night time panic attacks or heart problem - terrified!

[hamster lady]

Hi everyone

I have had panic disorder for 18 months now which started when I woke up from a nightmare with a very fast heart rate. It scared me so much that I ended up with a massive panic attack and then I developed panic disorder and agoraphobia. An ECG showed nothing wrong apart from a fast heart rate due to my anxiety and I have had a course of CBT for my agoraphobia which was really helpful. However, even though I am feeling better during the day and am able to get out of the house and walk my dog, my problems at night have not got better at all.

I wake up most nights with vivid dreams and nightmares and a lot of the time when I wake up my heart is pounding. I also sometimes wake up baking hot and have to go and splash myself with cold water. I have also had tests for perimenopause but they were normal although the doctor said that it doesn't mean that I am not entering perimenopause which could cause these symptoms and night (I am 40).

Last night I tried to calm myself down with relaxation exercises before I went to sleep but I woke up suddenly around 3 am from a really long, vivid dream and my heart was really pounding. I felt panicky and then my heart rate really accelerated and I jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom to splash cold water on myself. My husband woke up and tried to reassure me that it was just my anxiety but I was terrified that my heart rate wasn't going to slow down. I got back into bed and after about 3 minutes my heart rate slowed back to normal buy I was shaking with fear and I had a really dry mouth. I was also worried because my chest felt a bit weird due to the fast heart rate, I don't know how fast it was going but I think it was double its usual rate. I had real trouble getting back to sleep, I was scared I was going to wake up with it again.

I am really worried about why I wake up night after night with nightmares and a pounding heart. Sometimes it just pounds a bit and then quickly returns to normal but sometimes like last night it goes really fast, I find it very difficult to cope with. Is this night time panic attacks or could I have a problem with my heart like SVT or something? I do not get a racing heart during the day normally, unless I get a panic attack which thank goodness have been few and far between during the day recently.

Do any of you guys get similar symptoms at night with waking up with your heart racing? My doctor told me that it is just anxiety but I'm not totally convinced. I am under a lot of stress at the moment because my 10 year old son has been poorly with M.E. since November 2010 and I am a carer for him. I am broken hearted over his illness because he was an active, sporty boy before he became ill with a severe viral illness. I have a horrible feeling that my anxiety is going to continue until he is better. I was offered some more one to one CBT for my health anxiety about my heart but I had to turn it down because I have little support and would not have been able to get to the doctors for it because of caring for my son. (My previous CBT was done by telephone which suited me better).

I would be most grateful for any help and advice on night time panic attacks and I do apologise for the long, rambling post, I just need to offload!
Many thanks in advance, hamster lady

[thinkpink]

Hello there,

I've just read your post and we have very similar symptoms. I've suffered off and on with anxiety for over 10 years now but night time panic attacks are a more recent symptom. Im new to this forum but I wrote a post yesterday about night time panic attacks. If you click on my name, you should be able to see the original post. I too wake up in the middle of the night with my heart thumping out of my chest. I feel like my heart is about to burst or stop and it is extremely frightening. I usually have a strong sensation that I am about to lose consciousness and collapse. I also have some very upsetting thoughts which I feel embarrassed to share but I saw my gp today who was very reassuring. The fact that you've had an ECG rules out any serious heart problem. If you are really concerned I would go back to your gp but from what youre saying it sounds similar to my nighttime anxiety. One thing I've learned recently is that anxiety doesn't end when we go to sleep. If we are anxious this can carry over into our sleep and can emerge as night time panic. I sympathise with you because I know how upsetting and frightening this can be. Sometimes I feel really relaxed and sleepy before bedtime and yet I still manage to wake up with horrible panic attacks! You're heart beating fast won't make it stop. I know it feels like the heart will fail but that's not the case. Have you ever exercised? Think how fast your heart beats when you exercise, sometimes our heart rates increase but it doesn't mean the heart is faulty. It's the signals from your brain and your nervous system that came the anxiety and your heart to beat fast. It's the whole fight or flight process kicking in. I am very sorry to hear about your sons illness. It's important that you speak openly to someone about your feelings, well done for doing the CBT, I hope you found that useful. I had CBT and I cried a lot! I needed to cry though and to express my sadness. My best friend has M.E and ive been down at times when I've seen her unwell. Just remember that you are not alone- there are many people here with the same or similar symptoms. I'm afraid of sleeping tonight in case I have another attack like last night but I'm going to put a coping strategy in place so I can deal its it better. Put a picture by your bed of something which makes you smile. Keep a funny book by the bed, or something that makes you smile. Sometimes it helps to sleep with the window slightly open for some cool air. A milky drink before bed can help with sleep, as can a nice relaxing bath with some essential oils like lavender. If you can afford it, treat yourself to the occasional massage or ask your partner if he's willing to rub your back? I know it sounds silly but I tend to find human touch can calm me down and help relax me. If and when your heart beats fast, just remember that you are safe and that although it feels unpleasant it won't harm you. Im sorry to bore you and write such a long post! Just remember next time you wake up to splash your face with cold water at 3 am that there will be many people doing the same thing! You could even write down your feelings as it happens! You are not alone! Hope you manage some restful sleep soon, I'm off to make my camomile tea

[snoopy22]

I definitely believe you are having anxiety attacks! I had the same exact symptoms as you when my anxiety first started. I still have those same symptoms from time to time. I have o race out of bed and run to the sink to splash my face and body w cold water. I then go out in the family room to watch tv until the heartstops beating so hard and fast. There were times that I thought it would not stop too. It happened many many nights. I would be anxious for a long time afterward too. Then after it happened so many times, I just w ent with the feelings and it passed sooner. You are not alone!!! X0x0

[hamster lady]

Thanks so much for your replies thinkpink and snoopy 22 and I'm sorry to hear that you guys are going through a similar thing at the moment. I definitely find panic attacks harder to deal with at night rather than during the day, I just lay there in the silence and the only thing I can concentrate on is my heart beat, it is so claustrophobic! I had a bit of a better night last night, I woke up a few times after vivid dreams but my heart didn't go crazy thank goodness! I always think that my heart is going to suddenly stop because it is going so fast, but then again when I exercise it can go that fast too!

I no it is probably panic attacks but I have read while googling it on the internet (probably a bad move!) that I fast heart rate at night can sometimes be caused by sleep apnea and a couple of years ago I woke up unable to breathe and felt like I was choking. I did mention this to my doctor but she still thought it was anxiety. I might go back to the doctors if it keeps happening just to put my mind at rest. I have also wondered about having a 24 hr holter test done just to see what my heart is up to at night. I also sometimes wake up with missed beats and double beats.

I am trying my best to feel calmer during the day so that my anxiety doesn't spill over into the night but it isn't easy with my son's illness. Thanks so much again for your help and advice guys. hamster lady

[hamster lady]

Oh dear, I don't know how much more I can take of this, I had a really bad night last night. I tried to do my relaxation exercise before bed and sprinkled some lavender oil on my pillow and even though I managed to drift off to sleep I woke about 3 or 4 in the morning with my heart pounding after a vivid dream. I managed to calm myself down and went back to sleep but I woke up again a while later with my heart doing something really weird it felt like it went extremely fast in a short space of time, a similar thing happened to me once when I felt faint and my heart raced to bring my blood pressure back up. I managed to get back to sleep but woke two more times from vivid dreams and my anxiety was sky high by the morning. I am really scared that there is something really wrong with my heart and that it is going weird at night and causing the bad dreams or is it the other way round and the bad dreams are causing my heart to pound in reaction to them, I wish I knew the answer. I am also scared that I have got sleep apnea and this is what is causing my symptoms at night, I do not have the problem during the day.

I have been in a state all day and I am seriously considering not going to bed tonight, I'm too scared but I have no idea how I will be able to stay up all night. My husband is concerned about me and says that I look really tired and he thinks I should go back to the doctors to put my mind at rest about my heart. My sleep problem seems to happen when I hit REM sleep in the early hours of the morning. I sleep OK for about the first 3 hours of the night.
I am seriously considering paying for a sleep study for sleep apnea to put my mind at rest because I have heard that it can take about 3 months to get one on the NHS. I am spending a lot of the day and night feeling my pulse to make sure it is steady and my phobia is getting a lot worse. Do any of you guys have similar worries? I would like to try and get to the doctors next week but it is very difficult for me to get there due to looking after my poorly son. The last time I went I mentioned sleep apnea but my doctor was sure that it was anxiety that was causing it. I am so worried that I am damaging my heart with all my nocturnal stress, my heart is supposed to be at rest at night, not going like the clappers! I am so worried about going to bed tonight, do any of you guys feel the same way too? hamster lady

[Sal W]

Hamsterlady you are not alone. I have just had a sleep study and because I took a cancellation I waited less than a week. I too am scared I have sleep apnea. I too have vivid horrible dreams where I wake up with a massive adrenaline rush and panic attack, I am on 6 mg diazepam as I panic in the day too and this helps. I have the same pounding heart and also get palpitations that sometimes last all day. I have had an ultrasound of my heart which showed oxygen flow etc and also an ambulatory ECG. All results were normal. My heart rate goes up very quickly anyway when I exercise because I am unfit! Can I suggest you ask your dr for a sleep study as this will pick up heart stuff too. I was wired up like frankinstein's bride and looked a fright and didn't sleep too well but everything that usually happens, jerks, twitches, feeling like i'm breathing too shallowly or not at all, all kicked off so hopefully I will get some answers. Takes 2-3 weeks to get results but will be worth it. I went to the Freeman in Newcastle. Don't know where you are based but must be somewhere not too far for you to go. Good luck and let me know how you get on, you are not alone! Feel free to pm me if you want to. Sal x

[Acidomoduso]

I used to get this quite badly, to the point of having coloured lights flash before my eyes, pins and needles, pounding heart, gasping for air and really panicky and shaky. I only really get the gasping for air and the pounding heart now so it has eased off a little. Trust me, i had thoughts of "it can't be anxiety because i'm asleep and releaxed"; but it was just stress.

It will go - it may take time but it will go.

[hamster lady]

Thanks guys for your replies and help and advice, it is very much appreciated. I'm sorry to hear that you are going through difficult times with your anxiety too. I have had a terrible few nights with waking up from nightmares with my heart pounding. The other night I woke up with it racing and then I tried my very best to ignore it and to think that it was just anxiety and then luckily it didn't get any faster and then went back to normal. In between wakings I do my relaxation exercises but it doesn't make any difference and I will wake a while later with the same thing happening again. Last night I woke up and my heart suddenly went really fast and then stopped when I properly came to. My heart feels weird all night, I don't know how much more I can take of this.

I am getting very close to going back to my doctor's about it but they always say the same thing that it is just anxiety but I'm still terrified that I have a heart problem. I am extremely stressed at the moment because my husband has got work worries, my teenage son has got anxiety and depression caused by school and my 10 year old son is poorly with M.E. and my lack of restful sleep makes it very hard for me to cope with everything.

I was wondering whether I should take the beta blockers that my doctor perscribed me to stop my heart reacting to my nightmares at night. I think I am getting adrenalin rushes all night because my mouth is dry when I wake up and I am often very hot and sweaty (nice!)

I am terrified that I am destroying my heart and that it isn't going to be able to take much more of my stress. I was relieved though when I took my blood pressure yesterday it was 105 over 75, I thought it would be through the roof because I have been so stressed. I just want all this to end, I have had it almost every night since August 2010, I feel like a complete and utter zombie! I am still worried it could be sleep apnea but my husband says that he never hears me making gasping noises and I only snore if I am lying on my back or if I have a cold. I have also been on a heart palpitations form and the doctor on there said that he thinks I am suffering from night terrors and night panic attacks. I do not have any symptoms during the day apart from being really stressed and I am wondering whether my anxiety is just coming out at night because I am trying to keep it under wraps and keep everything together during the day. I am so scared that I am going to have a cardiac arrest, there has been so much about people suddenly collapsing on the news recently, not great for us heart phobics!

I am wondering whether I have got his for the rest of my life, it is showing no signs of getting better and it is ruining my life.

[xtremx]

Hi hamster lady.

I went though about 6 months of having panic attacks whilst trying to go to sleep and also during sleep would wake several times a night sometimes i would wake paralyzed on one side or with chest pains.

For me sleep seemed to be a sentance but but in the end i had to train myself to make sleep a reward it was hard work but was able to do it.

You well be able to overcome this

[buffybot]

Why is it panic attacks seem to get you in the evening or in the night? I would have thought this was a time to be relaxed but sods law says other wise! I have much to learn.