last night

[loopstar]

for the first time in a long time - i was taken over by my emetophobia. I woke up somewhere around 2 am and felt instantly overwhelmingly nauseous........normally i would get a glass of water and get back into bed but last night (as i was home alone) the fear took over. my heart was beating so fast and my wholy body was shaking! i felt so warm yet shiveray at the same time and i couldn't rest! i was sitting on the back door step (it was below freezing) trying to sip water!


i was frightened by how ill i felt - so much so that i considered getting in my car and driving over to my parents house!


thankfully - it subsided - was most likely something like waking up witha fright from a nightmare or something. but i thought i had progressed to a stage where i didn't feel so afraid when nauseous - but i was wrong - and that frightens me almost as much as the nausea itself!

[suze]

I get exactly like this and it usually happens when I've woken suddenly. It's almost like I'm still in a nightmare and half of me isn't quite sure what I'm feeling. I too will shake violently, dry mouth, hot and cold shivers. It passes eventually but it's terrifying. I think it's a control thing for me..i sometimes feel i could cope with v* if i was completely awake and in control but waking suddenly and feeling ill is a different ball game altogether - it's like it has jumped out at you unexpectedly - that's the bit i hate.

[murphy]

You guys are both so right. I had the same thing happen Sunday night. I woke up at 12:30 and usually I can calm down and get back to sleep. Not this night. It was horrible. I was trembling and my heart was beating so fast I thought I would pass out. I was completely terrified.I feel like if I had a gun in my hand I would eat a bulletinstead of goingthrough that.I go from room to room or outside to try to find a place that might bring me some comfort. I thought for sure I had a virus or something which of course makes the anxiety attack worse. It is a horrible cycle. I know exactly what you mean when you say you thought you had gotten to a point you could keep it from getting that bad. I was so upset and scared Monday b/c it had been so long since the last one. It is very frustrating. I think we need to realize that as we work on getting "better" it is going to happen every now and then. We can't let that set us back again. Try to chalk it up to bad night and that is it. Hang in there. You made it.


Murphy

[liz28]

oh my goodness.
This happens frequently to me.
waking up in the middle of the night and feeling just so ILL.
but then about a half hour later..
i can calm down..and my shakes calm down..
and my body relaxes and falls asleep.

how odd and annoying.

[falon_17]

I had the same experience Sunday morning around 5 AM. I drank a little bit that night and woke up with stomach pains and d*, which happens when I drink some things that don't agree with me...but I have never had anxiety attacks with shaking that bad. My teeth were chattering. I had two episodes of d* and walked outside to sit, in the middle of a snowstorm mind you, and could not calm down. If I thought I could drive with all that shaking, I would have gone to the hospital. I just about did. I didn't get back to sleep until 7 and then only slept until 11. I hate panic attacks st night, they're the worst.

[thestruggle]

I completely understand where you are coming. I would say that the majority of my episodes are just what you described. Waking up instantly out of sleep with extreme n*. Then comes the uncontrollable shaking and panic, the dry mouth and racing heart. I often become very confused and disoriented also. It can last anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours. The best thing that I have found to do is turn on the TV. I usually do CNN or FOX news. It helps to drawyouback to "reality" I guess I would call it. It's become acomfort thing to me.It's nice knowing that you're not the only one awake at 3 or 4 in the morning. It also helps to counteract the dark and lonely feeling that one usuallyfeelswhen an attack like this happens.


Youhave to try to wake yourself up mentally before you can really start to fight the symptoms. I find that sipping on ice water really helps, I usually won't swallow any,I just rinse my mouth and spit it out. It helps alleviate the dry mouth and the gagging that can come with it. Rinse your face with cold water repeatedly. It will help to cool your skin, remember to takedeep breaths in through your nose and breathe out slowly. And get some fresh air. A little walk around thebackyard and long deep breaths of fresh air can really slow down your heart and begin to relax you. Honestly this type of episode is probably the hardest for an emet to deal with. The unexpectedness of it is overwhelming alongwith themonstrous level of n* that comes with it. I went 3 years where this type of thing was a nightly occurrence. I knew it would happen and yetI still couldn't handle it. I tried to change my sleep pattern. But the same thing can happen even if you choose to sleep during the day.

[purpleteacher]

I have had that happen before. Talk about freaky? I, too, prefer to go outside when I'm feeling N* (even if it is below freezing!). I hate the feeling of utter TERROR inside of me and then the shaking and the urge to urinate every 2.3 seconds and the "I gotta run away from myself" feelings.

[loopstar]

yeah - it's the fact that i actually want to run away from myeslf - it's not possible but sometime i think that if i go outside then the nausea will stay here!!!!


thankfully i had a sound night last night - slept right through - like a baby!!! it was great!!!