PANIC WHILE ASLEEP??
Question:
Thanks ken and everyone….I’ll try not to sleep right away like you said ken…..that sounds like a good idea. What about taking a ativan 1mg after the first PA in my sleep? think that will get me through the night….I never did take one yet…they gave them to me for my daytime PA’s but those quit. Thanks ~mike
I’d rather take it before going to sleep. There is no need to have that first PA either. I don’t know if 1 mg is going to do the trick, that’s YMMV. And it’s always necessary to confer with your doctor when you change your medication in any way. Philip
Response:
Hi I am new here…I’ve had bad panic attacks for ten years….believe it or not I don’t have them while I am awake any more thank God…I am on No meds either. BUT the last two months i have been getting them in my sleep ONLY!….after I am sleeping about 3hrs the first one hits me like a rock..I wake up instantly …my heart is racing before I am even conscience of the situation. this happens 10 times a night ,it is pure hell…I can understand meds helping while you are awake but this is different…something in my subconscience is triggering this…I have no control while I am sleeping of my thoughts as I do when awake.. Has anyone experienced this before? Nothing at this time seems to be working for me…any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. ~mike~
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi I am new here…I’ve had bad panic attacks for ten years….believe it or not I don’t have them while I am awake any more thank God…I am on No meds either. BUT the last two months i have been getting them in my sleep ONLY!….after I am sleeping about 3hrs the first one hits me like a rock..I wake up instantly …my heart is racing before I am even conscience of the situation. this happens 10 times a night ,it is pure hell…I can understand meds helping while you are awake but this is different…something in my subconscience is triggering this…I have no control while I am sleeping of my thoughts as I do when awake.. Has anyone experienced this before? Nothing at this time seems to be working for me…any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. ~mike~
Hi Mike! So sorry you’re going through this. I’ve only been awakened a few times with a PA in the middle of the night. Most of mine are while I’m awake. Do you see a psych doc? Maybe he/she can get to the bottom of why you’re having them while you sleep and not during the day. I really don’t know what else to tell you, but a doctor is the route I would go if I were you because IMO there has to be an underlying problem somewhere. Please take care! Di Got questions? Get answers over the phone at Keen.com. Up to 100 minutes free! http://www.keen.com
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi I am new here…I’ve had bad panic attacks for ten years….believe it or not I don’t have them while I am awake any more thank God…I am on No meds either. BUT the last two months i have been getting them in my sleep ONLY!….after I am sleeping about 3hrs the first one hits me like a rock..I wake up instantly …my heart is racing before I am even conscience of the situation. this happens 10 times a night ,it is pure hell…I can understand meds helping while you are awake but this is different…something in my subconscience is triggering this…I have no control while I am sleeping of my thoughts as I do when awake.. Has anyone experienced this before? Nothing at this time seems to be working for me…any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. ~mike~
Dear Mike, Welcome to ASAP!! It seems you are suffering from nocturnal panic attacks, I use to get them alot myself. If this is a new symptom for you I would have your MD check it out, you want to make sure that you don`t have a physical reason for these symptoms. My nocturnal PA`s would start one to two hours after I had fallen asleep. There were nights that I gave up trying to sleep because of this. Since being on paxil for 28 months, I have only had a handful of these attacks. Next time you get an attack get out of bed and fully awake, when your anxiety dissipates then try to go back to bed. When I am having nocturnal PA`s, it usually means for me that I am dealing with alot of daytime anxiety. Even though you don`t get PA`s during the day, are you dealing with any anxiety or stress? Also avoid caffeine and eating large meals late at night, it might help decrease these attacks. If these attacks continue you might want to think about meds. Take care 
Jackie Got questions? Get answers over the phone at Keen.com. Up to 100 minutes free! http://www.keen.com
Response:
Hi I am new here…I’ve had bad panic attacks for ten years….believe it or not I don’t have them while I am awake any more thank God…I am on No meds either. BUT the last two months i have been getting them in my sleep ONLY!….after I am sleeping about 3hrs the first one hits me like a rock..I wake up instantly …my heart is racing before I am even conscience of the situation. this happens 10 times a night ,it is pure hell…I can understand meds helping while you are awake but this is different…something in my subconscience is triggering this…I have no control while I am sleeping of my thoughts as I do when awake.. Has anyone experienced this before? Nothing at this time seems to be working for me…any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. ~mike~ Hello Mike, welcome to ASAP, i never had it as severe as yours sounds but i had the same thing when my anxiety was bad. After a couple of hours sleep i would suddenly jerk awake in the middle of a panic and leap out of bed before i knew what i was doing, it took a good 30 seconds to a minute before i was able to calm down and realise what was going on. I found the only way to combat it once the first one had happened was not to try and go back to sleep straight away, get up and have a drink (not coffee or alchohol), read a book or watch TV and after a while i used to go back to sleep. It was only when i tried to go immediately back to sleep that i had further attacks, usually just at the moment when i was dropping off, when i would jerk awake again and this would happen maybe another six or seven times before i realised it was pointless trying. Good luck, Ken.
Response:
Thanks ken and everyone….I’ll try not to sleep right away like you said ken…..that sounds like a good idea. What about taking a ativan 1mg after the first PA in my sleep? think that will get me through the night….I never did take one yet…they gave them to me for my daytime PA’s but those quit. Thanks ~mike
Response:
Hi I am new here…I’ve had bad panic attacks for ten years….believe it or not I don’t have them while I am awake any more thank God…I am on No meds either. BUT the last two months i have been getting them in my sleep ONLY!….after I am sleeping about 3hrs the first one hits me like a rock..I wake up instantly …my heart is racing before I am even conscience of the situation. this happens 10 times a night ,it is pure hell…I can understand meds helping while you are awake but this is different…something in my subconscience is triggering this…I have no control while I am sleeping of my thoughts as I do when awake.. Has anyone experienced this before? Nothing at this time seems to be working for me…any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. ~mike~
Nocturnal PA’s are common (and terrifying IMO). I think you’d better try a med (possible a benzo) before going to sleep. 10 PA’s a night is something you should not try to white-knuckle through IMO. Philip
