Waking gasping after falling asleep every night

[Oomling]

I went through a really stressful period a couple of months ago which saw me get quite ill. Since that started, I’ve had a really horrible symptom and I just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas what else I could check.

basically every night when I fall asleep, I wake in a complete panic about an hour later. This repeats until about 1/2am when I finally fall into a deep sleep. Sometimes I wake with a really dry mouth and had to neck some water, sometimes it’s just a blip panic wake up and other times it’s a really scary breathing episode and I always have to get up and walk around to calm myself down.

sleep study requested- taking forever
bloods done for most things but more next week for full thyroid panel, b12, ferritin, hormones.

i have never felt so alone or exhausted. I can’t have a single night without it. Am I missing anything obvious?

I think it’s sudden onset sleep apnea but I don’t snore, gasp or mouth breathe and I’m not hugely overweight so my GP is less convinced.

I am 39, almost 40. Slightly overweight. Have noticed it is far worse before and on my period.

I get this and I feel a dropping sensation through my whole body when it happens just as I fall in to a deep sleep. Then I feel like my head feels really weird and I start to feel panicky. It takes me a while to fall asleep after it happens, which can be 5 or 6 times a night.
im perimenopause and never had it before that.
i actually just came in here and saw this post after it happened just now and saw this post

I had something similar after a period of very high stress and an increase in hormonal anxiety and was diagnosed with nocturnal panic attacks.

As you can’t do CBT therapy for coping mechanisms to manage triggers - you’re asleep when it wakes you - a fairly short period on anti-anxiety medication was the answer for me.

I hope you find answers soon from your GP and can get treatment to stop it. I remember it well and it was awful.

I don’t know if this helps @Oomling but this could be a “functional neurology” symptom left over from you being ill. Basically, it just means something in your brain hasn’t healed all the way - it’s sending stress signals all day long and when you finally relax to sleep, it’s like the signal for the party to start and you’re suddenly flooding your body with all the stress you’ve been trying to mask all day. It can often come out in these episodes, and did for me when I was getting “well” (I’ll always have the condition, but it doesn’t control me now) from a long-term neurological disease. The body adapts to being ill for survival and then just doesn’t quite know how to be completely well again. I would bet every pound I have that this will self-resolve in a few months, once you feel safe about this medically (ie that it’s not a symptom that your illness is coming back or not another illness starting) and as the trauma and fear of your illness fades deeper into the past. The human brain is wondrously elastic; our brains change all the time and yours will completely heal from this given time.

The science behind panicked waking is just an adrenaline surge, which can peak at 2.5 times normal, and cortisol release caused by that surge. It’s like you’re asleep but you’re having such a bad “adrenaline rush” that it awakens you.

I really, REALLY recommend a beta blocker for this; they lower your blood pressure and slow your heart so it’s basically like taking the “antidote” for adrenaline, and once you physically feel the connection of it working (slowing your heart rate in a way you can measure), it will help stop this from happening. You don’t have to use one long term at all, but it can be really helpful when you reach this point that you’re functioning just fine during the day, but having panicked waking. Also, maybe try taking magnesium before bed - lots of supplements are snake oil, but magnesium has actually been scientifically proven to help regulate neurotransmitters and they often prescribe it for children with ADHD (studies show 72% of children with ADHD are magnesium deficient).

Thank you for all the ideas and suggestions. I wanted to come back and let you know after a YEAR of these wake ups every night without fail, I’ve now found a fix. I used some steroid nasal spray each night and haven’t woken once in 4 nights now. Either allergies or a deviated septum is my guess- now need to get that sorted.

I had this when I was on lithium. I would wake up gasping as if I was drowning. It was so much worse if I hadn't drunk enough during the day or if I had a cold. I found the smelly stick peppermint nasal sticks or olbas oiled helped, being able to smell something strongly smelling convinced my brain that it could actually breathe!

I had this for several years & just lived with it. When I finally upped my HRT (oestrogen) it stopped almost completely.

It did start after a traumatic period in my life, but wonder whether it is / was also hormone related.