waking up unable to breathe, is it nightime panic?

[hamster lady]

Hello everyone

I have been having a really bad time at night with my anxiety and panic attacks and I have woken up a few times recently feeling like I am suffocating, it is absolutely terrifying. I wake up suddenly feeling like I can't breathe and then it takes a while for me to be able to breathe properly again. I then go on to wake over and over again from vivid, disturbing dreams with my heart pounding and sometimes I wake up feeling boiling hot. I have been suffering from this every night for 18 months now and it is showing no signs of getting better. My anxiety and panic attacks have been better during the day but it is a different story at night and it is really bringing me down now.

I spoke to my mum the other day because I was wondering whether I could be possible entering the perimenopause because there is a history of early menopause in my family and I turn 41 this year. Can anxiety cause you to wake up feeling boiling hot in the middle of the night? I am under a lot of stress at the moment because my son is poorly with M.E., my teenage son has depression and my husband is extremely unhappy in his job and I think he too is suffering with depression. It all seems to much for me to cope with at the moment, and with no proper sleep for 18 months I feel like a zombie. I also now have a phobia about my heart and I'm worried that I'm wearing it out with it pounding all night.

I was just wondering whether any of you guys have woken up in the night unable to breathe or with your heart pounding since you have been suffering with panic attacks. I am thinking of going back to my doctor about my horrible symptoms at night, just for some reassurance that my heart is OK or that if it is perimenopause that it is not dangerous to get these symptoms. I have had a blood test for it and it was normal although my doctor did say that it doesn't mean it is not perimenopause because it is difficult to catch in the early stages. I just wish I could go back to how I was, being able to sleep, I don't know how much more I can take of this.

many thanks in advance, hamster lady:weep:

[Emira7]

OMG! I had this 3 times last night, its agonising isn't it :-(

I felt like I was catching my breath which really frightened me..... I have not had night panics for quite some time.

I wish I could say more to help, all I can say is that I know how your feeling and send you a hug
xx

[Rach29]

Me too I get it waing up feeling like you can't breath heart pounding hot flushes its really horrble just try to stay calm and keep tellin yourself you will be ok its just a bit of panic I watch telly or something til it passes then try fallin back to sleep x

[Mindful]

Hello everyone

I have been having a really bad time at night with my anxiety and panic attacks and I have woken up a few times recently feeling like I am suffocating, it is absolutely terrifying. I wake up suddenly feeling like I can't breathe and then it takes a while for me to be able to breathe properly again. I then go on to wake over and over again from vivid, disturbing dreams with my heart pounding and sometimes I wake up feeling boiling hot. I have been suffering from this every night for 18 months now and it is showing no signs of getting better. My anxiety and panic attacks have been better during the day but it is a different story at night and it is really bringing me down now. :hugs: Hello
You really are having a tough time of it. Obviously the doctor is a must, go see him-her to get properly checked out but i have woken many many times gasping for air, heart pounding and went through a stage of having night terrors and a bit of sleep paralysis, i do wake boiling hot but for me thats only just before i am due a period, for me thats a hormone thing, but i have heard many say they wake boiling from anxiety.


I spoke to my mum the other day because I was wondering whether I could be possible entering the perimenopause because there is a history of early menopause in my family and I turn 41 this year. Can anxiety cause you to wake up feeling boiling hot in the middle of the night? I am under a lot of stress at the moment because my son is poorly with M.E., my teenage son has depression and my husband is extremely unhappy in his job and I think he too is suffering with depression. It all seems to much for me to cope with at the moment, and with no proper sleep for 18 months I feel like a zombie. I also now have a phobia about my heart and I'm worried that I'm wearing it out with it pounding all night.
The doc is the best one to ask about the early menopause, i havent reached that point in life yet but from what i have read about the menopause, anxiety attacks- palps- racing heart- cold/hot sweats- shakes- tense chest and so on are very possible during the change ( great, something to look forward to lol) so its difficult to know if its normal panic or panic brought on my hormones, for those who are going though the change. Either way it is still horrible and scary.


I was just wondering whether any of you guys have woken up in the night unable to breathe or with your heart pounding since you have been suffering with panic attacks. I am thinking of going back to my doctor about my horrible symptoms at night, just for some reassurance that my heart is OK or that if it is perimenopause that it is not dangerous to get these symptoms. I have had a blood test for it and it was normal although my doctor did say that it doesn't mean it is not perimenopause because it is difficult to catch in the early stages. I just wish I could go back to how I was, being able to sleep, I don't know how much more I can take of this.

many thanks in advance, hamster lady:weep:


I know that in my world of panic, waking gasping or unable to breath with a racing heart is common. My advice would be to deffo go get checked by the doc, then if it turns out its good old night panic then work on letting those horrible sensations wash over you. Remember that while we sleep our mind churns over all our thoughts and feelings from the day-s before, we may well be asleep and unaware but our mind is still ticking away and the brain is always ready to kick start a panic episode.

Think of it like this- You are in bed, asleep, a car outside back fires with a loud bang- it startles you awake ( the loud noise outside kick started your fear reaction, this will of happened before the noise even ended, its very quick and with good reason)- your heart beats fast- you catch your breath for a second or two- (you might not notice this though if you arent prone to anxiety) but we do! lol ......all natural and fine, we realise the loud bang outside startled us..we clam down and drift off to sleep.. we probably have a nosey out the window first, i would :P

Replace the noise with a thought and you have the exact same situation, only this time you dont rationalise, with the loud noise outside, the fear reaction died down quite fast because your body scanned the situation, ( once you realised it was a car, your thoughts would be something like'' ah that scared me, stupid car'' and quickly came to the conclusion that all is well. With a thought, especially one we didnt even know came, it isnt so easy to rationalise, so the body scans the situation, ( at this point you are bewildered, no explanation as to why you suddenly woke gasping for breath) looking for threats, it picks up on the fact that you are not calming down, in fact you are getting more worked up.,so your brain sends out more signals to the body to protect--YOU! Heres the bit that is so ironic lol the very physical sensations we fear are the very ones the brain is instructing to protect us..so next time you wake in a panic.. think about how'd you react if a loud bang had woken you? You cant stop the brain from kick starting your fear reaction, you wouldnt want to, we need it! But, the way you react after the initial panic can change everything.

I hope this makes sense lol.. x

[BobbyDog]

I have night sweats and panic.
I have a fan on through winter and summer, it blocks out any background noise that may startle me and also keeps me cool.
Cotton sheets and pillowcases are also good for night sweats.

[hamster lady]

Thank you so much everyone for your replies, and I'm sorry to hear that you guys are going through a similar thing to me, it is so horrible isn't it! It is just hard to believe that panic can get you at night when you are supposed to be resting, I go to bed stressed about what is to come later on in the night and I don't think that helps! I just lie in bed terrified panicking that I'm about to have a heart attack and I keep feeling my pulse to see if it is steady, it is very claustrophobic to lie there in the silence of the night and all you can hear is your heart beat, just awful! We are going away in a caravan for half term and I'm not really looking foward to it because it is even worse when you wake up in the middle of the night in a different place and I'm a bit agoraphobic at the moment and like the comfort of my own home. But I do know that we all need a break and who knows having a change of scene might help. I am going to try and get to the doctors next week but it is difficult for me to get out due to looking after my youngest son who has M.E. Thank you so much again guys for all your help and advice. hamster lady:flowers:

[anxietyattacked]

I am a 35 year old guy who has had anxiety/panic disorder since I was 16. I have found ways to fore the most part control my anxiety/panic issues. The only time I really have hard times with it is the next morning after going out and drinking to much. So not only do I deal with the dreadful hang over I also deal with anxiety/panic like crazy. As soon as I try and sleep I suddenly wake up feeling like my heart is stopping and can't breath. It is a very scary feeling. So that being said I relate all this to anxiety/panic issues (as well as drinking to much) but not sleep apnea. Because of all this I barely allow myself to drink in excess because I rarely find it worth it. Anyone else relate?

[Jenn95]

Anxietyattacked,
Yes I know exactly how you feel! (I do not drink - to young) but I understand the anxiety I can feel shaky at night but ok and think to myself good now I can go to sleep I'm ok but as soon as my head hits that pillow it's like whoa!!! Panic I feel like my heart stopped and it pounds uncontrollably if it hapoens right away I can usually calm down within 5 minutes but still lie awake the rest of the night terrified to go back to bed :( and I rarely ever get such good sleep that I'm in a 'deep' sleep but if I ever am in a deep sleep and I get this it is BAD! So your not alone I really understand how you feel, if anyone gets this and has found a way to help relax that actually WORKS other then music or talking to yourself positively to calm down (tried that ) PLEASE share, thanks so much!! But I do understand how you guys feel, panic/anxiety is ruining my life! :(