Night time panic attack

[Jaynie69]

Hi everybody,
I'm a newbie who is experiencing anxiety at a higher level than I've felt before.  I have been on and off anti-deppressant and anti-anxiety medication for around 14 years and am currently using Effexor XR.  I haven"t had a panic attack since I miscarried my first child 14 years ago and would carry a brown paper bag around with me everywhere I went to breathe into if I felt an attack coming on.  However, just lately I have been experiencing the classic symtoms of panic disorder - chest pain, indigestion/nausea, lump in throat, tingling, etc.  But for the first time ever I had an attack in my sleep and it scared me to death.  All I could hear was the beat of my heart, but I couldn't move a muscle, I couldn't aven draw a breath - I was completely paralysed and couldn't even move any limbs to nudge my husband awake!!  I thought my husband would just wake up to a cold corpse in the morning.  I'm feeling like abit of a freak and would love to hear from anyone who has had this sensation.  Cheers,  Jayne from Oz

[Jaynie69]

Well I must say I was over-whelmed with your quick responses.  Although I wouldn't wish this on anybody, I was comforted by the fact that SSSOOOOOOOOO many people deal with this problem.  During the day I can keep relatively controlled, but find I have the constant tingling and pain in shoulders and chest.  Mainly Financial and typical stress of bringing up family as well as sick grandmother has come and bitten me severely in the butt.  I am abit of a control freak and a perfectionist, so I think my body is telling me to slow down or it will drop the ball for me!!!  While it amazes me how the body functions under stress, I would rather do without it.
I am going to Doc next week so I will let you know what happens.
Love to everyone and comforting we are definitely not all alone.  Cheers xx

[SmokinDuby]

Oh.man...
I.woke.up.in.panic.a.LOT.for.sometime.
Sometimes.I.would.wake.up.with.my.heart.pounding.jump.out.of.bed...
and.go.right.back.to.bed..
like.I.was.half.asleep.it.was.weird.
(no.spacebar)

[toejam_muncher]

well really it doesn't sound like a panic attack to me. i have had many panic attacks ruin my nights sleep. for 2 straight weeks i slept on the couch because of them...which doesn't sound drastic for some people but i slept there because i was in constant fear, etc. and i really didn't get much sleep. anyway, what you describe sounds like something else that happens during REM sleep called sleep paralysis. some even suggest this is the cause of 'alien abduction' cases. in any event...do a search on it and read about it. it's normal to experience that once in a while. i have...and it is terrifying because you really do feel paralized...but what's worse is it can mix in with a bad dream and since you're right on the border of being asleep and awake, it feels very real. that said, maybe it's just anxiety but the way you described it sounded like what i mentioned. if it doesn't happen again...then just ask your doctor about it next time you see them. describe your symptoms. if it does happen again it wouldn't hurt to go see a doctor...especially if you have breathing issues associated with it.

[azqtpies]

well I have many issues but dealt with panis attacks for 20 years.. I am suffering from bad depression and anxiety right now and Yep  the night time anxiety has returned.. i fell like I cant breathe well when I get in bed or ly down... I find myself feel like i get waking up taking deep breaths throughout the night !!! it freaks me out I think of my god I can breathe maybe i have lung problems,.. sometime when I try and just breath through my nose i feel like my lungs wheeze sometimes but if I breathe through my mouth its ok!... many nights I have woke up prior to this time with my heart just racing , skipping beats and shaking and having a hard time breathing! I hate hospitals and fear thme terribly so I dont go unless I have too many time I have  taken the drive to only sit in the parking lot incase it gets so bad I cant breathe a t all!.

I wish there were some magic cure for all  this anxiety, or a big reason why so we can all heal from this maddness we create ourselves! that is the worst part. Please know I understand and feel your fear and pain, I sure hope this helps to know that others have the same feelings and fears and symptoms..... I hope you feel better soon! me too =)

[cj29]

Panic attacks can come at any time in my experience.  They also decide when and how intense they want to be as well...pretty rude of panic in my opinion.  When I was going through this, nights could be especially hard.  When we are in bed there is not much to distract us from what is going on in our minds unlike the day when we are busy.  Furthermore, after being constantly on guard all day, it would definitely take a toll on my both physically and mentally and it seemed as if I was conditioned to wake up in the middle of the night with a bad case of anxiety.

Throughout all of this, have you been going to see a counselor about this?  For me, learning about why I was always on edge enabled to be accept it and confront it.  Knowledge is definitley power when it comes to dealing with this....keep us posted!

[EroToo]

I was waking up with panic attacks for a few months, then my panic attacks came back in full a few weeks ago.  I was almost panic free for about 15 years and suddenly, panic all over.  My meds are changed now and I am fighting daily to keep the shortness of breath under control.  I already went to the ER and to the Breath and Lung Institute just to make sure I wasn't dying.  Hopefully, my new meds will get me to where I was before instead of dwelling on myself.  Those nighttime attacks scared the s*** out of me.  Should've been a sign that they were are their way back.

Hope you feel better.

Karen