Is this a sleep disorder or nightmare?

I actually sought help due to my nighttime symptoms only. I started having this happen every time I fell asleep. Got to sleep deprived I'd have seizures, but I was conscious through them. My sleep specialist told me right away I had narcolepsy just by talking with me, but I did all the testing to confirm. For me, it took me being properly medicated and getting some sleep at night, for me to see just how much narcolepsy was affecting my days also. I'd see if you can get into a sleep specialist to check. They will give you paperwork to fill out before your appointment, and if you have a sleep problem that paperwork is even an eye opener. Lol. They ask if you have all these problems and feelings and things that you thought were perfectly normal, and they are describing them as something wrong.

Sorry for the long post, but IMHO, it would be worth a check.

Have you or are you on any medication that may contribute to your sleep attacks? Have you tried different pillows? I now find using no pillow at all is more better for me to ease into sleep. It depends, everyone is an individual. Also are you under stress, I know that sounds silly but stress can make the body do the weirdest things. I've once sleep walked ten minutes away from an ex's house. Also woke up to find out id managed to unlock the door, go outside in the rain. You should try keeping a diary of the incidents and what had occurred that day, actually logically you should keep a diary anyhow no matter what kind of day so you can maybe spot a pattern, such as an external influence (something making you feel either more sad, happy etc) or it could be food, keeping a diary will help you spot a pattern if there is one. Also can be handy to show Drs or keep tally of fits. I wish you luck, also you might try to research over the net but its best to keep level headed do not think the worse and discuss findings with your GP.Nick.

I started to suffer from it in my early 20s, in a time of great stress in the run-up to my final nursing exams, and I've had it ever since. That was 50 years ago and it hasn't got me yet! It tends to start in the teens or early 20s but can appear at any age. Fortunately, it tends to diminish with age.

It's down to a minor (and harmless) brain glitch. Our brains secrete a hormone that keeps us paralysed during REM (dreaming) sleep to prevent us from jumping up and acting out our dreams. In some individuals the hormone continues to be secreted for a couple of minutes after we wake, or kicks in before we're fully asleep. The unconscious mind can sometimes produce hallucinations involving any of the five senses in this state, though this doesn't happen to all sufferers.

The condition is strongly hereditary so it might be worth asking family members about it. However, a word of caution here. When I asked my parents about it, in a state of some distress, my father remained silent while my mother accused me of sexual misdemeanours! It was only 20 years later that I discovered that my father and several members of his family had suffered from the same thing, but it had been hushed up for fear that it was a sign of insanity. Which it isn't, of course.

Try to identify, and avoid, the triggers. For me, it's sleeping too much or getting too hot during my sleep. However, for others it's not getting enough or sleep or dietary factors. Do your own research.

If you want more information, you can send me a private message by clicking on the envelope icon under my avatar. Private messaging on this site doesn't expose the email address or personal details of either party.

One night the pressure feeling ringing in my ears was so horrible painful and I couldn't move. I drifted into a dream the ringing became a dentist drill and he was drilling painfully into my eye teeth.

I struggled to get away and suddenly popped out of my head flew over towns and countryside ended up at home (I was away from home at the time due to marriage separation .

I felt awake but in a dream everything around was static electricity and weird greenish light. I went to one of my cupboards and was distressed to find all my camera and equipment missing, went downstairs and the washing machine had overflowed causing a flood.

I told my daughter about the dream on the phone the following day we were both shocked as there had been a break in at home and my camera had been stolen also the washing machine had gone wrong and flooded the kitchen.

I've had it bad a few times since but nothing as weird as that.

I have horrible insomnia on and off and also wake within half an hour or so because I also begin dreaming too soon after falling asleep.

I have asked for a sleep study to be done but my doctor just asked my husband if I snore and said sleep study places only check for sleep apnoea and if I had that I would snore loudly.

Sorry I can't help, it's always nice to know others have similar experiences.

I've found the less stressed I am the less likely it is to happen.

just a guess.

rich

rich

rich

I'm a former neuro nurse and a sleep paralysis "sufferer" for 50 years. I recognise everything you're describing.

Just to clarify a point that's been made in this thread. Virtually all narcoleptics have sleep paralysis (SP). Conversely, only a small percentage of those who have SP are narcoleptic. If you don't fall asleep unduly easily during the day or suffer attacks of cataplexy (when you suffer temporary paralysis and drop to the ground when laughing or in the grip of any strong emotion) then you're not narcoleptic.

If you have either of the symptoms described in the foregoing paragraph, you need to see your doctor and get yourself referred to a sleep lab. This condition can be controlled (though not cured) by medications.

Most doctors are amazingly ignorant about SP so I'm not surprised your doctor couldn't explain it to you. I never went to a sleep lab - partly because I'm not sure they even existed 50 years ago.

Some sleep doctors do treat SP in the absence of narcolepsy, but this is by prescribing antidepressants rather than the amphetamine-type drugs used for narcolepsy. Once again, this is management, not cure. Up to you whether you want to sentence yourself to a lifetime on antidepressants.

Most people with SP just learn to manage it. Terrifying though it can be when it's going on, you won't be harmed by it and it's not a sign of anything sinister. Have you asked anyone in your family about it, btw? It's strongly hereditary. As is narcolepsy, of course, and I'm not denying the two are vaguely related. But they are different conditions and need to be handled quite differently.

Fortunately, triggers for SP - unlike some sleep disorders - are quite easy to identify. There are almost as many triggers as there are sufferers, but common ones are: not sleeping enough; sleeping too much; getting too hot while sleeping; anxiety (especially about getting another SP attack); all kinds of dietary factors; drinking alcohol too late at night; too much cerebral stimulation late at night; sleeping too close to electronic equipment or electrical junction boxes, or directly under high-tension power cables; geographical orientation of your bed. This list is by no means exhaustive, just a few suggestions. Try keeping a diary to identify what it might be that's causing your attacks.

Like narcolepsy, it's due to a minor - and harmless - electrical glitch in the temporal lobes of the brain, hence the electromagnetic and geomagnetic triggers in some people.

You may find it helps you to break out of an attack if you can concentrate on the position of your real body, as opposed to the "other" one. I can sometimes do it by making an effort to wiggle just the tip of my tongue or the ends of my fingers.

By identifying - and then avoiding - your triggers you should be able to bring it down to manageable levels, though SP is definitely for life. The good news is that it tends to improve with age, though I still get one or two mild attacks per month now and I'm 72!

Feel free to private message me if you want to (click on the envelope icon under my avatar). PMs on this site don't expose the email address of either party.

PS: Why did I put inverted commas around "sufferer" in my opening para? Because once you calm down and accept it, all sorts of interesting phenomena like lucid dreaming tend to accompany SP. I quite miss it these days!