Sleep Issues
Posted , 8 users are following.
The last few nights, just before I'm about to fall asleep I wake up, jolt out bed and my heart is racing, I feel a little light headed, I feel disoriented/confused, hand tingling and slight tremor,
my breathing is shaking (assume this is caused by a chest tremor) and internal head vibrations (these have been going on for awhile which I attribute to sleep deprivation). This all lasts for a minute or so. After calming down a little I checked my blood pressure and it was high (140) with a pulse of 70. I'm a 34 male in overall good health, but I have been dealing with chronic insomnia, fatigue and very low testosterone for nine months.
The wake ups before falling asleep are new. They aren't panic attacks because I don't feel entirely conscious when it happens. It's like I'm about to doze off and some need to jump out of bed. It's like a flight or fight reaction that happens automatically. It started while on Silenor, but last night I stopped taking it and I still experienced the symptoms described above. It's takes me an hour or so to get back to sleep after these events.
Has anyone else experienced this and know the cause? It's quite freaky. For a moment of feel like I'm dying. I read somewhere that waking up before entering deep sleep could cause this.
1 like, 21 replies
borderriever nickz711
Posted
You need to give your medications time to work, however you feel it can take upwards of four weeks to give you relief. If for any reason you stop taking your medications again it can take a while to eventually leave your system.
If you need sleeping tablets for a short period the GP may give you a script.
craig84609 nickz711
Posted
I have the same issues. I am so low on Testosterone my doctor checked to see if my chest was producing milk. I didn't even know that was possible in a man, but I had 0 testosterone and higher estrogen. So I am on TRT now and feel a lot better for it. Now for the sleep issue. Being low on T can cause sleep issues, however I found out that I have Sleep Apnea and the dazed and confused waking is a product of not getting enough oxygen when sleeping. I would have this checked. I discovered mine because I wanted to test out my new night vision camcorder and when I watched the video I was shocked as to how long I would go without breathing. It is scarry. If you have a camera such as mine or even a baby monitor as most have night vision record yourself sleeping you may discover something. I am on CPAP now to help with sleep apnea, you can get one if needed and it will put an end to these episodes. If not OSA then you should go to a sleep doctor to be evaluated. OSA and some other problems can be damaging to ones heart. Take care and good luck to you.
tess33005 nickz711
Posted
And why are you taking your pulse and BP all the time?
nickz711 tess33005
Posted
It was 70. I never check my BP, but with these new symptoms of waking up
the within 1-2 hours of sleep with rapid heart beat, feeling like I can't breathe, hand tingling /tremor
, light headed, confusion, disorientation, internal head vibrations, and feeling like I'm going to faint, I wanted to be sure nothing else was abnormal.
When you have sinus tachycardia (140 - 160) for several months, you end up wanting to know what your pulse is.
lily65668 nickz711
Posted
Nick, you told me yesterday that you'd scheduled a sleep study for about one month's time. Why not wait till you get the results of that? You'd save yourself a lot of anxiety.
I'm concerned about your frequent posts on this board - not because I don't sympathise or don't want to be bothered answering you. It's just that this is a site for patients, not a medical site. Most of us on here have plenty of personal experience of chronic insomnia and some of us have some kind of medical or related qualification. But we can't give you the answers that your doctors can.
I've learned from your previous posts that you're already under the care of a cardiologist and will shortly be seeing an endocrinologist, which sounds like an excellent idea for someone in your situation. The sleep study will complete the picture for your doctors, who will then be able to help you.
It's always good to get support and sympathy from fellow sufferers of any condition. However, compulsive reporting and comparison of every new symptom can have the opposite result, driving anxiety levels ever higher. This is the last thing an insomnia sufferer needs.
Give yourself a break. Trust your doctors. You've come through a period of high stress that has temporarily derailed your endocrine and immune systems. This is more than enough to account for your insomnia without looking for impossibly esoteric conditions on line. Just accept that you're going to feel bad for another few months, till your doctors have all the results before them, after which they'll help you on the road to recovery.
zinedine_26916 nickz711
Posted