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Sleep paralysis ?!?!?! - MEGA MERGED

The fastest way to overcome it, I have found, is to just RELAX and start by just moving your toes a little bit, or try to lift a finger or two. Or maybe try to just blink your eyelids, i.e start with something small. This helps to bring your concious mind back in to the awake state. The harder you fight it the more panicky your brain and body gets.

I also find that I get sleep paralysis when I fall asleep on my back and my epiglottis blocks my throat and I can't breathe properly, literally starving my brain of oxygen. This is exacerbated when I've been drinking. My partner has learned to (or been trained to?? ;)) wake me up when he hears me struggling to breathe because I'll more than likely be suffering from SP.

I must say though, as I've said in previous threads relating to SP, I've experienced it so frequently that I've actually come to enjoy it. As bizarre as that sounds to someone who is new to SP, perhaps you can take consolation in the fact that it's definitely something you can learn to live/cope with :)
 
I have not had it in a while, at least not full blown SP. Ive been having it for the last 25 years though, since I was 3.

I do still have night terrors though. I wake up dizzy and disoriented even when I didnt take anything. I wonder if I have sleep apnea. Im not overweight though (maybe 10 lbs).
 
Thanks very much everyone for the info, I was just curious as to what might be causing such effects. I actually tried to force myself to get "into it" the first couple of times it happened, despite the ominous feelings (some latent psyche-exploring instinct kicking in), but I could never force myself to willingly submit to it beyond a point, the extreme, asphyxiation-like light-headedness and feelings of danger always became too great.
 
Sleep paralysis and drug comedowns

Not sure if this is the right place to post this so feel free to move if not...

I've noticed that 90% of the time when I'm on a drug comedown - usually the night after the night I've done the drugs - I get episodes of sleep paralysis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis) and/or vivid dreams/hallucinations. It seems to happen more with stimulants than anything else so I'm guessing it might be more related to sleep deprivation than the drugs themselves. I was really ill a couple of years ago for over a year and I got this a lot then too. It's really strange though! It doesnt freak me out as much as it used to as I'm used to it and know what it is but it's definately a strange experience that varies each time I have it and one that the medical community seems to know relatively little about.

I had it this morning after I'd woken up and was drifting back to sleep. I felt like my whole body was vibrating loudly and was clenching my teeth like I was gurning/grimacing! I could hear something running about in my room behind me but was face down and couldnt move my body. It felt like my body was surging with energy..like the most intense rush/comeup multiplied by 100. Very strange! Apparently audio and even visual hallucinations are quite common with sleep paralysis. I've never seen anything but can always hear things when this happens.

I was just wondering how common this is really and how many of you have experienced it/ what kind of experiences you've had?
 
Hi elle :)
Yep, sleep paralysis is pretty common, especially in the days/nights after stimulant use. Personally, I get sleep paralysis every single time I use MDMA and occasionally after LSD, but then I suffer from sleep paralysis all the time anyway :D

Some related reading:
Sleep paralysis after E
Sleep paralysis - panic attacks
Sleep paralysis symptoms
Sleep paralysis, or something deeper?
Sleep paralysis?!?!?!

As far as I'm aware there's not much you can do about it. But as you say, it doesn't necessarily freak you out as much now that you've experienced it a few times, so perhaps just like me and a lot of other people you'll just learn to live with it. Either that or stop taking stims ;)
 
I have pretty severe sleep paralysis, even without drug use. Benzos seem to help mine, and I'm more likely to experience it if I force myself awake. Also, a sleep specialist told me that lying on your stomach decreased the likelihood of SP - I don't really remember the reasoning behind this, but might be worth a try since it's not too difficult. ;)
 
I get sleep paralysis fairly often , maybe once a week. I also lucid dream most of the time too.


In the days after a session it is particularly vivid and disturbing though.
 
I've dealt with sleep paralysis since I was 8, I HATE it. I notice sometimes I get a bad spell after using MDMA but that is about it from my experience! I absolutely hate, hate, hate sleep paralysis. ugh.
 
^^ Yeah me too hun. I hated it for years. But I've worked hard to become more comfortable with sleep paralysis and it's paid off. You really should research lucid dreaming and try to practice it. It's really helped me.
 
Sleep paralysis is definitly scary! mine is from using oxycodone. I went to a site that had reasons someone might have episodes of sleep paralysis and one of the causes was opiate use. i'll wake up unable to move and i have a very intense tingling throughout my body and it is sometimes painful. I thought i was going to die the first time it happened, I didnt know what the fu@# was going on.:(
 
RedLeader said:
I suffer from this perpetually, and it's probably the worst thing I've ever experienced in my life. And I experience it like every other day. Truly horrible, and I've never been able to curve it to a positive, as some have. I wouldn't wish this stuff on my worst enemy.
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I totally understand. Before the last two months, I had only experienced it twice and both times were innocuous and not really scary since I was aware of what sleep paralysis was beforehand.

However, about two months ago I started experiencing it quite frequently, and in many horrifyingly different ways than before. Here is how it typically starts out for me. I wake up and become conscious of a sound in the room. I feel, and I mean really feel, my entire bed shaking. Then, I hear and feel something jump on to the comforter of my bed and crawl around up toward me. I will also hear various sounds and sense movement around the room, although I am unable to turn my head to look. Throughout the whole thing I am (of course) paralyzed and have an intense feeling of fear and horror.

One time in particular, this was so intense that directly afterwards I was totally convinced that I had been attacked by some sort of demon or evil spirit or something. All of the above happened plus I was physically pulled around in the bed. At one point half my body was pulled off the bed and suspended in mid-air in a way that would have been impossible without something holding me up.

The things that I feel, hear, and see are perceptually identical to what I sense in reality, so it is very hard to force myself to believe that it didn't happen. This hasn't happened in about a week so I am *really* hoping that it is going away. It has been horrible.

edit--

I forgot to say that I very rarely use any drugs, and I hadn't used any in proximity to when this all started.
 
To people who can't get rid of sleep paralysis: learn to sleep on your side. After experiencing recurring SP, I trained myself to sleep on my sides. I haven't had SP since, unless of course I fell asleep on my back. Unfortunately, I have also completely awoke while still in REM sleep, causing me to hallucinate while seemingly completely awake. If you must sleep on your back, or are still having troubles with SP no matter what, there are drugs like Doxopine (an antidepressant) that may help you. Even something like Lunesta can help your sleep patterns and prevent SP.
 
spaceyourbass said:
To people who can't get rid of sleep paralysis: learn to sleep on your side. After experiencing recurring SP, I trained myself to sleep on my sides. I haven't had SP since, unless of course I fell asleep on my back. Unfortunately, I have also completely awoke while still in REM sleep, causing me to hallucinate while seemingly completely awake. If you must sleep on your back, or are still having troubles with SP no matter what, there are drugs like Doxopine (an antidepressant) that may help you. Even something like Lunesta can help your sleep patterns and prevent SP.
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FWIW, I always sleep on my stomach.

Its like a bomb went off in my sleep cycle or something. Not only all this SP, but I've had terrible insomnia and daytime drowsiness. I've had problems with insomnia/daytime tiredness related to working late some days of the week, and not others. The doc gave me provigil but the insurance company would not pay for it without a sleep study (which they declined to pay for.) This took a month to battle out, and by that time I just gave up and started using caffeine and doxylamine.

He offered me dexedrine instead of provigil at the time but I declined because I didnt really want to be on an amp, but I think that I'm going to go back and see him this week and try to get it and something for sleep to try and normalize back out. Is lunesta specifically suited for stopping SP, or would other meds (such as ambien or benzos) work any better/worse?
 
Lunesta isn't specifically for SP, but it (and Ambien, etc) can help get your sleep pattern back to normal. The problem with them, as well as benzos, is that you build a tolerance. I speak from experience when I say that it can be really bad when you take a relatively high dose of Lunesta and still can't sleep. I really recommend Doxopine, and I'd suggest asking for it by name. My script is $14 without insurance.

Why are you taking uppers for your insomnia/SP?
 
dokomo said:
I totally understand. Before the last two months, I had only experienced it twice and both times were innocuous and not really scary since I was aware of what sleep paralysis was beforehand.

However, about two months ago I started experiencing it quite frequently, and in many horrifyingly different ways than before. Here is how it typically starts out for me. I wake up and become conscious of a sound in the room. I feel, and I mean really feel, my entire bed shaking. Then, I hear and feel something jump on to the comforter of my bed and crawl around up toward me. I will also hear various sounds and sense movement around the room, although I am unable to turn my head to look. Throughout the whole thing I am (of course) paralyzed and have an intense feeling of fear and horror.

One time in particular, this was so intense that directly afterwards I was totally convinced that I had been attacked by some sort of demon or evil spirit or something. All of the above happened plus I was physically pulled around in the bed. At one point half my body was pulled off the bed and suspended in mid-air in a way that would have been impossible without something holding me up.

The things that I feel, hear, and see are perceptually identical to what I sense in reality, so it is very hard to force myself to believe that it didn't happen. This hasn't happened in about a week so I am *really* hoping that it is going away. It has been horrible.

edit--

I forgot to say that I very rarely use any drugs, and I hadn't used any in proximity to when this all started.
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Damn dude, thats terrible. mine were never that bad. you wont be able to say this when its happening but think this in your head, in the name of jesus, i rebuke you!! someone told me to think that when it happened and it really worked!! i didnt use to believe in god but now i do.. theres an awesome scripture in the bible that says, demon's here his name (Jesus), and they tremble.:)
 
I got this a few times when I was taking Geodon. I think I went back to sleep once, the other times I just laid there and waited. I didn't get the buzzing or anything...but yeah. Geodon is the only thing that has done that to me.
 
opiate_hug said:
Damn dude, thats terrible. mine were never that bad. you wont be able to say this when its happening but think this in your head, in the name of jesus, i rebuke you!! someone told me to think that when it happened and it really worked!! i didnt use to believe in god but now i do.. theres an awesome scripture in the bible that says, demon's here his name (Jesus), and they tremble.:)
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Very good advice! When I was eventually able to move again, I spent the rest of the night awake reading the Bible. I'm not as convinced now that it was actually a demonic attack (although I think this can happen) I was totally convinced that night and the days after. It did not help that the wooden cross I have on my wall had fallen to the floor the next morning. I never heard or saw it fall, but it was just lying there. It has fallen before like if someone bumped into a wall, but I thought that it was an interesting coincidence
 
Supposedly if you can fight through the sheer terror of sleep paralysis and accept that whats happening is a dream, you can have a lucid dream. Lamictal used to do this to me all the time, and it was always some sort of shadow figure in the room with me. Very scary. Needless to say, i was never able to get to the lucid part.
 
I've now got a sleep study scheduled for a couple weeks. Hopefully we can figure out the recent abnormalities in my sleep. The doc wants to give me provigil during the day, but if insurance won't pay he says it will be dexedrine. He gave me ambien for now for sleep, I dunno how that will work out though.
 
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