SeattleRain Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 My symptoms have becoming worse and one that's become more frequent is when falling asleep, I wake up instantly. It feels like the moment I go from conscious to unconscious, I stop breathing (or it becomes severely shallow) and then seconds later I wake up feeling like my heart contracted at 10x the force and jolts me awake. This went on for over 7 hours the other night - literally. It must have happened several hundred times. I'd wake up from it, take maybe 5 minutes to recover, then the process repeated over and over and over again. I'm wondering if anyone here has brought this up with their doctor? From Googling it sounds like Central Sleep Apnea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissy Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 Yes I agree with the central sleep apnea!!! I have the same issue, I wake up many times throughout the night and maybe thats contributing to my daily, yearly fatigue. I was scheduled for a sleep study but never went since I have a med/chemical phobia:/ and they have to use some paste to attach the electrodes, but I really need to get over it and just have it done.So a sleep study would be a great idea.Lissy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemons2lemonade Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 hey seattle, i think its the weather...mine have gotten worse in the past 3 days too.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comfortzone Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 Sounds like its time for a sleep study .... Could be some obstructive apnea or central apnea or a mixed disease of hypo ventilation and sleep disordered breathing - some have both types...complex issues... It can cause fatigue, cognitive impairments and poor sleep puts you at high risk for serious heart issues and other things like strokes....maybe an overnight pulse oximetry test would be a good start to see if your desat'ing in the night - just the finger clip thing... I am in the midst of all this stuff myself - feel better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemons2lemonade Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 Also, i had this too a lot and IMHO it is just a part of pots. Its like the body never wants to rest, and finally when it does the adrenaline kicks in and gets things going back again. I did a sleep study with no abnormalities. The one thing i can say is that my SSRI made this go away. And though i was against it at first, pots and no sleep is not a good combo. Seattlerain, i am down in the south sound corridor, and if you ever need help such as an advocate or support, please let me know. I have been playing hardball with my insurance company for awhile. Shoot, somedays you just need someone to talk to who understands. I went to Mayo last year in Arizona and Issy was nice enough to meet up with me. Sometimes it is just comforting to know others are going through the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brethor9 Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 I go through cycles of this too.......I always think its under control and then it kicks in again.....I have to agree with Lemons I think it really is just part of having a screwed up ANS/POTS.....the body is always in a constant state of cat-like readiness....arrgh! A low dose beta blocker or sedative of some type may be helpful before bedtime....my mast cell meds and florinef have helped a lot but some cycles even that doesn't work so I have just learned to wait it out....hang in there!Bren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzysillyak Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 It could be nocturnal myoclonus too. I jerk myself awake when I go into REM. Sleep study showed this 20 years ago and I was put on Klonopin. Klonopin stops this but Theanine may help it too. FWIW. I was using Theanine for this for a few years then tried Klonopin for some reason and decided it worked better for me. Caffeine, MB12 too many days in a row, gluten and extreme stress make mine worse. tc ... x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeattleRain Posted March 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 Also, i had this too a lot and IMHO it is just a part of pots. Its like the body never wants to rest, and finally when it does the adrenaline kicks in and gets things going back again. I did a sleep study with no abnormalities. The one thing i can say is that my SSRI made this go away. And though i was against it at first, pots and no sleep is not a good combo. Seattlerain, i am down in the south sound corridor, and if you ever need help such as an advocate or support, please let me know. I have been playing hardball with my insurance company for awhile. Shoot, somedays you just need someone to talk to who understands. I went to Mayo last year in Arizona and Issy was nice enough to meet up with me. Sometimes it is just comforting to know others are going through the same thing.Thank you for the response. I was going to send you a PM but it says you cannot receive private messages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissy Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 Great information, I personally was concerned about the pausing in breathing. But the cat-like reference was very good! Hopefully it isn't a apnea problem and just a wacky system sooner or later I shall see.Seattle has anyone personally observed you during sleep episodes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeattleRain Posted March 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 Great information, I personally was concerned about the pausing in breathing. But the cat-like reference was very good! Hopefully it isn't a apnea problem and just a wacky system sooner or later I shall see.Seattle has anyone personally observed you during sleep episodes?Nope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelloz Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 I remember reading about this on a fibromyalgia website. It was referred to as " sleep starts ." I get this at times too. Seems to happen when I am really jittery, when I start to fall asleep I jerk awake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misstraci Posted March 25, 2013 Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 not sure what's going on or have any suggestions, just wanted to say that I get exactly what you described, not for hours on end but i'll "fall asleep" and immediately awake which feels like my body jumps or something and my HR feels crazy fast, it's quite scary. Not sure if it's the same as you but it sounds similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattle chris Posted March 28, 2013 Report Share Posted March 28, 2013 I definitely had the same type of issues. I tend to eventually fall asleep though.I would recommend an appointment with the sleep center at Swedish Issaquah (I saw Dr. Zoroufy). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amybird57 Posted April 4, 2013 Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 I was diagnosed using a sleep study end of last year with central apnea. I have very poor sleep with awakenings from hot flashes in the earlier hours of the night, and then with the shallow breathing that declines to a missed breath. Then, I wake up, inhaling ususally gently, not with a gasp so I didnt catch on till recently. I have been on oxygen overnight and my oxygen remains good when this occurs. Some of these shallow breathing awakenings do get my heart rate very elevated for a short time, so its very disruptive. I am going to a new sleep doctor next week to discuss these specific awakenings. I believe I need the machine that assists shallow breathing that is commonly used to treat central sleep apnea. I recorded my own breathing pattern using a mic and audio engineering equipment I have being a musician so I can hear and see the recording shows the pattern of my breathing. I do think its all related in the autonomic function issues I have, I believe I saw an article I clicked on in this forum that mentions that pots patients may get central apnea. Mine also can happen over and over and the more they occur, the worse I feel so I usually give up trying to get more sleep. I notice days that I sleep less, my pots is worse in the am and my blood pressure is lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecom Posted April 4, 2013 Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 I've had the same exact thing going on since this all started. Some nights it's better than others. Benadryl has helped me sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShakeyTheOwl Posted April 4, 2013 Report Share Posted April 4, 2013 Have had degrees of this since onset in 2010. Did have sleep study last summer which was normal. Interesting as this has progressed, when I rest during day, there are times the minute I fall asleep I'm awakened by extreme urgency to urinate. (which is another nuisance ) Also am affected by the low pressure systems we get here in Puget sound (convergence zone) Cheers from Whidbey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corina Posted April 5, 2013 Report Share Posted April 5, 2013 I'm having sleeping problems for years now. My usual pattern is falling asleep quite easily, sleep for an hour, wake up not able to sleep for about 3 to 4 hours and then back to sleep. Lately however I have this exact same problem. The moment I doze off I wake up again and have to start again. This repeats itself over and over again. I think this is much more annoying than staying awake for a few hours (but maybe that is as I was so used to that). Might be time for a sleep study! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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