this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2024

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Off My Chest

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I woke up screaming (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

14 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I'm not sure what's going on with me, but just a few minutes ago I woke up screaming for my life. I don't even know what happened and I barely remember what it was.

My right arm was competely numb and I felt like I had crossed a point of no return in my chest. I don't think it was a heart attack, I'm quite alright now, but I felt like I was going to die.

I've suspect I have sleep apnea that keeps getting worse and worse. I wake up suddenly if I fall asleep while sitting down and every time it gets harder and harder to wake up. Until today that I woke up in a huge panic after lying down on my bed.

My head feels foggy and I feel uncertain. I don't know what to do. I can't go see a specialist or a doctor for that matter. But, fuck, I thought I was a gonnet for a second.

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[–] GetOffMyLan 48 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I mean you really should go see a doctor tbh

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I know, but I can't afford it and if I make an appointment it'll be in 2 months :/

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

make the appointment

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago

Sounds like a night terror. If it's just that, then it isn't a health issue. But sleep apnea is actually serious, and you should definitely see a doctor about it. Plus, once you clear that issue up, you'll sleep better and will feel better overall.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago

Not at all a substitute for seeing a doc, but in the meantime maybe start regularly checking your blood pressure and spo2. Then when you do go to the doc you can show them your recent history.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Dude, this isn't something to fuck with.

The symptoms you're describing are very much a sign of heart disease worsening. Do not fuck around, get medical care. If you have to suck dick to get the money, suck that dick, I'm not even joking.

This will not go away on its own, and I've seen people die from refusing to act early enough.

Do not fuck around with this.

[+] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

[deleted]

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Panic +apnea + total numbness + brain fog + difficulty waking. Any single one is probably something else, or would only contribute to heart disease.

The cluster of them, particularly with the staggered sleeping while partially upright, there's really only one thing it can be. I might lean panic attacks triggered by bad dreams and apnea, but you don't get total numbness with that, and the postural changes to it reinforce the likelihood of something heart related rather than endocrine, psychological, or it being all offshoots of apnea.

Now, the original cause was likely be apnea, or whatever caused the apnea itself. But once someone starts branching off into that cluster more and more, the higher the chances they're edging into heart disease serious enough that taking a relaxed approach to addressing it is a bad idea.

Obviously, nobody can diagnose online, and I'm not a doctor. But I've seen this pattern way more often than I would have liked. By the time the person is having those start-and-stop sleeps when upright or partially reclined, I would go as far as to say that heart damage is already there, not just incipient.

There's even a non zero chance that the event that brought OP here was a heart attack. Infarction can present weird sometimes, and there's a ton of people that have unstable angina with that complex of symptoms.

Besides apnea by itself is a huge precursor to heart disease. It's like the wheels on the car of heart trouble.

I kinda doubt OP has a major blockage yet, though it's definitely possible that they do, and this event was a final warning sign. But I'd bet good money that they have some blockage going on, if I could afford to bet on random shit online.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Could be heart problems, blood clots, stroke, or neurological issues, or even just psychological but you should really get the first ones checked out, like today

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Doctor now! Figure what is keeping you away out later!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Did you take any sleep aids or other drugs before bed? For example, many sleep aids are CNS depressants which relax your muscles and affect your breathing, so you can end up not getting enough oxygen especially with existing sleep apnoea. They also can also reduce how much you support your own weight while you're asleep, which I've experienced as waking up with numb limbs because I slept in such a position as to cut off blood flow.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

No sleeping aids, not even alcohol. The only drug I consume regularly is caffeine. And idk what happened with my arm. I was resting on it but the tingling sensation was incredibly mild afterward. I only remember feeling my arm numb and unable to move very much but it quickly returned to normal. I'm wondering if it was just sleep paralysis because I jolted awake and then felt my chest sink, which is what made me panic.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Do you sleep on the arm that gets numb? I remember reading that usually the body tries prevent loss of circulation and nerve pinching during sleep by jolting you awake so you move a little. Maybe you don't move enough during sleep and you brain has to resort to more extreme measures to prevent damaging you limb. Maybe try doubling up on pillows so there's less chance to pinch of your arm.