What Does An Adrenaline Surge Feel Like?

[puppylove]

I get shivery and I kind of feel like I'm having a panic attack on occasion. It usually only happens for a few minutes. Does this sound like an adrenaline surge or anxiety?

[julieph85]

sounds to me like anxiety. The adrenaline surges i get cause my HR to go up to about 180bpm. Adrenaline acts directly on the heart rate and contractility so you will have a fast pulse.

[E246]

Hi,

This occupies me alot trying to work this out. For me it is like a panic attack but i don't think i am panicing.

The adrenaline puts you into an alert state so it is very hard to self soothe.

I can feel the adrenaline rising in my chest, i feel like i will explode. i breathe deeply into my stomach to try and keep calm and just watch as my heart rate increases. i can feel it subside.

Afterwards i shiver and feel cold.

I have thought endlessly about whether i make this happen or whether it is a real adrenal rush caused by disruption in my system.

I was in bed the other night and i suddenly thought that i felt ill - then my husband said he could feel my heart going and sure enough i was having an adrenaline rush. I had been almost asleep - but we had been out to eat and i had had some food i would not normally eat. I don't think this was a panic attack.

Generally if i get one surge i get 4. and then it is over.

Just try and breathe through it and find what your pattern is and your triggers.

i can feel my adrenaline go over the doorbell ringing and i am really a robust person.

Hope this helps

[MightyMouse]

When I have bad surge, I get a fast heart rate (feels like I'm running a sprint but I'm not moving or doing anything strenuous), I start sweating, feel dizzy, sick to my stomach, and I often get a weird metallic taste in my mouth when the surge is really bad. I do get the shakes too afterward. When I've had epinephrine for allergic reactions, it feels exactly the same as a surge.

Nina

[ramakentesh]

Yeah i get that metalic taste as well. Weird.

Mine can make me feel jittery, restless, clammy, shivering, feel cold, my hands tremor, I feel cold to the touch, heart-rate increases dramatically for no reason.

There is some interesting video on youtube of a severe autonomic storm.

[Serbo]

I think every one feels them differently. I have never had 1 surge that has been the same as another!

I have had very powerful surges that last less than 10 seconds, and others which lasted a night. increase in HR is the main thing i notice but also that background powerful adrenaline feeling.

Having had arrhythmia's in the past the surges remind me of the feeling of when you go in an arrhythmia, but HR not as fast, and regular.

[Godsgal]

When I get one, my heart rate is normal, but I have that feeling like when you swerve to avoid a near collision in your car and it takes a few minutes to get that feeling to go away. That OH CRAP...that just scared me half to death feeling. That's what it feels like to me.

[kmichaelson]

When I get one, my heart rate is normal, but I have that feeling like when you swerve to avoid a near collision in your car and it takes a few minutes to get that feeling to go away. That OH CRAP...that just scared me half to death feeling. That's what it feels like to me.

^^^That's a great description! I've been having this exact feeling for a few years, and I've been wondering recently if it's an adrenaline surge. For me it feels like an electric shock (or surge I guess!) going up my head and down my arms. It's usually very brief for me--more like seconds that minutes and I get them pretty frequently. Again, I'm not sure if what I'm experiencing are adrenaline surges, but they feel very similar to that "near collision" feeling you described so well, Godsgal! I hope that's what they are, because it would be nice to finally know what's happening!

[icesktr189]

I get surges which feel like what other mentioned and then I have other times where there is just too much adrenaline in my system that I dont notice until I lay down. Mornings are hard because my bp is low, so my body sends out adrenaline to keep me upright. I am getting my daughter ready and fed and then when she goes down for a nap, I lay down. That is when I really notice the adrenaline.

[brethor9]

Hi

My worst episodes came at night...adrenaline surges that would wake me from sleep with pounding head pressure,chest pain, pain in left arm,sweating, loss of balance, heart rate through the roof, shakes so bad, sweating and then chills so bad...these episodes would last for hours and were utterly exhausting and terrifying...over time they have lessened or maybe I have learned how to cope with them better..... not really sure

Bren

[julieph85]

Hi

My worst episodes came at night...adrenaline surges that would wake me from sleep with pounding head pressure,chest pain, pain in left arm,sweating, loss of balance, heart rate through the roof, shakes so bad, sweating and then chills so bad...these episodes would last for hours and were utterly exhausting and terrifying...over time they have lessened or maybe I have learned how to cope with them better..... not really sure

Bren

Mine happen just like that as well, at night when i'm asleep. The most mine ever lasted was about 20 minutes but afterwards my stomach would cramp real bad to the point i would have to go to the bathroom and I would feel extremely exhausted.

[ramakentesh]

Yeah I get them at night usually. Two different doctors told me different reasons for them - one said it was the adrenaline system trying to re-route my disfunctional blood flow (so why at night?) and another said it was a sudden surge in antibody production. Others say they have no idea.

[E246]

Does anyone else feel ill with these surges. I am fairly certain my blood pressure goes up at the same time and i feel so ill.

i can feel my adrenaline trying to kick off alot of the time but mostly can control it. The major surges are usually preceeded by a heat rush or flush. Just had really bad few weeks where this would go on for hours feeling ill.

[icesktr189]

I get them bad at night when I over due it during the day. . its like my body is punishing me for pushing too hard.

[ramakentesh]

With my last relapse I had them daily for months - it was horrible. Im hoping they dont start up again as they make it much harder to deal with

[abnel]

I am just like Dani, I notice them mainly at night when I've stopped activity for the day. They usually happen if I've over-exerted during the day.

I had one last night for the first time in a while. Mine go on all night. Heart rate is fast and/or pounding and I can't sleep.

[icesktr189]

I am just like Dani, I notice them mainly at night when I've stopped activity for the day. They usually happen if I've over-exerted during the day.

I had one last night for the first time in a while. Mine go on all night. Heart rate is fast and/or pounding and I can't sleep.

Do you get the ones that come right when you are just about to fall asleep and zap you awake? Those really stink! That was the first clue I had before my daignosis that it was not anxiety because there is no way you can be falling asleep and having a panic attack.

[kmichaelson]

I am just like Dani, I notice them mainly at night when I've stopped activity for the day. They usually happen if I've over-exerted during the day.

I had one last night for the first time in a while. Mine go on all night. Heart rate is fast and/or pounding and I can't sleep.

Oh my gosh, that's exactly what I get! It's so frustrating because they hit when I just want to sleep, but I feel like I just drank 100 cups of coffee. Why can't I get a little of that adrenaline in the morning instead?!

[abnel]

I am just like Dani, I notice them mainly at night when I've stopped activity for the day. They usually happen if I've over-exerted during the day.

I had one last night for the first time in a while. Mine go on all night. Heart rate is fast and/or pounding and I can't sleep.

Do you get the ones that come right when you are just about to fall asleep and zap you awake? Those really stink! That was the first clue I had before my daignosis that it was not anxiety because there is no way you can be falling asleep and having a panic attack.

Yes, I get them just as you describe just before I am about to fall asleep. It is so frustrating to say the least. And it happens over and over again all night long... I will become so exhausted from the constant tachycardia that my mind and head are ready to sleep, but my heart does this kind of wierd rhythm like thump and it zaps me right awake again. I usually feel like death the next day. So awful!

[brethor9]

exactly! me too.....I figure we feel so drugged and crappy the next day as a result of adrenaline crashing.....one of my specialists referred to these lengthy episodes as catecholamine dumping syndrome....makes sense to me....

Bren

[sue1234]

I get them whenever my blood sugar drops, which happens 3-4 times a week even though I eat often. They use to start with me noticing my heart was speeding up some and my hands would get shaky, and finally the anxiety/panic feeling with a wonderful hot flash. One day my glucose dropped so much that my hands were tingling and I had a slight headache. That was kind of odd symptoms for me.

I take Xanax at bedtime, so I'm fine until around 2 a.m. Then, I usually wake to my heart racing(not real fast, but more than baseline). I usually have a hot flash and have to throw the covers off. It's enough to keep me awake for an hour or two. Then, I fall back asleep. Every night, same scenario.

I honestly think my sleeping episodes are hypoglycemia related just like my daytime episodes are.

[Katybug]

Today I had the weirdest adrenaline surge pattern yet for me...I drove to the store and was sitting at a red light with my turn signal on waiting to make a turn. The clicking sound of the turn signal started setting off my adrenaline surges and I was having surges in time with the clicks. It was weird and annoying...that was a lot of surges in a short time. Then I felt awful going in to the store because I was crashing off all the adrenaline and I was all hot and sweaty.

[sue1234]

Katy, any loud or odd noise lowers my adrenaline threshold! My senses are very heightened.

[Katybug]

Me too, Sue. I have become light, sound, and smell sensitive. My stepfather is going deaf and he turns the TV up so loud I have to leave the room cause it sets me off. My favorite is when he decides to watch WWII movies and there's all the gun shots and artillery explosions. It makes me want to throw the TV out of the window (and I can cause of all the adrenaline coursing through my body)! And I can actually hear some tones of dog whistles now. I try not to share that with anyone but my POTS friends.

[Serbo]

Yes, I get them just as you describe just before I am about to fall asleep. It is so frustrating to say the least. And it happens over and over again all night long... I will become so exhausted from the constant tachycardia that my mind and head are ready to sleep, but my heart does this kind of wierd rhythm like thump and it zaps me right awake again. I usually feel like death the next day. So awful!

i'm told these are due to bp dropping when trying to sleep contrasting with the excess adrenaline!

Worst "sudden" one i had yet was earlier this week, a house a street away from mine blew up randomly (gas explosion). I was out the front at the time, my house shook from the explosion and my chest/whole body. Was crazy!