Differences between meltdowns and panic attacks??

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Hello.
I am writing since i am wondering if there is someone here who has experienced both meltdowns and panic attacks. I am wondering since i have had lots of what i have until recently believed were panic attacks, but i am now wondering if they actually were meltdown. Here i am going to write the symptoms (my guess would is that it would be a mix of both)
-Shortness of breath + hyperventilating (symptoms of panic attack)
-I become completely non-verbal (fits description of both
-i start stimming (rocking, finger twirling, scratching hands, twirling hands, rubbing hand/fingers together)
-almost as if my "grip" and "control" over the outside world has stopped

They could last anything from 20minutes to 5 hours
What does this sound like, meltdown, panic attack or a bit of both?
And if you have experienced both what are the main differences?
Thanks

Howdy. I'm NT, but I had a panic attack this morning. I used to get them a lot then I went years without getting any and now they come back sometimes. I have a head cold and I've taken a lot of cold medicine and that will sometimes bring them on. This one lasted about 20 min, anxious, hot and cold flashes, heart racing, sweating, numbness. I used to hyperventilate, but not anymore. In my early 20's the hyperventilation was replaced with the numbness and one time I went completely numb from my head down and was unable to walk. My parents took me to the hospital and it was a panic attack and my feeling came back after about 4 hrs. I find if I just lay there and let it do its thing, then the attack won't last as long. It's when you panic it gets worse. I also usually get them right after waking up from sleep - like the one I had this morning.

I also had in my early 20's a problem where I had too much adrenaline at certain times and it would feel like my head was going to blow off. It would go for days and I wouldn't be able to eat or sleep - just pace back an forth, rock, exercise - anything to get rid of the excess energy. They put me on a Depakote which stabilized me and put me on an even keel. I had a lot of panic attacks during that time too.

An Aspie is going to have to explain meltdowns.

I am unsure if I ever experienced full blown anxiety attack (I do get the small ones - I feel anxiety without any reason, especially in the evenings - but I know it's just anxiety and everything is fine so it never turns into the "I am about to die because my hearth is beating too fast and I can't breath!" thing - it only reaches the stage of a funny feeling in stomach and fast breathing unless I let it get to me by thinking about anxiety provoking things).

But I experienced a lot of full blown meltdowns. At least I call them so.
My memory about them is not so good though because I tend to forget the worst parts after a while. However the emotions that I feel during a meltdown are not like the ones during my small anxiety attacks. Sure, I can get anxious - about how people see me, about losing control, about not having enough control - but it's anxiety caused by specific worries and directly related to them, not a body induced one.
The dominant emotion is frustration, helplessness. I don't know what to do with myself, I want to hit stuff, yell but I know it won't help so I just cry and rock, sometimes hitting or throwing a pillow or hurting myself (squeezing my arms) if I can't hold the urge anymore. I feel like everything is unfair and overwhelming. My efforts are never enough but I can't help it. Fear - if appears - adds to the emotional mix but is not the main fuel of a meltdown. Anger is.