Traumatic Nights

[RedKC]

Hi! I'm new to this forum and anxious to see if anyone else experiences what I do at night.

These nightly episodes have been occurring for years and I always feel good during the day. It's usually not long after I fall asleep....I wake up and start hallucinating vividly around the room and then I'm hit with a freight train of symptoms (extreme heart rate, sweating, lightheaded, blurry vision, numbness and tingling, pressure, burning, etc). It usually takes 30 minutes or more to finally subside. When I have these episodes (which is multiple nights a week) I feel like the ambulance needs to be called or I'm going to pass out and die. I also take beta blockers and Valium (if needed) and they cannot combat these episodes at all.

I've had my heart tested, sleep study, etc and am currently being tested for an adrenal tumor which is so far looking negative. I am definitely an anxious person but have little stress in my life so I have no idea why this is happening to me! I am desperate for answers!!!

[Hisue]

I sympathize with what you are going thru. I have RA and wake up from sleeping with fear/panic and heart pounding at 2am several times an week. Seems it is part of Autoimmune condition. I take lorazepam to calm down and deep breathing but it is awful.

[RedKC in reply to Hisue]

I'm sorry you have to experience that as well! It is beyond frustrating....i never considered autoimmune. Not even sure how a doctor would test for that...someone else on this forum mentioned having your thyroid antibodies tested?

[Hisue in reply to RedKC]

Primary dr can easily order blood tests for thyroid & autoimmune/inflammation which may be the cause or part of it.