Confusional arousals/sleep drunkenness

[Overcoming]

At night I have these episodes, especially if my husband wakes me out of sleep shortly after drivingd off. I wake up unable to speak well and unable to reconcile my surroundings (even though it's our home). I begin to feel like I'm losing touch with reality and dear that I will feel that way indefinitely. It's nearly inevitable that I'll go into a panic attack. I read online that it's called "confusional arousals." Does anyone else relate? I'm usually kinda drained the next day.

 

[PiggyBack]

Sounds like an ambien state. Are you taking medications?

When waking from night terrors/mares, it often takes me some time (up to half an hour) to get my bearings and ground myself back in reality. And, in a milder form, I travel so much that I often find myself waking in strange settings and it takes some time to orient myself, but that usually happens rapidly.

It seems like you really sink into a deep sleep fast. There may be a reason for that such as you're chronically sleep deprived (even if you're getting the normal amount of sleep).

 

[KwanYingirl]

I suffer with the same thing @Overcoming . I get tired and just conk out. Then around 2:34 in the middle of the night I awake in a panic. I’ve tried everything to get back to sleep again. I call it my night migrations. I try to find a safe place to sleep. Then my mind starts racing and I have flashbacks. If I can stay awake until 11:00 and then go to sleep, I don’t wake up. On nights that I sleep uninterrupted, I wake up with a hangover (not alcohol-just feeling like one). This has been going on for 20 years since my chemical injury. Something happened to my brain. But the flashbacks go back to childhood as does the migrations. I don’t even try to go back to sleep anymore. But by 7:00 the next night, I’m exhausted. So I really try to stay up later.

 

[Overcoming]

@PiggyBack I am on Pristiq- well the generic. As a child/teen I used to sleep walk and I've always talked in my sleep. I used to "wake" and hear things around me but not be able to open my eyes or move my body. That was all pre-meds too.

 

[Fadeaway]

Yes, just didn't know what it was called. It usually stems from waking from a nightmare.

 

[PiggyBack]

@PiggyBack I am on Pristiq- well the generic. As a child/teen I used to sleep wal...

That should help your sleep. Hypnotics (which pristiq is not) can give you that drunken, underwater feeling.

I suffer with the same thing @Overcoming . I get tired and just conk out. Then a...

You might want to ask about seroquel. It really helps me sleep and get back to sleep during these episodes. YMMV. I remember the wonderful way my anxiety would melt away and I'd fall back to sleep.

 

[Fadeaway]

Ambien is the only medication I can take with out getting that drugged feeling. Most like serequel have horrible side effects for me. What works for some just doesn't work for others.

If the op is talking about what I think they are, it isn't hurt or helped by meds. It is an anxiety/dissociative issue.

 

[KwanYingirl]

@PiggyBack seroquel caused visual hallucinations.

 

[PiggyBack]

@PiggyBack seroquel caused visual hallucinations.

@KwanYingirl - wild. Valproic Acid was my kryptonite.

 

[Overcoming]

@Fadeaway It does remind me of dissociation. It is so bad though that even when I tell myself I'm in my home, I keep trippin and can't remember again. Panic attacks follow sometimes bc I begin to think I'm losing my mind.