Falling Asleep Weirdness

[mkoven]

Hi everyone,

for the past two nights I've had weird symptoms as I start to fall asleep. Right as I nod off, I awaken with a startle, as I start feeling like I'm gonna pass out (while lying down), get weird pressure in my head, throat tightness, feel my heart race, like I might throw up, itchy, and like a roller coaster sensation in my head. Needless to say, I'm then wide awake. I start relaxing, and the same thing happens again. I've tried changing position-- to no avail. REwind repeat. I just drank some tomato juince, in case I'm dehydrated. But I really need some sleep! Of course my spouse is out of town. It just freaks me out. At the moment, I'm okay when I'm awake...like my ans is doing something funky as I drift off to sleep??? Anyone have this?

the only other thing i can think of is that i regularly take 2 benadryl b4 bed--- but i've been doing this for forever... don't know why it would bother me now. I guess I can try to drink some more and give it another shot. I really am sleepy, but also kind of unnerved. And oddly, very cold--but I've cranked up the thermostat to 75, so I should be okay--but I'm shivering. I've also taken my bp and it's any where from 125/90- 105/60. arrgh.

michele

[nikigrl8883]

yes! this is somthing that happens to me almost every night i dont know what it is and i feel like passing out to while trying to sleep and i get startled easily////oh trust me your not alone on this!

[mkoven]

I did eventually get some sleep, but very fitful. And the temperature disregulation is reallya nnoying-- I go from freezing to boiling, when the thermostat stays the same.

[nikigrl8883]

as far as those bp readings to me thats not bad my bp changes like the wind and i get hot and cold too all the time//// i know exactly how u feel about the sleep thing...there were times it happend so much id stay up for days and that just makes it way worse eventually u fall asleep uncomfortably but its better than staying up days at at time becasue it gets worse... i get that same thing and one added component somtimes is i gasp for air for a sec like my body stops! like when u die all the breathing heart everything stops for a sec until i gasp for air..that hasnt happened in awile though but its scary..and this is from a girl whos been through the ringer with testing with no avail..so i dont know how i can help

[mkoven]

Yep--like you, no test abnormality. My event recorder shows periodic sinus tachycardia. couldn't do the tilt table because of my joints, but I get all the symptoms from standing, so the ep felt compfortable with the ncs diagnosis. But eds is the underlying cause, most likely for me.

[jhjd]

I feel sometimes like I 'jerk' myself awake right as I am really going into deeper sleep. A lot of times it's dream-related- like I'll have jumped off a bridge, and I wake up heart pounding, etc. Anybody else have the accompanying dreams? Wonder if it's b/c I already felt like that, or if the dream contributed to it. (Chicken and the egg! )

[ode_to_fantasy]

I feel sometimes like I 'jerk' myself awake right as I am really going into deeper sleep. A lot of times it's dream-related- like I'll have jumped off a bridge, and I wake up heart pounding, etc. Anybody else have the accompanying dreams? Wonder if it's b/c I already felt like that, or if the dream contributed to it. (Chicken and the egg! )

I started taking Topamax for my migraines a few months ago, and I'd have these episodes constantly. I had the episodes before , but they were a lot worse on the Topamax. (I quit taking it shortly afterward) My Dr. told me that it was some sort of hypnogogic state. I always got really tachy and short of breath and such...maybe this is what it is?

[kmpower]

Jerk-awakes are so rude. I used to get them until I started sleeping on a slight incline and eating smaller evening meals. I think it is like an apnea problem or something which affects breathing as the muscles change tone when we first fall asleep. The brain screams suddenly for oxygen and the heart responds.

OLL

[Gena]

I've gotten both the "jerk-awakes" and the "almost passing out jerk awakes" and there is a big difference to me in how and what you feel. The "almost passing out" episodes while dozing off to sleep are the scariest, as they invoke all the symptoms that mkoven mentioned in her first post (pressure in head, racing heart, etc). It's really awful and scary, especially when you're alone. Somehow I eventually drift off to sleep. Maybe I really do pass out at some point, but miraculously, I always awake the next morning. Thank goodness!

Gena

[Guest dionna]

i get vertigo a lot when i am laying down... plus the jerks, and i have a lot of nightmares and i wake up all the time. when i was on beta blockers i had exactly what you are describing but i have only had that a few times since being off of them. i do still get the pressure in the head and if i stand up it feels even worse! i wish i had some kind of suggestion for you. i wish you luck and much needed sleep.

dionna

[mkoven]

thanks to everyone! it's good to know my symptoms are not unheard of. I've been able to sleep the past 2 nights, luckily.

But I wake up a lot, and have a hard time settling down. Often it's my joints--my pelvis and spine will keep sliding out of place, and I have to squirm to get them back in (eds). Or I'll get these weird itching attacks, or adrenaline surges. Takes a while to settle down. Ativan used to do the trick, but I'm all out, and don't think I can get more.

[Guest tearose]

I too have occasions of this jerky stuff.

I wish we could come up with a yummy drink that would help us to sleep soundly and restfully!

[ann35016]

Mkoven,

I just read your post and cant tell you how much I have looked for these symptoms on here. I have the same sleep problems.I posted about this earlier. I just became ill recently. My sister has pots but i really didnt think I did because our symptoms are so different. I started having skipped heartbeats, never racing, and feeling like fainting . I also get extreme flushing on my face almost daily. I am now on beta blockers for the palpitations. Dr. dx me with pots a few days ago. I still am not convinced.

The sleep problem is by far the worst . It is not a dream . I am fine laying down. Its just the point where Im almost asleep. I feel like I am falling or something. Almost like laying on a waterbed drunk. Sometimes I feel like I am starting to hang upside down. Its very odd and frightening. I will jerk awake sometimes, and then again , sometimes I just slowly awake catching myself holding my breath. Its like my breathing is extremely shallow , almost like I keep trying to exhale over and over-- instead of inhale/exhale. I feel drunk and like I am passing out instead of falling asleep. Sometimes it is almosta spinning feeling. Pressure on my head and throat . Almost like someone is slowly choking me unconsious. The other night I had nightmare and when I awoke i could not open my eyes no matter how hard I tried. It took several minutes to try.(I do realize that is sleep paralysis.

I wake up feeling really rough every day and feel like crap all day. I feel like a have a terrible hangover. (and I dont drink) . Please let me know if you find out what is going on with your sleep problem. It is absolutely terrifying and is ruining my life. I tried Rozerem but it did not help. I tried another sleep pill and it did not either. My insurance wont pay for sleep studies and I am afraid that serious sleep meds will mess with my palpiations. I have pvcs . (my heart sometimes skips 4 or more beats.) A lot of meds messes with this a lot.

As tired as I am all the time it is hard for me to fall asleep. I am also terrified to go to sleep . I feel like I am going to die.I dread bedtime and pretty much watch tv. Unlike other pots sufferers I feel my worst laying down. I am also having stabbing pains in my head and a strange visual problem. My vision is fine as far as focus, My eyes just feel funny and are overstimulated. Like they just want to go nuts and boggle. I feel like it is work making them look at one thing. They are also extemely light sensitive now. It is really hard to explain. Im ok just cooking dinner. If I go out to walmart where there are lots of items my eyes feel overstimulated. Like I have to force them to be still. Instead of my eyes feeling strained, they almost feel over- relaxed. Very hard to explain. especially to a dr who thinks that sounds nuts.

My eyes really move around alot at night .Sometimes when my eyes are closed they wiggle so much it keeps me awake. Also when they are closed, it appears that they are jumping up and down(even though my eyes dont show objects because they are closed, I can see light thru my lids and it is a jumping screen feel.). I have never , however , seen actual object jump up and down with my eyes open in the daytime.

I am getting very scared. I am starting to have sharp stabbing pains in my head on both sides just above the sides of my forehead on both sides( above the temple). The strange visual problem in the daytime is making it very difficult to drive. Even though everything is in focus, my impulse is to strain and squeeze above my eyebrows with my fingers. It is almost the same sensation as if someone placed their finger right between your eyes. (but much stronger) It doesnt affect the focus ,it just is a weird sensation, but very strong. It makes me kind of nauseated.

I have an appt with a neuro this month. I am starting to think maybe it could be a tumor or something. My smptoms are stabbing headache pain, pressure in neck , severe palpitations, extreme facial flushing , visual problems and a sleep problem. I am so tired of drs. To top it off, my insurance company is claiming my pots / mvp is pre-existing. No telling what they will do with the claims when I go to a neuro. Pots causes so many smptoms they can relate anything to pots.

I am just 33. I have 3 kids to take care of and I feel like and old lady. I dont smoke or drink and was on no medicine until November. Now I take Klonopin, and altenelol. Other than flu shots and physicals and one bladder infection, I never have even had to go to a dr.(othe than pregnancy) The palps are better, but other than that, my life is nothing like it was 2 months ago.

Please let me know if you find any answers.

[sandy]

I too deal with odd feelings at night after I awaken from a sleep. I experience a very faint heart rate (barely can feel it through my arteries) and then I get this feeling like my body is weightless actually like my heart is stopping. Then all of a sudden I feel a hot rush through my body and my heart begins to pump very fast and hard. It leaves me feeling weak and tired. I never could figure out what my body is doing at that moment. I don't know if my blood pressure is very low from being in a deep state of sleep or what. But all I can say is that it is a really horrible feeling. Very uncomfortable and frightening.

[nikigrl8883]

does anyone know what this falling asleep problem actually is for us? it happens to me alot to.............its depressing my throat always feels like theres a rope around it slightly strangling me

[april abbott]

To ann35016,

My smptoms are stabbing headache pain, pressure in neck , severe palpitations, extreme facial flushing , visual problems and a sleep problem.

Except for the facial flushing and pvc's, I had these exact symptoms when I was at my worst, which was around 7 years ago. The visual/eye problem is exactly what I experience. The sensation while sleeping is also something I experienced years ago, when I was on the bedrest after having Catherine. I don't know why I had that, but at the time my bp was high from the pre-eclampsia. I hadn't been diagnosed with Dys. yet. The only med. I was on was Procardio, for high bp. I would start to fall asleep, which was hard because I felt exhausted, but wired. Then I would start to feel this weird sinking sensation that you describe. I would jerk awake and gasp for air. It felt as though I was winding down and slowly dying, instead of falling asleep. I don't really know how to describe it. It felt almost as if my heart and lungs just started to slowly stop and I would feel dizzy and jerk awake in a panic. I thought at first that it was side effects of this drug, but I quit taking it and the symptoms didn't go away. Anyway, if it makes you feel any better, the sleep problem went away after I few weeks. I have only had it a couple of times since, and I have also recently had sleep paralysis a couple of times too. I hope the neurologist can tell you something more for the flushing.

As for the pots diagnosis, I don't know. It took me years, even after being diagnosed by a cardiologist, to come to terms with it. I still question it sometimes because I such such a wide array of symtpoms. But so many things have been ruled out that I have lost count. Whatever the problem truly is, the meds I am on now keep me going. If I didn't have them I would stay at home all the time and would be unable to function. With them I am going to school full time/ 4 days a week and maintaining good grades. BTW, I saw your other post about being tested for a tumor. I also thought the same thing a couple of years ago. I went to local dr. and complained of some very intense visual disturbances. I was having the eye strain/focusing problem plus I began to have dark holes in my vision, and some flashing. It was just like the darkness/blind spots that you experience after staring at the sun. It came suddenly and was so bad I couldn't see people's faces. I was also having bad headaches/stabbing pains and my pots symptoms were especially bad. I went to the hospital and had my brain scanned(can't remember what test, MRI or CATSCAN, I get them mixed up.) Test came back okay. I put up with it for a few weeks, and that went away too.

[jenwic]

I have been having these same symptoms a lot. Last night I decided to try taking 2 Tylenol at bedtime even though I had no fever. I fell asleep easily, woke up an hour later all sweaty, then fell back asleep and slept well the rest of the night. Any connection?

[Donna F]

hi everyone

First of all the sleep prob can be a combination, varies on meds, I use to like a couple of u take benadryl for sleep, but think my body became immune, i have weird dreams, and wake up no matter if it has been 5 min or a hr, with nausea, sweating, sometimes cold sweats, sorta panicky, guess not knowing what is goin on, what is so bad is i often wonder if something like went really wrong if out of being looked at like a idiot calling the ambulance, i just lie in the bath floor and hope it passes, however, some things are real,well all are but u have to be able to distinguish the diff. of anxiety and or norm for us patients with weird symptons. I was a pharm. and studied many things before all of this, so have some knowledge, i take pain meds now and phenergan pretty much every day, i have never took meds like this also take xanax for anxiety.

Main thing is we need to know our bodies, keep a watch on our pulse, pressure, etc. esp when we r feeling this way and if it is too bad, i have learned after days of being awake, that out of panic i slept sitting up , seemed afraid to lie down, weird as it sounds, but i think meds are def causing some prob of mine, i never had some of these before, are most of u on BB's and or florinef? Just curious if the hot and cold temp prb alot of us have is meds or just this.

Frustrating isnt it? However I thank all of u on here for helping me with not feeling like a loon!!

Donna

[sandy]

I must comment on taking Tylenol PM. Please be careful with taking that. I took Tylenol Pm to help me sleep years ago and got hit so bad in the middle of the night I swear I thought my life was over. I woke up with a feeling of passing out while I was laying down mind you. From that my heart was pounding and beating so hard and fast and I really thought lights out for me. From that point it through my whole system out of whack for months. I could not go to work and was so sick I could barely function at all. So please be aware of anything you put in your body. Remember our systems are extremelly sensitive to everything.

[DizzyPopcorn]

Sorry for reviving such an old topic, but i experience the exact same phenomenon while im falling asleep. I feel like in about to pass out and every muscle stop working. This happens 5-6 times in a row until i somehow fall asleep. These episodes started after switching from lexapro to paxil. I did not have those before. 

Does any of you guys experience it as well? 

[Magalot]

When I was very unwell earlier on this year, I would have problems going asleep and staying asleep. I would wake up soon after I'd gone asleep with racing heart, feeling confused, panicking etc. And then near the morning I would continually wake up with a jolt, feeling like surges of adrenaline coming up through from my stomach to my head. 

I've made a ton of changes since then so it's hard to know what's helped but the thing I feel really improved this has been going for a run in the evening time. I'm lucky I can still exercise like this, I know a lot of people can't . I feel like it uses up all that extra adrenaline so it's not racing sound my body at night. I still have restless nights sometimes, but nothing like it was before.