Hormone related panic attacks

mzbrandyluv · May 2011

My first panic attack happened about 5 years ago. I was at work when it hit, and I thought wow, I'm about to die and I'm in my late 20's (at the time). Heart pounding, sweating, ghostly white, body shaking, dizzy...even lost the ability to HEAR for a bit (that was the one and only time the hearing went). I went to the emergency room and they told me I'd had a panic attack. (Had never heard of it before). They wanted to put me on pills for it...but I don't do well with pills, I tried them, not for me. (My doctor wasn't keen on putting me on pills either.) So while it's been pretty terrible, I've learned how to calm myself down when they happen, most times.

Now my body has decided to have them while I'm SLEEPING! I wake up gasping, heart pounding and shaking. And because I've been asleep...I'm completely disoriented and have no clue what's going on....usually can't fall asleep again for hours which means I get a few hours sleep total for that night. It has been my observation that these attacks happen around my period cycle. I quit smoking almost a year ago. I have a maximum of one large coffee (in the morning). I'm working out.

I'm at a complete loss as to what I can do to cease these horrible patterns from continuing. Does anyone else have this problem? Does anyone know a solution for this that I'm not currently doing other than medication? (It's 2:35am and I was woken up out of a sleep again at 1am, so I figured I'd post this to see if there was any hope for an end to this)
Thanks

sweetbri07 · May 2011

Have you talked to the doctor about these new night-time attacks??? Cause that would be the first thing to go do!

Im sorry you are going through this, and I hope it gets resolved quickly for you!! Good luck!!

callipygianchronicle · May 2011

There was a thread a couple of months ago about something similar: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/204883-anxiety-attacks-during-sleep?

Are you certain you are having panic attacks and not another kind of episode? Sleep paralysis? Nightmares? or Night terrors?

I am a long-term nightmare sufferer, and can be awakened by them shaking, heart racing, and occasionally crying. but my experience with them is different than the tome sI have had a full blow panic attack. With nightmares I feel fear and it is connected to the dream. But panic attacks feel crushing and inescapable.

In either case, this is definitely something you should explore with a doctor. There are cognitive therapies that can help, even with anxiety. You are not left simply with a choice between being medicated and living in panic (not that medication is a bad, if you find something that works).

knittnponder · May 2011

I've had panic attacks on and off for years but I think they're finally managed. I have never gotten medication for them (personal decision) but I have learned my triggers. As long as I avoid the triggers I don't have them. I'm going to list mine but yours could be totally different.

1. Exercise: If I'm not doing it I am setting myself up for a panic attack. I suspect that at least part of the reason exercise prevents them for me is because it helps burn off the stress/adrenaline before I can flip out.

2. What I'm eating: I CANNOT eat artificial sweeteners, some food dyes and have to be careful of MSG and all the ways they hide it. If I eat food with these things in it (especially the artificial sweeteners) I'm really asking for it. Even chewing sugarless gum too many days in a row will set me off. I can usually feel a change and know I'm shifting toward a flare up. Along with avoiding those things I have to make sure I am eating well. For me this means keeping the carbs lower and making sure they're from whole food sources (as opposed to lots of refined carbs that mess with my blood sugar) and that I'm eating regularly. I try to make sure there are plenty of veggies in there because they just make me feel good.

3. Sleep: I decorate wedding cakes as a hobby and when I first started I would stay up really late working on them. Then I'd be up early, plus the stress, plus too much coffee, plus not eating well creates a perfect storm for me. I have to make sure I get plenty of rest. (I'm in a different time zone from you so don't scold me for being up in the middle of the night!)

I am getting sleepy so I may have missed some other triggers but I know those three things are the main ones for me. I do have to be careful that I don't go overboard with coffee but that isn't usually an issue as I know my limits. I hope you can find out what works for you. I know how scary they are and how frustrating it can be to deal with them. I do know that for me the mental part is feeling out of control. If my life is crazy and feels out of control I do tend to have more of them during those times. Making sure I eat well, exercise and get good rest helps mitigate that though.

tinareet · May 2011

i get panic attacks quite often, but have never had them in your sleep, all i can imagine is that you are stressing out before you go to sleep, which then causes a nightmare, and because panic attacks normally happen when you are scared, your body reacts in your sleep. so maybe try relaxing before you go to bed, make sure you have water and moisturizer(for your face and lips) and paper bag(to control your breathing by your bed. maybe use lavender before you go to sleep. Also speak to your doctor about getting beta blockers, these tablets are what you take when you feel you are having a panic attack and it helps you control your heart beat and your breathing(they reli work and you only take them when you really need them). Panic attacks will happen and its to do with the chemicals in your brain, but what you can control is stopping yourself from hyperventilating(this is what stops your hearing, eyesight, and makes you blackout)
Hope it helps hunni. If you wana privavte message me you can, i know how terrifying panic attacks are.
xx

Hormone related panic attacks

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