Nocturnal Panic Attacks

Hello. For the past week, I have been waking up gasping for air, feeling confused, sweating, and feeling total despair. It causes me to jump out of the bed and run around the house for a moment before I realize what happened.

Usually, it happens in the morning after my husband leaves for work, but last night it happened after I had fallen asleep. My husband hadn't fallen asleep yet and grabbed me when I went to jump up and told me to calm down and breathe and talked me through it.

What can be done about these panic attacks? They usually leave me disoriented, confused, and scared. I truly feel like I can't breathe despite the fact that I am physically breathing. They are 100x worse than any daytime panic attack that I've had.

Is it a night terror caused by low blood sugar levels maybe. I don't know. Hope you feel better soon. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_terror

I had night terrors growing up and was a sleep walker. However, I no longer wake up screaming. Instead, I jump out of bed and run around the house looking for who knows what until I realize what happened. These have happened in the past and I just got over it, but it would cause me to stay awake the rest of the night feeling the worst kind of depressed feelings following an episode. However, now, I am usually okay within an hour and can get back to sleep, unless it happens in the morning a couple of hours before waking. In that case, I end up getting up for the day.

You can just eat oatmeal to help regulate blood sugar levels.

Thanks for the information, but I've had my blood sugar tested many times and it is always in the right range. I have had symptoms related to that such as dizziness, feeling light headed, etc. But there is nothing wrong with my blood sugar levels. Plus, when all of this started as a child, it was following trauma.

Maybe a book on dealing with traumas will help. Check out TRE. http://traumaprevention.com/

I have had these in the past and I reasoned they were so much worse than daytime anxiety or panic because I didn't sense they were coming on like I do in the day so I wasn't at all prepared. Plus it is dark, you've been asleep, everything seems spookier at night, etc. For me, they have occured when at times when I was especially stressed or anxious.

I can't recall what made them go away ... perhaps they did when my anxiety situation improved. Recently I have been taking Magnesium 400mg at bedtime. It is over the counter. It has improved my sleep and relaxation. See WebMD which has a good article about it. Cardiologists use it to help relax the heart, stop palpitations, and lower blood pressure somewhat. Anyway, it works well for me.

I hope your nighttime improves. A good night's sleep sure makes the next day better.

Thank you!

I hate this happened to you and hope you
can get to the root cause.