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Anyone suffer from Panic/Anxiety Attacks during sleep?

I'm 19 and i think i've been waking up from having panic attacks in my sleep :(
My Anxiety is pretty bad, there's not a day that goe's by that i don't feel anxious.
I did have a serious fear of dying in my sleep, and i think this sudden fear which i didn't know could happen (i read it somewhere) triggered the Anxiety, and it's just got worse since. The fear has calmed down though since having an ECG which came back all clear, now it's just the Anxiety about other things.
I suffer from panic attacks regulary but only last week did i feel like i actually was dying when i woke up in the early morning with a racing heart, dizziness, feeling of not being able to breathe, shakiness and nausea, and just that dreadful feeling of dying, it was awful!
I sat up and tried to calm myself down, then once i did i got a glass of water then struggled to fall back to sleep.
I do suffer from sleep problems, i rarely go to sleep before 2am, i have so much energy at night that i could easily be up all night and sleep all day, so my body clock is all over the place and i constantly feel exhausted.
Since the first panic attack it's happened 3 more time's. Now i can't fall to sleep properly, i'm scared of waking up having a panic attack =/ It's just so not fair, i'm trying to get better but it's always something.
Am i definately having panic attacks during my sleep which is waking me up?
I cannot stand all this anymore!
x
18 Responses
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Avatar universal
Help! My sister just turned 16 and was at a colorgaurd competition and had an anxiety attack! All I know is now she's said she saw dead people and is compacting with them! Help! Is she crazy? Wat can I do to help!??!?! HELP NOW PLEASE!!!!
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Avatar universal
Someone help now please! My sister is 16 and had an anxiety attack last night and now is seeing dead people! Is se crazy? PLEASE RESPOND!!!!!D:
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1295419 tn?1276822872
I have had many panic attacks that have woken me from my sleep. Oftentimes, I will be extremely disoriented when I wake up and feel the need to "get away," whether that means go outside, go drive around, something. Often I will want to go to the ER because I am SURE that I am having a heart attack but my husband usually calms me down from that. Since I have started Lexapro, my panic attacks have went away.

Best of luck :)
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Avatar universal
every night I think its gonna happen to me, I have to stay up until sleep over comes me, because if I try to go to sleep it happens, if I dont try, it usually doesn't happen I've called the er because I woke up with rapid heart beat I was really dizzy I couldn't talk or breath I was really scared. when they got to my house they.put me in the back of the ambulance, gave me oxygen and I felt better as soon as I hit the oxygen. all my blood was good, blood pressure alittle high. but not to bad. they told me I have anxiety. if this is what anxiety is, Maby this is really what it fills like to die, I really need to get my life on the right track, because this really fills like u can die from it.
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Avatar universal
  My son wakes up with panic, several times during the hour or so that he's trying to fall asleep. It seems to be from adrenaline surges, but last night I noticed he wasn't inhaling soon enough after exhaling; it seemed as if his body was forgetting to take in oxygen with every breath. He did fall asleep easier last night though. None of the gasping, blanket clutching adrenaline rushes he's had for the last few months.

Perhaps the B6 and tryptophan cream is actually doing something for him. I guess I'll have him keep using it, until there's a reason not to. He felt much better yesterday, no anxiety at all.  :)
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Avatar universal
I have the feeling that if I wake up, I will die...this is hard because you cant stop yourself from waking up...I wake up with panic even with a nap in the afternoon...I will wake up and run...now I fear bed, sleep (somnophobia) I twitch...especially my arms around my elbows...but anywhere...I have been to the emergency room because I have developed a fear of certain diseases (I can't even write their names). My neurologist bless him, wrote on a peice of paper for me to read that I don't have that disease....I drink, I am a cyberchondriac and I don't know if I can keep going....but I will. :) I had an episode like this 15 years ago and had lots of good years...keep going, the body is an odd thing...
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Avatar universal
Awwww bless him!
My cousin had a very small pituitary cyst for goodness how many year's without even knowing, it was found by a CT Scan or MRI (cannot remember now) which was checking to make sure nothing else was causing her migrane's (which were nowhere near where the pituitary gland is) but her's didn't cause any symptom's that were noticeable enough, but she did have a slight hormone change and her cyst was treated by medication.
Yeah i hope the surgery will help him :) And it should make all his other problem's disappear too, well i hope it doe's.
It must be terrible for him to have all these problem's including the Anxiety and Panic Attack's so young, Anxiety as it is is not exactly a pleasant thing to go through.
My Mum think's one part of my Anxiety might of been triggered by me going on the Contraceptive Pill, and my severe fear of dying came 4 month's after i started taking it, but for many year's before i had other Anxiety symptom's without realising, hmmm.
Well like i said, i hope all this goe's for your family :)

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Avatar universal
  My son is 13. His pituitary symptoms began when he was eight, but the doctors didn't figure it out for almost 3 years.
The cyst is causing hormone loss from compression of the gland. It is called "non-secreting", or non-functional, meaning it is not causing hormone excess.
Thank you for your concern. It's been a difficult time for us, but I am hopeful the surgery will resolve most, if not all of his health problems. This "panic and anxiety thing" is a new and disturbing symptom of his hormone imbalances. The poor kid's been through enough already!

I do hope you resolve your own anxiety mystery very soon.
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Avatar universal
Oh my god your poor son! Sorry that you're going through this! Must be awful for both of you, bless.
How old is your son?
And all this is caused by the Pituitary Cyst? Cos i know they can cause problems or no problems at all.
I know calming down and relaxing isn't always helpful but i do find myself it help's my Anxiety, i really do have to be relaxed and not be thinking about thing's for me to feel 'normal', it is hard.
I really hope your son get's better though!

x
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Avatar universal
    Unfortunately, if you are having panic attacks, trying to calm down and relax isn't enough to correct the problem. My son suffered a prolonged panic attack last night. He just got home from three days in hospital. It's a long story, but he had to have another MRI to see if his pituitary cyst is growing, and because of several factors, (adrenal insufficiency, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, etc.) MRI machines have become a source of severe anxiety for him. So he has to be sedated, AND given anesthesia for MRI's. This was the trigger for his first panic attack. HE was severely stressed. They gave him a large dose of Valium, 50mgs of cortisone to cover the adrenal stress, and then the anesthesia (don't know what kind).

Anyway, I went online to try and help him last, and was reading about valium, panic attacks, brain neurotransmitters, tryptophan, serotonin, vitamin B6 deficiency (which he has), hypoglycemia (which can be a problem associated with adrenal fatigue) and more.
Strangely, a topical tryptophan cream I ordered months ago and never received, arrived by mail while we were at the hospital.

So, I slathered the cream on him, gave him a bit of sugar and 100 mgs. of vitamin B6.
He soon became very sleepy and was able to sleep without much trouble.
Now of course I am curious, and hopeful that this will help him again tonight, if there is a problem. He has developed a very irregular heart rhythm with all of this and he is very worried. So am I. His cyst is bigger, and he will need surgery soon.


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Avatar universal
Sorry took a while to reply was watching the grand national (horse rasing) but sadly a horse callasped and died from a heart attack =|
I'm not sure on heart beat's, but i think you should stop measuring your's :) Just calm down and a take some deep breaths.
Just because you have high blood pressure doesn't mean your gonna have a heart attack.
I hope you feel better soon!

x
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Avatar universal
Thank you! I feel better already. My docs office called me just now and the nurse also said that it sounds like a panic attack. Ive been measuring my heartbeats all morning and they are between 74-81 beats. That's normal right? I have a follow up on Tueday anyway. But I feel so much better now. Thanks for the support.
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Avatar universal
Awww bless ya! Yeah i think you had a panic attack!
You're just like me, you obsess over the worst, like as soon as i get a headache i think it's something serious and i constantly think about it and make myself feel worse.
I always worry about my heart too, and i still worry about dying suddenly, like because i'm not that active i worry that if i start running my heart won't cope and i'll have a heart attack.
I worry about everything, and i'm even worried that i suffer from high blood pressure or that i will get it, i'm so obsessed about my health.
If you had an ECG/EKG and it came back fine you've got nothing to worry about, i have to constantly tell myself that, young people or any general young-ish person can die suddenly from a heart attack and it's usually the heart rhythm fault, and an ECG/EKG will detect any abnormal heart rhythm instantly.
So you just need to calm down :) And tell yourself your fine you had a panic attack in your sleep or just a night sweat, try doing something to take your mind of it that's what i'm going to do.
I know it's hard, it's shocking what Anxiety can actually do to you =/ x
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Avatar universal
I think I had a panic attack last night in my sleep for the first time ever!  (I have them all the time but only during the day). I woke up at midnight because I heard my phone vibrating. I didnt recognize the number so I tried to go back to sleep. Except I noticed that I felt like I couldnt breathe normally so I tossed and turned for an hour. I finally got up and realized my heart was racing. I was also drenched in sweat! You dont know how much I wanted to run to the ER. The fact that I am a single mom with an 8 yr old and no one to watch her in the middle of the night is the only thing that stopped me. In the meantime I sat there and thought about all the horrible things that could happen to me. It was a horrible night. No amount of deep breathing would slow down my heart rate. I was also recently diagnosed with high blood pressure which I am constantly obsessing about. My doctor suggested exercise instead of medicine for now and I have a follow up in May. At that time based on my blood pressure he will determine if I should be put on medicine. There is no history of high blood pressure in my family or heart problems. My dad does have it now but it has developed because of old age. Ive been constantly checking my heart rate since 1 AM now. I was afraid to fall back asleep but at some point I felt myself calm done enough and sleep over took me. I did however fall asleep sitting up on my couch. I went to the ER a few weeks ago because of high blood pressure and they did an EKG and they said it was perfect but now I cant help but obsess and think that there is something wrong with my heart. Ive already called my docs office this morning and am waiting for a call back. I hate this....I hate constantly worrying and obsessing about something being wrong with me. When I work out I usually feel really good, more relaxed but now that my heart was racing Im afraid to go to the gym this morning for fear Ill have a heart attack while on the treadmill!!
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Avatar universal
Thanks for the replie's :)
Yeah i do exercise more than what i used to cos i suffer from bad posture so my physio who i see every 2 weeks gives me exercise's to help it, and i take occasional walks.
I have seen a Psychologist who referred me to see a councellor at my Doctor's surgery cos her waiting list was like a year long.
I know i will get better gradually it's just at the mo i feel like when i do start to get a bit better something else happen's and i'm back to square one again!
I am going to see my Doctor in a few weeks so i will obviously mention all my problems including the sleep one so i'll see what she say's, i hope she doe's more than just higher my dose of Beta Blockers.
Owww i've never heard of adrenal hormone inbalance? Ermmm nope i don't drink alot at all, all i really drink is water and maybe a glass a coke, i don't like coffee.
It all sound's very confusing, i could ask my doctor about this, i'm not sure if we have all that available easily in the U.K :S
Yeah i know i'm scared to go to sleep because of having a Panic Attack, but in general i do have problems falling to sleep anyway.
I think i just need to relax when trying to fall to sleep, stop being anxious and thinking about things, it's very hard though.
Xo
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849763 tn?1238826665
Hello,

    I have suffered from panic attacks during sleep as well. I have had them so bad sometimes that when I woke from them, I would be drinched in sweat and blue as a blue berry. I have not associated this with sleeping. I think that you have associated your panic attacks due to fear of sleep. Sleep deprevation is a common thing dont get me wrong. But it seems that many people that have anxiety relate panic attack occurances to having panic attacks. For Example: If you were to have a panic attack in your shower at night. You would be less likely to take another shower at night? True or False. This might be the case with your sleeping habbits as well. If you find it to be a problem ask a doctor how to cope with your attacks after you have them. This well help a bunch.

                                            - JOKERSOUTH
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Avatar universal
     It sounds like you have a high adrenal cortisol level in the evening, and may be experiencing some hypoglycemia from adrenal hormone imbalance. Do you drink a lot of energy drinks, or coffee, or other heavily caffeinated beverages?
If you can afford a few blood tests, you might consider seeing an endocrinologist for an adrenal function exam, or even a nutritionist, who can also do a cortisol level test.

My son is suffering from this, because of a more serious condition. He has adrenal insufficiency, secondary to (caused by) pituitary disease.

I strongly recommend getting several cortisol tests done, both serum (blood draw) and 24 hour urine test. Panic attacks due to adrenal dysfunction are fairly common.
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Avatar universal
have you considered asking your doctor about a sleep study?
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