Afraid To Sleep

[Lemons2lemonade]

Sorry for all of the topics, have a lot on my mind and trying to get it all out. Wanted to keep different threads to separate the conversations. Is anyone else here afraid to sleep? If so, why? And what symptoms specifically before you are going to sleep bother you if any? Thanks everyone, I hope you all are staying strong out there and doing the best that you can under the circumstances. Lots of hugs!

-Lemons

[k&ajsmom]

Hi Lemons,

I have some issues with sleeping since this started, When Im just about completely out, I wake up suddenly gasping. Like Ive held my breath for a bit and of course that makes me tachy. Sometimes it happens 10 times in a night. Once Im out Im fine. I also get these wierd little chest spasms, for a lack of a better description. They are not palps, and are right in the middle of my chest and slighty to the right and left. and always in the same spot. They are not painful just wierd and concerning slighty. They happen anytime I am relaxed and trying to wind down to sleep. I also get this feeling of not being able to get air in, not like asthma but I have read someone else describe it as their lungs feel like glued and heavy. Again not painful I do feel like I can breathe just kinda "air hungry" This also happens at bedtime or in a reclined position.These symptoms can happen all together or completely seperate with no pattern and all m ake me scared to go to sleep many nights..ughh

[Lemons2lemonade]

yes, that explanation of air starved despite breathing is something i get too when i lie down every night. I know what you mean about the chest spasms too, mine feel like a rubber band wiggling if you pulled it taught and then played on it like a guitar.

[k&ajsmom]

lol thats a better description, I think Ill describe it like that to the doc cause its driving me nuts and I couldnt find the right way to describe it. He looked at me like I was crazy lol I wonder if a muscle relaxer would help..hmmm

[Foggy01]

hey guys. i was wondering if what you were describing is like what Ive been experiencing. i posted my experience in another thread. We were all talking about how we needed to conciously force our breathing at times or else we'd "forget" to breathe if that makes any sense. some of what youre both describing sounds similar to this. the only difference that stands out is i dont think i experience these chest spasms you mention.

[k&ajsmom]

Foggy,

For me it is just like that. Atleast the air hunger part, not the spasms., or the gasping at night. They seem to be unrelated, I think. Sometimes Ill be sitting here and feel like I just stop breathing and to remind myself to take deep, slow breaths and destract myself with something. I thought it was physcological but now that others are having the same I dont think so lol I just read your thread and its very interesting, I think maybe that bp has something to do with it. I should check mine when I feel like this next time and see if there is any correlation.

[SeattleRain]

Night time (specifically when I become fatigued/tired) is my biggest struggle.

I start getting anxiety and my body feels like it's shutting down for the night. My heart feels like it's more vulnerable, like it's at it's weakest point of the day.

I've always had trouble falling asleep, so it can take 2 or more hours to actually fall asleep. Once I do fall asleep, I'm in heaven and all the above symptoms are alleviated.

I used to be able to stay up 24 hours (did it all the time with friends as a teen) and now if I'm up anywhere near that long it's like a death sentence.

[cmreber]

k&ajsmom,

I responded to another post about having this problem. I just wanted to say, like you, when this first started happening, I also was afraid that I was losing it or something...and that it was all in my head. I think that's the biggest benefit of this forum, though, because then we can see that these things happen to so many others and that we're not totally insane! LOL

[k&ajsmom]

CM,

I am so grateful as well for this forum, I remember standing on my front porch one night and asking myself, "am I losing my mind, I can't possibly be having all these symptoms and be ok?!" I really started to wonder if it was in my mind, but my bp and tachy reminded me very quickly I wasnt (completely) crazy and it was real...ughhh lol When I first got on this forum I NEVER expected to find so many people (or any for that matter) with so many of the same symptoms. I really thought I had a heart problem and denied to myself it was POTS, but all the similiar symptoms cannot be explained as a shear coincedence.

Seattle,

Im the same way and sleep is a beautiful thing. I have a hard time waking up because I dont want to wake up and feel bad. I look forward to it (sleep) just not the anxiety of getting there.

anyways, thx for the post lemons, Im so glad Im not the only one even though I hate that anyone has to deal with this. I wonder if anyone else has those spasms??

[bebe127]

I have a hard time falling asleep and as a result have an intimate relationship with netflix on my nook. It takes me several hours to wind down and I usually watch something light and funny until I can't keep my eyes open any longer. I also have terrible ringing in my ears and that makes it hard to fall asleep. Once asleep, I often toss and turn all night waking up each time; I don't get much sleeep. I too have some kind of spasm at times. It doesn't happen all the time and mainly it happens at night. My heart feels like it is doing a flip flop in my chest, usually only once or twice at a time and it is scary. I try to breath deeply and it goes away. No pain or anything, just feels like it is doing a hyper pump and it can be very disconserting.

[puppylove]

I hate night time. I get the worst adrenaline surges that make me feel scared for no reason. Plus, nausea and acid reflux are worse when I lay down.

[imapumpkin]

My fear of going to sleep stems a lot from anxiety, most of which is irrational but if I am having a really exhausted day with brain fog and crazy palpitations I get irrationally afraid to go to sleep because I worry that my body is just going to give out while I'm sleeping and if something goes wrong, I won't be awake and alert to call for help. I know its silly but anxiety is not rational.

It's also extra ridiculous because I have always loved sleep. I have very vivid dreams and in those dreams I am not sick. During sleep I at least get to experience energy and health, even if it is just in my brain waves.

[RichGotsPots]

As usual because of breathing for me..

[Sheila1366]

Lately I have become so very tired, more than usual. I will be on the couch...close my eyes for a second and be asleep but I will wake up cause of the intense feeling I am gonna throw up.

Also when real bad, i am afraid i will stop breathing.

[the4richards]

I've been away for awhile. Feeling pretty good. Just popped in and saw this topic.

This was one of my first symptoms and one of the worst. Docs couldn't explain it and said it was just part of my autonomic system that was going haywire.

I would gasp for air during the day and wake up gasping at night. Also had the rubber band lightly twinging feeling.

I realized I was shallow breathing a lot. So I started doing deep breathing / holding / forcing both in and out with closed, pursed lips. If you try it, it should make noise. There's a post somewhere on the technique.

I can't say this was what made the gasping go away, but I strongly feel it helped.

[Darlene]

i m afraid of going to sleep because this is when i experience tachycardia

[RichGotsPots]

I wonder how many of us have a type of central apnea

[joyagh]

I just started getting symptoms when falling asleep. I started water aerobics Tuesday evening, and that night and every night since I've been getting adrenaline surges when I'm drifting off. As soon as I start to fall asleep I get a surge that feels like panic, but I'm not mentally anxious. It's just adrenaline. It's been preventing me from falling asleep for hours. I usually take melatonin and benadryl and sometimes Kave to sleep, as I have delayed sleep onset and a night nursing, co-sleeping toddler. But it isn't helping since I started the exercise.

[Canadiangirl73]

_{While I have an easy time falling asleep I dread sleeping. If I don't wake up startled, other horrible symptoms happen when I sleep: full blown adrenal surges, tachy, chest pressure, waking up gasping for air (the scariest so far), severe abdominal cramps, etc. So my sleep is almost always interrupted. Like some others mentioned, it does cross my mind that my ANS will just give out while I'm sleeping, especially when I get brady (in the 40s) before I go to bed.}