Panic attacks and sleep paralysis - Panic Disorders Message Board

rockie · 04-08-2009, 05:47 PM

Hello,
I posted quite a bit while on the Lung Cancer board due to my late husband's illness. I now find myself in need of other support. For years I have suffered from panic attacks. The first one I can clearly remember was when I was 7 or 8. The most recent was about 3 weeks ago while at my boyfriend's house. He didn't know what to think! It just took over and lasted for about 20-30 minutes, but the after-effect lasted much longer. One of the worst ones I have had in a while. Then, just last week, I had a sleep paralysis incident. I have those more frequently and they are downright terrifying. When I finally manage to free myself from it, every muscle in my body hurts and I am so wound up from the adrenaline still pumping in my veins, that sleep does not come for a long time. I wonder if anyone else here has these types of attacks, along with the PA. I searched on the internet and found that the two are related. I take 20 mg Lexapro daily for my anxiety.

Thank you
Jan

PanicAtTheDisco · 04-22-2009, 02:53 PM

Well rockie, first all I'm sorry about your late husband =(

As for the panic attack, I've read/heard that it becomes part of your biology and you become primed for them, even if you can go years without having one. So don't let one panic attack set you back and make you think they're back for good.

Panic is something that you have to live with the rest of your life; it's almost like we have no choice, but meds and therapy can make it very managable.

As for your sleep paralysis, that seems like a different prob than panic cause the worst thing that can happen at night, I've found out from personal experience, is that you can wake up in a panic with your heart beating fast and throbbing, along with some palpatations. But your paralysis I feel would best be analyzed in a sleep clinic. You should find one in your area and hopefully they can diagnose your sleeping issue.

Hope this helped =)

rockie · 05-23-2009, 09:36 AM

Thank you Disco,
I am going on Tue 05/26 to a therapyst that specializes in panic/anxiety related issues. My primary care added Atavan to my daily drugs, to help me at night. I don't want to go through life taking drugs all of the time, but at the same time, I don't want to go through life always running scared. Six of one, half dozen of another....you know?

Hopefully we can bring this whole thing to a manageable state. It definitely interferes with the quality of my life.

Thank you for your reply, and thank you for your thoughts. Take care.

Rockie

SD83 · 05-30-2009, 03:23 AM

I'm just one hour removed from waking up from one of these. I had 1 in 25 years, but, in the last 3 weeks, I've had 3.

What's strange is that I've had varying levels of anxiety over the years, varying levels of medication, and varying levels of sleep patterns, but none seem to present a pattern with sleep paralysis.

The one pattern that I do notice is that I seem to experience sleep paralysis after passing out from sleep deprivation, which I am susceptible to.

Best of wishes to you! I wish there was some info out there I could pass along to help, but for me, the best thing to help so far has just been learning about it. I hope the appointment held the answers you were looking for.

Paula72 · 07-10-2009, 03:45 PM

Hello,
I have had sleep paralysis since I was 15. I am now 36. I find that the more I think about and worry about them the more they happen. In the past, sleeping on my side helps. I also got spiritual help and that was the most effective. I am still unsure if this is a medical condition that is explained through science or a spiritual one. I change my opinion from time to time. BUT the bottom line is that the spiritual explanation and help that I received from a psychic and also a medicine woman was by the far the best. I now only have them occasionally and they are not terrifying like they once were.