anyone else wake up in the middle of the night having a full on panic attack?

[sarah_85]

it's so weird, i go to bed, i sleep soundly, then at 4.15am i wake up, convinced im dying there and then. whhhhhyyyyyy? argh i wish i understood what's going on. hasn't had a panic attack for nearly 3 weeks. saw the doctor today and she listened to my heart and chest. apparently im fine but she did say i was having some extra heart beats, what is that about? anyone else get those? xx

[debs71]

Hello Sarah,

Yes, I get those too. When I went to the docs last year after fainting at work she heard an irregular heartbeat too, and it is purely anxiety/stress driven.

I don't so much wake up entirely with a panic attack, but I do momentarily wake during the night as I turn over and feel a brief rush of panic and fear as I open my eyes. I don't linger to give it full force, so I just settle back down to sleep if I can. It's horrible though!

Very frustrating for you as well when you have gone a while without them......xxxx

[sugaplum01]

Hello, hope you are ok?
I wake up quite often having a full on panic attack. I did twice the other night. Sometimes i will nod off and before ive even realised i've woke up I've bolted out of bed and down stairs pacing up and down panicing like mad. Its rather scary isn't it.
xx

[julieliverpool]

its happens to me all the time i h8 it cant cope any more im havim them all the time horribe xx

[olderfella]

That is how my panic attacks first began,i have a slight fear of the nights drawing in as i apparently associate the night with the onset of my panic disorder,however i have had them during daylight to so i dont know why i have the fear of the night,as you say jumping out of bed pacing about like a headless chicken is very scary,i hope you improve very quickly sarah

[Hazel B]

Yep, I would be having a normal dream, then wake up with an alien in my chest jumping up and down, oh, it turned out that was my heart! What a horror - over 100 bpm, sweaty and thinking the worst! I'm now on beta-blockers to help and am doing other more natural things to help myself, including counselling.
You are not alone.

[am3ient]

I woke up half an hour ago with one...it really sucks doesnt it. I haven't had them for a while and now they are hitting me every night. They are bad but just remember they can't hurt you hope.you feel well.soon x

[jothenurse]

I wake up with them at night - I wake up frequently because of my hot flashes, which makes my pulse faster. If I don't calm myself and let myself cool down, I can have a full panic with a rapid pulse (in the 160 range). So, I really need to relax myself quickly. I don't get much sleep.

[janine85]

my panic attacks are always at night, around midnight, or 4am. i just seem to wake up. sit bolt upright then bam! im in full panic, i always get up though, try to get downstairs, drink water, pace around the garden (quietly lol) for fresh air then sit with tv on to distract me.

hope this helps xx