Night terror

[elgrande]

Hey folks

Just wondering if anyone has experienced the following:

Sometimes when I'm crossing over from a conscious state to sleep I will suddenly experience what I can only describe as some sort of intense panic attack. Basically I feel like a bolt of electricity is shooting through my head and as I wake up in terror my arms and legs kick out and I gasp for air. I know this sounds bizarre but I actually feel like I'm on the verge of dying! For a second I'm utterly convinced my numbers up. I then experience a huge spike of adrenaline followed by a loud buzzing in my ears. My forehead is usually covered in sweat and for a few seconds my heart feels like its pounding beyond anything I've ever experienced. It settles fairly quickly and I'm left feeling a bit confused and drained. After about 15 minutes I usually fall asleep again. This happens on average about once week and it doesn’t half freak me out when it does!

Thanks

[cairnsman18]

lol i always get this after a night on the drink..like i wake up with all your symptoms but worse..so im trying to stop drinking so much becuase im getting sick of this shit at night

[elgrande]

Actually you could be onto something there as it does seem to be worse the night after heavy drinking. Maybe its some kind of DT's!

[northstar]

hallo elgrande and cairnsman18!

if you're suffering with anxiety then you're better off staying away from alcohol. the reason you feel so bad after drinking it is because alcohol works like liquid sugar in the the body. it burns up really quick and your blood sugar levels soar. but then when you come home after a night out and go to sleep you're not eating or drinking anything else for quite a few hours and your blood sugars start to fall. when this happens the body compensates by releasing adrenaline and if you're sensitive this can mean panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia, heart palpitations, ringing in your ears, sweats, shaking, chest pains, difficulty breathing and more. and i think if you've already been suffering from panic attacks then the body tends to dump larger amounts of adrenaline into your system as this blood sugar dip keeps happening.

so basically, while you're feeling bad stay away from the drink lol. these days i only tend to have a glass or two if i'm out, but often this is just enough to start my heart pounding and stop me sleeping. fortunately i know what's happening so i don't start to panic. but you can imagine the effect this can have on someone who doesn't know what's going on in their body, they just start feeling weird all of a sudden for no apparent reason and next thing you know they're so worried they're having a panic attack. if you're out and about when this happens you might even start associating the panic feelings with being out of the house or being in crowds and this is how a social phobias etc. can often begin.

this is not the case for everyone, but if you're suffering from anxiety then it's wise to take note of it. sugary and processed foods & drinks can have the same effect.

elgrande the evenings that you find yourself panicking before you sleep i would look at what you are eating before you sleep, or how long it has been since you ate. if you're having drinks like tea or coffee or coke, or eating processed/sugary foods during the evening before you sleep then they can have the same effect on your blood sugars as alcohol and that may be the reason your adrenaline levels are spiking and causing you to panic. on the other hand if you haven't eaten in ages since before you sleep then again, your blood sugars could be quite low and your body begins giving you more adrenaline again! basically i think you should start keeping a food journal to look at what you're eating, when you're eating and what your anxiety levels are like. you can also try having a decent snack before you sleep like wholemeal toast (no white bread) or a banana. these feed sugar into your body at a nice slow rate and so keep your blood sugars level for a longer time. i tend to eat a banana before i sleep and it keeps me feeling just fine through the night :)

once again, this information may not apply to you, but it's worth a look into if you're interested. i recently posted some articles on nutrition and hypoglycemia, you might like to take a look at them to see if they apply to you :)

and let me know how you're doing! :D

[elgrande]

Thanks for your reply northstar, its a interesting idea. I probably do drink a bit too much but I guess I see it as my reward for a hard days work. I never ever drink during the day, just a couple of glasses of red wine at night. About once every 2 weeks I'll meet up with my mates and have a heavy night out. Always makes me feel on edge the next day but I just put this down to a hangover. Diet wise I eat pretty well and also take a few supplements. I have mild psoriasis so I tend watch what I eat. I actually thought the problem was down to overdoing recreational drugs during my teens and early 20's. I was convinced I'd given myself some kind of brain damage! I actually think now it was purely a trigger for anxiety and nothing more sinistar than that. I mean I've still managed to gain a degree, make lots of friends and hold down a stressfull job for 7 years. I think if I'd developed some sort of psychosis it would have been apparent by now. So I'm looking at and accepting that my issue is anxiety and its going to be up to me to try and resolve it.

[northstar]

sounds like you have your head fairly screwed onto your shoulders elgrande, and you're right, if the drugs had a major effect then you'd probably have noticed in other ways at this stage. perhaps a little counselling could help you to deal with the anxiety then? maybe you've tried it already? it can help with the irrational thoughts and circles of worry, for me it helped by reminding me of the more rational sides of my personality and focusing on those rather than allowing the irrational parts of me to dominate (does that make sense?).

you could also try cutting out the glasses of wine in the evenings for a week or so, just to see if it has any effect on your sleeping? at least that way then you know if it's an irritant to the anxiety or not. you don't have to cut it out altogether, especially if a nice glass of wine is how you reward yourself for working hard during the day :) but then you at least you'll know if it's affecting your body or not & if it is you'll know what it is and won't need to worry or if it's not then at least you can eliminate alcohol from your list!

i used to wonder why when i went to the pub or the cinema i found it so difficult to switch off and sleep afterwards. now i know it's because of the alcohol in the pub and all the coke & sweets i'd consume in the cinema that had me all jacked up and unable to sleep, it took me YEARS to figure that out lol.

[dizz]

Elgrande - WOW, I know EXACTLY what you experienced. This has been happening to me on-and-off for a couple weeks now. Out of nowhere, just about to fall asleep and BAM! Bolt of electricity jolting me awake!

I don't drink alcohol and I've got a good enough hold on panic that it doesn't develop into a full blown attack, but it sure has kept me awake at night:(

I find eating close to bedtime worsens this (especially sugar or carbs), so I've been watching my nightly diet, which has helped. Also, I found an herbal sleep remedy called Calms Forte; funny name but it works pretty damn well. You can get it at CVS/Rite Aid:)

Hope that helps.
Cheers!

[somessedup]

the same exact thing happens to me! it always freaks me out and when it happens i dont know where i am! it is so scary :(