Question:
I'm not sure if I have sleep apnea or nocturnal panic. But this is the
way it goes.
I usually can fall asleep just fine. But during the night I will wake
up and my heart will be racing a little and I seem to be out of
breath, I do not feel terrified or anything, just upset that this is
going on. I usually fall back to sleep and seem to sleep ok, until the
morning. But than I am very tired all day.
This usually happens around 1-3 times a week and has been going on for
a few years. I'm not taking any medication currently and really don't
have much stress. I am not overweight and don't smoke.
I can take the sleeping problems, but the real problem I have is that
I am very tired the following day.
A sleep study would be nice, but they are expensive. Can anyone help
shed some light on what might be my problem?
Answer:
I would suggest you have this checked out for peace of mind. When I use
to have nocturnal panic attacks they were exactly like yours except I
also felt frightened and confused. When I am going through a stage of
frequent nocturnal panic attacks, I`m usually dealing with alot of
anxiety and panic during the day as well.
My nocturnal attacks always happened about 1 to 2 hours after falling
alseep. From what I`ve read, this time frame is quite common. How soon
after you fall alseep do you have one of these attacks?
Since being on paxil, I`ve only had a few nocturnal panic attacks and
those were a few years ago.
I have sleep apnea, so I can relate. Do you sleep alone? If not, your
partner can probably tell you if you have SA. If you snore loudly, and
then stop, and then snort and gasp for air, then you have (probably)
SA. Of course, the tricky part is some people don't have those symptoms
and STILL have SA.
I take it you don't have insurance or you wouldn't be worried about the
cost of a sleep study. I vaguely recall some people getting a fairly
simple nighttime monitor from their doctor that measured and recorded
breathing, heart rate, etc. It was used for a preliminary diagnosis.
Get this checked if at all possible. Some Uni's might do it for free.
Untreated sleep apnea will kill you eventually.
It's hard to say exactly what time they come
on. But I usually wake up around 3am, and I usually go to bed around
11. But I think it starts earlier and I just wake up around that time.
In a way, the panic (if it is that) doesn't bother me as much as being
so tired the next day.
My wife says I do breathe "funny" kinda stoping and gasping at times
but I don't snore much.
My attacks seem to occur randomly. Sometimes I can stay up very late
drinking Pepsi while watching a horor movie and sleep just fine. Other
times I'll be very comfortable before going to bed early and sleep
terrible. I've tried to pinpoint it on maybe what I eat, but I really
can't find anything that causes them. Although eating something meaty
late will make me have weird dreams.
I used to drink herbal teas and have tried other relaxation
techniques, but nothing conclusive so far.
There was something I found on a website I found that said panic
occurs when your sleep stages change. The faster your sleep stages
change the more severe the panic. That is exactly what seems to happen
to me. If I wake up suddenly, my heart goes through my chest, although
I really don't feel any panic, just a very fast heartbeat.
