New to anxiety, just wanted some opinons!

[richierich25]

So just brief info into my anxiety. On the 31st of december(new years eve) I had my first panic attack. I have worked the night shift for a few years now and I barely sleep 5 hours. The night before my first panic attack I was setting up for a new years eve party and had gotten into an argument with my fiancee. At the same time my phone had fell out of my hand(no case) and cracked which pissed me off(I'm in classes to develop mobile Virtual Reality Apps and my phone is everything for development). That night i had some strong heart palpitations and difficulty breathing but I was so occupied with decorating that it didn't phase me. The next day I was on my way to work(night shift on a cardiac unit for open heart surgery) and while driving this weird sensation came over me and my heart rate jumped up out of no where into the 160's, legs became completely numb and I had this weird sensation that I would urinate on myself. Of course I thought i was having a heart attack and started to panic more. Eventually I opened my window and started breathing fresh air and was able to calm down to take myself right into the ER. EKG, BloodWork(potassium was low at 3.5, vitamin d 19.8), echo, stress, Nerve Test(due to numbness), MRI(just took a few hrs ago so results still pending) were fine. After that day I had panic attack about 5-6 times a day for about 2 weeks. muscle cramps, headaches, dizziness, neck pain, brain fog, spasms. I've looked through this forum alot and have gotten great advice that has helped me a lot. Panic attacks down to once a week(happens at night for some reason or when i sleep), muscle cramps headaches dizziness, brain fog, spasms happen very little. What I need advice on is what should I do to stop panic during sleep. Laying down always makes my heart race and breathing difficult. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of night and have some strong panic attacks. All of sudden I am super sensitive to meds or herbal stuff. Chamomile makes me super light headed and so does peppermint tea. I cant even take a multivitamin because it makes me anxious throughout the day. wondering if anybody has any bad side effects to melatonin? Or what suggestions do you have? I also have irregular heart beat which freaks me out sometimes, any remedies for that? thank you in advance. p.s. I stopped coffee(used to have 3 cups a day) no more soda, eating super healthy.

[fixmybrokenmind]

Sorry to hear of your introduction to panic, it is not a club anyone wants to join. I have found melatonin very beneficial for sleeping when I have anxiety however if your heartbeat is still rapid while you are sleeping it may not help. My first suggestions would be magnesium and perhaps 5-htp. Both have been beneficial for my anxiety. If neither of those work there is a medication called propranolol that is good for calming the rapid heartbeat associated with anxiety however I only ever use it on an as needed basis. Sometimes with panic you just need something that stops the anxiety about having anxiety

[richierich25]

Sorry to hear of your introduction to panic, it is not a club anyone wants to join. I have found melatonin very beneficial for sleeping when I have anxiety however if your heartbeat is still rapid while you are sleeping it may not help. My first suggestions would be magnesium and perhaps 5-htp. Both have been beneficial for my anxiety. If neither of those work there is a medication called propranolol that is good for calming the rapid heartbeat associated with anxiety however I only ever use it on an as needed basis. Sometimes with panic you just need something that stops the anxiety about having anxiety

Thank you for your insight! After browsing the forum and internet I did come across the benefits of magnesium. Anxiety has increased my fear of taking medicine or supplements due to my new onset sensitivity to pretty much everything. I tried a multi-vitamin for about a week and initially I thought it was working and then I started to become super anxious, weak arms, constipation, and weird cramps throughout my body and near my chest which made me panic more. Made my health anxiety go berserk. Melatonin actually did help me a ton but at 5mg it was pretty strong and I would wake up dizzy and it would last a pretty long time. I just recieved 300mcg of melatonin today which is the daily recommend dosage so im hoping it works with no side effects or at least mild side effects. Im starting to believe in magnesium tho. Ive been doing a ton of homework on diet plans and incorporating the daily recommend value of mag into my diet. I have been on this diet for 3 days and I feel so much better, ton of energy, and most of all my heart rate is less jumpy. If anybody is reading this and having issues with heart rate give magnesium a shot or put into your diet. Handful of nuts is approx 52mg of magnesium. ive been using this website nutritional value.org to calculate what I eat and make a journal of it every day and try my best to calculate my diet(how accurate is the website Im not sure but im sure its not way off). It might sound tedious but its working for me and I willing to do the work.

[Teafrenzy]

I am not a big fan of using Melatonin while undergoing anxiety. One of the side effects that Melatonin can cause is Depression. Depression is unfortunately, a very common consequence of anxiety.

[richierich25]

I am not a big fan of using Melatonin while undergoing anxiety. One of the side effects that Melatonin can cause is Depression. Depression is unfortunately, a very common consequence of anxiety.
I have read that so thats why I purchased .3 of it instead of the usually 1, 3, 5 mg. I work the night shift and I have trouble staying asleep for more than 5 hours and within those 5 hours I wake up 5-10 times. I probably wouldnt take melatonin for a long period of time, just until my sleep is regulated and once I notice that my sleeping is off again ill go on it again. Im hoping for an evening shift within the next month which would help my sleep a great deal and my anxiety.

[Anxiousexplosion]

You're not new to anxiety, it's just that enough stress in your life has cumulated, and made the anxiety in you holler out for your attention, and you're stopping to take notice cause something going on isn't right.

Anyway, it's possible you're sleep deprived, and that can definitely worsen anxiety.

If you're having trouble sleeping, eating a bit of something before bed always helps, hunger itself can cause you a bad night's sleep, and anxiety, plus nightmares. Anytime I try to go to sleep on an empty, growling stomach, the results are a crappy sleep.

[gcltr777]

It could be that your body is simply not 'designed' for night shift. I've been a 'night person' (just seemed to be when my brain worked the best) all my life and had a night shift at one time... did not like it. I felt much better and 'balanced' when I went to sleep at night and got good sleep (7hrs or so). Circadian rhythms can affect every part of your body. Working a night shift, dealing with daytime classes, 5hrs of sleep or less, personal life 'dealings'... That really starts to add up over time.

As far as your heart... The brain has a crazy way of making it go faster the more you think about it. It's just a nasty cycle. Sometimes I will wake up in the night feeling like my heart is racing, use a metronome on my phone (with a tap function) and see that my heart is really at 70-75bpm... where I thought it was easily 120 or higher.