panic attacks when falling asleep or waking

[molly36]

hi there im sure you all can relate to panic attacks but lately mine have been coming so bad that the other night i was sure i was having a heart attack ,i ended up calling a ambulance and was taking to the hospital for a check and ecg .i was i think trying to sleep or had just woke im not sure but all of a sudden out of the blue i had this sort of wave of pain over my chest then my heart started racing [it was 160 per minute the doc said]i had this almighty breathlessnes and cramps in my chest and down my left arm and feeling faint ,it was terryfing i really thought i was dying.it also happened a week ago but didnt last as long.i have noticed over the last few months my heart racing terribly and breathlesnes when waking a lot .all ecg are okay doc says its panic .can any one relate to them being this bad and especially during the night on waking or falling asleep.i would be very gratefull for you comments many thanks molly

[nomorepanic]

Molly

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will see loads of related links

They may help.

[nomorepanic]

Molly

Try these as well:

AM/PM Panic & Sleep

Night panic
Nothing like a panic attack at 3:30 am (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2701)
Sudden nighttime attacks (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=24)
Waking Up With A Panic Attack In The Night (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5211)
Bad Morning !!!!!!!!!!! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5692)
Panic attacks during sleep. (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5796)
It's Back! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5769)
Waking Startled at Night (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5951)
Panic Attacks....During Sleep (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6385)
panic attack in sleep (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7118)

Worse in mornings
Mornings (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5489)
i'm crying!! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6998)
MORNING FEELING (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7510)

[pinkdizzygirl]

Hey Molly, snap! sam was totale thing happened to me last week. Called an ambulance was totally freaked and have been having continual panic for ten days now, driving me mad! I'm worried at going to bed now and hate the nighttime as I have a fear of having to go to hospital as something serious is happening. crazy isn't it. .you are not alone though :-)

[molly36]

thank you for all your replies it really helps kind regards molly

[mkeeley]

I know exactly how you felt, fun aren't they! One thing not to do though is take too much notice of the symptoms, like checking your heart rate etc. That will just make things worse because then you're panicing about the panic, oh my God my heart rate is 160 I'm going to die, and that just fuels things making the attack last longer.

When people say that they had, say, a hour long panic attack it's not quite true. A panic attack can "only" last a short time, what you get is a series of them, so you'll have peaks and troughs. Basically a vicous circle, you panic, then worry about the syptoms which makes you panic again.

Although a LOT easier said than done is try not to think about it too much, knowing your not going to die, try and relax,do your deep breathing and try and distract yourself. Sometimes when I've had a panic attack in bed I've got up and got dressed and by then the attack has already subsided because I've been distracted by the getting up/dressed.

I think Claire Weekes said that it's the fear of panic that causes panic, or somthing like that.

[Pink Princess]

hi xx

i have always been ok in the mornings and cant ever recal waking up feeling panicky so i think im very lucky.

i do however panic at night. i used to always have a struggle to get to sleep trying to remain calm and think nice things but never worked.

now i try to make a routine, i always get ready for bed before i go to my room. i always make sure i text goodnight when i am in bed and i always wath a film so i feel calm.

*ps....teddies are great!!!:winks:

take kare xx

love minnie xxxxxxxxx