Panic Attacks over weak breathing at night

So for the past few days I have been waking up in the middle of the night feeling like I am barely breathing. I feel a jolt go through my body like something is wrong and then I step in with conscious breathing and make it worse. I have a pulse oximiter so I know I am getting enough oxygen but this shallow breathing drives me insane. I had a major panic attack on Thursday morning while just sitting down watching tv, I felt this overwhelming feeling something was wrong and I felt like I was barely breathing and weak. Has anyone else experienced this?

I went to the ER and ekg/blood work were all good. Ugh, this happened after almost a month panic free. I THOUGHT I WAS OVER THIS:( I am so depressed now. I get this feeling like my body thinks I am asleep, and it enters this depressed state where I barely breathe and Im constanly freaking out about it.

Cal,

I have experienced this and it is no picnic. We went on vacation and my anxiety hit an all time high. I actually didn't sleep for five days! When I tried to go to sleep, I noticed my breathing was very shallow and right before I started to dose off, my body would jolt or jerk and I would suddenly be wide awake and my heart would be racing. This went on for five days straight!

I ended up going to the ER and the doctor prescribed me Ativan. The first time I took it I slept for 3 hours straight! And then that night I slept til the next morning!!! What a relief! I was so happy!

There are alot of OTC meds such as zzzquil and benadryl. Have you consideded this? I have a prescription of seroquel and it has worked wonders. Have you talked to your doctor about your situation? Have you ever tried a benzo? Talk with your doctor about this, he will definitely help you.

Shallow breathing is a classic symptom of anxiety and can definitely interfere with our sleep (as I can surely attest). Have you checked out the resource section on here (1st page, 1st post)? There are a lot of things we can do to help control our anxiety such as deep breathing exercises, evening walks, therapy, and spending time on here.

What you are going through is something that all of us has probably experienced at one time or another. Stay on here and keep us posted. May you sleep like a baby soon!!!!

Post Edited (Cornell) : 9/21/2014 2:35:27 PM (GMT-6)

Cornell,

Thanks for your response. I have been prescribed klonopin but I am extremely stubborn and usually just try to push through rather than taking it. I used to take zzquil to help me sleep but I found that it kind of made me groggy the next day and I wouldnt be able to handle my anxiety as well.

As for the self help info, yes, I have read it and I put it into practice. I attribute almost a month with no anxiety to this forum, it's members and the resources provided here!

I want to beat this and I WILL! I am going to try and find a psychiatrist this week to help me get my breathing under c9ntrol. Its almost like ive forgotten how to breathe normally and therefor force it.

This may sound totally crazy but I felt like the klonopin definitely helped BUT I had strange psychological side effects. I would get racing thoughts the next day and over all I would feel like I was more out of control than normal. I had a similar reaction to xanax though it was much worse. I have reacted negatively to almost everything prescribed, my Doctor said I am extremely sensitive pharmacueticals. I was also taking a beta-blocker at the same time as the klonazepam so I may give it another shot. The beta-blocker messed me up bad.

Scaredy Cat,

Please share! I look forward to pro-actively attacking my breathing issues with a new technique!!

Thanks!

C.,

Here you go...give it a try and see how you do...hopefully it helps!

S.C.


The Divided Breath:



Imagine your lungs as having 3 parts. The bottom third, the middle, and top third.



On the inhale fill the bottom third first, then the middle and finally the third. Make sure that this is one continuous breath, but divided, with a slight pause in between each third.



Hold the breath in for 3-5 seconds if possible. Exhale in reverse. First blow out the top third, then the middle, and finally the bottom third of your lungs until all air is expelled. (remember the pauses)



Repeat several rounds for a toatal of about 10 minutes. Practicing this every day will not only give you control and structure to your breathing, it will strengthen and loosen the thoractic muscles, allowing better, more productive breathing, and relieving the chest tightness

Cal,

I am sorry.:( Maybe you can try to focus more on the inhale, and exhale a little more gently...

...this way you are not blowing off too much CO2. (the cause of hyperventilation)

Also, you will want to practice this while you are not in panic mode...as in everyday, a couple of times a day...

...so that when you need it, like during an attack, you are ready and comfortable with the technique.

I hope this helps!

S.C.

Yep, here I am chiming in with Square Breathing. I have found, for me, that this one works amazingly well and amazingly swift. It's just about finding the variation that works for you. Keep in mind, it may well take a combination of different techniques, styles, timings, methods, etc., to find the right 'cocktail' of breathing exercises to create a balance.

This remains one of my top all-time favourites! I learned it decades ago, and still use it to this very day. It may go by other names.

As the name implies, the idea is to create a type of "square" with your breath. The "measure" of breath can vary, but whatever you choose, the way to effectiveness is to be consistent.

Example: Breathe in slowly for a count of five. Count as you go. Don't inhale abruptly, but make each.... number.... count.... the.... same! So slowly and gently count one-by-one, inhale to the count of five.

Step two: HOLD your breath for a count of five. (Assuming we're working with the number five.....whatever 'number' you choose, be consistent).

Step three: Exhale slowly for a count of five. Don't force the exhale (because you may want to. You may feel the urge to let it all go, especially after holding your breath). But don't! Really super important to PACE your self, your breath, your timing.

Step four: HOLD your breath for a count of five. This may be the toughest part of the exercise because your instinct will be to gulp for air and get that breath back in as fast as possible. But this is one of the most important, crucial steps to what makes this exercise so efficient.

So see? The square? In for five, hold for five, exhale for five, hold for five. A perfect square.

You're going to notice a whole bunch of things happen. Probably the first thing will be the difficulty and desire to gulp in or exhale quickly. But the method matters just as much as the counting.

If 'five' doesn't feel quite right, pick any number you want (as long as it's not one or two!) It takes practice. It takes patience. But it works by balancing the rate at which our lungs exchange gases. It works by calming us down quickly because it almost 'forces' a calming response (I know that doesn't sound right, but hey, it's what I got, so work with me!)

I love, love, love the Square Breathing because (for me anyway), it tends to provide the quickest result. And yeah, it's probably one of the harder breathing exercises to 'master'...but it is sooooo worth it!!

If you have any questions, please ask away! I'm a big proponent of this method and to date, it hasn't failed me. And I'm a very highly strung, tightly wound person!! :)





M.