i have started to get panic attacks just before i fall asleep ,they have come out the blue im now getting them every couple of nights now petrified when bedtime looms, does anyone else suffer from these  or did ? how did you get them to stop, or how on earth do you cope with them.. many thanks

I have had a bit of experience with these- they seem to run in the female side of my family. The more stress I have in my life, the more anxious I am about going to bed as I know there is a chance I will freak out. There are a few things that help me, but if I am really stressed/upset/worried then my mind takes over. Firsty, I am a firm believer in Rescue Remedy. I use it on myself, my dog and used to use it on my horses. Whether it is just psychological is besides the point IMO. I have recently started taking Kalms throughout the day and seem to be helping me at the moment. If you want to avoid any kind of herbal remedies, I always find I am better off after strenuous exercise. If I am really having trouble I will push myself to breaking point at the gym so that I am exhausted and my mind switches off! Not sure if that is an option for you!? And.. lastly, there is the weird technique my drama teacher taught me in high school. To take your mind off going to sleep (kind like counting sheep) you work your way from your little toe up to the top of your head, and tense each body part as hard as you can, then relax it as much as possible. Do it slowly and make sure you do every part of your body, you may find you dont even get to your arms and you are asleep.

Have you spoken to your GP about it? I probably should have mentioned that first... they may be able to help you out and if you get on well with them they might be good just for a chat. I find pinpointing what is upsetting you can sometimes help as when you are half asleep you tend to let your mind wander and it blows everything out of proportion.

Sorry if this is a bit of a ramble... I really hope that you find something that will help. xx

They can be related to mild (within the normal range, so nothing to worry about!) cardiac arrythmia. Sometimes sleeping with more pillows to prop you up can help prevent it.

Panic attacks are normally associated with stress, and you would normally need to sort out the underlying cause.  You might also want to see a GP to be sure this is what they are and that there is no physical cause.  However, as a short term measure, try breathing slowly and deeply when you lie down at night.  Focus on the outbreath, which should be long and slow, rather than the inbreath.  Try not to hyperventilate or suck air in.  If you are able to, some progressive relaxation might help - try tensing and releasing your muscles, starting with your toes, then your calves, then your thighs and all the way up your body.  This will help you to relax.  If you are actually in the throes of a panic attack, you may not be able to do this.
If you want to practise self-help, then something like EFT might help.  There should be a practitioner near you.
I've suffered with panic attacks in the past, and they are not funny.  In my case, they are definitely linked to my breathing rapidly in the upper part of my chest rather than breathing deeply and calmly.  I used to wake up in the middle of the night with them during a period of real stress, and it was scary.  The more you dread the attacks, the more you are likely to have one, because you are not relaxed.

Stormy84 - great minds think alike!  We were posting at the same time. I've also found Kalms can help, but you need to take them for a week or two before they kick in.

I work in mental health and also suffered with panic attacks

Fisrt started when i was stressed and then when my drink got spiked

At first it was at night, look on the net for relaxtion , deep breathing excersies

one useful one is breath in and count to 7 in yr head and breath out 5 while laying in bed worked for me and still use it if i feel slightly anxouis

If it gets worse see your GP for advice, my stress was some thing i was not really aware of untill i stoped and thought about it

the breathing excerise will halp with the paplatations etc you may get

When my drink got spiked i used to freak out when out in a bar or something as i related feelings i got to how i felt when my drink was spiked in the end had to go out every night and make my brain bored with being out and it was ok
now i am fine

I no from personal exp and working with clients aviodance is the worse thing to do so if it gets that bad see your gp

If you want me to email you a anxiety management book pm me i will email to you

xx

I can sympathise :(   I see you've had great advice from stromy and vanhalla already and these methods definitely help :) 

If there is no obvious additional stress suddenly happening in your life (although sometimes it's a culmination of little things which kick off these situations rather than one biggy) then it's also worth mentioning to your GP just to be on the safe side.

Best wishes, Teri

Can you think of anything that might have been the trigger?

This started for me when I was 16. Sometimes 2 or 3 a night and then nothing for weeks or months.  Now maybe only once or twice a year.

For me it started with a phobia I have of spiders (yuk). One night I just woke up and felt a panic that there was one in the room with me, I turned my bedside light on and it was on the wall right next to where my face had been.  After that they started, I was always awake in bed when they happened and it only happened if I opened my eyes.  I would try so hard to keep my eyes closed when I felt it coming on but invariably my eyes would open and my minds eye would put an image of my worst fear right in front of my face and often green in colour?? A very vivid hallucination. This always caused me to fly out of bed to put the light on, heart pounding, hyperventilating, sometimes so fast that I didn't know how I got there.  As time went by I was able to reason with myself, tell myself, 'you don't need to open your eyes because you know there is nothing there'.  This seemed to work and it's very rare that it happens now.

Has anything changed in your life, are you feeling more stressed.  Sometimes lavender oil on your pillow helps, and vallarian tablets calm your mind down if you are feeling wound up before bed.  Hope this helps.
(and hope no-one thinks I'm too much of a weirdo ;)  )

Can completely sympathise.
They're awful.  I have had them on and off for a good few years, always at times of 'peak' stresses.
On the tube was the worst, you can't breath properly even when you try to concentrate on breathing slowly and trying to keep calm.  When first getting in the car at the beginning of a journey... how can you panic about driving?  I've driven for almost 20 years, but there it was, panic.. racing heart, breathing shallow.. awful.
And same as you - when about to fall asleep.. it's as though I forget to breath.. and think OH MY, can't fall asleep, then jump awake...not nice..

I've try to manage it as best I can, and think I can pretty much point my finger at my cause.. and I no longer work there - so that's a good start!
But we'll see.. I think I'm predisposed to be this way! 

Definitely get some assistance with relaxation techniques.. and also something to focus your attention on.
Hope you feel better soon...x

No mine are rats hate even writng the word, My work mates tell me to have therpay for it but would rather have a phobia of them

Still have not been in my garden for 9 months

due to seeing a rat

lunamoona... if you are a weirdo then so are we all! I certainly don't judge you and I am pretty sure no one else will. Panic attacks come in all shapes and forms and I am no expert but they seem pretty common. It's just a matter of finding what is causing them (the easy part) then finding something that helps you through them (the hard part) :-D

I agree with you, Stormy84

I work with alot of people who have mild to major anxiety ( helping them) and i have had it as well
I think its a shame that today it is still not talked about enough

Funnily enough I wasn't going to post as I though people might think I was a bit weird! The worst thing you can do is keep something like this all bottled up, the anxiety just grows and grows. I would never wish it upon anyone else, but it is also nice to know that people suffer the same things as you. I guess that's why people find groups like AA and such so helpful...

Yeah, I work with alot of people with anxiety and if i tell them about my anxiety due to my drink being spiked they ae amazed!!

I am glad i have control over mine as it can be so difficult

Mind over matter

they started when my little bitch was ill with gastroenteritus bug i kept having to wake up through the night to check her, its the only thing i can put it down to, had a few bad nighmares about my past, went to doctor on friday he game me diazipan 5mg to take when i feel my heart pounding as this is the trigger point when the attacks happen, its really getting to me as i dread bedtime  gonna try a warm bath, then listening to the mp3 player tonight, partner brought home some paper bags from supermarket , if i can control the breathing i should be okay? last night i felt like jumping out the window to get away from it worried my partner to bits,im used to having things in control, bills, shopping dogs etc, so why not a  little panic attack, i had to get my friend to come over at 2 in the morning as i just could not cope thast hard for me to say that..its good to see im not alone, i have had 5 attacks in just over a week now, all really bad ones starts with an irregular heart beat , then i feel sick ,then the breathing goes to pot, end up shaking and stuttering and stammering, snot from my nose and tears running down my eyes , all i can say is help me please.they last up to half an hour and its murder to get to sleep,im afraid to take diazipan as i have read there addictive, another appointement for doctors on wednesday for a blood level to be checked and make sure its not my lithium i take thats causing the problems..im glad to see im not alone on this ..many thanks i will def try out some of the techniques,   have you,s managed to keep it under control?

>The worst thing you can do is keep something like this all bottled up, the anxiety just grows and grows.

I agree with this but sometimes it's hard, especially when it's linked to a phobia. The number of people that say to me that there's nothing to be scared of!! It drives me nuts, of course there's nothing to be scared of that's why it's called a phobia and not a reasonable fear. People just don't understand because they do not suffer this way.  I also wonder if there is some kind of link to depression, more than half the females on my mothers side have been on medication for it including myself with some experiencing other forms of anxiety. 

It's actually been good to talk about it :)

Suffered for years it got so bad I didnt leave the house for weeks, no holidays, shopping only where I knew awful.  Got so sick of myself and them that I did go onto some tablets from the Doctors. Lets say Ive now been to many foreign countries, do what i want when I want. Im not totally "cured" sometimes I can be doing something I have done before and just feel the panic,sweaty hands, feeling creep up your back. So I take 5, breath really deeply (and usually go sit in a loo) until I can feel its all ok, bit like go back to basics, touch wood and start that again. I have IBS and that started it all when the Doctor said I would always have it. I never, ever travel anywhere without my Imodium, hardly ever use it but its there if I need it.
I do recommend the exercises to tense and relax parts of your body Paul Mekenna has a great tape. Smells like lavender, pillow mists Champneys do one, bedtime balm (badger on the tin). Do not think for one moment you are odd, like me and many others your unique!!! Anything that takes your mind away from the trigger, find the trigger, cure the problem. Remember, something is triggering this behaviour pattern that you have got yourself in, now find the trigger and get yourself to recognise why you do this
and you will start to control the panic. When you talk about the problem you will also find out how common it is for us all with this hectic life to share this problem.

Try another tablet diazapan relax's your muscles it would not be my choice, they also make you feel like you are wrapped in cotton wool next day. Ask for another type more a mood inhibitor Efexor is excellent short term, try the doc again. I use ciprelax, made me feel human again.

Mine is linked to seratonin levels so 5mg Ciprelax for ever and ever and ever and Im happy with that I can sit through a rugby match with 85,000 people in Twickenham - no sweat. Could not even go to a supermarket a few years back, was so scared, it was like terror and I felt so stupid and so angry all in one go. It is good to talk about it, because it is so common.

I agree trying another tablet Diazapam is also an addtive drug and could take along time to give up

Hello

I was told I was having panic attacks back in 2004.  My heart would race, sweaty hands, dizzy, collapse, breathing problems.  The doctors were convinced it was panic attacks. 

On the off chance, my doctor did a full blood panel, not just a generic screen.  I got testing for everything under the sun, including having my TSH, T3, and T4 done (thyroid). 

It came back completely out of whack (extremely high) but the TSH alone, balanced, so if they hadnt done the T3 and T4 they wouldnt have known.  I went for a thyroid scan, and was diagnosed with Graves Disease. 

I am not trying to scare you, or say it is something other than a panic attack, but incase, it would be good to get a panel done.  Just to be sure.  Graves disease is a bit scary, going through the symptoms, and it mimics panic attacks.   Usually it isnt diagnosed until it is full blown Graves.

HTH

That has a little irony in there for me and my thyroid too!
When first I went with symptons to my gp...he prescribed diazepam, I got the prescription then went back to the surgery to see doc and said..." These are not what I need" , please look a little harder. I was losing tons of hair and it was my thyroid on a go slow.

Karen

I lost a very good friend after she had a third child to her phobias and anxiety. For years she has been a shadow of herself she has at last sought help, Ciprelex... I have my friend back X

Yes it really has been a god send, I look at things I can do now, ordinary and extraordinary things and i know I have lost a lot of years by not accepting taking a little pill, Its not always the cause but a "good" doctor will look a little further. For a lot of people think of it as a crutch for a while, then you will not need it any more. For some, like me its a lifetime problem but simply sorted when you admit a problem and accept the solution to be medication. Other CD'ers had underlining medical reasons so back to the doctor it is..