I woke up this morning at my usual time, 5:00. I noticed when I got out of bed I felt especially tired and just really wanted to go back to bed. But, I went into the bathroom and while I was in there I noticed my heart was beating sort of fast. It does that sometime in the morning when I get up. I touched my pulse and it was a little fast but not too bad. Then when I "got up" I noticed my heart started skipping beats, it seemed to do it over and over again. Well, I got really scared and that woke me up instantly. Then, my heart just took off and started beating REAL fast. I don't really know how fast, but it was pretty darn fast (I'd estimate 150 or so). I started panicking and also trying to talk myself down, saying the fluttering had just scared me, everything is OK. I got some water and took a .5 Xanax and a 10 mg Inderal. It kept going like that for a few minutes and then when I sat down on the couch it started gradually going down and then went down to normal. Well, I was totally freaked out. I am having an unusual amount of stress lately and have had some pretty bad things happen to myself and my family. When the fluttering was happening, I touched my pulse and it was regular but fast. Wonder if this was panic or something terrible wrong with my heart. I do have a history of panic and used to have them all the time in the morning - why would it start back now? Also, I've been trying to wean off Xanax and it has been going OK - I have noticed an increase in palps but not too bad. Could the weaning cause extra anxiety, causing panic? I am scared, guys.