waking at 4am

[austinali66]

I know a lot of you have posted about this but finding it so hard at the moment. I crave the ability to sleep and am tired in the evening. I fall asleep ok but then 4am, I am awake and panicky. Racing heart, sickness and retching, worried about coping with another day. I just can't get back to sleep. It's so frightening because then I worry so much about what's going on in my life and all health worries. It's the most lonely, desperate part of the day. It doesn't make any difference if I have had a sleeping tablet or not. Anyone got ways to stop this early wake up. I almost dread going to bed.

[nicola1980]

Hi i could have wrote this myself, this happens to me everyday even if ive took a sleeping tab aswel and i have the exact same symptons as u apart from the past 3 mornings ive had full blown awful panic attacks aswel :-( its horrible x x

[zippy]

Me too i had a diazapem and an amitriptyline the last few nights and i still wake up after about 4-5hrs and for the first few seconds i feel calm and then i think oh no what do i feel like,and then cant get back to sleep. I start feeling sick and have a tight feeling in my stomach all day.

[austinali66]

Hi nicola and zippy, thank you for replies. Are you 2 taking meds, I am about 6 weeks into fluoexetine. I am struggling to look after my kids and husband doesn't understand.

[nicola1980]

Ive been taking citalopram for 8 wks but going bk to the doc tomo as cant carry on like this, im struggling being a good mum 2 x x

[zippy]

I take amitriptyline at night and i had a few diazepam as emergency and i have took a couple last week but even with them i am waking after 4-5hrs sleep. My doc has just prescribed citalopram and i going to start on them tomorrow. I have been on fluoxetine in the past for depression but the doc i saw on friday said citalopram were better for anxiety.

[austinali66]

What is it about 4am, lots of people seem to wake then. It seems so cruel for a depressed and anxious person to be awake at this time. How do u cope?

[petram]

me too this am !!! grrr all i needed after a awfull day too .!!! xx :(

[empowered]

yep, I'm a 4am person as well:mad: I call it the "night nadgers" when the negative thoughts and feelings come flooding in. Actually, I think there is a scientific reason for this and for the feelings but can't for the heck of it remember where I read it - it also from what I remember mainly affects women. Luckily I've got a bit of control over it now, go to the loo, trip over the cat in the dark, have a glass of water and go back to sleep and wake up shattered around 9am:blush: Luckily I work from home, so my start time in the morning is not important:D

[petram]

lol empowered ..... i actuallt felt ok in myself weird , then stayed up n went back to bed , but hope it dont happen tonight i have to be at work at 7 am!! :( xx

[austinali66]

Good that you can get back to sleep, wish I could.

[petram]

only very light one and it normally quite a anxious sleep . x

[always-ill]

Im another 4am waker, and always have to make a trip to the toilet which wakes me up more, then I cant go back to sleep and start fretting about stuff, my health, job, life in general, but I always manage to nod back off at about 6am, half an hour before my alarm goes....why is that!?!?!

[nicola1980]

I can never go back to sleep i wake up anxious so i go downstairs and then i start retching in the sink (nice) and pacing and then ill go on the laptop or something to try and take my mind off the anxiety but often it doesn't work so im then back at the sink again :weep: and the last 3 mornings ive had awful panic attacks aswel :weep: xx

[austinali66]

Nicola, I'm the same with the retching in the sink, I know its horrible! and pacing. People keep telling me to put tv on and make a hot drink, but i'm not Thinking rationally at that time in morning. I don't want to wake the kids up and then when they get up at 7am for school, I feel panicky that I can't cope with looking after them.

[nicola1980]

thats exactly like me! i don't want to wake my son up and i also can't stomach a hot drink.............i struggle with drinking water in the morning! and then when my son gets up i panic to try and act nomal as hes nearly 11 so is more aware, im going to the docs tomo as really getting to me now :mad: what sleeping tabs do u rake? r u on fb? maybe we could chat on there in the mornings? xx

[slipstream]

I feel for you austinali, one of the hardest things to cope with is having people that don't understand, it makes you feel like their is something wrong with you and no one else can see it. Fueling your anxiety more.

The best advice i could say is to sit your husband down and tell him what you think and how you think it. Tell him what your anxiety thoughts are and what makes them worse. A good thing to do is to get him to read some threads on this site, it a good thought grabber and him reading these will give him a better understanding of it.

Best wishes