View Full Version : Waking Up With A Panic Attack In The Night
Hi
I’m new here but have suffered with panic attacks on and off for many years.
I’ve had three in the last few weeks, and can relate to several recent stressful situations that could have triggered them.
My question is this:
I find I always wake up with them in the night (after going to bed feeling fine), with my left arm uncomfortable and aching and also with chest pains. I often find that I cannot then lay down comfortably and inevitably end up having to sit in a chair to sleep. Sometimes the pains have been so severe that I have ended up on anti-inflammatories and even once rang the RADOC doctor in the middle of the night.
Does anyone else get the same or a similar thing? And does anyone know why some people have them happen like this at night-time?
hi Eloise,
Welcome to the forum!! :)
I personally don't wake up during the night with panic attacks but I know that some people here do. I'm sure they'll be along soon to help you.
Hope we can offer you some good support here.
Sarah :D
"Life is too important to take seriously" Corky Siegal
Hi Eloise,
I used to wake up in a panic in the middle of the night. At first i would get up and spend hours on this website and be too scared to go back to sleep. Then I tried completely ignoring it and just going back to sleep (telling myself 'i don't care if the tightness in my throat is getting worse, i won't die'). When that got too hard, i would make myself a cup of herbal tea and watch a bit of tv to try and distract myself from my panic symptoms (tight chest, tightness in throat, tingling in arm).
I don't know why it sometimes happens at night. I think it's maybe when we're so wound up, even though we are sleeping there's still a bit of anxiety there just waiting to kick in.
Henri x
Hi Eloise,
Welcome to the site.
I have had panic in the night before after going to bed feeling fine and quite relaxed. It's very scary when you wake up suddenly to it isn't it and things often seem worse in the middle of the night. I now just lay there, try to accept it and just let it happen and more often than not it doesn't last long now and I'm back asleep.
Take care,
LJ
Hi Eloise,
I have had instances of waking up in the middle of the night with some awful symptom - yuk!
With me it would be a numbing in my leg, weird lights in my mind or something like pins and needles.
I would get up a make a cuppa, and perhaps some toast, and yes watch some TV. Sometimes, I would feel really scared, especially if it was a new symptom, in that case I would ring NHS Direct 08457 46 47. If I just felt scared but it was a repeat symptom, I sometimes called the Samaritans - all these lines of contact calm you down eventually.
I feel these sensations are linked to our sub-concious thoughts being "exposed" in the absence of any other distraction in our waking hours. Surely, there has to be a link to these night-time sensations and why so many of us are so bad when we wake up in the mornings. I get pins and needles caused by tightness of muscles most mornings.
In time, something in your life will happen to break the cycle - that's how it is with me.
Take Care,
Ray
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.
~Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers
Hi Eloise
My worst panic attacks were between 3 and 4am everynight, i'm never quite sure why i woke up but it was always with my heart racing and my mind going 20 to the dozen just in a total blinding panic, i think they were worse at that time of night as you are in total darkness and silence so have nothing else to try and distract yourself with, i spent many nights on the settee cos was to scared to go to bed as i knew i would wake up in a panic so maybe i planted the thought in my own head before i even went to sleep,
I did managed in the end to lie just telling myself over and over "your alright calm down" and trying to relax my body with breathing, it is so scarey when this happens in the middle of the night, but you have to try and be as calm as possible i know it will stop and nothing bad will happen its just not a nice feeling at the time,
take care
kairen x
Hi Eloise!
I had the same problem and this is why I am taking medication. I would wake up from nightmares, not remembering what they were about and be in a full-blown panic. This happened over and over until I could not get more than an hour (if I was lucky) of sleep every night. I felt like it was going to make me go mad. I value my sleep, and never had any problems before, but then the panic showed up and turned me upside down. I couldn't lie down either. I had to sleep sitting up. I tried all different kinds of rituals to try to calm me before the medicine kicked in. None of them seemed to work. I tried relaxation music, I tried reading, I tried a deep relaxation cd, I tried drinking milk.. I couldn't figure out anything. If anyone else finds an answer for this dilemma, I would sure love to hear about it because it is one of my biggest fears when I try to get off the meds. I can keep a panic from happening during waking hours, but there's nothing you can do when you are sleeping.. is there??
Hang in there, Eloise! I feel for ya!! I wanna cry when I think about it!!
((((((((hugs)))))))))))
Andrea
"Honey, if ya ain't feelin' the bumps in the road, ya ain't goin' nowhere!" (A wise Georgia Granny's take on living life to the fullest! LOL!)
RE: Panic Attacks at Night
Eloise
What can I say?
I can truely emphasis with you.
I had my first panic attack about 6 weeks ago. The worst are always at night in the early hours. For me, I thought I was having a heart attack.
I rushed around the bedroom uncontrollably. then off downstairs unlocking the back and front door, rushing outside to breath more clearly. By this time my husband was up, very concerned, never seen me like this. I really, really scared myself and my hubby! He says my eyes looked like a frightened rabbit!
I said that I couldn't breath, swallowing was getting worse, involuntary shaking, the list goes on. Still not able to calm down, I said that's it call an ambulance etc.... This went on and on. Eventually and very slowly I began to breath more controlled and started to calm down. Several cups of tea, deep breathing later, I returned to bed, but would not let go of hubby's hand. I was up and down all night and probably managed 2 hours sleep in the early hours of the morning. The next day, I could not manage anything. Kids were on holiday, so rang a friend and went round there at 8am. I have never been like that. I had to rely on firends helping out for all of that week!
It has been a difficult road since then. Following on from iniital attack, I suffered for many nights to come. GP put me on medication, which has since been changed. Still all kicking in.
Having had two bad nights recently, managed a better night last night so feel more positive today!
Hope this helps knowing that you are not alone
Lots of love and support to you.
Elaine
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)
Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com
Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?
Thanks everyone for your replies, i do appreciate them and all your advice and understanding. It's good to know that I what I experienced was a normal panic attack reaction.
What I would like to now ask is this.. I had a bad panic attack on Wednesday night. I felt by Thursday afternoon that it had gone but by the time bedtime came around, the same muscle pains were kicking in again. The same happened again yesterday in that I was ok in the day time and then in the evening it started to come back.. and it's happening again now. Am I relating night-time to panic time?? Or could the panic attack still be in my system and likely to recur for a while yet?
I think you're relating night time to panic time. I do this as well after having a bad panic attack one night in bed. It does get easier with time. Try to distract yourself in bed. I read, watch tv, have hot milk, etc..:D
"Life is too important to take seriously" Corky Siegal
Eloise
Do you have a calming bedtime routine that you follow that might help ?
Some exercise during the day may help your muscles feel stretched at night.
Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com
Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?
I have not seen any good success stories on this, but I suspect that when you are working on your daytime thinking patterns, it will affect your sleeping for the better too.
I read an article that made me feel hopeful.. it had some great ideas you might wanna read....
http://www.angelfire.com/ab3/agoraphobiaaustralia/rising.html
"Honey, if ya ain't feelin' the bumps in the road, ya ain't goin' nowhere!" (A wise Georgia Granny's take on living life to the fullest! LOL!)
hi all my doctor BLESS HIM told me that you know you are having a true panic when it wakes you up in the middle of the night, SCARY stuff I know, it happens to me most nights, have you tried reading a book, Harry Potter works for me I take myself to that magical world, of his were i can use my own magic to send MR PANIC away, I imagine myself with a wand and think of a spell( i havent quite found the right word YET) but he sure gonna get it when i do
sleep well tonight xxxxx
Hi, I also woke up having a panic attack in the middle of the night, after this I was fine during the day but come evening time I could feel my heart beginning to race and then ended not being able to sleep, so yes I think it could probably be an association with the panic attack and you thinking that it is going to happen again, I haven't had one since, the first one I had was about six weeks ago, but I have got some good tablets from the docs, Mirtazapine and these relax you down before bedtime and help you sleep. I also had hypnotherapy a six week course and that has also helped, but I must admit I do still associate bed with having the panic attack, which over time I am sure I will stop doing.
Hope this helps and keep strong.
:yesyes: Banana
Hi,
I'm also a sufferer of night time panic attacks. at least 75% of all my attacks happen between 2-4am. I'm up now 1 hour after suffering an attack.
reading the site has calmed me down , deep breaths, i am on medication but it's so hard to get back to sleep after an attack.
has anyone found good ways to fall back to sleep after the attack passes?
sometimes it feels like i have had attacks that go on till the morning or longer or others that last 15mins to an hour. even after the hour though my adrenaline still kicks in, i feel a bit energized and i cant sleep. :wacko:
Louisejane
26-03-09, 11:14
I know this a an old thread so apologies for dragging it back up but its so relevant to me!
I am a 29 year old female who has always been lucky enough to have good health. Since the new year, I started to experience very mild chest pains, not really painfull but I was aware of them. They come and go up to 20 times a day, not worse when I exercise, just annoying. An ECG and bloodworks came back fine.
However, things have started to get worse, my sypmtons now include
cold feeling in both arms
slight numbness in legs
dizzyness
feeling lightheaded
achey limbs
racing heart
sharp pains in my headMy doctor basically told me to rest as my tests were fine. On Tuesday night, I went to bed calm and in a great mood. However, I woke quickly at about 2am with a racing heart, over 120 bpm. My palsm were sweaty, I was so dizzy and had a dry mouth. This went on for over an hour and a half. TV and tiredness calmed me down.
Does this sound like a panic attack and can you get them when your fast asleep? :unsure:
Im not sure whether its the same one recurring or not, but all of my happen at night, generally when i am settling down in bed. I believe now that it is because during the day i am on the go all the time and then by the time i put the kids to bed and actually go to bed myself i no longer have anything else to distract me, which is when they kick in. sometimes they last for 4-6 hours or all night and they can carry on the next day still not feeling quite right. Im sorry this is not much help to you really, i just relate to what you said about the night time attacks, hang in there, you'll get lots of support here.
Louisejane
30-03-09, 21:00
So glad you posted Shona as mine are always worse on a night. I thought the same as you. I work all day, come home, cook tea, bath our daughter, the usual routine, then as soon as I sit down, the chest pains come and the panic starts!
My chest pains are there all day. No extreme pain but I'm aware of them. They've been here for 3 months now. The doctor said based on my heart rate and cholesterol (sp) levels my risk of heart disease is less than 2%.
I'm waiting on more bllods coming back tomorrow, its just really getting me down now.
Hope you can get yours under control.
enigmatique
31-03-09, 00:00
I'd not thought about this til I saw this thread but I think I can relate to this. Over the past few months as my anxiety has got worse I've found myself waking up suddenly absolutely gasping for breath, wheezing, heart pounding, sweaty etc. I assumed I'd been having nightmares (well, apart from my HA self which assumes I have sleep apnoea and one night I'm just going to stop breathing completely :wacko:), even though I don't ever remember anything about them, but hadn't made a connection with my anxiety/panic attacks. Interesting. Generally I manage to go back to sleep pretty well, I think mostly because I am so incredibly exhausted that my body doesn't let me stay awake too long! If I find any good strategies though I'll post them.
Hi
I used to get Panic attacks a lot. I was taking pain killers such as co codimal and codine etc. (I realise now i was taking far too many!) I stopped taking them over a year ago and rarely get attacks now. But saying that i had one last night. After the usual sticking my head out of my window cooling myself down! Concentrating on the garden noises and wind in the trees i calmed down quickly. Remember they cant kill you and they do go away! Good luck and if your on pain killers but have no pain then quit! It will change your life!
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