Lately I’ve been waking up from sleep in the middle of the night completely panic stricken and confused. This is not a symptom I’m used to and it’s really been scaring me. Sometimes I feel it’s because I get too hot and wake up hyperventilating. Sometimes I wake up totally afraid and in the middle of jumping out of bed. Sometimes I can’t remember where I am and it takes me a few seconds to figure it out. All of these only really last a few seconds, but it’s SO unsettling and bringing my mind back to possible seizures I talked to my specialist about it when it first started and she said it sounded like confusional arousal and was probably nothing to worry about, but I wondered if this was familiar to any of you, and if you had any tips on how to manage it. Lately it’s been happening 2 to 3 nights a week.
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italiancookie
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I had this sort of thing for a while, I'd wake up, and couldn't breathe, and my neck and shoulders would feel like they were burning.
It was me being tense in the night. I didn't think you could be tense when you were asleep? I tense my jaw at night too.
It got to be a fear before I went to bed and lasted quire a while, until I realised it was just another anxiety symptom going on and it wasn't going to kill me!
Hasn't happened for a while now. Hope it fades away for you too.
Do mention it to your doctor though. I didn't because I'd been so many times with so many symptoms, I was waiting to see if it would go, and for me it did.
Try not to fear it, easier said than done, but we give these symptoms credence when we think about and fear them all the time and they go on longer!
What you are describing are called nocturnal panic attacks. They are also referred to as night terrors. 😱
No matter what you call them, they really the worst thing because you don't become aware of the anxiety until it's bad enough to wake you up and in the dark.
There is lots of good advice provided by Dr Google e.g Mayo Clinic
In my case, I had more of them when the stress in my life increased so the key was anxiety control. For a while I took medication, low dose of quetiapine for a week just to get guaranteed sleep. It worked better than Temazepam.
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I talked to my specialist about it when it first started and she said it sounded like confusional arousal and was probably nothing to worry about, but I wondered if this was familiar to any of you, and if you had any tips on how to manage it. Lately it’s been happening 2 to 3 nights a week. 
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