night terrors/panic attacks in night

[inberlin]

hello all,

had a really bad night last night, i didn't sleep almost the entire night due to a panic attack i had while trying to fall asleep...sometimes i just feel like i am dying, no real specific symptom other than being sure of it, and sometimes i worry about something really unrealistic, like dying of a gas leak in the apartment, and then i start feeling dizzy.

once i fell asleep, i awoke with a night terror. does anybody get those? i just wake up screaming, thinking i see someone in the room or just with this intense panic...

anyway i am scared to fall asleep tonight but i have worked so much i need the sleep bad...

thanks

kelly

[vernon]

Hi inberlin, so sorry you are feeling so down but this is very common with anxiety and it does get better, What about trying a low valtage light at night? or maybe a radio with quiet music on, or some even leave a small tv on just to stop the silence and emptyness of the room. hope you feel better soon. take care. Vernon

[Trish]

Hi Kelly

I suffer from panic attacks during sleep...i wake up with a huge big start, my heart pounding and trying to get my breath, its very frightening so i really feel for you.

I've yet to find out what brings them on, after 3 years of having them sometimes up to 11 a night at its worse! I end up getting up because they are so frightening and have to wait until i'm dead on my feet before i go back to bed...and sometimes thats when my husband is getting up!

I avoid tea/coffee after 6pm and take 150mg of Dosulepin at night...but it doesn't seem to help. I also went into a sleep clinic last November, had my head wired up, and although i had a few of them nothing showed up...thats when they said it was night terrors/panic attacks.

Pm me anytime...i'm thinking of you hun.

Trish

[Karen]

Hi Inberlin

This is a common part of anxiety. Have a look at these previous posts for further information and advice:


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)
Waking Up With A Panic Attack In The Night (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5211)
Bad Morning !!!!!!!!!!! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5692)
Panic attacks during sleep. (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5796)
It's Back! (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5769)
Waking Startled at Night (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5951)
Panic Attacks....During Sleep (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6385)
panic attack in sleep (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7118)


Karen



Happiness is not a state to arrive at but a manner of travelling.

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough ~ Christine Cagney, Cagney & Lacey

[inberlin]

thanks all,

i slept better last night, perhaps because i was dead tired??

i have been dealing with this for years too, but it gets so unmanageable sometimes. after working today i have holidays for a few weeks and i am scared i will be panicking a lot.

i had migraines a month ago really bad and a neurologist gave me sedatives, but i am sort of scared to take one. i think it would probably help though, when i have a really bad attack in the middle of the night. they are called lorazepam.

kelly

[florence]

Hi Kelly


<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">once i fell asleep, i awoke with a night terror. does anybody get those? </td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">

Yes, I get them too, and I totally understand how petrified you are.
Fear of going to sleep even when exhausted, I am the same. Not nice at all. I do get the feeling of dying too, I think we worry way too much but can't really help it.
I take lorazepam too occasionally, they do help, don't be afraid of taking it.
Take care.

Florence.

*** Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.***

[wendy]

Hi Kelly

I can totally relate to what you have described, Even when I am ok during the Day Nightimes are awful, I have tried a Diazepam (well a quater as am scared of meds) yet still seem to fight going to sleep and when I do nod off I wake in fear I am dying as you do several times a night

Sorry cant offer you any advise at the mo but you are defo not alone

Take Care

Wendy xx

[inberlin]

thanks,

i just got off work early because of another migraine...sometimes when it rains, it pours. that is what i find anyway. but i did my super-migraine plan (1000 mg aspirin plus strong coffee and some food) and i am feeling better.

i think out of all my panic/anxiety issues over the past 12 years or so, the worst one is the feeling that i am going to die. there is not very much to do about that one other than wait it out, and i think i feel it in the nighttime because i am so vulnerable then.

i really appreciate the posts...makes me feel like i am not alone, and i really need that right now.

kelly

[scoobygirl2005]

Hi.

I get things like that happen to me sometimes. Sometimes I get a nightmare every night and I am too scared to go to sleep, so I try and stay awake but then I end up falling asleep.

I suggest perhaps read a nice book not a scary one and if you read that before you go to bed it would mean that you would be thinking of that and so if you were to have a dream it would be about something in the book not something scary, I have tried that and it works most of the time. Hope this helps.

Scooby2005.

[Paddington]

hi kelly,i am the same as everyone else who has posted!jump awake numb and tingly and dying!!i 'die' at least 6 or 7 times a week,still here to tell the tale,he he he!i agree with vernon,i have a bedside lampi have on low so when i jump awake i'm not in complete darkness,i also recommend paul mkenna cd's listen to them as you are in bed they do help,relly they do.i find them marvellous soooo soothing.love mary-rose.xxxxxxxxxxx

we are all in the same boat and can guide each other ashore

[wendy]

Glad you started this post Kelly has it has included my worst fears and have picked up some good tips,

Thought It was just me who "Died" Several times a night!!! At least tonight I can related to what you all have said!!

I wonder If we make ourselves worse by dreading the night time and setting our thoughts before we go to sleep?

Lets hope for a good nights sleep for us all!!

Wendy xx

[inberlin]

wow, i really appreciate the responses, for a long time i felt so alone in this, today i was feeling bad so i took a nap and i had a nightmare about someone chasing me, and i was paralyzed and too tired to to move in the dream. that, unfortunately, is my recurring nightmare. does anybody else have those?

about the "i feel like i am dying" in the night thing, i was also wondering if something like a fan would help, just white background noise to cover up the silence? i don't have one but might try to pick one up. or i could keep the tv on low, i don't have a cd player at the moment, actually i tried reading, but somehow for me it made things worse (although that could very well have been the fact that i was reading nick hornby in german!!!! doesn't translate quite right i don't think :D )

thanks again for the helpful responses, sorry to hear others suffer from the same but thankful to know i am not alone!

here's to a good night's sleep tonight! [8)]

kelly

[wendy]

Hi Again Kelly

I too get the re-occuring nightmare thing, I am jumping down the stairs and always wake with a start as Im due to reach the bottom! How strange I know!

I am going to try leaving the TV on low tonight to see if that helps, .... lets hope tomorrow were posting after a night of sweet dreams!

Wendy x

[Trish]

Jackie i'm so pleased that you have had many responses to your post, it really does help knowing your not alone, doesn't it?

Can i just say (no offence intended to any one) but nightmares and night terrors are two different things, although both frightening. I suffer night terrors i can't remember the last time i had a nightmare (i couldn't cope with them as well!)

Hope no one minds me pointing that out.

Hang on in there Jackie:)

Trishx

[inberlin]

thanks trish,

yeah, unfortunately i am having both pretty intensively at the moment!! until recently my nightmares didn't really bother me, but the problem is that now, i have a night terror usually shortly after falling asleep, and then when i really fall asleep, i have intense nightmares!

with the night terrors, i usually wake up screaming and then fall back asleep, but lately i have stayed awake and then had a panic attack, thinking i am going to die.........combined with the nightmare of being chased, it leads to a not-so-pleasant sleep experience!

i read actually that night terrors are pretty uncommon in adults, but also linked to PTSD.....

thanks for sharing!

kelly

[Trish]

Sorry Kelly...got your name wrong in my last post![Duh!]

[florence]

Hey again Kelly

Yes, you're definitely not alone with it , I sometimes put a film on and wait until I drift off.... It can help you to distract you from your own thoughts.
Just like you , my night terrors occur shortly after falling asleep, my symptoms at that moment are usually: gasping for air, a strong feeling of dread and fear, confusion, difficulty to reason myself, palpitations, and I sometimes scream and jump off the bed in terror.
I wish you all the best in your recovery.

Florence.

*** Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.***

[Trish]

Yes Kelly night terrors affects children alot more than adults...i'm beginning to think that the loss of my sister bought my night terrors on, i could be wrong of course.

I really do hope things get better for you Kelly... i've had a really bad time of them these last two weeks, my meds don't seem to be working, maybe its just a blip. This morning my GP gave me some sleeping pills (3) just to help me over the next few nights....boy, i hope they work tonight!

Trishx

[florence]

Hi Wendy


<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">I am jumping down the stairs and always wake with a start as Im due to reach the bottom! How strange I know!</td id="quote"></tr id="quote"></table id="quote">

I 've had that experience several times before.

Florence.

*** Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.***

[wendy]

Hi Florence,

Really! thats strange, would look up what It means but am trying to limit my googling lol

I had same dream since a child,

Take Care

Wendy x

[florence]

Hey Wendy... Let me know what you find on google :D
Can't remember if I had this since being a child but its been years, by the way, I am 29.

Florence.

*** Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.***

[wendy]

I am 32 and remember this since about 8 or 9 years old


Jumping
To dream that you are jumping, indicates that you need to take a risk and go for it. You will find progress toward your goals

Take Care

Wendy xx

Sorry for digressing Kelly, you defo started an interesting post!

[florence]

Thats an interesting explaination, Wendy, thanks.

Florence.

*** Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.***

[Dave]

Nothing worse than not being able to get to sleep through anxiety, sometimes I am completely unable to switch my mind off, it's worse when I've worked a late shift and have an early next day, takes me a while to slow down after work. I find that a bath or reading usually helps to relax me before bed. I also find it helps a lot when I come off the computer early.

Also, don't you hate it when you get that sudden jolt whilst falling off to sleep?

[inberlin]

hi trish, so sorry to hear about your sister, i am sure that could have something to do with the night terrors, i hope you were able to sleep okay last night! hang in there!

and wendy, i am very interested in that sort of stuff too, i took a dream psychology class in uni, and do think that our dreams/nightmares can tell us something about our lives. i read that what is important is to visualize the dream and then change the ending! so for example, you land with you feet on the ground, or you take two steps at a time, etc...

unfortunately, last night was another rough one for me, this time because of the migraine. another question: does anybody get really intensely nauseus? i had a migraine earlier in the day, and then the headache was gone but i was sure i would have to run to the bathroom, but i never did.....felt like the flu but was gone by morning...

thanks all,

kelly

[wendy]

Hi Kelly

Last night was not good for me either, cant work it out, I have had better days but this night time thing is awful, I too get the Nausea feeling,

The dream thing is really interesting, mite divert my "health anxiety" googling to this!! [8D]

Take Care

Wendy xx

[inberlin]

hi wendy,

hope you slept better last night!!

good news!! i had no nightmares, panic attacks, or night terrors!!

plus, i dreamt about meeting george clooney and he asked for my phone number!!! :D:D:D

hope everyone has nice day, i am actually looking forward to this one!!

kelly

[florence]

Thats very good on you, Kelly
What a great dream !! Lucky you [:P]... By the way, Heath Ledger was in my dream but I was a good girl ;).
Take care.

Florence.

*** Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.***

[blondeangel]

Inberlin...
I just read your post..no others yet, and it is not uncommon for people with anxiety/panic and especially people with post traumatic stress disorder to have night terrors or night panic attacks...mine usually occurr at night.
I get night terrors too, I think mostly from my PTSD, and I will wake up and scream, or wake up and try to scream but can't, and sometimes I have those frekay dreams where you panic in it, think you wake up, but you don't and then you freak out and try to wake up....you know like a dream in a dreram...and I will wake up freakin out....the last time Ihad a dream like that..a terror...when I did really wake up, I looked up and to the side of the bed and saw what looked like a black veil float across and disappear...near my wall...and I was awake! Tha made me feel even weirder. I was so scared to go back to bed.
Anyways...you are not alone. I wish I knew how to make them stop, but I don't. I try my best to have happy thoughts in my head before I go to bed, like I will play a videogame I like,or read an archie comic or a book i like that will leave me with pleasant thoughts.
Whoa....that was totally weird...just as I as typing that I felt like someone was beside me, like a couple of feet away...like out of the corner of my eye...now I am feelin creepy. But I felt like a woman was standing beside me....that was weird.

[Attsila]

hi all. I can completely relate to the whole nightmare, nocturnal panic thing. For 2 months I didn't get anymore then 4 hours of sleep a night due to my panic. I would jolt awake and freak out like I was dying. Well a few days ago I had to have emergency surgery to remove my gall bladder and even with the meds I was afraid to go to sleep and only slept 2 hours at a time at the most
Well I came home from the hospital and my body is finally wanting to catch up on sleep....however I started having horrible nightmares. Last night I had a nightmare about finding my son face down in a bathtub and I couldn't revive him I jerked awake so scared and I can't forget the dream and now I am obsessing about where he is every single minute. Crazy huh? I know in my head it is crazy but I still am very anxious over it all. I just want to feel better and not want to live in fear.

worrying is alot Like a Rocking Chair It is something todo but it won't get you anywhere