Breathing difficult & insomnia at night

Has Anyone Else Experienced Difficult Breathing And Continual Awakenings At night?

 

I FeeL As If My Brain Forgets To Breathe, And Then I Startle Awake Repeatedly.  Almost A Week Without Getting Sleep Is Really Scary.  Any Advice?  I've  tried Melatonin, Valerian, Magnesium...They Make Me Drouzy, But I  Keep Waking Up As If I Am Dying!

 

help

 

Help!  Doctor Doesn't

hi catmemes,

 

yes this is wd all right. i experienced the same thing you are describing but it has

gone now. you should start doing belly breathing ... if you go on the CHEWING THE FAT

section you will find some valuable information.

benzos are binding on gabaa receptors which we have all over . also in our

airways. its a good thing actually because it shows that your healing has started .

don't be scared you are on your right way.

take care

claudia

Claudia...Thanks!  .I Keep Trying To Tell Myself That...But I Am Havimg Panic Attacks.  Never Had Them Before.  I Hate Doctors And Their Drugs!

 

How Long Can I Expect This Particular Symptom To LaSt? I So Want to Sleep Normal again...

hi,

if i remember right this lasted for a few weeks, i know its long. but then

i noticed that i could start breathing again deep into my belly. the panic you are

getting is also due to the breathing. i know its unbelievable but i think you

will also notice that your yawniing will be different. you will start yawning deep down into you r

belly again. if i was you i would read all the information on the section i mentioned.

just reading about the bad xsx is not enough i think. once you understand

the reasons it will be a lot easier for you i think.

all the best

claudia

Claudia,  Thanks again.  I actually slept the best I have in 10 days last night.  I woke up tired...and have noticed a bit of wooziness and bit nausea today. 

 

I've also decided to stop taking all other tummy medications I was prescribed (Prilosec, Zantac, Carafate,) ...as some of the side effects may be interfering with recovery.  Surprised to see that Prilosec can cause jitters, seizures...and numerous similar to benzo WD.  So I am done with all the drugs. 

 

I have however continued to take antibiotic Doxycycline, as Lymes disease was suspect.  The test for Lyme was negative...however, I was perfectly healthy before unidentified insect bite, rash(not the typical Lyme rash) and horrible Sulfa anitbiotic, Bactrim, and then told I had GAD and given Ativan.  One month of low dose use, and now I'm in hell.

 

All of this experience has made me so leery of ANY drugs that are being pushed on us by these so-called doctors.  It seems fewer and fewer actually diagnose symptoms....they just throw drugs at you.  How dangerous!  They have never known what I had wrong, but continually threw drugs at me.  Now I am trying to recover from all the poison.   

How is your blood pressure?  If you have a BP meter take your BP at night when you wake up.  If its high you may need BP pills from the dr.  I take INDERAL and it helped me with sleep apnea  very much!!

hi again,

 

i have always been scared of insect bites , i know some cases similar to yours.

this will be hard but i am sure you will get your health back again.

hope you feel better soon

claudia

My blood pressure is all over the place....I don't have a band at home...but when I go to the doctor (a lot lately, as I always feel like I am dying of some malady)....it's been borderline high 145/100, or last time it was 118/80.  My pre-illness bp was usually 135/75. 

 

The breathing difficulty is probably my hiatal hernia...but that doesn't stop me from freaking out, thinking I have pneumonia, or fungus infection they haven't detected from all the tests, scans, blood work.  My temperature has been all over, too.  Right now about 99.5, but a week ago it was a degree lower than normal...97.6  I thought I must have walking pneumonia...but then I read that w/d could involve temp changes

 

My poor husband...I am driving him crazy, along with me.  I wish I didn't have all this ridiculous paranoia.  I know, even as I'm freaking that it is the benzo w/d....but I can't stop wondering, what if it isn't and I'm ignoring something important?  You know, like breathing? 

There is an excellent post by parker called what is happening in your brain. It is very good at explaining what we are all going through. Long story short, gleaning from his post, our CNS is still reregulating. GABA and Glutamate are the two major proteins which interact within our nervous system. Because these two proteins are thrown off balance, everything our body normally does is thrown off. Our body temperatures do not properly regulate. Our breathing is affected. Our mind has trouble focusing. We have trouble relaxing, and on and on (I would encourage you to find and read the post as it is exceedingly informative).

 

I too had serious trouble breathing at night the first two weeks of withdrawal. It would wake me up frequently, and many times in a panic attack. I also had anxiety off the charts and my body temperature was all over the place, not to mention my Blood Pressure. Please remember though that the Brain tells the rest of the body what to do, so when it's not functioning properly, the rest of your bodily functions begin to malfunction as well. Yet YOU ARE HEALING. In fact, the fact that you are having all these symptoms means that the body is beginning to repair itself. I know the symptoms are horrifying but they are a POSITIVE sign. Hang in there, you will get through it.

 

Hope all is well,

 

Kyle

kyle,

how well spoken. i underline every single word you have said.

all the best to you

claudia

Well, saw the GI doctor today...he does not think the breathing trouble is the hernia.  Strange, there are numerous articles online, including wikipedia, that say hiatal hernia can cause shortness of breath...(uh, it's a tear or weakness in your diaphram).  I'm convinced doctors are just so narrowminded!  I did convince him to run a 24hr Esophageal Manography to check on acid reflux.  Hoping I can work this toward surgery to repair the hernia, so I can get off all the damn drugs.

 

When I mentioned perhaps the ativan withdrawal might be the cause...he said "That's out of your system right away, that wouldn't cause it". 

 

Well, how many people on this site would say different?  Are we all nuts?  I told him, yeah, it's out of my system...but what it did to my brain chemistry isn't!  He didn't say anything....