Wake in the night detached from body and reality

[keonsmommie]

Every so often I wake up in the middle of the night, seemingly 4 hours after I go to bed, I use the rest room, and lay back down. The first thing I notice is that I start thinking really weird almost deranged thoughts that are blanketed in fear. Then my hands and my feet get very hot then this fades into complete nothingness NOT TINGLING My body is not asleep feeling, it feels like my body is just gone. Then I notice the only thing I feel is extremely shallow breathing in my lungs, and I feel my neck and feel a barley there pulse. Then I start just knowing that I am going to die. But I cant think straight enough to call for help. So I just lay there and wait to slowly fade away. Then about 10 minutes or so later I slowly start to feel my hands and feet again, then the rest comes back and I am freezing cold. I start to warm up in a few seconds, and then my mind seems to return to normal and only then can I fall back to sleep feeling completely exhausted. It is hard to describe exactly how it feels, but it is terrifying and very problematic. I am always afraid to go to sleep because I don't want to wake to this anymore. PS It is not sleep paralasis because I can move if I even think that deeply.

[keonsmommie]

Thank you so much for your answer I have never even heard of that! My doctor wanted to blow it off as anxiety, which it may be, but I just get a feeling like I want to make sure of it. What botherd me about that diagnosis was that, if I was having an anxiety attack, wouldn't my blood pressure be higher? And I thought that my heart beat would feel stronger, but mine feels really weak. Wow, my mother has a bloodpressure device, and my blood pressure is often 90/53 or so. At first I thought it was wrong, but she checked hers and it was just how it should be. Now, my doc always takes my blood pressure and doesn't say anything or seem concerned. Maybe my pressure isn't always low, perhaps it falls suddenly and that is why I feel so odd. Again you have helped me out a ton. I will go today and grab one of those blood pressure moniters you spoke of. At least that way I can take my pressure at the time and save the result to show my PC. Thanks again, and I hope that you are feeling better too!

[quintby]

Borrow or buy a home blood pressure measurer and take your BP during waking hours, during "normal" night hours and during one of your 'spells'.  I had dreams waking up, not similar in content but strange enough to be frightening. I'd get out of bed and my kneews would buckle and I'd want to yell help. I found out the hard way that at least part of my problem was delusions arising due to severe hypotension. It was not sending enough blood to my brain. Eventually I went into shock.
Before then neither my wife nor I had ever heard about hypotensive delusions so we downplayed it.