I have panic attacks, should I meditate?

Question:

I have bi-polar. I am stable and have been for some time partially through medication and partially through efforts on my part to understand a complex and difficult childhood. My feeling being that if I can help my underlying mental health as much as possible the chemical imbalance has more work to do to make me really sick. I am functioning and can work part time (medication make me too tired for full time) and I have a loving partner. I have had anxiety attacks since my early 20s, sometimes infrequently (maybe only one a month) and sometimes as many as three times a day. I heard that mediation and mindfulness could help with these, and every five years or so I've tried it. What I found, however, was that as soon as I sat down to mediate, I would have an attack (similarly with hypnosis or self hypnosis). I am now almost 40 and this time was different - for the first three weeks I had no attacks. I was thrilled and so excited. However since then I have been getting them increasingly more frequently, especially on waking, but now about three times a day. I read your book and it talked about it not being the fault of the mediation but that it enables feelings you have been suppressing to come to the surface. I thought maybe if I stuck it out, whatever was causing the panic would come to the surface and be released which sounded like just what I wanted. So I have stuck with it. However the attacks are becoming more frequent and I am anxious most of the time. Is your advise to stick it out or would you suggest I give it a break and come back to it?