2am panic... again

[henri]

hi everyone,

sorry to keep posting at the moment, i am having a bit of a bad phase.
i keep waking up in a panic at exactly five minutes to two (!) i usually have wine with my dinner at the moment and sometimes i over do it, which would explain the night panic, but then sometimes it just happens for no reason. i know i've posted about this before and i'm sorry to keep repeating myself, but it makes me feel so terrible. i have a couple of questions and i'd be really grateful if anyone could answer them for me, then that way i can just print out the thread and re-read it for reassurance in the future:

1. Can you die from panic (or alcohol) induced palpitations?

2. When you wake up from a panic like that, what's the best thing to do? lie in bed feeling like you're going to die? or is it better to just take some sort of medication (diazepam etc) and try and get back to sleep?

3. Can you take diazepam when you've got about half a bottle of wine floating around your system?

4. Why do i keep waking up at exactly the same time in the middle of the night, regardless of what time i fall asleep?

i would be so happy for any advice or reassurance. sorry to keep repeating myself.

henri x

[eeyorelover]

Hi Henri,
I am so sorry to hear that you are having a hard time right now :(
I have never heard of anyone who died from panic but it sure can make you feel that way sometimes - huh? It took me a long time to get it thru my head that I wasn't going to either pass out or die from the anxiety!!! But here I am after 14 years of this and I am still alive and kicking and getting a little better every day thank you very much
I have heard of alcohol poisoning but it doesn't sound like you are drinking enough to cause that.
As far as how to handle the panic in the middle of the night I have had some experience with this and what worked for me was tensing and then relaxing each part of my body starting with my feet and working my way up to my head. It would take my mind off the panic and it really did help.
As far as taking diazepam with alcohol I would say not such a great idea. It increases the risk of seizures.
I don't know why you are waking up at the same time every night. Maybe you should try to change what time you go to bed and see if that helps. Sometimes a change in routine can help you sleep thru the nite better. Maybe a nice hot bath or reading a book would help. I have done this meditation thing on the net that someone on here suggested and it really helped me alot so here's the link for that ...http://www.meditainment.com/free/download.cfm

You never have to be sorry for posting anything on here. We are all here to support each other!!!
I hope it helps and I hope that you are feeling better real soon!!!

Your friend,



Sandy
(eeyorelover)

If the world didn't suck... we'd all fall off

[feege]

Hi henri

This kept happening to me and I have had to stop drinking... it did happen sometimes when I didn't drink but mainly it was after an evening out or something - always exactly two hours after I went to sleep. And I'm only talking about a couple of drinks (even a pint of weak lager!).

I think there is a chemical reason for the amount of time after stopping drinking - I'm sure I read it somewhere but can't remember the details... It was so frustrating, the drink would make me feel so much more relaxed, normal and happy but every bloomin time I'd wake up in a panic...

I am reduced now to odd half of lager in the early evening and that feels like a risk!

I think it's something to do with generalised anxiety, adrenalin levels and how your liver or kidneys are working or something!

I try not to take anything but you can have a little diazepam if you can't get back to sleep - I use nitrazepam when I get desperate. The other thing I find helps is eating something.

I've never been a big drinker but I do resent not being able to have a glass or two of wine when I go for a meal or a couple of beers on a Friday night with friends without being up the whole night freaking out!

You're certainly not alone Henri! I have convinced myself it's just a phase as I have a friend in her 60s who was like this for ages but it doesn't happen any more!

And you definitely will not die from it despite how horrendous it feels - I have been doing it for years and years and I'm in my 50s now, and I smoke and I have other health problems but it ain't killed me yet!!!!

Hope you feel better xxxxxxxxxxxx

Fee xxxxxx
www.like2like.com

Why live life anticipating the bad things when you could be anticipating the good?
Good and bad things WILL happen!

[henri]

Thanks for replying you two.

It's funny how sometimes you re-read a post you wrote while in a panic and it seems so melodramatic and ridiculous! But it all feels so real when it's happening...

I am not a heavy drinker particularly (although i used to be, when i was a student). I had to stop drinking completely when my panic first started and I used to really resent not being able to have a glass of wine with my dinner, so i totally see where you are coming from Fee. Since my panic has calmed down it has been like a sort of challenge for me to get back to the stage where i could have a glass or two and be fine. But it's obviously not working out so i might have to accept it and stay off the sauce for a while.

I really appreciate your responses, honestly i felt so alone and scared and upset last night. You know that thing where it's night time and you just want to wave a magic wand and make it day time. But, as usual, I had a bit of a funny sleep and i feel much better now.

Thanks again lovely Sandy and Fee xxx

[pips]

Hi Henri,

I found that I used to wake up at the same time to. It's like once you get into that pattern your brains like an alarm clock and it keeps waking you up at that same bloody time! GRRR :(

When I wake up in a panic now. I take some Bach flower remedy and just try to focus on breathing and relaxing. try to think of anything that's a distraction.

The amount I have spent at Tescos etc as I do my weekly shopping in my head! The trouble is then I get up and have to write it down as i might forget![Oops!] LOL

Then I have to go for a pee as i can seem to last the whole night without one! My continence isn't what it was now I'm 32! (Really sure you wanted to know that sorry! [:O] LOL.)

Well I haven't been much help at all there really! [Duh!]

What I can say is that you won't die though honest hun! No matter how panicky you feel.

Take Care hun

Love PIP'S X X X X

[Piglet]

Hi hun,

This is soooo common even non anxious people who may have disturbed sleeping patterns report its nearly always at the same time. Probably something to do with the different sleep waves we have - is it called REM or something?

I thought I read once that you wouldn't have a heart attack while panicking because all that adrenline is boosting it up - so it's the opposite really!!

Can't talk about if it's ok to have a diazapam if you have a little drink still inside you as I don't know but think Fee may have addressed that.

We all have these funny night time panics from time to time - I had trouble getting off to sleep at all last night as felt so wired but funny thing I was so flippin tired I fell asleep half through it - think that panic attack must have been so cross cos I just didnt give it its normal attention.

It's just a phase mate - it will go just the same way it came.

Love Piglet x

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

[feege]

lol henri - I always laugh that I'm the only person in Brighton who has a drink problem which means I have to try and drink more!!!!

Just out of interest I had a half of bitter shandy today - bizarre old fashioned drink and it was scrummy - so I may start building up from there[8D].

My cbt counsellor told me to stop beating myself up because I had a bad night after a pint of lager a couple of weeks ago - it's totally ok to want to feel normal enough to have a social drink sometimes - honest[:I]

I have been waking up at 5 regularly lately, feeling rotten (not quite a panic but usually with a bad tummy etc.) and I have been doing visualisations of myself sleeping throuh the night and waking refreshed at 7.30 (because I am trying to get myself back to work next week) and do you know it's starting to work - it was 6.30 yesterday and 7 today - worth trying eh?

Hope you sleep well tonight henri! xxx

Fee xxxxxx
www.like2like.com

Why live life anticipating the bad things when you could be anticipating the good?
Good and bad things WILL happen!

[petegms]

im glad your feeling better! This has happened to me alot after a night of drinking, its such a terrible feeling. When i do drink now i try and drink a couple glasses of water and eat some bread before sleeping, it usually helps most of the time.