In Panic Mode

[stuart88]

Ok, I have been having twitches recently. I was at the Doctors and it was put down to anxiety.
But I've just realised that I've been having another problem. A couple of times in the last few weeks I've woken up in the middle of the night gasping for breath. I've just googled this and it can be a neurological problem. I'm well and truely freaking out now tbh. Anyone know if there's anything else this could be.

[skippy66]

Allergies? I get this too and i think its because im allergic to dust mites.

Could be a mild form of asthma or sleep apnea. Ask the doc for a peak flow test, or buy one from amazon.

[stuart88]

I have cat allergies and hayfever. I've also been quite choked up the past couple of weeks with a sore throat and sore ears. Still though, seems a bit of a coincedence that it's come on at the same time as the twitches. I wake up and it's almost like I'm breathing through a straw. Really hard to get my breath back.

[blackberry1972]

Google is the worse place to look. You can take any symptom, say a pain in your arm and it could relate to hundreds of deadly disease’s or it could be you slept on your arm or you pulled a muscle which are by far the most likely causes.
Can I ask what caused your Anxiety and twitching?

[skippy66]

Ok, I have been having twitches recently. I was at the Doctors and it was put down to anxiety.
But I've just realised that I've been having another problem. A couple of times in the last few weeks I've woken up in the middle of the night gasping for breath. I've just googled this and it can be a neurological problem. I'm well and truely freaking out now tbh. Anyone know if there's anything else this could be.

If its not allergies it sounds like a panic attack to me. You can be woken up by it, this is very common. Your symptoms seem to fit this like a glove.

[marcc64]

I have twitches constant and I also have woken up gasping for air, feels awful and scares me to death :(

[stuart88]

I don't have full blown panic attacks when I'm conscious though. The worst I get is trembling, sweating and the inability to think straight. Seems a bit strange.
It's scary, because when I wake up in the morning I don't really remember that it's happened. It just hit me a few hours ago as I was obsessing over my health.

blackberry- not sure exactly what has caused my anxiety. Tbh, I've always been a bit anxious, but I'm recently out of a job which is probably making my anxiety 10x worse as I have time to sit and think about it.

I've been having a thought that maybe my anxiety is a symptom of the problem and not the cause.

[looking4answers]

Sounds like you have anxiety but have it checked out with your doctor ,Mention sleep anemia, I think thats what its called.. See if the doc thinks this is a possibility .. I don't have this and sometimes I wake up the way you are talking about.. But from anxiety . Hope you feel better.. Michael

[stuart88]

I've pretty much convinced my self I have Congestive Heart Failure now tbh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paroxysmal_nocturnal_dyspnea

This is like what happens to me. And it would make sense as I've had chronic leg swelling ever since I started taking minoxidil.


Compromise of left ventricular forward function may result in symptoms of poor systemic circulation such as dizziness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizziness), confusion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confusion) and cool extremities at rest.

Backward failure of the right ventricle leads to congestion of systemic capillaries. This helps to generate excess fluid accumulation in the body. This causes swelling under the skin (termed peripheral edema (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral_edema) or anasarca (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anasarca)) and usually affects the dependent parts of the body first (causing foot and ankle swelling in people who are standing up, and sacral edema in people who are predominantly lying down). Nocturia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocturia) (frequent nighttime urination) may occur when fluid from the legs is returned to the bloodstream while lying down at night. In progressively severe cases, ascites (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascites) (fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity causing swelling) and hepatomegaly (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatomegaly) (enlargement of the liver (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver)) may develop. Significant liver congestion may result in impaired liver function, and jaundice and even coagulopathy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coagulopathy) (problems of decreased blood clotting) may occur.


This would explain my swollen legs, petechiae, bleeding gums, cold hands and feet, sleeping problems etc. :(