Need help figuring out what these attacks are

[Fightinganxiety]

I have been in an anxiety/panic crisis for the last week. Not able to eat or sleep much so I am weak and exhausted.
I have developed these weird attacks primarily at night that have prevented me from getting a decent night sleep for at least 3 days now. At first, I thought it was my sugar or blood pressure acting up due to the anxiety/panic attacks and lack of sleep. But I’m not sure anymore

The symptoms I have is that I am being woken up 4-5 times at night by this wave or surge of this overwhelming sensariom that makes my heart beat fast, gives me nauseas, makes me shaky and hot and feeling exhausted. The whole episode lasts about 5 min or so. This happens every 1:30-2 hrs.
I went to the doctor on Friday and brought it up but my doctor only instructed me to raise the dosage of the lexapro And klonopin I’m already taking. It hasn’t helped much.

I did a search in this forum and some people seem to have experienced similar symptoms that they describe as adrenaline surges. I don’t really know if that is what is happening to me.
I’m hoping to hear about other people that have experienced similar symptoms to mine and hopefully figure out what is going on or bring more information to my doctor  

Please help. I’m exhausted and in desperate need of sleep.

Thank you.

[Flygirl2478]

I'm sorry  I hear this! I can certainly relate. Dealt with similar symptoms for a long time.
Has anyone ever mentioned to get your adrenals checked? It's something that most doctors won't even think about. I finally found a doctor that said it's the first thing that should be checked.
It's a blood test to check your cortisol levels, and if it's abnormal then it could indicate adrenal fatigue.
I am actually in the process of studying natural medicine so I have a few solutions for this.
In addition, this may sound crazy but I found completely cutting out gluten helped immensely! It took a few weeks to really notice a difference (as it stays in your system for a long time) but i was sleeping a lot better, and not having any panic attacks.
Other things you could try is stretching 30 min before bed, drinking herbal teas such as chamomile, marshmallow root, or licorice.
Hope this helps a little

[Paxiled]

Well, licorice is actually a stimulant and taking it regularly can cause high blood pressure.  Marshmallow is good for clearing out congestion, but it won't do much for relaxation.  You're right, the adrenals are involved in anxiety -- but the signals are not sent by the adrenals, they are sent by the amygdyla in the primitive brain that tells the adrenals to do what they do.  There are herbs that can help balance the adrenals, but if you truly have adrenal fatigue, you probably have a thyroid problem.  Holy basil is an adaptogen that is very good at lowering cortisol levels, but as it also can lower blood sugar, it can make a person a bit tired when it wears off and if the adrenals are overstressed it might give someone more energy for a time.  Other herbs used are ashwagandha and eleuthero.  As to the poster, since from your new post it's not the klonopin that's the problem, it appears the Lexapro might be pooping out.  You can try increasing the dose and if that doesn't work, you probably need to find an alternative solution or a different med.  Good luck.

[Paxiled]

Sometimes drugs poop out.  When benzos poop out, called reaching tolerance, they can make anxiety much worse.  People describing adrenaline surges really don't know that the adrenal gland is doing anything different, they just use the term and often incorrectly.  If raising your dosages solves the problem, then they did probably poop out.  Remember that if you're taking your benzo every day it is an addictive drug and that means that for some people they will need to keep taking more of it for it to keep working -- you take it to avoid withdrawal, not because it works better.  This doesn't happen to everyone, but it's the same thing that causes heroin addicts to keep needing to take more to feel the same.  Antidepressants can also stop working.  But this could also be something physiological, and I'm a bit surprised your doctor didn't give you a thorough exam of things like your thyroid and a host of other things that can cause problems that sound like anxiety.  This is one of the problems of using doctors for mental illness instead of psychiatrists and keeping your doctors for your other needs, which they are better at.  

[Fightinganxiety]

I don’t take klonopin regularly. I only take it on as needed basis. Before this crisis started a week ago, it has been at least one year that I had not taken it. Even now, i had only taken about .25 mg 2-3 times. I have taken 10mg of lexapro everyday for about 10 yrs. I have never been in this type of anxiety/panic crisis before. Usually, I would have a panic attack one day and it would take me another day to recover as it usually happens at night so I don’t get much sleep. The. I’m fine and it could be months or years before I have another one. However, since this past June I’ve had panic attacks more often and then this last week I had one that

[specialmom]

This sounds like increasing anxiety and panic to me.  How long have you taken Lexapro and klonapin?  I'm sorry this has happened.  Have you begun increasing your antidepressant dose as your doctor instructed?