Anxiety manifesting itself when least expected?

[Humphreyshead]

Walking up in the night with a racing heart, lump in my throat and a strong need for oxygen and deep breaths.

Is this anxiety?

I’ve recently been to the doctor, who has said that it is.

But what’s triggering it?

I get a few heart palpitations throughout the month, which have been checked and not seen as an issue. I’ve also got a higher blood pressure than what’s normal for me. I’m otherwise healthy.

I went to bed perfectly fine, but then woke up like I’ve mentioned. This has happened 3 times in the past 2 weeks

Yeah. Your brains dumping a load of adrenaline into your system for no reason.

Propranolol will sort that though. They're beta blockers.

Thank you. My doctor mentioned beta blockers but has also said that as I historically have a low blood pressure then they may not be right as they’re known to reduce bp even more so.

My bp is higher than my normal, but still low iyswim

It’s so frustrating as I have no idea what’s triggering them

Has anyone else suffered from this? How did you figure it out?

Have you had your thyroid levels checked. This was exactly me. Palpitations, episodes of anxiety seemingly untriggered, but also, weight loss and a feeling of being very full after eating very little. I was diagnosed with Graves disease. Worth getting thyroid checked I'd say.

How old are you? I’m mid 40s and the perimenopause has caused really bad palpitations out of the blue. I’ve had anxiety all my adult life but these palpitations came out of the blue. I’m now in HRT and one Propranolol day and things have improved. Yes, also get thyroid levels checked on a blood test.

How is your caffeine intake? I found this was happening to me when I was drinking caffeinated drinks all day. I switched to decaf and it stopped. If you drink caffeinated drinks, it would be worth switching if only to rule this out.

I had high anxiety caused by high calcium so I do recommend some bloods if it’s come out of no where and you have no stress. But a lot of people have stress despite not feeling stressed, and their body shows them so in various ways. Yours is dumping adrenaline out at night.

try meditation, less screen time, exercise and a healthy diet, get out in nature and socialise. More sleep too.

id be less inclined to go on beta blockers given there are holistic approaches and you haven’t ruled out physical causes.

What is your iron level?

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/iron-deficiency-anaemia/

Anxiety doesnt just come out of nowhere- it will have been building up in you for a while (even if not consciously aware of it) and then suddenly, like a pressure cooker it just overwhelms you in weird moments. But it was always there under the surface.

Try to think of anxiety not as something external out to attack you but as your brain trying really hard to keep you safe in the best way it knows how- which is going into fight or flight mode and causing physical and emotional symptoms. Your brain is not the enemy, its just misguided is all and you can train into a different way.

There are lots of physical reasons that can cause it as PP have suggested- peri, menopause, thyroid, etc so get those addressed.

If it's not a physical cause then look at self care. How are your days generally?- do you do any exercise, relax, have time to decompress or is your life hectic and tense, where you feel constantly pressured and rushed? are there concrete things you are fretting about?- could you talk to someone about them?

Getting general anxiety levels lower will help- it's vital to take time every day to consciously relax - loads of free apps to help with this. Do them every day even if you dont feel they are making a difference - if you incorporate them into your routine, after a while they will start to make a difference. Doesnt matter if you dont feel particularly tense when doing them- do them anyway.

I really liked Paul McKenna's audio book on anxiety- his voice is very calming and lots of practical exercises in it that you can do.

I came off the beta blockers when I started weight training. Haven't looked back.

Thanks everyone. I’ve been having palpitations for a couple of years. I have bloods annually for past couple of years because of this.

My thyroid is fine. Iron levels 23, which is low but normal apparently.

I quit caffeine and alcohol approx 9 months ago. Which has reduced the palpitations.

The issue atm is the faster heart rate and tight throat feeling, which the dr says is anxiety.

I have a stressful job teaching SEMH kids, who have been kicked out of mainstream school.

I’m very active and in nature all the time in my spare time.

I don’t get the palp

I run, I climb, I lead groups in the mountains, I mnt bike. I’d say i was pretty fit and healthy.
I eat well

Iron levels 23, which is low but normal apparently.

😱 What were the lab ranges when you got that result? Ferritin should be around 70 for healthy hair growth btw.

This is what I have found out on here over the past year.
Last year my ferrarin levels were 11. I’ve been taking iron and now they’re 23. Just need to keep at it.

It’s hard to believe that these are causing the panic type attacks though

It’s hard to believe that these are causing the panic type attacks though
If you follow my nhs link above heart palpitations are in the top five symptoms list. Heart palpitations can make you think you are having a panic attack. Bodies are weird. Keep getting that iron up but going from 11 to 23 in a year is very slow so you might need different tablets/liquid otherwise you've got another possible 3 years of this before being able to cross low iron off your list.

I’m currently sat crying in the lounge because I’ve spent the last 2hrs trying to sleep, but can’t as I just feel like I’m going to suffocate 😞

My throat feels tight and my breath doesn’t feel like it’s giving me enough.

My heart rate feels fine, although I haven’t tested it.

I don’t know what to do! I’ve had to get up to distract myself but I’m now too scared to go to bed it’s making my cry

I've had nights like that. It feels awful but it will pass. For me the thing that helps the most in moments like that isn't trying to relax - because if I listen to a meditation or do a breathing exercise I'm constantly checking if it's "working" and then get stressed when it isn't and it becomes a vicious circle. But instead do something mundane and normal. Make a cup of tea perhaps. And the best thing for me is to lie in bed and watch TV and not try to sleep. Something slow and comforting, I like Friends or Midsummer Murders. And then I do eventually go to sleep but just the normality and mundaneness of it stops me panicking. Hope you feel better soon. Just remember that it's just a feeling and isn't dangerous. It feels horrible but it will pass.

And you're not alone in feeling like this x

Thank you xxx

I’m in the lounge so I don’t wake dh. But I will do that.

thank you

Sorry to hear @Humphreyshead . If it is anxiety, why don't you lay down and just listen to a meditation podcast or sleep hypnosis. They really work for me when my anxiety is bad.

Tell yourself that you only need to close your eyes and rest, it doesn't matter about sleeping as that just adds more pressure and anxiety.

However from what you say it sounds more likely to be a physical issue as you would be aware of some anxiety during the day at least for it to manifest so much at night.

Coincidentally, have you been ill lately? What you describe sounds like when I was in early stages of quinsy. There was some swelling in my throat which made me feel like I was suffocating. Everytime I dozed off I startled awake I guess because I wasn't taking enough oxygen in.

I've also had increased palpitations/anxiety with covid.

I hope you feel better and more settled soon.

Hopefully it's not this in your case, but I had episodes like this and palpitations and I was eventually diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in my lung. Potentially very serious. If they can't find an answer then worth asking them to do a d-dimer test to hopefully rule it out.

Try some breathing exercises - like box breathing - if you're feeling anxious you tend to start breathing faster which makes the physical feelings worse.
Rest is almost as good as sleep. If you're restless, get up and go somewhere else in the house. Read for a while. Have a drink. Go back to bed when you start feeling sleepy and get warm and comfortable. Being calm and quiet is good.
I've been having some palpitations too and have reduced caffeine and drunk more water as I suspect I was a bit dehydrated. They've virtually stopped. You just need to find what's triggering them.

I'm hoping you are resting by now OP but wanted to say that I very often feel tearful when I can't get to sleep, the exhaustion and frustration. Combined with the anxiety, it is really hard but some things I find helpful:
Reminding myself that one sleepless night , or even a few, is not the end of the world. We can cope.
Reminding myself that resting still has benefits even if not sleeping. Being still and quiet is restorative in itself
If I really can't turnoff my racing mind or anxious thought# I get out of bed, write down some of my worries and then do a bit of gentle yoga to get my brain in a different mode. Adrienne's wind down yoga is great
If this still isn't working, turn the situation round in my mind. I'm not missing out on sleep, I'm gaining quiet time to read a book or listen to a gentle podcast. Do this for a bit, and then see how I feel.

I appreciate all of this is easy to say and hard to do when your mind is tired and doing it's best to protect you from perceived threats, so finally offering solidarity and sympathy and hope for rest soon 💐

Thank you.

I’m feeling a better. Watching a tv show and drinking herbal tea.

I’m not ready to try to go to bed yet 😞

It’s frustrating because it’s likely that work is my stressor and after tomorrow I have 2 weeks off. I should be content!