Trying to sleep, breathing and palpitations

[Anxious_gal]

I 1st got this symptom 4 years ago, I was trying to get to sleep, but I kept feeling like I wasn't breathing too good , neck and chest felt tight.
When I would start to drift off it felt like my body forgot to breathe , then I would wake up fully and remember to breathe.
I went to the doctor who sent me to the hospital where they kept me over night. They just said I was having palpitations.

These aren't the usual palpitations you can feel though, I just get all the above symptoms.
The same thing happened again this year but they said it was sinus thacycardia meaning my heart rate was too fast.

Now I've being trying to sleep all night but as I start to drift off it's like I stop breathing which makes me panic, my heart races. I breathe Then I drift off again because I'm so tired and the cycle continues.

My chest feels like it is vibrating , my Heart is irregular but is Only 55 beats a minute.

I hate the odd suffocating feeling, making my self breathe, awareness of my breathing.
Hate being stuck in the horrible cycle.
Desperate for some sleep :(

[eva82]

It's crazy how many of us on here are having this same sensation! It must be very common with anxiety...it just feels so unnatural to be aware of your breath all the time! I am trying to work on this with deep abdominal breathing excerises my therapist suggested. Been doing it for three days now but still feel the same. He says it takes a lot of practice to retrain your body to breathe in a relaxed state after getting in the bad habit of short, shallow anxious breathing I've been doing for so long. Have you heard of hyperventilation syndrome? I think I have this because I have almost all the symptoms which include lightheadness, tightness around the chest or throat, tingling in various parts of he body and so much more. Here's a link to an article about it..gives some tips of how to overcome it:

http://reviveyourlife.com/inspiration-and-wellness/do-you-suffer-from-hyperventilation-syndrome/

Hope this helps a bit! Xx