Woke up just now, heart pounding

[MummaPI]

Anyone around to chat with.
Been asleep for an hour, woke up now my heart felt like it was pounding. It was 85bpm so not really. Really unsettled and panicky now. Can't sleep.

Hi, I'm up doing some of my OU work. How are you feeling now?

Weird, not ill but I get these heavy heartbeat things with my hormones. Scare the crap out of me. Really unsettling.
What are you studying?

Have a big drink of water. I find that dehydration makes that worse for me.

Did you drink alcohol before bed?
Drinking wine or especially prosecco makes me wake with a pounding heart and panicky feelings about an hour after sleep. It's horrible isn't it? It's just physiological though, not "real" fear. That helps me deal with it. It's just chemicals. I am in no danger.

@PickAChew

Have a big drink of water. I find that dehydration makes that worse for me.

Yes good point, thanks.

I'm doing Psychology with Counselling. I'm doing Investigating Psychology at the mo mo. I should go to bed, but I can't be bothered.

I have that sometimes too, waking up with a pounding heart and sometimes gasping for air! Not fun is it?

@AvaCallanach

Did you drink alcohol before bed? Drinking wine or especially prosecco makes me wake with a pounding heart and panicky feelings about an hour after sleep. It's horrible isn't it? It's just physiological though, not "real" fear. That helps me deal with it. It's just chemicals. I am in no danger.

That's interesting, I did. I've noticed my tolerance to alcohol is rubbish now. I had 2 bottles of lager this afternoon and a can of malibu pina colada this evening 😊 so barely anything but you're right, it does make me worse.

@TrackerBar

I'm doing Psychology with Counselling. I'm doing Investigating Psychology at the mo mo. I should go to bed, but I can't be bothered.

I have that sometimes too, waking up with a pounding heart and sometimes gasping for air! Not fun is it?

Sounds interesting, hope it goes well for you. I know what you mean about gasping for air, like a breathless feeling, I always have the window open so I can breathe fresh air.

The drink thing is the same for me. I feel ill if I have even just one glass of wine. I don't think I have had any alcohol for at least a year now!

Thank you all for taking time to post, it's very kind. I feel a bit calmer already.

I have my window open every night too and my fan on. It doesn't help that our house is really hot and my room is on the hotter side of the house!

@TrackerBar It seemed to happen over night for me. I've never been a huge drinker but this is so weird.

OP I did some research a while back and found that one side effect from metabolising alcohol is a chemical that is very similar in composition to adrenaline. I am super sensitive to adrenaline (eg the dentist jabs give me jitters and shakes) and so I assume as my body gets less good at metabolising alcohol it leeches some of this fake adrenaline and makes my body think I am releasing real adrenaline - hence pounding heart, panic and fear feelings. None of the feelings is genuine, it's my body misinterpreting chemicals.

Disclaimer: not a scientist! But knowing this works amazingly well to help 'talk myself down' in the wee small hours x

My top drinking tip is to stick to no more than 3 glasses of decent quality European white wine. As long as I do that my heart behaves. Any new world wines or prosecco etc and it's horrific.

[quote MummaPI]@TrackerBar It seemed to happen over night for me. I've never been a huge drinker but this is so weird.[/quote]
Sometimes I really feel like a glass of wine but I don't because I know exactly how I'm going to feel. I've always been a lightweight, but my body just doesn't want any of it any more. Yeah, it's strange isn't it?

Are you going to go back to bed or potter about for a bit?

@AvaCallanach thats really interesting because I posted on here two weeks ago about a similar thing where I started shaking in bed and had a few drinks that night. Someone mentioned a similar thing then. It's helpful to speak to others like you to know that it's not just me!

I get the falling asleep and within 5-30 min. I wake up with a pounding heart follow by a hot flush. Bloody *$&%# hormones.

Hope you get some sleep, op.

I have had these ectopic heart beats since menopause- all investigated- benign- but they are so annoying. I found a breathing exercise that really helps.
Breath in for a count of 5 seconds then out for 5 seconds- keep going like this for about 5 minutes- it really helps!

@TrackerBar at the moment I'm in bed but not going back to sleep yet. I feel like I need to settle properly first. Will probably need a wee in a mo too!

Thanks @Giantrooster and @KnottyKnitting.
Great names both of you!

[quote MummaPI]@TrackerBar at the moment I'm in bed but not going back to sleep yet. I feel like I need to settle properly first. Will probably need a wee in a mo too! [/quote]
Normally if I wake up I have to make myself a hot drink and maybe some biscuits and watch a bit of tv. That normally helps. I have to be careful with my night time snacking though!

Hey OP.. hope you’re feeling a bit calmer. I totally get how you feel.. so often I’m just dropping off to sleep and BAM I’m wide awake feeling like my heart is beating out of my chest. I’ve had a few other menopausal symptoms as well, but I’m still pretty young for it so who knows 🤷‍♀️ Distracting my brain sometimes helps, making up stories if that doesn’t seem too weird, and making sure I’m not dwelling on the stresses of the day.

@ColdTattyWaitingForSummer
Hi, I'm 45 and have been in peri for 5 years. I've had all sorts of symptoms over the years but this one still gets to me when it happens.

Thanks all, seems to have passed now. You're all amazing.

@MummaPI I’m not 40 yet, but feel like my hormones are all over the place.. Irregular periods, spots, weight gain, sore boobs, constant need to pee, and the hot flushes 🥵 at night as well.