Woke up in the middle of the night with fast heart rate and sweating

[Sparkling_Fairy]

Hi all,

I'm not too concerned about this, but wanted some reassurance anyway ;)

Every time I go out major drinking (major for me is like 4 pints :P) I wake up in the middle of the night with a very fast beating heart, sweating and usually major cramps.
Once I go to the bathroom and cool down, it goes away.

Yesterday, I went for a drink in the afternoon (5-ish) and drank 1,5 pints. I immediately felt like I got drunk very fast. I felt very happy and chill. Come 4:30am and I woke up from a weird dream with a racing heart and sweating. No cramps this time.
I had to get up, walk around a bit, do some yoga breathing techniques and splash cold water on myself to get it to slow down. It did after just a few minutes so it didn't last long at all.

I felt so relaxed all day yesterday, but around midnight while watching TV in bed I started feeling a bit more anxious. Heart beats more noticeable, getting hotter, etc. Mental wise I didn't feel anxious at all, I haven't for a while. But physically my symptoms keep happening.

Could this still have been due to the alcohol, and me just not drinking a lot of water yesterday?
Or was this just a panic attack?
Does anyone else get a racing heart at night after drinking?

[MyNameIsTerry]

Alcohol is a CNS depressant, it blocks Serotonin. So, it can have some effects on people with anxiety disorders but it's a very individual issue and whilst you will you find lots of alcohol & anxiety threads on NMP, you will also find plenty of people saying it doesn't affect them. But then, who would create threads saying they had a few beers and had no anxiety? It's just like how we have caffeine & anxiety threads on here but no one creating threads about all those cups or tea & coffee that haven't affected them.

Dehydration is as likely as the alcohol because dehydration causes symptoms like this too in anyone, not just anxiety disorder sufferers. So, if you know you didn't drink much water it could easily be this or a combination of the two.

When it comes to the question about alcohol, it will only ever be an individual issue. When I was at my worst I was so sensitised that anything set me off including bland foods. But as I started to recover I found I didn't have the same issues and could tolerate or even enjoy things that were a trigger before.

But yes, it seems common for the racing heart with alcohol and anxiety but the question of whether it is alcohol, dehydration or both seems to rarely be answered. So, I think you will have to see how it goes for you. Drink more water and see if it has an effect and see if reducing the level of alcohol or drinking slower over a longer time has an effect.

[missyladybug]

My late husband had several drinks one night - maybe 3 - (he only had drinks on weekends and such) and the next morning had a grand mal seizure. The doctor said that the drinks suppressed everything the night before and then wore off and the body kinda revved up again and that triggered the episode.

Kinda like putting your foot on the brakes, then the gas.

[hoppipolla]

Do you have digestive problems normally?

I have them and alcohol usually affects me, depending on the drink and quantity.

[mark84]

Alcohol has some weird effects on me nowadays once I have enough of it, I wake up really early after drinking and I'm always anxious with it.

[Sparkling_Fairy]

Do you have digestive problems normally?

I have them and alcohol usually affects me, depending on the drink and quantity.

I don't normally have digestive problems, no. A bit more lately, though they seem to have gotten less again.

But I've always had this. For years already alcohol would affect me that way. But normally only after full night of drinking a lot.
Not after 1,5 pints. That's nothing!
Though I do notice that alcohol makes me more jittery lately. Maybe I should lay off it all together for a while until I get rid of the anxiety first

[hoppipolla]

I don't normally have digestive problems, no. A bit more lately, though they seem to have gotten less again.

But I've always had this. For years already alcohol would affect me that way. But normally only after full night of drinking a lot.
Not after 1,5 pints. That's nothing!
Though I do notice that alcohol makes me more jittery lately. Maybe I should lay off it all together for a while until I get rid of the anxiety first

well yeah erm, I mean it can be a stimulant too - for example, anything over light drinking (like, one glass of wine I guess) can actually speed up the heart and increase blood pressure.

Listen to your body I guess and do what feels right for you :)