Panic at night and nightmares

[hamster lady]

Hello again everyone. I am still trying to cope with my anxiety and panic attacks but I'm really struggling because I am getting terrible anxiety at night as well as terrible nightmare and vivid dreams. My anxiety and sleep problem started back in August when I woke up one night from a nightmare with my heart racing and I was also sweating. I had a terrible panic attack because I thought I was having a heart attack. This started to happen night after night and set of terrible anxiety and panic attacks which eventually drove me to the doctors. I had blood tests and an ECG which were both normal and the doctor said it was anxiety that was causing my sleep problems and that when things calmed down it would go off. I did calm down a bit when I knew that there was nothing wrong with my heart but then my son got really poorly and has been diagnosed with chronic fatigue and my stress levels hit the roof again. She perscribed me some Beta Blockers but I have not taken any and I'm just having Quiet Life tablets before bed at the moment.

I am now having to endure night after night of really vivid dreams and nightmares and this causes me to wake up suddenly and my heart starts racing with fear. I also sometimes wake up sweating and feeling very hot. I have now started dreading going to bed and sometimes I can't get to sleep because I'm too scared about the nightmares to come. If I have a bad night it affects me for the rest of the day and I feel very panicky and agarophobia is setting in.

I am still terrified that there is something wrong with my heart and this is what is causing the nightmares, a couple of times I have woken up not being able to breathe properly too. My husband keeps saying that it is not normal for me to be dreaming so much and to keep having nightmares which doesn't help but I'm sure I have read on the internet that anxiety can cause sleep problems including nightmares. I was just wondering whether any of you guys have had problems with nightmares and waking up with your heart racing when you have been going though a bad time with your panic attacks and anxiey? I really need to sort this out because I really need the energy to concentrate on my son, and I'm just so exhausted during the day due to being so stressed at night! Any help would be very much appreciated, I feel like I'm going mad sometimes!

[honeyp1e]

am just on my way out right but wanted to comment an will comment more when i get back this is were i suffer the most at night times and last night i had the biggest ever panic attack today am left feeling so anxious and scared i dont want to go out but i have to as i wont stay in alone =( will chat soon x x

[munkeyinblack]

i get this to and its a total nightmare ( no pun intended)
the betablockers really helped me cuz it slows ur heartbeat which makes it feel more normal and u panic less. nightmares can happen to ne1 even several times a nite so dontworry about not being normal, there is nothin wrong with you in that respect.

from personal experience id give the beta blockers a chance a bath n a book b4 bed also helps me drift off nice n relaxed 2 .
let me no how u get on xx

[honeyp1e]

hi am back am also on beta blockers they do calm the heart racing down
i get so scared of a night time i hate it would rather it be day 24/7 lol am to scared to go to bed so have been sleeping on my sofa over a year now as i think if go bed my anxiety will wake me etc,... as that is werre i used to have all my attacks am just hoping soon this will pass do you have any other meds to calm u x

[hamster lady]

Thanks very much monkeyinblack and honeyp1e, it seems I am definitely not alone in having bad panicky nights and nightmares. I hope you both feel better soon. I had a bad night last night and feel terrible today, things always seem so bad in the middle of the night! I think the trouble is that during the day I can distract myself if I feel panick coming on but in the middle of the night I just lie in bed listening to my heart pounding and feel very panicky. Sometimes I can get back to sleep even if I do I will keep having bad dreams, it is so horrible! I am extremely stressed about my 9 yr old son who is poorly with chronic fatigue so I am finding it very difficult to relax. I have thought about trying the beta blockers but because I seem to have developed a bit of a phobia about heart attacks at the moment I am too scared to take them in cause something horrible happens to my heart! I think I am just in for a bit of a rough time with anxiety while my son is really poorly, it is very difficult seeing my once lively, active son get out of breath just walking around the house and suffering with joint pain, nausea and headaches, it is heartbreaking.

[Baggie]

Hi hamster lady

This is an interesting thread. Just thought I'd let you know what I have experienced myself. I've had some really intense, vivid dreams and nightmares over the past year. I've actually woken up screaming after dreaming that I was being attacked and I've cried out several times in my sleep. My heart was pounding. It felt so real at the time. My husband got such a fright as I was so loud! I just felt totally stupid afterwards!!

I honestly don't know what causes me to do this. Sadly,I don't have a great relationship with my mum and can't really talk to her about anything, so perhaps there's a link here. I had a hell of a time living with her when I was in my early 20's and she was menopausal, although she has a difficult personality anyway. I eventually left home because of her behaviour towards me (this was over 20 years ago though and I've since married and had my family). I often wake up at night, flushed and soaking with sweat (not always accompanied by a bad dream I should point out). It could be my hormones changing here too as I think I might be peri menopausal. Who knows?

Life has settled down for me since I first had a panic attack over 2 years ago which was brought on by a lot of stressful events including being bullied. I still take propanalol (beta blockers) but I hope to come off these eventually.Just in my own time. Don't get me wrong, I have days where I don't feel all that wonderful or confident, but I work through them as positively as I can. I'm still doing an online CBT course and reading self help stuff too. The days where I do feel really good give me a lot of hope.

Hope things settle down for you soon. Take care. x

[MOJO]

Helllo Hamster Lady,

I used to have the nightmares and waking with my heart racing every night when my anxiety was at it's worst. They did go away eventually as I got better. Unfortunately I have had quite a lot of stress these last few months and the nightmares have started again. Every night!:ohmy: I manage to calm my racing heart down fairly quickly by doing my deep abdominal breathing. It really does work. I must admit it's on my mind now as I go to bed but I'm trying not to pay too much attention to them as I know they will go again when I become less stressed. Worrying about them will only make them worse.

I'm sorry your son is not well. It must be such a worry for you. Being a parent can be the most wonderful thing in the world but also the worst when you have to watch your child suffering and can't help.

Take care.

Judy.x

[hamster lady]

Thank you so much everyone for your replies, it seems I am not the only one with nocturnal stress! I just wish I could have at least one night when I don't wake up with my heart racing due to a bad dream. I am getting a real anxiety about going to bed and now I have new symptom of feeling like I can't breathe properly when I am trying to get off to sleep and I can feel my heart pounding, it is horrible! I used to have no problem getting off to sleep but recently I have been so stressed at bedtime that I feel panicky when I go to bed. I have been having a hot milk and two Quiet Life tablets before bed but it doesn't always work! I have been very stressed recently because of my poorly son and financial stress and I don't think that is helping. I had a terrible night last night, I couldn't get to sleep and then woke up from bad dreams for the rest of the night, I had to fight of panick attacks the whole time! I am so very sick of this, it is making my life a misery. If I have a bad night I feel panicky the next day too. I was terrified that my heart racing so much at night would cause high blood pressure but we have a monitor at home and luckily it is normal (bottom number in the 70's) so that has made me feel a bit better.

I have often wondered whether I have been having Perimenopausal symptoms because I have sometimes woken up very hot and sweaty with my heart racing which are symptoms of the menopause. I have never had these symptoms before until last August when they started suddenly. I turn 40 this year and I have recently find out that there is a history of early menopauses in my family and my mum started to have night sweats in her 40's. I might go back to my doctor if this carries on to have my hormones checked, I think I will feel better if there is a reason behind my terribly disturbed sleep!

Do any of you guys have something that works for you at night to stop the panicky feelings? I am still to scared to take the beta blockers the doctor recommended for if my heart keeps racing due to panic. I really need all my energy to concentrate on my poorly son, I just wish this panic hell would stop!

[jothenurse]

Hi, I used to have a terrible time at night. I still wake up a few times during the night. During the night when I wake up, my heart can pound. I am also menopausal so I do get night sweats which makes my heart pound more. It's better than it used to be. I usually sleep with the radio or tv on, and that seems to help me if I wake up. Also, I sleep with a couple of pillows under my head so I am not lying flat. If I change positions when I wake up, I notice that my heart will start pounding. I have to work real hard not to panic. I just usually go with it, try not to panic, do some calm breathing, then it goes away and I can usually fall back to sleep. It has taken quite a time to get to this point, and at times I still have a hard time with it. It has gotten better though. I used to be on beta blockers and ativan. I've been off of the beta blocker for many months. I tapered off the ativan, and have been off of that for about a week. I have it if I need it. The beta blocker will help your pulse to stay lower. I would give it a try. I also live alone, so that makes it really hard at night, and during the day sometimes, too.

[Mazzmate]

Hello Everyone, Very interested in this thread as for some unknown reason, this week, I seem to have had a major blip and a recurrence of all the night time anxiety problems, including nightmares, vivid dreams, sweating and panic etc. I have really been sleeping well, maybe just open my eyes a few times and look at the clock, then back to sleep, but oh dear, this last couple of days have been horrible and brought all the old feelings and fear flooding back. Still on Propanolol, but did start reducing it last week, the night time one...only 20mgs...anyway, decided to go back to taking it but it didn't do anything for me last night. Was awake every hour, very fitful sleep and kept jolting awake with horrible pictures and thoughts running through my mind. Having said that, I can't remember what they were though. It has made me feel very agitated and anxious all day. To be able to read others describe exactly how it happens to them, as it happens to me, is such a relief, not that I wish this on anyone believe me, but sometimes this problem makes me feel so alone and afraid. Worse thing of all is that I have really been so much better lately and thought I had turned a corner, BUT,I am trying hard to put it in perspective and not give in to it as did when it all began 15 months ago. What an uphill struggle.