Misc Has anyone experienced this?

[StretchOutAndWait]

I experienced something very odd last night. I am posting this in OD because it occurred after several days of drug use, most of which fall into the "other" category, but if mods want to move it somewhere more appropriate then please do.

Essentially my long weekend went somewhere along the lines of:

Friday: MDMA, Dihydrocodeine (DHC), MXE. Slept about 4 hours.
Saturday: Tramadol, DHC, AMT, MXE, diazepam. Slept 8 hours.
Sunday: Methiopropamine (MPA), alcohol, DHC, etizolam. Slept 4 hours.
Monday: Alcohol, DHC. Slept 8-10 hours.
Tuesday: Nothing whatsoever.

Dosages were generally recreational but not enormous, although admittedly I smoked rather a lot of MPA on Sunday.

On Tuesday night, having consumed no psychoactive substances for 24 hours, and no substances which had caused hallucinations for 72 hours, I went to sleep.

I awoke in the middle of the night in sheer terror. The shadows in the corner at the end of my bed loomed over me aggressively and I was convinced they contained a man with a knife ready to assault me. I was also sure the patch of darkness in the centre of the room concealed another figure, equally prepared to pounce.

I tried to move but I was completely paralysed. I was petrified - partly by the shadowy figures, and partly in the knowledge that they could not be real, and I must (finally) be having a psychotic episode.

Eventually I managed to thrash around enough to remove my clothes, and when I woke up later (no longer paralysed or hallucinating) I was naked, suggesting that the experience was not just a dream (although I will never know for sure). I feel spaced out today but that's all - thankfully I'm not tripping anymore.

Potential explanations seem to me to be:

1. A dream
2. Hypnagogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis
3. PTSD - I am unfortunate enough to have actually had men with knives attack me in my house, although lucky enough to never previously have been beseiged by thoughts of it during the night.
4. Opiate withdrawal induced psychosis - I am not dependent on DHC but have been in the past, and taking it for four consecutive days may have been pushing it a little.

I suppose the questions I'd really like help with are:

1. What else might it have been?
2. Is it likely it was related to my substance use?

I realise no one on BL will be able to definitively answer these, but if anyone has any insight, I would really appreciate it. The whole experience has left me rather freaked out.

 

[DooMMooD]

Sounds like sleep paralysis brought on by massive amounts of drugs. When you are suffering sleep paralysis you have extreme fears and sometimes think theres people there waiting to kill you and that theres nothing you can do to stop it. You try with all your might to move even an inch, twitch just an arm, get just a GRUNT OUT so someone can hear you. Well sad to say but even if you manage any of those things the movement/sound in reality is so tiny that its impossible for someone to even notice you're screaming for help, even if they were right next to you.

Happened to me quite a few times. I remember the first time I thought i was in GRAND CENTRAL STATION paralyzed, and somehow got transported back to my room, with a serial killer stalking me from GCS to my room lol.

Honestly just gotta ride it out. I'm surprised you were able to move around even that much. TBH you prob had your lothes come off during sleep, when youre suffering sleep paralysis you can barely twitch despite your struggles. And thats what I'd bet this was.

Source: It has happened to me dozens, if not hundreds, of times. Lucid dreaming too but we're not talking about that right now.

Obviously I'm not a doctor but it just sounds like some regular old sleep paralysis. Get some better sleep and stop doing drugs. I haven't had a bout in months since i stopped abusing drugs. I've also noticed taking MELATONIN can INCREASE the chances. Just something anecdotal i've noted of myself.

 

[StretchOutAndWait]

Sounds like sleep paralysis brought on by massive amounts of drugs.

Thanks for the response. This sounds plausible. Do you know if any particular drugs are known to induce sleep paralysis and if so by what mechanism of action? I am perplexed that I experienced none of the oft-reported peripheral vision "shadow people" type effects in the period directly following ingestion of any of the above except MDMA and MXE on Friday and Saturday, yet something relatively severe on Tuesday.

 

[macd610]

I experienced something very odd last night. I am posting this in OD because it occurred after several days of drug use, most of which fall into the "other" category, but if mods want to move it somewhere more appropriate then please do.

Essentially my long weekend went somewhere along the lines of:

Friday: MDMA, Dihydrocodeine (DHC), MXE. Slept about 4 hours.
Saturday: Tramadol, DHC, AMT, MXE, diazepam. Slept 8 hours.
Sunday: Methiopropamine (MPA), alcohol, DHC, etizolam. Slept 4 hours.
Monday: Alcohol, DHC. Slept 8-10 hours.
Tuesday: Nothing whatsoever.

Dosages were generally recreational but not enormous, although admittedly I smoked rather a lot of MPA on Sunday.

On Tuesday night, having consumed no psychoactive substances for 24 hours, and no substances which had caused hallucinations for 72 hours, I went to sleep.

I awoke in the middle of the night in sheer terror. The shadows in the corner at the end of my bed loomed over me aggressively and I was convinced they contained a man with a knife ready to assault me. I was also sure the patch of darkness in the centre of the room concealed another figure, equally prepared to pounce.

I tried to move but I was completely paralysed. I was petrified - partly by the shadowy figures, and partly in the knowledge that they could not be real, and I must (finally) be having a psychotic episode.

Eventually I managed to thrash around enough to remove my clothes, and when I woke up later (no longer paralysed or hallucinating) I was naked, suggesting that the experience was not just a dream (although I will never know for sure). I feel spaced out today but that's all - thankfully I'm not tripping anymore.

Potential explanations seem to me to be:

1. A dream
2. Hypnagogic hallucinations and sleep paralysis
3. PTSD - I am unfortunate enough to have actually had men with knives attack me in my house, although lucky enough to never previously have been beseiged by thoughts of it during the night.
4. Opiate withdrawal induced psychosis - I am not dependent on DHC but have been in the past, and taking it for four consecutive days may have been pushing it a little.

I suppose the questions I'd really like help with are:

1. What else might it have been?
2. Is it likely it was related to my substance use?

I realise no one on BL will be able to definitively answer these, but if anyone has any insight, I would really appreciate it. The whole experience has left me rather freaked out.

I've Had experiences very similar to this in the past, at as young as 12 yrs old. I vividly remember a few years ago awakening during the night , somehow knowing that there was something awful outside. at that time, the head of my bed was between 2 windows. I propped myself up on my elbows in order to look out the window and there was a man standing on the street corner looking up at me. he was wearing a hat and I could not see any details of his face except for his glowing green eyes. I tried to get up to turn on the light and knocked the lamp over. I felt like I could not move. I remember struggling and struggling, and finally realizing I was struggling to wake up but could not. I literally felt like I was trying to move and talk and open my eyes and could do none of the above... all the while scared to death of what the man outside was going to do to me.
Next thing I know, I was waking up and it was morning. My lamp indeed WAS knocked over. needless to say, I had a very hard time sleeping for a while after that 1. That was the worst. I was not on drugs of any kind for most of these experiences.
Not to try and make a joke out of this, but you would be a great writer lol! You did a great job describing your experience. I felt exactly the same way you did in each of my "episodes", for lack of a better term. this has happened probably 4 or 5 times in my life. PURE TERROR is the way I'd describe how it feels.

 

[StretchOutAndWait]

I felt exactly the same way you did in each of my "episodes", for lack of a better term. this has happened probably 4 or 5 times in my life. PURE TERROR is the way I'd describe how it feels.

Thanks - it's a relief to hear that these have been rare incidents for you. I feel quite daunted at the prospect of trying to sleep tonight. Tempted to bash out the benzos but I fear it may be more harmful to postpone facing the inevitable evening I must spend in my bed without drugs.

 

[macd610]

Thanks - it's a relief to hear that these have been rare incidents for you. I feel quite daunted at the prospect of trying to sleep tonight. Tempted to bash out the benzos but I fear it may be more harmful to postpone facing the inevitable evening I must spend in my bed without drugs.

That is a good way to look at it. The more you avoid it, the more power I feel it could get over you. PM me anytime

 

[doppelganga196]

Man i wish i could remember the name of it but this is actually a well recognized sleep 'terror' syndrome. Ive heard a female friend once tell me she awoke in fear someone was in her room, unable to move a shadowy witch firgure with an evil grin began moving painfully slowly towards her with the soul intent of murdering her where she lay.

About 8/9 years ago when i was first into mdma & ecstacy & was taking them nearly every weekend for months i would often trip large when i went to sleep. One time as soon as my head hit the pillow i sprung awake bolt upright seeing traffic lights appear in the middle of my room while the tv was blastting out some old black n white movie. Many other bizzare times in bed i became very delirious to the point of tripping my ballbag off.

It must have something to do with hppd & over-frequent use of psychedelic stimulants.

 

[BeachBum4u]

I like watching TV shows related to paranomal activity, particularly "Paranormal State". They had discussed a few times where I person, like yourself, was in bed ad thought they saw someone but were paralyzed by the experience. They had a fancy name for it but is was basically sleep paralysis brought on by a paranormal sighting. I know it sounds out there but from what I've seen, there is no doubt whatsoever there are paranormal (for lack of a better word) entities out there. Some more obvious and some more subtle than others but they're out there. This may not be what you experienced but it is possible. Good Luck and "slow down dude"!

 

[J.D.]

I've had night terrors and sleep paralysis for years. Not usually during periods of drug use, however. It's so horrible to feel stuck, unable to move or scream or even wake up. Somehow I know that if I wake up I'll be okay....but I can't. I've spent many nights up, resorting to sleeping during the day to avoid the night.