Describe your nightly/morning cortisol rushes

[[sl...]]

Can you describe what your cortisol rush is like?  I keep reading people commenting on waking from a cortisol rush but I'm not certain if they mean a jerk or some other sensation.  For me, Hypnic jerks/cortisol rushes continue to ruin my nights and mornings.  I have a variety of sensations:

 

-A jerk (every body part has jerked)

-twitch in my foot, hand or neck

-spasm (mostly in my legs)

-full body shake (these scare the crap out of me)

-stop breathing for a moment/gasp for breath

-an inner jolt, as if there was an explosion in my chest

-a sensation like I've just been kicked hard in the stomach

-electrical type of jolt that makes my heart stop then race

-auditory sleep starts

 

So, as you can see, I suffer from just about every type of sleep start, cortisol rush, etc.  I am 8.5 months off and these symptoms are with me every single day, but now vary in severity.  They are debilitating (meaning 0-2 hours sleep) about 30% of the time.  The rest of the time I can manage up to 5 hours broken sleep, but still wake each day by 4am with this junk.  I'm a horrible case... Perhaps the worst ever seen here.  I would just like to know what people mean when they say "cortisol rush" and how bad they interfere with sleep. 

 

I'm so tired and worn out.  Yesterday was one of my worst days ever and I'm so scared.  I really thought I would be functioning closer to normal by now.

 

 

*** 2 nights ago I had a nightmare that woke me.  A man with a gun shot me in the back several times.  I woke with several spasms in my back.  I've had similar dreams before too.  The worst was when I was 2 months off...a man had knife coming at me.  I was grabbing the knife and woke with severe pain into hands that lasted a few seconds.  Yes, clonazepam has really messed me up!

 

[[fr...]]

My surges occur during the middle of the night and very early mornings. I awake sweating, breathing heavily, heart pounding, chest very full and about to explode. I have an overwhelming rush of fear and adrenaline. It's like I am in a high speed pursuit being chased by a dozen police cars on the highway. It's hard to catch my breath and I have to keep my hand over my heart and just tell myself to breathe slow. My arms and legs begin feeling like I need to stretch them way beyond their range of motion. I start shaking my hands out as fast as I can. Sometimes I rub my hands back and forth uncontrollably. It's nearly impossible to go back to sleep after this. It usually occurs after a nightmare. I wake up with it for no reason also. It's a real sour way to begin your day. Some mornings it feels like someone put their foot in my back and tried shoving me out of the bed to wake up. I suppose these are the jolts. It's not fun at all. If I'm lucky I will get maybe one morning a week where I don't wake up this way. I still get woken up by these things in the middle of the night though.

[[do...]]

My surges come at night when trying to sleep and are bad in the morning if i dont sleep.

 

I usually get brain pulses, hypnic jerks and my brain feels weird before bed. Morning i just feel juiced up, brain feels weird, and very anxious. 

 

 

[[be...]]

I only had these the first two or so months of my cold turkey withdrawal but it was the same every morning. I would wake at 4:30 every morning with my heart literally beating out of my chest. I was in full blown panic which would last for several minutes. Then I would get a rush of impending doom. This would last several minutes as well. I then had pretty high anxiety. I also had pangs of being overwhelmed with fear. My fear was never attached to anything. By my between my 3-5 months these symptom were gone.

[Guest [Le...]]

The morning cortisol rush - it's as though I am a raging furnace that has suddenly been flipped on, and my whole body experiences this sour, acid-y surge, while my mind fills with thoughts of impending doom. 

[[TA...]]

Oh what a horror we are in all of us , I havn't mentioned this before but yes i have the horror nightmares , so upsetting and frightening they are , so much so that i started to not want to go to bed .I would stay up and just be scared ......i got the explosive feelings and the rush of fear that it felt like it was an angry race of flowing water filled with rage or fear that was behind me .I literally laid for a minute hoping it would go but no ..i leap out of bed and almost run away from it but it comes after you , after a while when you are up it eases of but it never actually goes away ...the nightmares are too much..i have an elderly Aunt and i was about to perform an operation on her ...my goodness it's just so frightening .where is all this coming from , it isn't things we think of .nothing in our subconcious .it's like watching ourselfe's in a horror movie ...thinking the day of the Trifids and the barber of fleet street .... why is this happening though ....why the nightmares....I am so confused and so fed up of this ..... I was starting to feel inhuman thinking there was bad thoughts that i didn't realize i had .I hope we all soon get out of this phrase of it .it's horrific....Blessings Love Tass.x :'( :'( :'( :'(

[[sl...]]

Tassie,

 

How long off are you?  Your signature isn't clear.  Yes, the nightmares are terrifying.  I even woke up once to the sound of a crazy man yelling in my ear... And I could still hear him yelling for a few seconds after I darted up in bed!  I couldn't get that creepy voice out of my head for days after it happened.  Thankfully, the scary nightmares happen less often.  I wish I could say the same about these damn jerks that won't leave.

 

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences.  Seems that people (except for one that i know of) don't experience much of what I've got... Or not nearly as long.  (Sigh). This really is the shits being almost completely alone with this.  I feel like I'm trapped on a deserted island with one other person like me... And have no idea when we are ever getting off it (as she isnt healed either).  Anyway, sleep well everyone.  I hope I hear from more about their cortisol rushes. 

[[ma...]]

Hey SleeplessMT

 

I am too having plenty Hypnic Jerks

They actually started after acute for me and continue to worsen as i am in my 7th month out form CT. I have done some research and have a list of things i am going to try.

 

http://www.nosleeplessnights.com/the-hypnic-jerk-jolted-awake-when-falling-asleep/

http://www.nosleeplessnights.com/sleep-hygiene/relaxation-techniques/

http://www.nosleeplessnights.com/mindfulness-exercises/

 

These are the things i have found and I am starting to do everyday.

 

Other things that I plan to try are:

 

1. No Sugar or Stimulating Drinks or Food

2. Excercise 4 hours before bed

3. Epson Salts Baths

4. 800mg Magnesium before bed

5. High Dose of Vitamin C before bed 1000-3000mg (this suppose to counter cortisol rush)

6. Meditation of all kinds mentioned in articles above

7. Hot to cold showers.

 

Please link me so we can exchange results as i would love to help and aid in anyway anyone suffering with these annoying symptoms.

 

Marct456