Waking up at night feeling anxious!!

[grumpygirl]

Over the last few months I periodically wake up at night feeling very anxious. Not with heart racing or any thing like that just this unsettling feeling of anxiety. It's not because I am having fearful thoughts or anything, just a feeling like I have to get up and move, a certain restlessness if you will. It is very disturbing and usually when it happens I can't fall back to sleep and end up taking off my mask and getting up. Sometimes the only solution is to take off the mask and turn over on my left side for a little while(have bursitis so this is tricky), I often fall asleep for an hour or so and then try to put my mask back on.
Has anyone else ever experienced such a thing?? I am puzzled but also very frustrated because over the last 2 weeks it has happend more often. This week for example it has happened two nights already. Needless to say I wake up the next morning feeling like crap and as the day continues I feel even worse.
Could it be related to HI events-my AI is usually very low and my HI stats are not high either. The highest HI lately was 1.8 or something similar.
I am using my ResMed in APAP mode and wondered if the pressure changes may have something to do with it.
Any thoughts???? FYI- I sleep on my back all night with a wedge pillow and my legs raised up to avoid lower back stiffness from sleeping in the same position all night. I don't normally move around any in fact my hubby claims I sleep like the dead(never moving). Thanks for any suggestions- GG

[mars]

Hi Grumpygirl

I know that anxiety when waking up in the middle of the night in darkness can be very unpleasant.

I cannot help you with the technical stuff but there are a couple of things that might help.

Especially in relation to anxiety I learned many years ago that a simple phrase - feelings are not facts - can be very helpful. It gets us back into the reality that (probably) we are in a safe situation, and that no danger threatens us. We still have the feeling of anxiety, but know that there is no danger, and that it is only a feeling, and will eventually go away. Especially if we do not awfulize it by saying such things as - I cannot stand this - this is awful - etc., which will only make the anxiety worse.

I used to wake up not breathing, and still not breathing after waking up. In the dark I tended to panic, so I started to sleep with a sidelight on, so that when I woke up, there was already light, and I was better able to deal with my problem. And as I had not previously died through this non-breathing, over time I stopped panicking, and was able to get myself breathing again.

In general terms I developed a strategy to best deal with the problem.

It may be that you can do the same, whilst examining the causes and other possibilities.

Remember - a feeling is just a feeling - and if you are safe - then you are safe!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No matter how important feelings are they are not always a true indication of reality .

Good luck

cheers

Mars

[wrenn]

That has happened to me a couple of times and the anxiety had no fear component. I am pretty sure it was related to having to struggle to breathe. I am not sure why this happens when using the equipment. Because I sleep very soundly I wondered whether I had blocked the expiration vent and was breathing Co2

It would be nice for you to know what it was in order to avoid it. I hope you find some answers.