Sleep Paralysis

[ponderosae]

If this happened to me, I'd drink between one to three liters of water every night before I went to bed, so I'd have to get up at least a couple of times to take a leak... I mean it already pisses you off, right? Or make some of that a sports drink, so you don't get a fluid imbalance, which can also cause a temporary paralysis (such as Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis... either too little or too much potassium may cause paralysis, for instance, so the fluid balance shouldn't be overlooked, as a wild guess—I see that they mention this in the sleep paralysis article, coincidentally—I'd read about it here, initially, along with various articles about fluid balance, because there are lots of electrolytes involved, which are affected by thermoregulation, etc.), but usually the problem is that people simply need to drink more water (just not too much).

I'll probably do that myself anyway (I don't like sleeping all night, without a reality check somewhere in the middle of a strange dream, when nature calls).

By the way, I hadn't noticed that this topic had several pages, so now I see where you've said that you may get up several times a night already, if you've had something of a diuretic, perhaps. Well, water is not a diuretic, unless you drink an excessive amount (although it may seem like one if what you eat is causing that), so it could be that your diuresis is indicative of a fluid imbalance anyhow.  It may help to try drinking water and sports drinks (a.k.a. oral rehydration solution or isotonic beverages, in which the glucose is necessary for absorbing the electrolytes and balancing your brain chemistry, as well... maybe a bit too much info there, but it's food for thought at least).  It would be excessive to eat lots of salt in addition to that, except to get some iodine occasionally (if it isn't in your vitamin supplement). Just saying, it could be worth a try, and I guess that sleeping on your back could possibly work to optimize circulation (along with optimizing hydration), because if you lay on the limbs, they might tend to 'fall asleep', which could give you the sensation of paralysis (or maybe that's just me).

Oddly enough, talking about sleep keeps me awake, so I also looked into how potassium may be associated with sleep studies, and 'potassium channels' are mentioned to some extent along with sleep disorders.  Beyond that, a recent study says "a significantly strong correlation was identified between K+ [potassium] and REM sleep in men" who are hypertensive (Decreased serum potassium may disturb sleep homeostasis).

Potassium excretion also varies depending on the sleep/wake pattern and affects blood pressure in the process: Role of Circadian Rhythms in Potassium Homeostasis

Other information seems to indicate that low blood sugar or high sodium intake can lead to potassium levels dropping, which could be why a fluid balance isn't necessarily maintained by having some potassium in the diet (if the rest of the diet is not balanced).

An imbalance of this electrolyte can be associated with sleep disturbances and/or paralysis at times, FYI.

[alan gage]

Hope you've been seeing some improvement on this front, Jeff.

My cousin just said she's been experiencing sleep paralysis recently and also mentioned hypnagogic halucinations. I looked that up and it sounds like what you had going on. I'm sure you're already aware of that term but I wanted to mention in just in case.

Alan

[Jeff]

Yes, well aware of the term and know exactly what it describes.

I had been doing well, but I have had 4 events of late, 3 days in a row leading up to the day of the events I am currently experiencing  described in the full members board, and one yesterday morning that was most difficult to emerge from.  It's  not within me to just try and ride these out. I fight my way out, and that can leave me mentally drained.

[Jeff]

Its funny, it has been over a year since I updated this topic. I thought about it because of a pretty unsettling episode a couple mornings ago. I've been really doing well on the episode front. Maybe one a month or so versus the multiple episodes a night I was having before. Until this last month.  I look on here and see wow, it looks like this may be a seasonal thing, or something related to the seasons.  I've had 4 episodes this last week. 2 in one night, but all just the ordinary generic, "oh, I'm awake and I can't move versions." Nasty. Except this last one. THis one started out to be one of the will this ever end versions of the sleep paralysis, where I am calling for help, or THINK I am calling for help, and no one comes, and it goes on and on and on. Well, this one, finally, I hear tammy coming. She gets to me, leans in, and I hear in this, how do I describe it, in this hissy, slow, but clear, whisper. "I won't wake you up. I won't wake you up. I won't wake you up. Right then Tammy does come tearing around the corner and shakes me out of it.  I know this one has unnerved me more than usual, simply because the last two nights now, as soon as I lay down, I hear the whisper in my mind, worried I'll have another episode before I even go to sleep. This episode happened at 6 in the morning! I had already been up, but Tammy had not. I laid on the couch and went to sleep there.

I've got some stuff going on right now that has been weighing on my mind, and I am sure this has a lot to do with it. I'm fine, I just wanted to make a record of this time while it is still vivid. I read back over some of my other episodes. I am glad I wrote them down here. Some are just as vivid as when they happened when I read back, and some I only slightly recall and never would without the record, which I think may prove to be important some day.

[Don P]

Daylight has improved by a couple of hours, but have you been cooped up this week?

Ahh, you just sold the property, that's bound to be pushing some buttons.

[thecfarm]

I'm surprised one of your dogs don't sense something is wrong.
Good on the posting idea.

[Magicman]

PatD asked me last week "if you had been experiencing any more episodes"?  I said "guess not that you had not mentioned it".  We were both hoping that it had subsided, but now see that it has not.  

[Jeff]

Lotta stress this last couple weeks, but it is the kind of stress that hpoefully results in a well worth it result.  I'm in the midst of a process that is very important for me personally
.

[Hilltop366]

Stress does weird things, my daughter suffers from high anxiety and panic attacks and when something elevates her stress levels like sleeping away from home she describes some "dreams" that sound similar to what you describe.

Full moon coming up too, suppose it matters?

[doc henderson]

Hang tough Jeff!

[donbj]

Lotta stress this last couple weeks, but it is the kind of stress that hpoefully results in a well worth it result.  I'm in the midst of a process that is very important for me personally
.

Jeff, just browsed through this thread. What a tough thing to deal with, sorry to see this! May be a shot in the dark but I wonder if it would be worth looking into a type of drug that helps control epilepsy. Some things you describe are kinda similar to what an epileptic seizure can produce. One of our daughters suffered from epilepsy from about 5 yrs of age and in her teens it went away. That was a blessing!
Anyway it might be worth discussing with a doctor that knows his stuff on this subject. I know epilepsy drugs can be useful for other things as well. I wish you well on this, horrible thing to bear.

[mike_belben]

photo period definitely alters my psyche

[Jeff]

I'm pretty sure I have been afflicted with this since my earliest memories, occasionally, it can be entertaining but rarely.  Like the dream where I invented the cold plate for keeping milk cold on the counter.

Sometimes the events and dreams seem to have weird connections.  For example, I still remember this one, simply because I've related about it a few times over the years, but never wrote about it that I can recall.

The dream was that my very much missed friend Joe Wade, his wife and Tammy and I were some place. It was a huge HUGE expansive building. It had a resort inside. Trees, and boats. Inside!  We started to walk around and I heard a voice call out a greeting. HEY JOE! It said.  Joe was the middle school janitor in Harrison for over 30 years. You can NOT go with Joe Wade ANYWHERE without him running into someone that knows him. "HEY JOE!" the voice called, and it was unmistakably the voice of George W. Bush.  DUBBYA! Joe exclaimed.   At this point I look up around the top of the building and notice people carrying suitcases into rooms that rung the upper perimeter and said, Hey, I gotta go find a bathroom.   If I have to pee, I tend to dream about trying to find a toilet.  In this dream, there was a huge restroom sign. No aearching required. I went to the sign and I went through the door, and saw that I had entered a huge, huge, baren room. A room either so big, or so non-descript, that the walls and ceiling were missing. In the center of the space was a white toilet. No walls or stall. just a stark white toilet in the middle of a huge room with a long line of very tall black men, waiting in a line to use it I guess, but they were just standing in a line. No one using the toilet. I turned, left, and the dream was ended. No paralysis

It was quite sometime later that someone sent me a video of Bill Dance touring what was to become the Bass Pro Pyramid at Memphis.   After watching the video I thought WOW! THIS IS THE PLACE I SAW IN MY DREAM!!  As far as I know, I had never ever heard anything about this place before. Heck, it was still being built I saw.  

I am not a pro basketball fan, so I didn't know that the building had been the home of the "Jazz" who ended up moving to Utah. I was really wanting to go visit the place once it got opened so I did a little research and found this story:

https://theportalist.com/the-memphis-pyramid

The builders of the Memphis Pyramid hoped that it would be that city’s answer to such famous landmarks as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis or the Eiffel Tower in Paris, promising a laser light show and homages to the city’s musical history. Memphis could use the boost that such an ambitious project would bring—at least, so reasoned its planners.

But the pyramid was plagued with problems from before it even opened its doors. A torrential rain storm delayed construction and plans for shops and amenities in the structure fell through, including a music museum, a shortwave radio station, a nearby theme park, and a Hard Rock café. (Keep that last one in mind, as it will be important later.)  
When the Memphis Pyramid did finally open its doors in 1991, its grand opening was a concert by country duo the Judds. Unfortunately, when a packed house all poured into the restrooms at the same time, the combined stresses of all those flushing toilets proved too much for the city’s sewer transfer station. The toilets backed up, flooding the arena with sewage. It seemed that the Memphis Pyramid was off to a less-than-auspicious start.



I did get to visit the Pyramid years later on the way to Magicman's and once I entered, knew it was the place I had dreamed about before I even knew about it. I even knew there was a toilet issue...

[Jeff]

Sometimes the dreams reveal revelations. Like this one:

So, I had a dream night before laast that caused me to stop anything else I was doing on M.R. Truck and address what happened in the dream.  I dreamed that one of the little neighbor girls had climbed up in the truck, which they do, because they like the truck. As I was watching, the little head disappeared below the windshield. That's when I heard the engine turn over and saw the truck lurch forward suddenly because she had scooted down in the seat and pushed the start peddle and the truck was in gear.

I have dreams like that all the time about things I never think of while I am awake. In this case, I woke up knowing I had a safety issue.  The starter peddle is wired directly to the starter. There is no neutral safely switch on this truck and shutting the key off only prevents the truck from starting, not from turning over.

So, after short consideration, I've installed a 12 volt shut off switch this morning. I put it in the center of the riser of the seat platform. The key locks in when it is on, and can be removed when in the off position.
 

 (Image hidden from quote, click to view.)

[snobdds]

CBD oil seems to be a wonder drug for Epilepsy and similar conditions.  

It might be worth a shot, some of these poor people with Epilepsy see some dramatic imporvement.