You have mentioned your symptoms and clinical history in great detail.
I understand that you developed panic attacks only after your surgery and not before that.
Did you have abdominal cramps, churning sensations or
diarrhoea as part of your panic attacks or did these occur even prior to the surgery?
How was the tumour around your
appendix suspected or why did you get investigated in the first place and how did the tumour come to be diagnosed? What symptoms did the tumour cause?
I am asking these questions because there are certain rare tumours (
carcinoid) that arise around the appendix and can cause panic attacks especially with abdominal symptoms and diarrhoea.
The reason for your current symptoms can be:
1) Use of alprazolam. Alprazolam is a wonderful drug for panic attacks. However, it is very short acting. Once its effects wear out after 4 to 6 hours, the panic attacks come back with even greater severity. This leads to an increasing use of alprazolam over the years. (You might have started with 0.25 to 0.5 mg per day and now you are using 4 mg). It does not help the root cause of panic attacks - which need other types of drugs.
2) A more serious concern however is you may be having some more tumours lurking in your body. The group of neuro-endocrine tumours are a set of rare tumours. They are usually small (
I suggest you look back at the surgery notes and
biopsy report of the surgery you have undergone and have a consultation with an
endocrinologist to rule out this possibility. Meanwhile you can also
consult a psychiatrist who will help you get off alprazolam with another drug that is easier to taper and stop. If the above medical possibilities and
hyperthyroidism are ruled out by your endocrinologist, you may be having panic disorder which is a treatable condition.