Sleep Apnia and Panic Attacks

[tanrob28]

Help. I was diagnosed about six months ago with sleep apnia and this was shortly after spending six weeks in bed with no energy what so ever, After thinking I was having 20 heart attacks a day and going to pass out at least a hundred times a day !!!!! I geuss I am suffering with panic attacks and anxiety. All this came about shortly after the birth of our first daughter.

I have a sleeping machine and physically I have more energy but the panic attacks are not subsiding. I have just been driven home from our village fete as I could not even go in the door. I feel so stupid as I had to leave my wife and daughter there on there own.

Has anyone heard od sleep apnia causing panic attacks.

Rob

[Danuella]

Well Rob,I dont know if its linked by sister has anxiety and depression,very rarely panic attacks and she also has sleep apnea.
Now i also have anxiety with panic attacks and i'm sure alot of peeps on here will agree that it can be agrivated by being tired and also not getting enough sleep.
You dont know how long you have had sleep apnea before having it diagnosed so you might have had it for a couple of years and t will def take more then 6 months for your body to recover from that,i mean constantly waking up knowingly or not,is really gonna cause problems and will take time for your body to kinda get back to normal.
Also maybe the panic attacks are caused sub conscioudly by the fera of having sleep apnea,when my sis discovered she had it,it totally freaked her out to know she was stopping breathing in her sleep and didnt even realise it!!
Which when its put like that,i think would scare the hell outta most people.
I hope this helps you to realise your not alone,i am sorry i cant give you any advice on how to deal with this,but hopefully time,and full nights sleep will help.
xx

[Tom_M]

I use a CPAP machine for sleep apnea and before being diagnosed, I did wake up gasping for breath on a number of occasions, which was very scary. The tiredness during the day was the worst thing though. I know I shouldn't of drove while being like that, but I even fell asleep once while waiting for the lights to change to on a railway crossing. It did cause me some anxiety but I don't think it caused panic. Anything that interferes with sleep can cause anxiety and panic though.

Tom

[Tom_M]

Here's just a little video about what sleep apnea is all about. If you feel like you are extremely tired during the day or your partner says that you wake up a lot during the night. You could have sleep apnea... a lot of people go undiagnosed.

http://www.youtube.com/v/Wm-TZ-dO_rQ&hl=en&fs=1

Tom