[caturday15]

What's the most effective medication for night time anxiety? My anxiety is related to night time panic attacks / sleeping and wondering if there's any medication that can be taken before bed time?

Currently, I can manage but 'just in case'.

[winter4me]

Are you on any medication(s) now? If so what?
There are a number of meds that might help---but you probably should talk to your doc to determine what would work best for you.
(eg: in assessing this, it is important to know things like
-the frequency of the attacks
-anything non-medical that makes it worse/better more/less likely
-what your bedtime 'ritual' is &/or if you can develop one that will help
-if there are any daytime "triggers" you can address before sleep
-how long it has been going on, do you know what triggered this or is it random
-do you fall asleep easily, then wake in a panic, or does the fear of the attacks make falling asleep initially difficult---------------------------How do you "manage" now?

[caturday15]

I was never on medication. I'm going to a pdoc soon but I just like to get some idea from those who have this anxiety.

Ever since the onset of the attack, I've been having daily anxiety about going to bed / sleeping. It has been 4 months now. But it's not that every night, I have a severe panic attack. But I'm definitely having faster heartbeats when I am already going to sleep and I'm always having trouble 'falling asleep'. I've had a few sleepless nights / very light sleeps due to this. I've also had experiences of waking in a panic attack (but not frequently).

Before I developed this anxiety, I was a very good sleeper (almost thought of myself as a narcoleptic). That's why I feel somewhat depressed over this because it feels like I've lost something that I can do so easily.

My trigger is night time / whenever I feel sleepy.

The way I manage now is just to "not mind" the anxiety even though it's there. I'm trying to ignore it and continue with my life. But my quality of life is definitely not the same as before and has been affected greatly.

This may be what insomnia feels like but I don't want to label myself as such because I can still fall asleep (for some reason). Maybe 90% of the time and around 6-7 hours. But I have a recurring / obtrusive thought every day that I won't be able to sleep which, according to my therapist, may be due to my OCD. This thought alone affects my entire day and gets stronger at night.

[winter4me]

your pdoc should be able to help. what works for one, may not work for another...
I wonder if your therapist could help you to change/intrude on the intrusive thoughts during the day re: not sleeping at night. Letting go is good---maybe a relaxation exercise before sleep. One problem with anxiety attacks is that they become associated with the situation in which they occur, or first occur, and can be triggered by that fear ---
I have had to deal with severe anxiety and insomnia since my late teens (now, being older, the sleep issue doesn't bother me much, as I do not need the sleep I once did)---I do take medication but wish I had found another route, so I hesitate to suggest a medication; although that may become necessary. Let us know how it goes.

[healingme4me]

Probably a daily anxiety med, would be prescribed. Unlikely, they'd just give one specifically for nighttime

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[caturday15]

Originally Posted by winter4me

your pdoc should be able to help. what works for one, may not work for another...
I wonder if your therapist could help you to change/intrude on the intrusive thoughts during the day re: not sleeping at night. Letting go is good---maybe a relaxation exercise before sleep. One problem with anxiety attacks is that they become associated with the situation in which they occur, or first occur, and can be triggered by that fear ---
I have had to deal with severe anxiety and insomnia since my late teens (now, being older, the sleep issue doesn't bother me much, as I do not need the sleep I once did)---I do take medication but wish I had found another route, so I hesitate to suggest a medication; although that may become necessary. Let us know how it goes.

My therapist's suggestion is just to ignore the thought. Meaning, just let it come and let it pass. That's what I'm doing and I'm feeling much better than wishing the thought to be gone / making a big deal out of it.

With your medication, do you still have daily anxiety? In what way does your medication help?

[winter4me]

Sometimes I do, it is less intense, and does not last as long. (I had episodes lasting many hours, every day for up to a couple of years at a time...I still worked, went to school, but did it all on a kind of automatic pilot...when I first became depressed, I was so relieved, I thought it was 'normal' till others pointed out otherwise...). So, I take something for depression and something for anxiety---someone figured out, after many years (& then it took me a while to understand it myself) that I have c-ptsd)
Between attacks, I would sometimes become euphoric, the relief was so amazing.
...and sometimes, I did wake in the middle of the night in a panic though it more often began during the day, unexpectedly...
So, no, I don't have daily anxiety anymore, except during times that are stressful in a particular way, and the med helps...I do have to keep myself active to avoid depression. I just remember that, when I was young, it seemed as though I was "normal" and then one day, just like that, it changed. Oddly, my moods were most stable, and my anxiety absent (this was before I took meds, didn't take any till my mid thirties) during my pregnancies...and the seasonal allergy I had disappeared and has never returned. My kids are grown now...near thirty themselves...
The mind/body is such a wilderness in some ways...my kids are fine thank goodness.
I too try to let thoughts drift by, to not hold on to them, it is helpful; sometimes easier than others...tempting to grab on and look too closely...it really doesn't help.
If you can be successful at mastering your anxiety without meds, I would recommend that. But, if you find you do need medication, ...well, when it works it is very good.

[caturday15]

Just want to clarify, what do you mean when you were young, it seemed normal? You mean when you took meds, you realized how different the feeling is from what you were before?

Currently, I can still do my daily routine and I have motivation to do things. But there's like this shadow of anxiety following me and just won't leave. It's been like that for 4 months. This has become my new 'normal' and I'm wondering how my previous normal felt like.

[winter4me]

I meant, I felt normal, was not in distress, looking forward to everything, not afraid; and then the symptoms hit very suddenly...
I had no idea what was happening to me. And, at that time, no one to talk to---it was a long time ago, neither the meds nor the diagnoses existed.

[SingDanceRunLife]

I take klonopin most nights these days. It's PRN but my anxiety has been insane lately, and my pdoc knows this.

[caturday15]

Originally Posted by SingDanceRunLife

I take klonopin most nights these days. It's PRN but my anxiety has been insane lately, and my pdoc knows this.

What's PRN? How does Klonopin help your night time anxiety?

[leomama]

Originally Posted by caturday15

What's the most effective medication for night time anxiety? My anxiety is related to night time panic attacks / sleeping and wondering if there's any medication that can be taken before bed time?

Currently, I can manage but 'just in case'.

Are you seeing a psychiatrist?

[caturday15]

Originally Posted by leomama

Are you seeing a psychiatrist?

I'm gonna see a pdoc next week. It's my first time to go to a psychiatrist. And just wanna have an idea about medications for this sort of anxiety.

[leomama]

Your psychiatrist went to medical school in order to be able to prescribe medication. I'm sure they will know what is appropriate for you after discussing your symptoms with you. Then you can do research on the drug they prescribe.

[nocrzytrain62]

I was given visteril but didn't work that well--now I take a couple of valarian root tabs and it works very well

[RTerroni]

I take Quetiapine at night and I think that might help you.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Originally Posted by caturday15

What's PRN? How does Klonopin help your night time anxiety?

PRN means as needed. I have a max dose that I can take daily, and I sometimes do if my anxiety is super high, but that is rare.

Klonopin has been a lifesaver in the past month or so. It's rare that I wake up in a panic, and I also relax enough to get to sleep.

[caturday15]

I went to the pdoc and he gave me Prozac to take daily. I'm diagnosed with OCD but just the rumination part (no compulsion). I'm now quite okay, so the pdoc told me to only start taking the medicine whenever I feel like I'm getting worse. He said psychotherapy might help further eliminate the intrusive thoughts so I don't need to take the meds.

[lubica77]

Originally Posted by caturday15

What's the most effective medication for night time anxiety? My anxiety is related to night time panic attacks / sleeping and wondering if there's any medication that can be taken before bed time?

Currently, I can manage but 'just in case'.

klonopin

Ativan helps me. I also get anxiety about the nighttime. Since Ativan is in your system for twelve hours, it not only may help you fall asleep, but it should calm you for the rest of the night. That's what I take when I need it.

[caturday15]

Originally Posted by GhostofLavender

Ativan helps me. I also get anxiety about the nighttime. Since Ativan is in your system for twelve hours, it not only may help you fall asleep, but it should calm you for the rest of the night. That's what I take when I need it.

How often do you take Ativan? I mean, how often is your need to take it? I was also given Ativan for panic attack.

[sewerrats]

Originally Posted by GhostofLavender

Ativan helps me. I also get anxiety about the nighttime. Since Ativan is in your system for twelve hours, it not only may help you fall asleep, but it should calm you for the rest of the night. That's what I take when I need it.

Ativan is in you system 6 hours

[ChangingMyMind]

I have been prescribed Hydroxyzine for "as needed" use. It's basically there in case I have anxiety/panic that I do not feel I can control otherwise.

Like you, I have anxiety related to sleep. I can go all day without anxiety then when bed time hits I have panic attacks. I am not sure what the trigger is, it has to do with going to sleep though. When I was a kid I couldn't sleep without the TV on, now I need it quiet but I think the quietness of the night causes panic sometimes.

Anyway, I find that breathing exercises help and if it's really bad I walk around the house or go to the bathroom and splash cold water on my face. I use the medicine as a last resort.

I also have the panic related to not being able to sleep like I used to. I used to take Celexa for depression/anxiety and it would cause me to have extreme fatigue as a side effect, much like a narcoleptic. When I was on it I could sleep at any time any where. So I understand how it feels to no longer have that ability. As odd as it sounds it does give me anxiety when I wake up knowing I can not just go right back to sleep like I used to.

Hang in there! I would suggest to try anything you can before taking medicine. If I had the opportunity to go back 11 years I would never had started medicine I would have tried therapy or another approach first.

All the best. Take care!

[Altered Moment]

They gave me hydroxyzine (Visteral) for anxiety and at first it would knock me out dead asleep. after about a week it did absolutely nothing for me. It is an antihistamine.

[sewerrats]

In days gone then we were told to breath in and out a paper bag for anxiety , later to find people got an addiction to there paper bad and would not go anywhere without there paper bag. It looked like they were glue sniffing going down the street , some even giving the paper bags a name, I kid you not