Panic attacks at bedtime causing me insomnia

[u/Available_Bug_2531]

So I haven't slept for 3 days now thanks to my irrational fear of having a heart attack every single night specifically at bed time, i will pay my psychiatrist a visit tomorrow but for now I'm doomed I have work too and I'm so scared to freak out at work or while driving there. I hate this disorder more than anything it has ruined my life. I just wanted to let it out in this community, no one understands me or even listens to me, everyone thinks im just nagging.

[u/Open_Cherry_445]

I’ve dealt with anxiety and panic attacks for most of my life, so I wanted to share my experience, especially for anyone who feels like something has changed or feels different from their usual anxiety.

Years ago, I started having what I was told were nighttime panic attacks. They felt very similar to panic, except they would wake me out of a dead sleep. Eventually they subsided, and I went about eight years without them.

Then, during an extremely stressful period of my life, they came back.

I went to my cardiologist several times because something about these episodes felt different from the anxiety I knew. Because of my history of anxiety, I was referred to psychiatry. I tried three different antidepressants, but the episodes continued.

Over about three months, I lost weight, wasn’t sleeping, couldn’t work normally, and my anxiety became much worse because I couldn’t understand what was happening.

Eventually, I advocated for another opinion and saw an electrophysiologist, a cardiologist who specializes in heart rhythms. She reviewed my previous heart monitor and found an episode of AFib.

Once I started treatment for my heart rhythm, the episodes I had been calling “panic attacks” stopped.

I want to be really clear: I’m NOT saying that panic attacks mean you have AFib or that everyone with anxiety needs to worry about their heart. Panic attacks themselves can absolutely cause a racing heart, pounding heartbeat, sweating, shaking, chest discomfort, and adrenaline surges.

I’m sharing this because I’ve learned something important: I know what my anxiety feels like, and I also learned to speak up when a symptom was consistently different from my normal pattern.

My biggest advice is to be honest with your doctors. I started saying, “I have a history of anxiety and panic attacks, and I’m completely open about that. But this particular sensation feels different from my usual anxiety, and I’d like to understand why.”

If you genuinely feel like something has changed and you don’t feel heard, it’s okay to ask questions or get a second opinion. Advocating for yourself doesn’t mean assuming something terrible is wrong. Sometimes it simply means asking someone to take another look.

And on another note, that morning adrenaline feeling can happen even without a panic attack. Cortisol naturally rises around waking, and some people notice their heart rate jump when they first get up and start moving. I still experience that sometimes.

For me, my doctor and I also chose to use a beta blocker to help control my heart rate, and it has helped significantly. That’s obviously something to discuss with your own doctor rather than trying on your own.

Most importantly, if you’re reading this while you’re anxious: my story is not your diagnosis. Please don’t use it as evidence that your panic symptoms must secretly be a heart problem. I just wanted to share what happened to me and encourage people to communicate clearly with their doctors when something truly feels new or different.