Sleep paralysis
Posted , 3 users are following.
I've had this a few times in the past however I've now had it 2 nights in a row.
Night before last in the middle of the night, remember looking at the wall and there was a light pattern that looked like a scary face, at the time I thought nothing off it and that it was just the way the light was coming through the blinds and went to turn over at that point I realised I couldn't move, no matter how much I tried I just couldn't budge until I suddenly woke up. Weirder when I looked at the wall there was no light coming through the blinds at all, yet I could swear I was awake when I see it as I could make out the desk and other things.
Then this morning, I wake up and straight away realise I couldn't move, I could only see out of one eye but I could see clearly, bedroom was lit (bedroom light comes on at set time automatically in morning) and I could see remote control in front of me (normally left on the bed) but no matter how much I tried to move I couldn't. I could also hear someone breathing right next to my ear. Then as night before all of the sudden I could move and sat bolt upright mid shout. Sure enough light was on and remote control was laying on bed where I see it.
I did initially put it down as bad dreams and they don't really bother me but, previous occurrences were years ago but always remembered as they really did shake me up. I'm not one of those people who scare easily and don't believe in the paranormal etc... but it is probably the worst experience I've ever had and did make me doubt my sanity for a bit until I found out about sleep paralysis.
But confusingly one of the treatments I see mentioned was Amitriptyline which I am taking already for Sciatic pain which has been only thing that worked, but according to "The Internet" it actually blocks REM sleep so should stop sleep paralysis however I've found it to be the opposite and have had loads of weird dreams since taking it when normally I never really dreamed. As it is for pain relieve I am only taking a low dose (40mg).
Sleep wise at present I seem to be sleeping a lot longer than normal, in the past due to job I used to only average ~5 hours a night, currently I've been working from home so I have been able to sleep longer but recently I've been getting 8-9+ hours and still feeling tired most of the day.
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michelle70460 vrx
Posted
Hi, this must be a terrible experience for you. Sleep paralysis is caused by you waking up before REM sleep has finished & therefore giving you the feeling of not being able to move. When we fall asleep our muscles go into a 'paralysis' state so we don't do strange things when we are asleep but because you are waking in a state of wakefulness & sleep stage your muscles remain paralysed . As awful as this may feel it is harmless. (i don't expect that to make you feel any better) though as it would feel frightening. To my knowledge the best treatment is practising good sledp hygeine such as going to bed at the same time & getting up at the same time. Hope that helps.