evening/nightime attacks

[jennybeth]

Recently my panic attacks seem to surface more at night or late evening, more than likely to do with the fact my body is exhausted but can't seem to work out what's anxiety and what's tiredness. I keep waking my boyfriend to sit through the attacks with me but then I start to worry that he'll be upset i've woken him. I also seem to take some form of comfort knowing my gps office is open during the day and I can reach them if needs be but at night I feel like there is noone (although I did end up in a&e one night after one as I was so scared) Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with them as the last thing i need is another trip to the hospital? xxx

[lammylama]

hi jenny.....thats exactly whats happening to me at the moment since my bad attack on wed,the last 2 days i have felt quite good during the day but around 6pm ish ive started to feel the panic slowly rear its ugly head again,on both occasions ive given in and taken a diazepam to calm down and sleep.Last night i woke at 1am in a bad panic and woke my partner too for comfort ...i know i shouldnt have but i was so scared that i took another diaz....dont worry everyone,i dont make a habit of taking too many diaz,but was in a pretty bad state.
When i woke this morning i felt terrible still and in a state of panic once again but thankfully over the last half hour im slowly starting to feel much better.Now im worrying about this evening already thinking i'll have to go thru it all again,feeling quite scared and alone right now and my partner is working all day today and tommorow which wont help me as shes the only person i have to turn to! :-(

[jennybeth]

i had the worst nights sleep last night. i heard a bang from the upstairs flat but was convinced it was our back door and that someone had broken in. this set off he most horrific panic attack which resulted in being awake for most of the night as i was too scared to go back to sleep. ive ended up sleeping for most of the day and now can feel the evening creeping back. everything seems to have spiraled this week and im getting more freaked out as the days go by x

[Going home]

I think we all feel better able to cope during the day when we can look out of the window and see people around, and like jennybeth says, the fact that the people who help us can be reached more easily helps to calm us down. When we're in bed and everything around us is dark and quiet its very easy to let any nervousness turn into full blown panic...we only have to use our imagination, and us anxies have a great imagination!

Its also a point to bear in mind too, that at night our blood sugar drops and when this happens more adrenaline is produced which can cause night panics, this can be the reason why some people wake up in a panic. It can be a good idea to eat something just before bed, nothing heavy maybe a piece of toast, or have a milky drink...just something to keep the blood sugar from dropping. Some people don't eat after their main meal and it can be a long time before breakfast.

Anna xx :)

[jennybeth]

haha tell me about it. think i need to channel my imagination into something into something more productive...perhaps a hollywood blockbuster. mood has definately improved from last night and gonna head to my parents and stay there tonight to let the boyfriend have a break. its probably the place i feel the most comfortable and so fingers crossed i can get a good nights sleep. if not then i have my parents dog who will more than likely need entertaining until the early hours of the morning!

i agree with the blood sugar thing.i'm trying to sort out my diet so i can eat regular meals. i normally do shift work as well but i have a meeting with my boss tomorrow to sort out some regular shifts so i can get my meals and body clock in sync. i feel that even just a tiny piece of chocolate can lighten my mood. i feel quite confident when i make plans like this but then I know that in can all just go out of the window when i have a panic attack and then I'm back to square one. xx