dizzy during sleep?

[mariancollins]

Is there anyone else out there who has the strange experience of waking up not just tachy, but also really dizzy? Last night it was so bad the room was spinning. What is going on?

I am on labetalol (Beta Blocker, which also lowers BP), awaiting 48 hour heart monitor, SSRI for anxiety

[taylortotmom]

Essentially, everytime I wake up the room spins. It is MUCH worse if I have to get up in the middle of the night (I have two little ones)- whew! It got to the point we really had to talk to my little girl about how dangerous it is for me to get up at night and she really had to try her best to stay in bed unless she was sick. Seriously, it is bad- even on meds and fluids- that is probably the worst part of my entire disorder. And heavens forbid should I wake up sick during the night- it is a guaranteed blackout. I know many of us have to get up slowly. There is no way I can just jump up and hit the road running in the mornings. It takes me about thirty minutes before I can be vertical after waking up. I stumble to the coffee pot, turn it on, stumble to the bathroom and then return to bed and let the room stop spinning until I can get up for good. My heartrate is not necessarily racing but I'm sure my BP is extremely low because sleep lowers it and its chronically low anyway. So that's just my opinion what may be going on. And also dehydration because of approxiamtely eight hours without fluids. However, I use to hook up to an iv overnight- I may need to start that again.

Carmen

[DancingLight]

ugh,

i often feel too sick to even turn my head without feeling ill...

and when i move, then i have to wait forever for my system to settle back down again...

or, i feel too sick to sleep...if this is even possible!

speaking of sleep, i'd better try for that right about now!

emily

[michiganjan]

Your mention about turning the head sounds to me like how I feel when I get vetigo, which is not necessarily POTS related.

And as for getting out of bed in the mornings, how about something real salty and a glass of water on the nightstand to be eaten before rising?

Michigan Jan

[melly4]

There are different causes of vertigo. For me, it seems to be related to my allergies. I have episodes every fall. My ENT explained that this can occur after many years of inner ear infections, as I've had. But, like I said, there are other causes. You should see an ENT. I'm sorry you are experiencing this. It's a miserable feeling. Klonopin helps me get through episodes. They usually subside within a few days for me.

I hope your spins stop soon.

Melly

[Ernie]

HI,

When I was "healthy" I used to faint getting out of bed once or twice a month.

My CPAP helps me with that now. I don't know what is the link but it works for me.

When I was 20 years old I also had labyrintitis and could not get out of bed without hitting the group. It lasted for a few months.

[ethansmom]

I frequently find that I am dizzy upon awakening, but not all the time. It happens a few times per month, where I wake up and the room is literally spinning (true vertigo). It usually subsides within a few hours of being up, but it's been happening for years and I've never been able to figure out why. However, almost every time I lay down to go to sleep I get that off balance, lightheaded feeling unti lmy body adjusts to being horizontal.

I too have trouble getting up with the kids at night on a whim...David usually does the getting up part with our older son and the baby is still in our room which makes it much easier because he wakes up constantly during the night still

[Evie]

I tend to faint sometimes if i go to the loo in the night (or get up for any sudden reason)... but i think thats pretty normal with OI... its just that my bp is low from laying down. Thankfully i dont have small children to worry about, that must be tough.

I also faint in my dreams which is really rotten ... you would think you would have a break while dreaming wouldnt you? lol

[Gena]

My BP gets extremely low while I sleep so when I wake up to go to the bathroom I have to use a wheel chair to get there (I don't use one during the day). It helps offset any severe tachy and dizziness I get. Even with the wheel chair I still get symptoms and it usually takes about an hour before they settle down and I can go back to sleep again. I hate having a small bladder b/c it really disrupts my sleep.

Evie--I sometimes dream that I'm fainting/passing out too, and in actuality when that happens my bp and hr are very very low and it causes me to jump awake and then my heart goes off to the races. Night time just plain ***** for me, especially when I'm in a POTs hole!

Gena

[Evie]

Yeh i have thought that could be the case .. that i actually am suffering from low blood pressure and therefore i faint in my dream. Im not sure if thats medically sound or not heh.... maybe the psychologists would think more along those lines hehe

[mariancollins]

To Evie and Gena, both your experiences seem familiar to me, and it's very helpful to find I'm not alone in this. I particularly suspect that my BP and possible HR drop, then I zoom up tachy to compensate, jolt awake and am still dizzy from the Low BP. A couple of days ago I reduced my BBs at night because I suspected the BP was a problem, now the symptoms are not so severe. I still wake up, however, and find it's best to stay awake for an hour to let everything normalise. That way, if I can get back to sleep, it's more likely to be restful. But in no way guaranteed.(Am typing this at 1 am, as usual!). Many thanks for your info.