Panic attack in dreams then waking up to anxiety

[Iyllsa]

Coffee works for me too, alcohol keeps me awake ironically. OCD and panic I know. For me to sleep I have a...

I try drawing. Sometimes if I try to sleep when I'm not sleepy enough I can overthink and have some sort of "attack" or "episode" leading to me being up for 4ish hours or more. So sometimes I push myself to the point of pure exhaustion that it feels like I'd fall asleep the second I'd lie down.

 

[Pjj]

I know when I am panicking in my sleep, my body sweats profusely and itches all over. I just accept it now. My sheets are often soaking wet

Overseas on active duty in the first 2 weeks we only had 12 hours sleep. I think that this helps knowing that you can function on very little sleep. The feeling tired sux though. I feel for you. I go through stages when I can't sleep

 

[Fadeaway]

Sleeping on your back is a big no no though for sleep apnea AND sleep paralysis. You are more likely to have both when sleeping on your back.

 

[Iyllsa]

I just came back from the sleep study and it doesn't seem like I have sleep apnea. I'd be surprised if I did or if I have any sleep disorders.

I noticed after I took the sleeping pill that was offered I became even more restless which typically happens when I take any sleeping pill.

What I'm concerned about is what happened in the morning. I don't know what it was and I was worried about it. Everything was fine. The lady was taking the stuff off and then all of a sudden it's like.. some sort of heat/fog entered my head. I could barely think. I kept thinking, "Is this because I didn't have enough water? I think I'm hungry. What if I can't drive home. I think I need water. Am I hungry?" etc.

I was originally leaning back in my seat, but then I remember leaning forward and breathing in more consciously. I don't think it was difficult to breathe, but something was making me feel like I needed to breathe more consciously. I remember my head just filling up with heat and my vision was becoming a bit blurry and slow. The voice of the technician was becoming really distant and I could barely hear or understand her, despite her being right behind me. I remember grabbing hold of the bottom of the chair because I was worried I was going to fall off. I remember also that a buzzing sound was terribly obvious. I don't know if that's what people talk about when they say ringing in the ears?

I felt nauseous, maybe that's why I felt inclined to breathe more consciously. I wasn't having much of a stomach ache, but it felt like I was having feelings of nausea. I debated if I should tell the technician that I felt weird and if I could lie down for a bit. I ended up only asking for a cup of water. I immediately got up after she left and lied down, closed my eyes, and waited.

I vaguely remember her coming back in and telling me I can't fall back asleep. I wasn't able to respond. I just sat back up and took some water then laid back down. I don't remember how long. Maybe only 5 minutes, but it felt like 10-15, I was able to get up again, drink more water, and walk to the restroom and back. After a few more minutes I was feeling normal again and by the time I got to my car I was okay. Tired, but okay..

I think the closest experience I had to this would probably be when I went biking early in the morning after not eating or drinking that morning or the night before. But this morning I literally just woke up and sat down on a chair...

Do you guys have any idea what this was? Was it some migraine or headache..? Or dehydration of some sort? I was really worried I'd have to call for someone to pick me up and I was too scared to tell the lady what was happening.

 

[Iyllsa]

Forgot to add that although the similar situation was when I came back form biking, I don't think it was as severe as the one I felt this morning. This morning definitely felt worse.

 

[Pjj]

It sounds to me like an anxiety attack but I am no doctor. The symptoms you describe the fogginess, dry mouth, feeling like you are burning up I experience quite often. Prior to my current diagnosis, because I feel constantly nauseated, I swore that. I had something seriously wrong with me. Did multiple blood tests and a couple of colonoscopies with some mildly suspect cell growth and back to the anxiety and PTSD stuff.

Did you find out if you had sleep apnea and if so which type because one type is not at all serious?

Kind regards

 

[Iyllsa]

It sounds to me like an anxiety attack but I am no doctor. The symptoms you describe the fogginess, dry mou...

Oh god.. if this is like a sign that my anxiety has gotten worse...

I've never had an anxiety attack like that. I've felt chest pains, knots in my stomach, tremors, suffocation, inability to think, will think I'm dying, and sometimes I won't even feel panic. Though when I do, I feel like I'm losing my mind haha.. that's always fun.

I've never had strictly such physical symptoms like that. I can't remember correctly if I was having difficult breathing or the nausea was making me feel like that.. or those two are the same thing. I don't remember if there was panic in it as well, but there probably was because I thought something was badly wrong and it was going to continue for a long time.

 

[Pjj]

At least you can laugh about it - sometimes that is the best way lol. I am not sold either way, to me the physical symptoms, like you when not accompanied by panic, don't feel like anxiety but as yet there is no other explanation. Coming to this site and others comments suggest that it is anxiety. According to my psych this is the new frontier in all of this, establishing a link between the physical and the emotional

If you find out anything, can you let me know?

Kind regards

 

[Iyllsa]

At least you can laugh about it - sometimes that is the best way lol. I am not sold either way, to me the p...

I've been spending the whole day worried to be outside and feeling unwell. It feels like how I am on my bad days.. except my typical symptoms I've gotten used to. Except for the ones that really make me believe I'm going insane or whatever.. The ones that make me think I'm suffocating or having difficulty breathing, chest pains.. Although I'm still working on it, at least, for me, it feels like the 478 breathing techniques have potential and walking my dog seems to help a great deal or going for a scenic drive to the beach with my dog.

This one though, it made me feel incapable of living. All I could do and/or think was that I needed to lie down and it took a lot of effort for me to not just lie down on the floor in front of the nurse. I was worried the whole day after that it would hit while I was driving, would I be able to merge across lanes and get out of the way, would I have to park in the middle of the freeway and cause an accident, what if I got into an accident, what if I'm in public and I end up lying down on the ground, etc... I'm worried that it'll happen tomorrow, around other people, etc. So far it hasn't happened again and I'm not looking forward to it. It really felt like my body was just shutting down physically. I'm not sure how to handle such intense physical sensations.. would the breathing technique work as well?

It seemed that having the nurse step outside so I could give myself a minute to lie down and drink water helped. I don't know how I was able to ask for water or what made me think of it because I asked for it without even thinking about it.. I think. I don't really remember. I don't know. It almost feels unreal.


Also, yes I will let you know. I'll be mentioning this to my therapist next week..

 

[Pjj]

Yeah I had a bad day too. Sometimes my body just stops and other days I couldn't walk fast if someone was after me. I swear that I don't get depression but in hindsight I think that days like these are a combination. Sometimes I just have to lie down until the fogginess and nausea lifts. I hear you!! My wife was having hassles with a shop keeper and I snapped - not swearing or violent but that was pure PTSD. Hang in there, I can tell by your openness that you are beautiful person!

 

[cupfish]

Consider this: you are doing us all a favor exposing your PTSD brain to scientific review, in real time. Nightmares like you describe come to me as well. Having the courage to let your sleep be examined has to be a good thing -- people must understand how messed up our neural pathways are compared to healthy brains. So let the damned nightmare come while you are being monitored, don't be afraid, you are brave. Our suffering, lack of sleep, security, fears, self-loathing and everything else takes great courage to face -- and you are! A++++

 

[Iyllsa]

Yeah I had a bad day too. Sometimes my body just stops and other days I couldn't walk fast if someone was a...

Aww, thank you. I'm actually not typically open about my stuff in person or to people I know offline. Sometimes I'll choose to be open with a complete stranger who I know I will never meet, but typically I'm not. I've gotten remarks because of my age or looks so it's partly that, but also I just like to keep my medical stuff to myself..

I think I'm able to be more open and comfortable here because I'm trying to find answers and relations from other people who may understand or be familiar with the specific sensation or scenario..

exposing your PTSD brain to scientific review, in real time.

I'm glad that you see it this way. I was originally set to get a sleep study because my doctor suspected sleep apnea, but I am also a fan of science and so it eases my mind to be reminded that all of these tests and studies can contribute to the education of PTSD whether it be to myself, to a naive nurse, doctor, etc. As much as I hate it sometimes, I always find these kind of things(mental illnesses and other health issues)very interesting. I think my scientific view on things like that is what's been helping me in some parts of my life, honestly.