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[tired lady]

Hello everyone

I am really hoping to get to the bottom with what on earth has happened to my sleep for the past 3 years.  Three years ago when I turned 39 I had an episode of an extremely fast heart beat which woke me up from sleep.  I was terrified and ended up having a major panic attack.  It started happening night after night and I would wake up feeling boiling hot with a very rapid heartbeat.  In the end I went to my doctor and she said that she thought it was anxiety but sent me for an ECG which came back normal.

Fast forward nearly three years (I am now 42) and I am still having extremely disturbed sleep and I am feeling absolutely wretched.  I wake up a few times a night with either nightmares, palpitations or waking up feeling boiling hot.  The other night I had a takeaway curry and I woke up completely wet with sweat.  I also have horrible hallucinations on falling asleep, they are like mini dreams but take the form of scary faces or things like spiders.  The worst thing is waking up with the palpitations, they have given me a major health anxiety about my heart and I have now been suffering from severe anxiety including panic attacks and agoraphobia for 3 years ever since the first episode of tachycardia.

I went back to my doctor about a year ago and asked whether I could be in perimeno and I had a blood test but it showed normal hormone levels and again she said it was anxiety.  I have had a lot of stress in the past 2 and a half years because my 12 year old son sufferes from M.E. and I am a carer for him.

I am just wondering whether the nightime symptoms could be due to perimeno, would anxiety cause me to wake up feeling boiling hot and have to go and splash myself with water to cool down.  I have noticed that when I wake up from nightmares I often feel hot and my heart is pounding or racing fast which I absolutely hate.  I am really confused as to whether my body is giving my nightmares to wake me up because my body has become over-heated or whether it is just anxiety giving me the nightmares and it is the adrenaline causing my heart to pound.  I am getting very close to going back to the doctors but I just fear that they will just say it is anxiety again!

I have never felt so awful, my moods are all over the place, and I am permanently exhausted from my disrupted sleep.  My husband has also noticed that I'm not myself and is getting fed up with me being so grumpy because I'm so tired due to lack of sleep. I have anxiety all day long and can no longer do things that I used to do like go to the cinema because I get claustrophobic and want to get out due to fear of a panic attack. 

I was just wondering whether anyone on the forum has had similar symptoms at night with horrible palpitations or nightmares?  I keep worrying that I have got a problem with my heart and spend all day waiting for something horrible to happen like a heart attack.  I used to sleep so well before all this happened, now my nights are gruelling and something to dread.  Any help or advice would be most appreciated, many thanks in advance, tired lady

[CLKD]

Yep ........  sounds familiar   

Probably because you had the panic attack your brain 'remembers' whilst you are asleep, therefore you wake with a jolt = panic.  The racing heartbeat is 'normal'  but pretty awful to be aware of.  That state of semi-sleep can leave us feeling unreal, more aware of the dream, how our body is reacting .......

How is your diet?  Low blood sugar can cause anxiety surges and anxiety can cause the rapid heartbeat, feeling of hot and cold ....

Your husband needs to be aware that this is hormones.  How about a 'buzz' word for him to shout as he dives for cover  .  You need to sit down and talk about this, try to spread the chores around the house so that he takes on 'stuff' so that you aren't as stressed.

What support do you get as a full-time carer?  Is there respite for you and your husband to go out for an evening or weekends?  Does your son attend school?

I used to DREAD going to sleep because of the awful nightmares ......... relaxation therapy helped as did having the radio on low by the bed. 

[Delilah]

Hi tired lady

Welcome to mm. A lot of your symptoms sound as though they could be hormone related. A lot of us here suffer with anxiety during peri-menopause. Waking constantly during the night with anxiety, palpitations and vivid dreams is all very familiar. Mood changes are beyond your control and showing hubby some of the info here might help him understand how your feeling, its a confusing time for them too (or so my oh has told me).

I think another trip to your gp is in order, armed with some more info, blood tests fluctuate and are'nt reliable but your symptoms seem to indicate that they could be hormone related.

You'll find lots of help here and good luck with your gp.

Take care, delilah. X