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Waking up with my heart pounding...

Posted by kittka on November 05, 1997 at 06:11:53:

I've had sleep disorders on and off for much of my life, starting with night terrors when I was a child (not that I'd remember them!) and moving on to insomnia or hypersomnia. A few years ago my night terrors began again in earnest (I am 27). The only way I'd be able to sleep well was with the light on, and if I tried to sleep without the light on, I'd inevitably wake up the next morning to find that I had turned the light on in the middle of the night.

Iwas diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome a few years ago (had it really bad), and this was after two bouts of mono. I still have a fussy immune system and I am finding that my poor sleep is not helping me feel my best.

Lately the night terrors have gone away (from what I remember as I now live alone), but now I am waking up in the middle of the night anyway. No terror involved, but last week I woke up at 3:30 am two nights in a row...the second night my heart was pounding so hard I thought it was going to leap out of my chest!

(I know this sounds wierd...heart is pounding but it's not a night terror. When I have night terrors, when I *do* remember them, the fear is so intense and feral it's like being an animal.)

So...not having any health insurance, and not having a huge amount of money to throw away, I do not want to spend lots of bucks on a sleep clinic if it's not totally necessary. Before the heart thing, I was going to work on getting more regular sleep and making my bedroom more amenable...i.e., replacing my futon with a real bed, removing clutter, and getting a white noise machine to play throughout the night. I also play meditation tapes that help.

I guess my big question is this: Do I need to be concerned about the heart pounding? I have been checked before for a heart murmur but nothing was found (after a $1,000 ultrasound, ouch)...though weak hearts do run in the family.
Or...is this just another "normal" symptom of having a sleep disorder?

Thanks in advance...


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