Waking Early w/ Heart Palpitations & Worry

Since Christmas I have been waking up around 5 AM with my heart beating fast and anything that I can be worried about will start going through my mind. It's very odd because it's almost always the same hour. When we advanced the clocks forward an hour this weekend I woke up and the clock said 5:24 AM which means it was 4:24. I find it bizarre that I self adjusted to the time so that I would wake up at 5! So strange. I'm exhausted from this type of panic/anxiety. I am facing an interstate move in 3 weeks and a great deal goes along with that. I know, somehow, that the move is part of this anxiety issue and am terrified to be in a new place feeling like this. My husband will be working out of state and be home
3 nights a week. I was fine with this but suddenly this panic has hit.

Needless to say, I am so tired. I don't sleep during the day so I'll sleep at night. This is so upsetting to me. I'm the most anxious I have been in 8 or 9 years. (I'm new here so hope I'm doing this new posting thing correctly.)

Hi Scaredy Cat. Thanks for your reply. In the past I had gone to therapy and was put on Xanax as well as having tried many of the SSRI's. None of them agreed with me. My psych finally put me on Wellbutrin and I was doing very well with the combo of Wellbutrin and Xanax. When we moved down to the Mid-Atlantic for my DH's new job, I did extremely well but did have to take the meds. I did everything. Joined a newcomer's group, eventually was president of it, did public speaking, hosted socials at our home and helped my mother navigate the medical system here (she moved with us). about a year and a half ago I began having some health problems. One required surgery which led to another condition which has been troubling and caused me lots of anxiety. Slowly I could feel the anxiety building.
Now I have gone through quite a number of medical tests and with each test, my anxiety increased until I was reduced to tears anytime I had to go to another appointment. Scared the heck out of myself. I had gone back to therapy 1 1/2 years ago-oddly enough to try to understand why I was gaining weight. Now, I can barely eat anything! My therapist is a psychiatrist so she has been trying different meds to help me but my body is extremely sensitive to medications and I have not had a good run. Currently I'm taking Xanax and Klonopin but today she added Seroquel because of these night time wakings. Tiny dose-taking a pill and cutting it into 4 and just taking 1/4. I'm afraid to take it tonight but I'm desperate to get myself through this move.

To be honest, I don't remember how I stabilized from anxiety all those years ago. I think I just persevered but what I'm feeling now is magnified. It's a constant anxiety and feeling of dis-ease. I'm never comfortable and am worried all of the time. I keep telling myself that I'm under a great deal of stress and thus the uptake of the anxiety. I have fibromyalgia as well but I am used to it and push through whatever it sends my way. Truly, I'm very upset that this has come back so violently. It's consuming my days.

Hopefully, chatting with others here and reaching out to help someone else as well might make a difference as I get through the stages that an interstate move entails. It's HUGE.

Thanks again! I really appreciate the feedback.

CBT actually teaches you how to combat the negative/scary thoughts that feed into anxiety. In turn, you learn ocnstructive and positive ways to look at situations, ways of talking to yourself, and perceiving things.

There is a lot of homework involved. For instance, if you have a persistent thought that is causing you fear, then you may get a worksheet that has you analyzing the probability of it coming true...ie, writing down the likeliness of this thought on a scale of 1-10...ect. This is powerful, because you can see this logically on paper, instead of it just being this all consuming scary monster-thought in your head! In our Resource Guide, there are some CBT download-able worksheets that you can check out, to get an idea...or head start.:)

Yes, definitely keep posting with us...it does help to have peer support! We are all here for each other, and we are always glad to welcome more members, so stick around!

S.C.

I am sorry that you had a bad night and that the Seroquel did not do its job. I would keep trying with it, unless your doctor has given you the okay to stop.

If it is taken 'off label' for sleep...I don't know if you can just stop taking it or not...I would always check with the doctor on how to discontue a med, if that is what you are leaning towards...

Maybe if you decide to stop, and your doctor clears it, you could try Melatonin? It is a natural suppliment that is a sleep aid, and works well for many people. Your body naturally makes it anyway, taking it as a suppliment just adds to your body's natural ability to fall asleep.

I hope that you can get the problem resolved and sleep better soon!

S.C.

Thanks SC. It worked for some reason last night. I will take it again tonight and see how it goes. I got some sleep but I'm very anxious today. I will be until I have my physical next week. The moving has me going in circles. It's just a very tough time right now.

Hi IWillB,

On one level, when I think about it, there is really not that much to worry about in terms of a move. Some fears I have - what will happen if I forget to pack something, or what will happen if the movers don't come the day they are supposed to - seem a bit silly. I have a pretty good ability to cope, and have gotten through some pretty hard times.

I know it's helpful to talk about fears (which is what I do here) and I encourage you to do that here. I will do the same.

Thanks for listening,