got up. I started feeling the shaking and anxiety. I quickly took a little more phenibut and stopped it in it's tracks. I'm convinced that I would have had panic attacks every day this week if it were not for phenibut.

Something is wrong, and I don't know what. I seem to have developed panic disorder out of nowhere, which makes no sense to me. It doesn't even have any triggers. I have a doctor's appointment. I'm going to demand that they check my thyroid, but I fully expect to be told that I need some weird meds like paxil or xanax (which I refuse to take). I want to solve the problem. Not slap a bandaid on it. Besides, I spent 7 years on paxil and never want to be on it again. I don't want to become dependant on something like xanax. From what i've heard, the withdrawal is hell.

Now, after filling out a questionnaire, I fit hypothyroidism 42%. I'll give some oddities/changes of my health and lifestyle.

I've been 10 weeks pregnant then had an abortion.
My most recent period was alot heavier than usual.
I have tourette's syndrome, and it's been more severe.
I quit taking paxil 17 months ago.
Family history- my mom has benign pituitary tumors.
Personal history- I have pcos.
I've had diarrhea for the past week, intermingled with periods of constipation.
I started exercising about a week before the attacks started.

That's about it. If anyone can think of anything- anything at all- please let me know. Except for "it's in your head" type crap. I don't buy in to that stuff.