Well, I thought I had it figured out a few weeks ago that this anxiety was caused by a stimulant cold medicine I was taking too much of. I have since been careful of taking anything. This past Monday, I woke up with vertigo. The room would spin when I stood up. It took about a minute for it to stop, and when I would lie back down, the room would spin again for about a minute. This lasted from 9am-3pm. That night I had a headache, and skipped my migraine pill as I was afraid it would make the vertigo come back. The headache lasted into the next day, and finally went away after I ate something, which is unusual because nothing ever takes them away except for the medication. As the week went on, I haven't had vertigo, but have been experiencing jerks when I am falling asleep, and derealization during the day. I don't know if this is physical, or if I am just afraid to fall asleep now. Last night, I woke up after a few minutes of sleeping, gasping for air. My body is not letting me sleep. I have been to the doctor. They have already made up their mind that it is anxiety. I called the therapy place they gave me a flier for, and no one ever called me back. I called another place that is sliding scale, and they said they are all booked up, and gave me a bunch of other numbers. I am in the process of looking for a place that accepts my insurance and is taking new patients. I even bought a test to test myself for mercury poisoning. I was using a skin lightening cream from outside this country for hyperpigmentation, and recently learned they can contain mercury. I actually used it Sunday, the day before this all started up again. I think I was using it the previous episodes a few weeks ago too. I really don't know what is wrong, but I can't sleep all week. I've been getting a few hours here and there, but am scared of falling asleep, and what not sleeping is doing to my brain. I am scared I am going to stop breathing in my sleep. My mom has some Klonopin, but I'm afraid to take that too. Has anyone ever experienced sleep deprivation from hypnic jerks, gasping for air, and vertigo as symptoms of anxiety? I think I have reason to be anxious as I have been living in a very stressful situation for quite awhile. I live in a small apt. with someone who snores, among other things. I sometimes sleep in the bathroom to get away from it. I wonder if this could possibly have caught up with me. These new symptoms seem to have either intensified, or are sudden onset, and I'm losing it trying to figure out if it is anxiety or something else.

[Sunflower123]

It sounds like anxiety which is causing you to lose sleep and it goes into a vicious cycle. If this continues, please see your doctor to see if he can give you something to help you sleep (I don't know why he didn't give you something for vertigo or sleep then). Losing sleep causes a whole host of problems.

I hope you sleep better soon. Sending big hugs.

Thanks for replying Jennifer. I took a tiny chip of my mom's Klonopin last night when I started experiencing a tight chest. That was it, wasn't gonna try to fight it anymore. It took awhile, but the butterflies, nervousness, jerking, and chest tightness went away, and I could FINALLY fall asleep. It was such a relief just to sleep at least. I made the mistake of mentioning a long time ago that I have a family history of addiction. It's in my medical chart, and the doc said they do not like to prescribe Klonopin for those at risk for addiction. I will have to convince them that I am lucky to have not inherited that potential. I don't even like to take rX meds, and will only take them as needed. I have a pretty good history of not putting bad stuff into my body, at least knowingly. I honestly think my genetics make me so intolerant to a lot of meds that it sort of protects me from addiction. I could only take a chip of Klonopin the size of a small bead, and that had an effect, believe it or not.

[*Laurie*]

I agree with Jennifer- you need something to ease your tension and help you to sleep. Your sleep clock needs to be reset. Even an otc med like ZzzQuil could help. You'd only take it for a couple of weeks.

Also, it's ridiculous to compare street drug addiction to taking medication for health benefits. Your doctor should know that.

[Biteplate]

I have sleep issues and my body will jerk to wake it up. The doctor prescribed trazedone for sleep. Supposedly its not addicting. Its not a perfect cure for sleep but I do sleep more than I was.