Return of Cortisol Surges.

[[jo...]]

Hi, I went into a wave recently and have experienced a return of cortisol surges upon waking. I thought I had seen the back of this symptom as I haven't had it for a while now but this morning was abrubtly awoken by my heart beating out of my chest and panic. I'm 4 months out. Is it unusual to have such a return of this symptom? it was probably the worst one I've ever had so it feels like regression. I'd apreciate anyone sharing their experience of this symptom.

Many thanks.

[[Li...]]

@[jo...] YES !!! I'm 7 months off now but about 6 weeks ago the rotten waking anxiety started again !!! If I happen to already BE awake before the surge, I can literally feel it slowly move all round my body.  The intensity of this morning waking anxiety has been just awful and can take hours to go some days.  It's very annoying !!

Also my first REAL wave hit me at 4 months off 🤕

Edited June 5 by [Li...]

[[jo...]]

Thanks Lisa, yeah I hate it when symptoms come back like this it can be really worrying.

[[jo...]]

13 minutes ago, [[L...] said:

@[jo...] YES !!! I'm 7 months off now but about 6 weeks ago the rotten waking anxiety started again !!! If I happen to already BE awake before the surge, I can literally feel it slowly move all round my body.  The intensity of this morning waking anxiety has been just awful and can take hours to go some days.  It's very annoying !!

Also my first REAL wave hit me at 4 months off 🤕

Has your sleep improved at 7 months? mines terrible again. 1 hour last night/morning and now this.

[[Li...]]

@[jo...] I was going well until these awful waking anxiety surges started up again.  I've been up since 4am this morning.   I can't stay in bed with that awful feeling of fear.

On a good night, I get about 6 hours but it's been very broken up lately.

[[En...]]

5 hours ago, [[j...] said:

Hi, I went into a wave recently and have experienced a return of cortisol surges upon waking. I thought I had seen the back of this symptom as I haven't had it for a while now but this morning was abrubtly awoken by my heart beating out of my chest and panic. I'm 4 months out. Is it unusual to have such a return of this symptom? it was probably the worst one I've ever had so it feels like regression. I'd apreciate anyone sharing their experience of this symptom.

Many thanks.

Morning anxiety is the worst symptom I think. I will wake up and lie in bed and talk myself down. I tell myself it is only going to last the morning then will get better as the day goes on. I will also do box deep breathing which seems to help somewhat. 

I also think everytime I have a symptom it is healing taking place. That also helps me. I will distract myself somehow and wait it out. The time goes so slow in this phase.

It will pass and you will feel better again. Guaranteed. 

[[da...]]

6 hours ago, [[j...] said:

Hi, I went into a wave recently and have experienced a return of cortisol surges upon waking. I thought I had seen the back of this symptom as I haven't had it for a while now but this morning was abrubtly awoken by my heart beating out of my chest and panic. I'm 4 months out. Is it unusual to have such a return of this symptom? it was probably the worst one I've ever had so it feels like regression. I'd apreciate anyone sharing their experience of this symptom.

Many thanks.

Nah. Its pretty normal. In my initial recovery id have these cortisol surges waking up in a cold sweats after 12 months into recovery. 
 

right now, im getting them nearly everyday 

[[He...]]

@[jo...] I’m experiencing this too. I’m at 3.5 months out. It went away for me too but came back.  I watched a YouTube video about the 2-6 month mark of WD and it sounds like this is par for course. 

Edited June 5 by [He...]

[[cl...]]

When these happen do you all wake up shaking and heart beating really fast? I wonder why this happens so frequently in my sleep. 

[[jo...]]

9 minutes ago, [[c...] said:

When these happen do you all wake up shaking and heart beating really fast? I wonder why this happens so frequently in my sleep. 

Yeah all of that happens to me to.

[[Ja...]]

Even on a good morning the inner tremble is evident,.as well as the cortisol I reckon it must be the body needing a dose

they say diazepam has a long half life,.you can’t tell that to your brain at 4-5-6 am

[[Ta...]]

I dealt with horrible cortisol surges for a few years, and even today. I am six years off Klonopin rapid-taper and I get milder surges from my gut/stomach racing up my spine and flooding my brain. It makes me feel sick to my stomach too. They really improved for awhile there, maybe after the five year mark, but came back. 

[[Li...]]

10 hours ago, [[d...] said:

Nah. Its pretty normal. In my initial recovery id have these cortisol surges waking up in a cold sweats after 12 months into recovery. 
 

right now, im getting them nearly everyday 

@[da...] how far off benzo's are you now?

[[Ho...]]

I didn’t realize that this morning ‘terror’ for lack of a better word, were cortisol surges.  Good to know so I can cope when/if they return upon further healing.    Thanks

[[cl...]]

21 hours ago, [[j...] said:

Yeah all of that happens to me to.

I've been experiencing this for a while. There for a minute I thought we were having earthquakes cause I was shaking so bad. Then I realized it was just me. My family thinks I'm crazy lol

[[da...]]

16 hours ago, [[L...] said:

@[da...] how far off benzo's are you now?

12 years.  Healed, started drinking alcohol. All my symptoms returned. Not as severe as acute all the time, but can get crippling with the anxiety & brain fog. 

[[Li...]]

On 06/06/2024 at 04:49, [[J...] said:

Even on a good morning the inner tremble is evident,.as well as the cortisol I reckon it must be the body needing a dose

they say diazepam has a long half life,.you can’t tell that to your brain at 4-5-6 am

@[Ja...] I'm 7 months off diaz now.   It started up about 6 weeks ago 😔

[[jo...]]

I'm having a funny experience today. I woke up with the early morning cortisol surge but went back to sleep. This happened at least three more times and I went back to sleep each time.

The fourth time I decided to get up and my immediate thought was I'm in for a bad day with anxiety but after the usual standard morning stuff it died down.

It's made me rethink my thoughts on the relationship between cortisol and anxiety. I assumed there was just a link as I felt the surge, got up, then got anxious. But with so many surges this morning and fairly minimal anxiety I'm thinking maybe I'm wrong to make such a strong connection. 

[[En...]]

On 05/06/2024 at 19:27, [[H...] said:

I didn’t realize that this morning ‘terror’ for lack of a better word, were cortisol surges.  Good to know so I can cope when/if they return upon further healing.    Thanks

I get this as well. What keeps me going is the thought I will feel better as the day goes on. It is a horrible feeling but one day will be a horrible memory. 

That's what gets me through. It is tough. 

[[bw...]]

They eventually stop.

 

I have them again at 6.5yrs off due to setback. Nightly. Sometimes twice a night. I had a real bad one last week it was damn terrifying. Thought I was about to kick the bucket.

Run into a cold shower. It stops it pretty quick.

[[jo...]]

I'm sorry to hear about your setback I read about it. Are you managing to sleep when getting these surges? Hope you turn the corner soon.