Constant sleep paralysis for over 6 months - Report and Advice

I totally sympathise, Edson, as someone who's had SP for 50 years. When I was your age I often went through phases of multiple episodes per night.

Interesting that yours started in childhood. I suspect mine probably did too, as I had memories from early childhood of "flying" all around the house, which ties in with the apparent "out-of-body" experiences people like us sometimes get. However, I didn't perceive it as SP then, and just took it for real (and enjoyed it!) I think it must have stopped around the time I started school, but then re-surfaced in a lesser form around the time of puberty. For a couple of years I used to get those dreams where you're suddenly being sucked backwards at high speed, with a sinking feeling in your stomach. I still didn't perceive this as SP though.

The thing only kicked off for real when I was 23 and in the run-up to my nur sing finals. I started getting the painful tactile hallucinations that I still have to this day. It utterly terrified me, as I had no idea what it was. No internet in 1967 and they didn't teach us about this kind of thing in our training. Not sure how I got through my finals, but I somehow managed to pass. Fortunately the hospital where I trained had a big neuro unit, and they let me do my intern year there, taking their specialist course. It was only then that I found a single paragraph in a neurological textbook that described it.

Fast forward to the present, I still get it, but only a few times a month now. I think it peaked in my late 20s, when I never got through a single night without it, and started to decline very slowly after that. I had another small peak around menopause, but you sound like a guy so you won't have that problem. I've spoken to hundreds of other SP sufferers on-line and they all report a similar progression.

You seem to have covered pretty much all of the triggers, except for my main one, which is overheating in the night. That will absolutely guarantee multiple attacks for me. I agree about sleeping too much, or not getting sufficiently tired. Afternoon naps are particularly bad for me.

There is just one more, that seems to affect some people. That's sleeping too close to overhead high-tension lines or any kind of electronic or electrical switching devices. Not surprising, given that the brain functions via electrical impulses. I always noticed my attacks were more frequent, and the hallucinations more severe, when sleeping in my late mother's house, which was about 20 yards from overhead lines. I was interested to hear that you don't get it when sleeping away from home, which makes me wonder whether there's something in your home environment that's setting it off. My all-time worst night happened quite late in life, in my early 50s, long after I'd stopped getting frequent attacks. On a business trip, I'd checked into my hotel room late one night to find the curtains already drawn, and gone straight to bed without looking out. The attacks started the minute I fell asleep, and continued back-to-back till I finally gave up trying to sleep around 6am. When I opened the curtains of my 20th-floor room, I found myself looking at the roof of a building just across the narrow street, that was on a level with my floor. It was covered with a huge array of masts and satellite dishes.

Finally, I'm assuming that you've eliminated smoking weed, especially in the evening. I've never used the stuff, but I know it can trigger severe SP. I have to be a bit careful with alcohol late in the evening, but I think that's mainly because I overheat if I drink too much. The only other thing that consistently affects me is stress.

Not sure what to suggest, unless the above has given you any further ideas about triggers. I just waited it out. There is one surefire way to stop SP attacks, and that's to take antidepressants, especially the older tricyclic kind like amitriptyline. They work by suppressing REM sleep, which is the phase from which SP arises, as I'm sure you know. However, they don't cure the condition, only suppress it. The minute you stop the medication the SP returns. It depends on whether you're happy to spend the rest of your life on this medication, with all its side-effects. I wasn't.

Have you tried asking family members if they have it and, if so, how they cope with it? SP is strongly hereditary, though it always has to start somewhere of course. I mention this because genetically similar people may have similar SP triggers. My father, at least one of his siblings and my grandmother all had it. My father had particularly terrifying hallucinations affecting all his senses, including smell. Unfortunately I didn't find this out till shortly before he died, 20 years after my episodes started. My mother had forbidden him to tell me as she thought it was a sign of insanity in the family! Still, things have moved on since those days, and you might well find family members willing to talk about their experiences and remedies, if any.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. I hope you can somehow find a way to manage this annoying condition.