Heart pounding, adrenalin surging, pulse racing every time i try to sleep. HELP

[cruisemum1]

I am exhausted. I'm not particularly stressed about anything, eat well, don't drink caffeine after about 3pm (do have a glass or two of red wine at night though). i try to nap in the day when my 9 mth old naps but the same thing happens then. my dh is sick of me being knackered. any suggestions/help welcomE......PLEASE!

[cruisemum1]

anyone?

[hippipotami]

That sounds a bit panick-attacky or like an anxiety attack to me.

I used to wake up in the middle of the night, pulse racing, dry throat, heart pounding, sweating and generally feeling very very scared. Turns out that I was having anxiety attacks.

Sorry, not much help am I..

[juuule]

Vit B12 deficiency?
hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/anaemia_b12.html?print

[MrsCarrot]

Anxiety. I had it severely postnatally with dd and couldn't sleep as you describe. I hadn't noticed it creeping up and wasn't obviously worrying about anything in particular, but that's what it does.

At the time I got through the acute phase with a combination of seeing a herbalist, having massage and a LOT of support from friends but it did reoccur periodically, albeit to a lesser extent, until I had CBT.

I got mine through the GP as an alternative to AD'S and I can't recommend it highly enough. I've just had another baby and was very worried about it coming back but whenever I see the signs, I refer back to the CBT and it's really worked.

Don't suffer in silence with it, get some help before it gets really bad. Good luck with it

[MrsCarrot]

yes, like juuule says, the b-vits are VERY important for the nervous system, in fact I think I overhauled my diet as well. Coffee, even one cup a day can really affect anxiety.

[OrmIrian]

Anxiety. Not nice I know. I kept thinking I was having a heart attack. My GP was bloody useless and did nothing, as did my HR director. In the end I bought a book called something like Self-help for your nerves. It helped a lot - simply acknowledging that is anxiety not something more serious (for want of a better word) helped a lot.

[OrmIrian]

B-vits and magnesium I seem to remember is supposed to help.

[cruisemum1]

this is all soooo helpful. I suspected it was anxiety as i used to suffer terribly from panic attacks. I also feel very hot at night like i am in a hot sweat. Just soooo knackered. Thanks all

[cruisemum1]

mrscarrot- what is CBT?

[Pinkchampagne]

Sympathies to you. I suffer these attacks frequently & can be awake for hours at night. I didn't realise they were anxiety related, but that would make sense I guess.
Just wanted to let you know you're not alone.

[MrsCarrot]

sorry, cruisemum, it's Cognitive Behavoural Therapy, I had mine with the local community mental health nurse and and it works by challenging the thought processes that have become a habit and in turn helps with the physical side effects of negative thoughts.

I don't know if it's available free everywhere, but my nurse said it was becoming more available countrywide. It's worth investigating the herbal/dietrary route too. I think my mixture had some St John's Wort and Valarian in ,amongst other things. That was quite expensive though.

[cruisemum1]

pink/mrs carrot - ta for your support and advice. I don't care about expense at the moment! I just want to sleep zzzzzzz . I will defo investigate the possibility of it being anxiety. Should i see the quack first?

[cruisemum1]

i wonder how i can tell if it related to food/wine or anxiety? I suspect anxiety though - hope so then at least i can still enjoy a glass of wine

[Pinkchampagne]

I find I suffer with these more on nights when I haven't had a drink at all!

[dramaqueen]

I had pretty much the same symptoms as you, cruisemum. I was tested for anaemia etc, but it came back as OK. I was told to give up even the small amount of caffiene, which I did, and the symptoms gradually disappeared. I only have to have one coffe now and my heart races when I lie down in bed at night. The doctor said it probably did it in the day but that I would be more aware of it at night.

[MrsCarrot]

I haven't drunk any coffee for two and a half years now, sounds excessive but I felt so dreadful I didn't mind giving it up. I have one cup of tea in the morning now though.

I think you should see your Gp AND look at alternatives. There will probably be a waiting list for any free help. The doc recommended I have prozac as there was a nine month waiting list but I wanted to avoid it, and actually I got a nurse within three weeks and saw her regularly for six months or so. It can't hurt to get on with it.

The herbalist I saw cost around £50 for a an hour consultation and some reiki and two months worth of herbal tincture. It's geared to what you need and has different things in and you can buy the herbs over the counter of course, but it's better to have a face to face if you can.

You could start by making sure your diet is as wholefood as possible, oats every day, they are sedative, give up coffee if you can. Make an appointment with gp and alternative. I'm no expert, I can only say what worked for me but I would still have a glass of wine, or two!

I know several other people who've had the same thing and it's more commmon than you might think. I hope you feel better soon.

[cruisemum1]

Crikey! This is an eye opener . Thanks for all your posts. I do eat healthily but am gonna book quacks appt tomorrow and throw out the coffee. I'll switch to decaff which,I presume, is OK. Will also look at diet and sugars etc. Don't wanna live like a tibetan monk but I do want to sleeeeeeppp!!!
dramaaqueen - i do sometimes get these symptoms during the day but they defo feel like anxiety - no question. Just they seem worse at night because of the sleep thing. Can't wait to get myself fixed! Sweet dreams all and keep the advice coming. Feel better just knowing it can be righted.

[cruisemum1]

also worried that the adrenalin rushes I get at night are not harmful - anyone got any info on that??? Feels like it is flooding my chest cavity - urrgh...

[nightowl]

cruisemum, your post really just jumped out at me. you have described exactly what i was having not so long ago. its bloody awful.

dr thinks its anxiety but has tested me for a couple of other things just to rule them out.

i was VERY stressed up until about a month ago but a couple of my problems have gone away now (im hoping). it always seems with me that its after being stressed i start to get panic attacks, stress related type symptoms and all that kind of thing.

[jabberwocky]

cruisemum, has anyone suggested thyroid?

Also agree it could be panic attacks.

[nightowl]

thyroid is what they are testing me for.

[cruisemum1]

jabberwocky/nightowl - i do intend to book docs appt tomorrow. I am sure it is nothing drastic but i do want to rule it out. Interesting that you say they are looking at thyroid as I dropped 9lbs from my pre pregnancy weight after ds was born (regained now) and I wasn't that big to start with. Now levelled out at 8st 7lb so it could be a factor.
nightowl - did you also get hot?

[cruisemum1]

what are other thyroid symptoms?

[jabberwocky]

Pregnancy can definitely cause changes in your thyroid. It is a specific blood test, not on the standard panel so if the dr. doesn't bring it up for some reason then you should mention it - could save you some time and trouble. I've known more than one person whose doc missed it initially.

[madmarchhare]

not read whole thread (supposed to be having an early night)

try nomorepanic.com, also very good in the night when your in the thick of it. In fact I find getting up and reading anything helps.

Talk to GP about CBT