Panic Attacks 3 Hours Into Sleep Every Night: Complexities of Tinnitus and Hyperacusis

Lately, I wake up every night after only 3 hours of sleep in a panic attack. My heart races, I'm sweating, nervous and jittery and my stomach is full of butterflies. They aren't due to any conscious thoughts, and I don't recall any nightmares, or dreaming at all for that matter. I run to take a hot shower, which calms me down for a few hours. Sometimes I have to take 2 or three in the night. I don't have panic attacks in the day time and although I have some bouts of sadness with crying, I am for the most part able to cope by distracting myself. These panic attacks have only been going on for the past week.

The only sleep aids I take now (for the past 3 weeks) are supplements: Melatonin 5mg, Valerian root, L-Theanine, Taurine. I have been taking most of these for most of the time since onset (6 months ago).

I had been experimenting with various prescription sleep aids to try to get a full night's sleep. (I haven't had more than 4 hours sleep for the past 6 months). Most recently tried Belsomra (10-20 mg) (for its no dependence/withdraw profile), which didn't seem to do anything to keep me asleep (I took it nightly for 3 weeks).

I tried Trazodone 4 nights (50 mg) (stopped up my sinuses), Seroquel 2 nights (25 mg) (blacked out, but spiked my tinnitus and woke up in fear), and Ramelteon 5 nights (8mg did nothing)

Before that, I had been alternating different sleep aids nightly for two months in an effort not to develop dependence. Benadryl (50mg), Activan (.5mg), Doxylamine Succinate (25 mg), and Temazepam (15 mg).

I did have panic attacks during the first couple of weeks of tinnitus and hyperacusis onset (about 6 months ago). But these were caused by negative intrusive thoughts about the future as I laid awake in bed, unable to fall asleep. Those went away maybe from the passage of time, or from me taking Ashwagandha root (1200 mg/day) and benzos as needed. I discontinued Ashwagandha a month ago after reading articles on the negative hormonal balance effects from long term use.

When discontinuing these drugs and supplements, I did so cold turkey, as I did not believe enough time had transpired for me to develop a tolerance.

So I don't know if my anxiety is worsening as a result of some kind of drug kindling, or if this is a normal part of the progression 6 months in. I do have health obsession issues which had caused great conflict over which was having a worse effect on my brain, sleep deprivation, or sleep drug dependence or other chemical changes in the brain.

The complexities of tinnitus with hyperacusis leave so much unknown, and I realize that my experimentation with various drug and supplement cocktails in the end, just leaves more unknowns than provide any answers.

Hopefully someone out there can relate. I would rather not get on benzos to treat anxiety. Any chance this could just resolve with time? Is it ok to just deal with these panic attacks without medicating? I'm becoming a more fearful person overall.

Any experience you can share is most appreciated.

 

Have you ever taken just Valerian and Melatonin at night? If so, what happened?

 

Mirtazapine has a reputation as a fairly tinnitus-inert AD that knocks you out cold (there are some people who say it affects their tinnitus but in general the reputation is safer than other AD's). It works for me - I doubt you would wake up before morning but your mileage may vary.

Also, especially with Tinnitus, you should not stop anything cold turkey.

 

Yes, I've tried both. Valerian seems to have no effect. Melatonin gets me tired and ready to sleep but does nothing to keep me asleep. I'm also concerned that the extra strength 5mg pills might be overkill causing some other hormonal imbalance.

 

My psychiatrist discouraged it because she said it caused most of her patients fast weight gain. Have you experienced this?

 

Maybe but isn’t that honestly less severe than the issues we’re discussing? It just makes you want to eat snacks a bunch vs sleep level: hell.

 

Well, you don't want to compound your health issues with possible diabetes, sleep apnea, or whatever might accompany that rapid weight gain. Some people have gained 60-100 lbs.

 

Just don’t snack and in my opinion, you will be okay. I’ve been taking it two months and gained maybe 5 pounds. At the end of the day weight is still calories in vs calories out.

 

I have had tinnitus for a month today. Never experienced worse sleep in my life, I got bags under my eyes. Haven’t taken any pills. I’ve had high bp in early days, high pulses, I think a lot of people go through it.

I think your problem is experimenting with drugs which probably threw everything off balance, plus that you don’t address the mental aspect (that we are fixated on tinnitus). I think you should get on a really healthy diet for a while and do whatever you can to calm the sympathetic down (breathing, acupuncture, massage, read a book, have sex). There is no way for someone to calm down by just saying it. You need to release hormones that do it for you and do it repeatedly. My tinnitus isn’t even loud (except for night of course) but I am fixated to finding a cause and plan of action FIRST, before “letting it go”.

I think this is why that Julian guy has so much success. It’s because he manages to calm people down (which is easier said than done) because if one can get 8 hours of deep sleep every night, that will definitely help with tinnitus. My brain right now is stuck. I don’t think any melatonin will fix it. Valerian root works to an extent to calm it down but not enough. Drugs won’t do it. You have to act during the day.

Also, if this goes for a very long time, I’m pretty sure it leads to hormonal changes and bad ones, adrenals burned out etc. A diet can definitely help plus taking out all that worsens it. Believing you’re helping it also works mentally. For example if I told you that eating X every day can cure tinnitus in a year, you’d get an extra hour of sleep for sure. I’ve never experienced tinnitus before but for sure, people who have been on the edge before it, find it harder to habituate.

Getting your blood work done and building a plan of action I think would be a start.

 

Is it possible something like this might help?

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Extension-Melatonin-Released-Vegetarian/dp/B01GM8JI3I

 

Possibly, although 300mcg of melatonin which equals .3mg seems like nothing considering I was taking 5mg.