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Sleep Paralysis

No this happens to me when I sleep on my side. Its not the typical sleep paralysis where you wake up and can't move. Its like being trapped between awake and asleep. I panic in my sleep, usually when I am having a lucid dream. In my dream I feel like there is someone watching me or controlling my dream. (I know how crazy that sounds but I can't explain it) When I try to wake myself up I can't and its like my dream starts to fall apart but something is trying to keep me there. It literally feels like i'm being torn between awake and asleep. I noticed a girl in my dream that didn't fit and I grabbed her by the shoulders and asked her who she was and she said she needed to talk to me and the next thing I knew we were sitting in a restaurant at a table and I freaked out and tried to wake myself up and the sleep paralysis thing happened. A couple nights later I noticed her in my dream again and I asked her what she was trying to tell me and she changed into some kind of weird figure and she kept whispering "hallcon, hallcon hallcon" which is the company that I work for and I freaked out again and tried to wake myself up and again the sleep paralysis thing. When she was whispering to me it was like it was very difficult for her to speak. I know this sounds completely crazy.
 
It doesn't sound crazy to me at all. Reading it has made me realize that there is probably always some weird dream going on when/before I have an episode, too, but I don't remember them when I finally force myself awake. The whispering is interesting, because I know when I'm trying to force myself awake I always try to yell "Help!" but I'm fully aware that my *own* voice is only coming out as a whisper. It could be that you were actually the one speaking, not the figure in your dream, and in this strange altered state the brain can't distinguish.

You said you don't sleep on your back, but do you remember if you're ever on your back when you finally wake up?
 
melim said:
It doesn't sound crazy to me at all. Reading it has made me realize that there is probably always some weird dream going on when/before I have an episode, too, but I don't remember them when I finally force myself awake. The whispering is interesting, because I know when I'm trying to force myself awake I always try to yell "Help!" but I'm fully aware that my *own* voice is only coming out as a whisper. It could be that you were actually the one speaking, not the figure in your dream, and in this strange altered state the brain can't distinguish.

You said you don't sleep on your back, but do you remember if you're ever on your back when you finally wake up?
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Im the same as you trying to shout, but my voice is like muffled, though the last few times its happened apparently I have really shouted out, so maybe I've controlled it more. Funnily enough though, I once told my husband re it happening cos I was making weird wimpering noises he said, just before I woke from a sleep paralysis after a bad dream, and I told him that if he ever hears me do that to wake me cos I cant wake up. Now the last time it happened I was shouting dad and scared the crap out of him, and I said "thats when you should have woke me" and apparently he did, but I dont remember that, so maybe I was more asleep than I thought.
When I used to experience it most when I stayed at his house and he went out to football, it would happen several times one after the other, cos I'd struggle to wake up, I'd sort of dream I was awake but then be aware that that was a dream and start fighting, I'd manage to wake but then drift back off and it would happen again and again, even now when it happens, I have to make a concious effort to get up or I know it will happen again. I think thats when I get scared.

To be honest I think I sleep on my side, cos I always tend to, when I was pregnant you arent supposed to sleep on your back, and I've always had to sleep on my side ever since, and I seem to wake up in the same position I went to sleep in.
 
No I always wake up on my side. When I am facing my wife I try to grab her or pinch her to wake her up to help me. The last time it happened I felt like someone was trying to pull me away from her so I couldn't get her to help me. Sometimes when I'm trying to wake up someone or something does grab me very hard, to the point that it hurts and when I wake up it still feels like someone has grabbed me. Its a very scary feeling.
 
Sorry to harp on the back thing... was just trying to see if there was a pattern. I always feel like something is holding me down when I "wake up" on my back with this, which probably similar to the grabbing/pulling you feel when you're on your side.

keatingschick, your post made some things click for me- it seems there are levels or stages or what-have-you: 1)the dream itself; 2)the thinking you're awake, but still being in the dream (or half in/half out); 3)the brain waking up but not the body; 4)trying desperately to fully wake; 5)waking up fully. Panic can occur in any one of these or throughout all of them, it seems, and there is probably a lot of overlap. I *usually* calm down right away as soon as I'm fully awake, but as I said upthread, the last episode I had was the worst and I was still in full panic for a while after I woke up fully.

I hope this doesn't sound flippant, but be glad you have someone in the bed with you who may hear your faint cries and be able to wake you and comfort you afterward. I can try and yell all I want, but no one's going to hear me. Perhaps that *may* be how I eventually developed the ability to force myself awake; I had no other choice.
 
Happened again last night. I stayed up till 1:30am like I have been because I didn't think it would happen if I stayed up that late and it happened about 2:15am. I'm pretty sure now that the trigger is when I realize i'm dreaming. Once I realize that i'm dreaming, my dream falls apart and my mind kind of sabotages the dream. So I guess I don't have to stay up till 1am anymore as it made no difference.
 
Wow, I never knew this was so common! I guess I feel the need to chime in with my experiences, though I don't really have anything helpful to contribute :/

I started getting sleep paralysis I'd say...in my mid-teens. Scared the ever living crap outta me, let me tell you! Then I found out what was going on when it happened, like, mechanically, how your brain paralyzes your body so you don't act out dreams, etc. That actually made me feel *alot* better. Next time it happened, I told myself to just lie still and wait for the brain chemical to wear off, you're not dying, just be patient, etc.

That was good for a while, but the last few years, there's a fun new twist. Now, sometime right before (well, it seems like right before) I completely wake up (paralyzed), I could *swear* that I hear either:my boyfriend come up the stairs, a loud bang downstairs, or someone calling my name. I could also swear a few times I saw my boyfriend standing outside the partially closed bedroom door. Thus, I want to respond, find out what the noise was, etc. and can't. Then when I finally *can* move, I find out it was nothing. Now, I could learn to tell myself its nothing, but my boyfriend is diabetic and has passed out/had seizures from low blood sugar before, so I kinda have to investigate banging sounds/calling my name, just incase something should happen.

As for the sleep position, it's happened to me every which way. I'm a stomach sleeper, but I'm pretty sure I have woken up on my back when it happens.

*really weird part*
I told my boyfriend about this whole phenomenon a couple years ago, how it happens to me, etc. He had *never* had it happen. Ever. Since I told him about it, he gets it at least once a week (more than me, by far.) I'm not sure how to explain that one. We both wish I had never told him :/

(sorry for the super long post!)
 
melim said:
Sorry to harp on the back thing... was just trying to see if there was a pattern. I always feel like something is holding me down when I "wake up" on my back with this, which probably similar to the grabbing/pulling you feel when you're on your side.

keatingschick, your post made some things click for me- it seems there are levels or stages or what-have-you: 1)the dream itself; 2)the thinking you're awake, but still being in the dream (or half in/half out); 3)the brain waking up but not the body; 4)trying desperately to fully wake; 5)waking up fully. Panic can occur in any one of these or throughout all of them, it seems, and there is probably a lot of overlap. I *usually* calm down right away as soon as I'm fully awake, but as I said upthread, the last episode I had was the worst and I was still in full panic for a while after I woke up fully.

I hope this doesn't sound flippant, but be glad you have someone in the bed with you who may hear your faint cries and be able to wake you and comfort you afterward. I can try and yell all I want, but no one's going to hear me. Perhaps that *may* be how I eventually developed the ability to force myself awake; I had no other choice.
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Yeah I notice it in stages, and this I assume is the whole reason for it. I suppose the explanation is that things are supposed to happen in a certain order, like the chemical that paralysis us is "supposed" to wear off before we become aware, but for some reason with US (us who have experienced this), it happens the wrong way and we are becoming aware too soon, and yes at times it confusing cos at times I have like Sadielynn says in the last post she would swear her boyfriend is there or she hears a noise etc, and that happens with me, but I just see things and I think that this is probably my SUBCONCIOUS, to me I have started to believe that this is the DREAM PART of me and I am sort of....bringing it out of the dream (a bit like in the Nightmare on Elmstreet films, they managed to bring his hat etc) I think these things are bits where my brain is still in the sleep mode, and its all getting mixed up with my waking mode. My mum tells me she remembers it happening to her many years ago and her sister was stood at the bedroom window and she was trying to tell her sister to wake her up cos it was happening but she couldnt, she said her sister wasnt there.
I have to admit I am VERY scared after it happens, cos usually just before I am fully concious the dream is very lucid and then the panic from the paralysis isnt nice and I am always really scared to go back to sleep once it has happened cos generally when it does I know it will happen again.
My husband has only shook me awake the last time it happened, thing is I've never really told him about it, only ever spoke to my mum about it cos its happened to her, but I think also I've only just recently been able to make myself heard, and it happened a few month ago and he just said I was making this really weird sound in my sleep, I said that it was a sleep paralysis happening and that if he ever hears me do that he MUST wake me up and explained what was happening, the last time it happened was a few weeks ago and I was shouting for my dad and I wasnt aware he woke me, but I woke up and got out of bed and sort of woke myself up properly but the day after he said I was shouting for my dad and I said "yeah THATS when you should wake me"..he said "I DID!!!" so clearly he just gave me a dig in the ribs and didnt wait to see what was wrong or anything:rolleyes: - nothing like support and compassion!! But generally Melim, like you I do have to just force myself awake, like wading through tar pulling and pulling myself out of the sleep state.
 
When I do wake up from it, I make sure I get out of bed and walk around, maybe get a drink and have a smoke and that way it doesn't happen again when I go back to sleep.
 
2 things landovr:

I think maybe the key (but I dont know the solution) to your sleep paralysis is like you have said you realise you are dreaming, and maybe you start to try and wake yourself up and maybe without realising you start to panic and thats when the episode starts to occur.

Mine, I have just thought has occured alot when I've woke and gone back to sleep. It used to happen alot Sunday mornings when I slept at my hubby(bf then) house. And I'd wake when he went off to football and I'd go back to sleep and thats when it would happen alot and I'd keep dragging myself out of it, and go back to sleep but it would always happen again - thats why I always get myself up if it happens in the night now, cos I know I have to go back to sleep and I know it will happen. I've just had the most horrible vivid dream and woke myself up sobbing, I didn't know at all that it was a dream, it wasnt really one of those dreams thats obviously a dream, but now on waking some points were totally random - the people in it shouldnt have been connected to what I was dreaming about etc - but I think if I had gone back to sleep the sleep paralysis would have happened, I felt very tired and emotional when I woke, and I think the dream would have been fresh in my mind and I think I'd have started to have the same dream again and then started to fight it (maybe known this time it was a dream) and thats when it would have happened. Is yours ever linked to a bad dream or anything?
 
Mine has never been linked to dreams at all as far as I can remember.
keatingschick said:
And I'd wake when he went off to football and I'd go back to sleep and thats when it would happen alot and I'd keep dragging myself out of it, and go back to sleep but it would always happen again -
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That, I can relate to. It would typically happen when trying to sleep and I've fought it with it too, dragging myself out but eventually it taking over.

But the difference with me is that it would almost always happen around about 30 minutes after sunrise when I would be awake and up and about for about an hour or so before going back to sleep. As opposed to waking up momentarily in bed and then going back to sleep.

Incidentally, I had a picture that I wanted to share but I'm afraid it might scare people that suffer from it.
 
This has been quite interesting... my wife suffers (from time to time) from this and I have been talking to her about this - she feels a little better, given that she thought that she was one of only a handful of people that suffer from it!
 
Ack, so much I want to respond to; just a few things for now...this is hard to talk about, even think about, because you just want to forget it exists at all, but I'm glad we're doing it anyway.

sadielynn- It just dawned on me that mine *started* when I was living with a diabetic; how weird is that!? Stress and the need to be hypervigilant, maybe?

keatingschick- Yes! "Wading through tar" is exactly what it feels like to me, too.

Sak01- That Henry Fuseli painting? Yeah, I was going to post it but thought better of it, too. I'd imagine most of us have seen it, tho if we've done any searching.

D-U-R-X- There is folklore about this across all cultures going back centuries, so your wife (and we) are far, far, far from alone.

It seems I'm the only one here who only has episodes when I'm waking up, not in the middle of the night or when falling asleep? I can't even imagine how much those must suck. Stay strong, all!
 
Melim - thanks for that! Just asked my wife... she said that most people seem to have it when they are waking up but, as she's akward, she has it when she's wkaing up (not when the alarm goes off in the morning, but if she wakes up in the middle of the night!

Just thought I'd let you know that you're not the only one here that has it that way round!!
 
Melim- wow, that is extremely weird! I would tend to agree with the needing to be hyper-vigilant thing, but mine started a long time before I had a diabetic in my life. And your not the only one, I've had it happen in the mornings too-in fact, I think that's how it started. Not so much anymore tho, now its shortly after I've fallen asleep. That's also when I have the *most* vivid dreams, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Do you guys have other sleep/dream related issues besides the paralysis? I know I do, and I wonder if it's common to, or if it's more a 'standalone' type deal.
 
When I read up on it it said that there are 2 types....

1. as you are falling asleep - the paralysis chemical kicks in before you are actually asleep and you are aware of it

2. as you are waking - the paralysis chemical hasnt worn off when you are awake.

But the last time it happened to me in the middle of the night after a dream.

The mention of the diabetic I am not sure of that? My daughter is diabetic, but my experience of the sleep paralysis happened long before she was born, and has probably happened less more recently.

Whats this painting?
 
keatingschick said:
When I read up on it it said that there are 2 types....

1. as you are falling asleep - the paralysis chemical kicks in before you are actually asleep and you are aware of it

2. as you are waking - the paralysis chemical hasnt worn off when you are awake.

But the last time it happened to me in the middle of the night after a dream.

The mention of the diabetic I am not sure of that? My daughter is diabetic, but my experience of the sleep paralysis happened long before she was born, and has probably happened less more recently.

Whats this painting?
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I'm seeing a weird diabetic trend going on here....(or maybe diabetes is just that common now, who knows?)
 
sadielynn said:
I'm seeing a weird diabetic trend going on here....(or maybe diabetes is just that common now, who knows?)
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Well like I said, although I still experience it now, its alot less regular than when before I had my kids, it happened ALOT then. My daughter is 13 and was diagnosed 3 years ago, so the point I was making was I don't think my episodes are linked to be hypervigilant through living with a diabetic (though the thing is, how I've said its like wading through tar to wake up in the episodes, as a mother, even though my kids are 13 & 15, the second one of them wakes or shouts out in the night I snap awake and am up like a shot).

As for diabetes being more common now, well since my daughter was diagnosed obviously we go to diabetic clinic and the amount of children becoming diabetic has been on the increase, MAYBE its just being diagnosed sooner.

Could I just ask a side question here of anyone in the US please? Like I say my daughter is diabetic and obviously on medication for the rest of her life, I'm actually not sure how it works when she hits 16, but at the moment obviously prescriptions are free here. In the US I know you pay for medical health care and attention but if you have a chronic illness like diabetes do you still pay for your medication? I know that might sound daft but like I said I'm not actually sure what happens when she reaches 16. It's just we have talked about how we would like to move to the US, one of the "pros" being that my daughters diabetes is so easy to control when its warmer, but the "con" is if she has to pay for her medication.
 
Thanks D-U-R-X!

Sadielynn, sorry I wasn't clear- I did see that you had this before you were with a diabetic; it just made that click for me and I was thinking out loud with my question.
Other sleep-related issues: I apparently used to sleepwalk when I was very young, but I don't know how many times or how long it lasted, I've been told I talk in my sleep *a lot*, and I grind my teeth terribly. Hello, anxiety! (I actually have an anxiety disorder which wasn't diagnosed until I was in my 20s, and probably had it since I was a kid.)

keatingschick, the painting is called "The Nightmare". Look at it at your own risk, everyone. It doesn't freak me out, because I had seen it many times before I ever saw it associated with sleep paralysis; it's actually on the cover of one of my books that has nothing to do with any of this, and now when I look at in this context, I find it oddly comforting, but it definitely has the potential to bring you to a place you don't want to think about while you're awake.

OK, now try attempt to answer your question about the US healthcare "system" and med coverage...It depends. And a lot of this will probably change as the new law goes into effect. Right now, if you or your spouse were to have insurance through an employer that includes prescription coverage, you'd have to pay a portion of the costs for your daughter's meds and supplies; that portion can vary wildly depending on the type of plan you have, and on what her particular medication/supplies are. I think a lot of diabetics get their supplies thorough bulk mail-order, which is cheaper. If you don't have insurance through an employer, there are programs (like S-CHIP) which cover children, and but those are income-based and I have no idea what they cover, TBH, and they are quite underfunded and can vary from state to state. Tomorrow or next month or next year, everything I just wrote will probably be flat-out wrong, if at least some of it isn't already. IOW, move somewhere warm that has universal heathcare. ;)
 
More info on diabetic meds- if you have trouble paying for meds, most drug companies that make insulin have a patient assistance program that you can sign up for, and as long as you meet the income requirements, they will send you insulin for free. My boyfriend is uninsured an unemployed and gets both insulins he is on for free. Not making any assumptions on your income or anything, by the way, just sharing. Also, uninsured children (and adults, really) can also qualify for Medicaid. I think the requirements may vary by state, but having a chronic illness probably helps you qualify. Check out the state's ".gov" (ex. www.MI.gov) website, they may list options for state aid for children.
 
I've had a huge amount of experience with this. I've come to rather enjoy it, some of the time, to be honest. If it's as I'm drifting off to sleep. I've got to where I try to play with it mentally and have fun. However sometimes it goes on, and used to scare me and often still does - especially when breathing problems (or a panic due to a fear of breathing problems) occur.

Often when in a panic I get to where I have to wake me wife to wake me, and I can barely do it. Very slowly (it's very difficult!) move my hand to her and try to pinch her.. or try to make noises which is also very hard - and by the time she finally does catch on (she's used to this) and wake me, I'm frustrated it took so long. :(

I feel like I can't or have stopped breathing. I swear by it. She has mentioned that she thinks I indeed have. Also, hallucinations used to be a big factor, but are less now.

Upon Googling it a year or so ago she found and pointed me to this:

Sleep paralysis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sleep apnea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

..I've wondered if they are tied together or not.

Side note, also had my fair share of experiences with:

Lucid dream - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

..which is awesome.

I'm fascinated by all things sleep and dream, and have often thought of building a community based around it.
 
Phases said:
I've had a huge amount of experience with this. I've come to rather enjoy it, some of the time, to be honest. If it's as I'm drifting off to sleep. I've got to where I try to play with it mentally and have fun. However sometimes it goes on, and used to scare me and often still does - especially when breathing problems (or a panic due to a fear of breathing problems) occur.

Often when in a panic I get to where I have to wake me wife to wake me, and I can barely do it. Very slowly (it's very difficult!) move my hand to her and try to pinch her.. or try to make noises which is also very hard - and by the time she finally does catch on (she's used to this) and wake me, I'm frustrated it took so long. :(

I feel like I can't or have stopped breathing. I swear by it. She has mentioned that she thinks I indeed have. Also, hallucinations used to be a big factor, but are less now.

Upon Googling it a year or so ago she found and pointed me to this:

Sleep paralysis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sleep apnea - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

..I've wondered if they are tied together or not.

Side note, also had my fair share of experiences with:

Lucid dream - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

..which is awesome.

I'm fascinated by all things sleep and dream, and have often thought of building a community based around it.
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Some good info in there mate! My wife suffers from it... also something she refers to as "night terrors" - similar to nightmares but, accoring to her, infinately worse. I wondered if, when she refers to terrors, she means the experience of sleep paralysis and the frightening side of it all!

My dad suffers from sleep apnea... though it's to do with him being quite a "large" gentleman... his doctor gave him a machine (like a pump with a breathing mask) that "forces" oxygen though his airways, so he doesn't stop breathing.
 
It can be a panic situation, for sure. I wouldn't know what causes my supposed apnea, I'm an average size guy, etc. But I tend to do better when I sleep on my side.
 
I have had similar experiences as well. I would wake up mentally but I couldn't move. It never got to the point that I was afraid, it only lasted a few seconds. One time, I woke up and started to stretch my left arm, but after I extended my arm I could move it. It was a very interesting experience.
 
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