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Sleep Paraylsis - Panic Attacks

  • Thread starter Thread starter superSWIMer
  • Start date Start date
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superSWIMer

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(To MODS: Healthy Living? Darkside Maybe?)

I have had a reoccurring problem since January I'd like to share with the people on bluelight, first off I am posting anon because I plan on doing a little self implication because it fills in some of the holes in the story.

Problem:
Since my birthday, when I greened out on Marijuana, I've been having reoccuring panic attacks before I fall asleep and experiencing sleep paralysis (can;t move, shortness of breath ect)

About me:
Student living in rez making money selling pot, mdma, and coke when I get it.
My friends would describe as extremely paranoid and nerutic.
Low self esteem, pretty much afraid of women after my last train wreck relationship.

Incidents leading up to attacks:
New years eve went all out, took 8-10 e pills, had what appeared to be heat attack, lost feeling in hand, thought I had fucked up big and that was it, felt like shit for days.
After that I pretty much lost my balls for traffiking, I was always worried my costumers were gonna OD, this made me more highstrung, pushed off some lsd in rez, which was a big mistake which lead to the heat being turned up on me, making my life pretty damn stressful. birthday rolls around shortly after, take 2 hits off a blunt and green out so bad it was amazing, for hours I thought I was going to die, losing vision, couldn't walk, throwing up ect.
Ever since then I have been having these attacks right before I fall asleep, sometimes it feels like something has picked me up out of bed and flung me around the room, or like I'm spinning out of control and can barely breath, lately my dreams seem to take on a new realism and I'm helpless until the attack wheres off, I've learned to calm myself during them and tell myself that its all just going to end soon and I"ll be fine, but these are really inconvenient.
has anyone else experienced something similar.
 
Um, okay....I'm going to take this fro ANON thru CD (since it appears pot related) and DC (where I'm sure others have had similar experiences) and over to TDS where thy can try to help you cope and work through the issue.

Off we go...

PS- edited the title, because you have more panic than paralysis it sounds like.
 
^^ I have never heard of this happening, but everyone's different. I am a regular weed smoker, and I sleep like a baby at night. I think it could be stress related, and maybe you are freaking yourself out a bit which would cause these same panic attacks. Either way, if these are the causes, you would be right in saying, it will be over soon. I would lay off everything drug wise awhile until things pan out. You know?

As for where this thread should be, I agree TDS is best TLB.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnopompia

I experience hypnogogia (better known as 'sleep paralysis') from time to time as well, especially if I use opiates before going to bed.

It's frightening, annoying, and keeps me from getting a full, recuperative night's rest when it happens. Not to mention some horrible nightmares.

My doctor gives me ativan for it. If I have an episode, I just pop 4mg worth and it usually knocks me out. He also told me that Ritalin, when used during the day, has shown to stave off sleep paralysis. He prescribed me that as well but personally I can't really stand the stuff...
 
I have anxieties, don't know what cause them and can only say sorry sux dude.

As far as sleep paralysis. It scares the shit outta me. I was once told that it has something to do with having your neck contorted when your sleeping so your brain doesn't get enough blood. Sounds absurd but I know the only times I've suffered from it have been when sleeping on my stomach with my head turned.

If you sleep in crazy positions try to change your sleeping habbits.
 
I've had sleep paralysis for years - it started when I was taking antidepressants and never really went away, although it has lessened substantially over the last few years. Unlike eon blue mine was actually worsened by benzos (only while I was on them though).

Yours sounds a lot more frightening than mine ever were. For me, just learning about what they were was enough for me to be able to calm down and just let the episode run its course. After I managed to do this it was only a few months before they didn't bother me - they still happened, but I didn't care at all and always went straight back to sleep. I rarely get them now and it shits me - they became fascinating rather than frightening and I'd love to get a chance to explore the experience a bit more.

As was already said ritalin is sometime prescribed for it...I'm not aware of any other treatments. Maybe looking into something to treat the preceeding panic attacks (breath control, CBT) could help?

Good luck anyway, and don't hesitate to see a professional if it continues to be so disruptive. :)
 
I've experienced sleep paralysis, it only started within the last year or so, I had never even heard of it before then. The first time it happened it scared me so bad! It comes and goes for me though, it'll happen every night for a week, then go away for a while, and seems to definatly be associated with the different levels of stress in my life at the time.

I dont really know what else to tell you other than if yours are at all like mine, it'll probably go away when things in your life calm down a bit.
 
^ I suspect mine was stress-related as well.

Some other things that are thought to worsen sleep paralysis include sleeping in a supine position (facing upwards) and irregular sleeping schedules. This can include napping and sleeping in as well as sleep deprivation - so if your sleep schedule is a little off it might not be a bad idea to start trying to initiate a regular pattern of sleep (or at least as regular as you can get with the panic attacks). Following some of the basic sleep hygiene tips might be useful too.
 
sushii said:
^ I suspect mine was stress-related as well.

Some other things that are thought to worsen sleep paralysis include sleeping in a supine position (facing upwards) and irregular sleeping schedules. This can include napping and sleeping in as well as sleep deprivation - so if your sleep schedule is a little off it might not be a bad idea to start trying to initiate a regular pattern of sleep (or at least as regular as you can get with the panic attacks). Following some of the basic sleep hygiene tips might be useful too.
Click to expand...

I don't know if you use/used opiates or not, but if you do have you ever noticed that they almost always trigger sleep paralysis? They seem to for me...if I use fentanyl anywhere near bedtime it's guaranteed to happen. I'll drift off into sleep and be jolted wide awake, heart racing and completely unable to move any part of my body save my toes and eyes for 2-5 seconds. Then I'll be wide awake for a good half hour, drift off to sleep and wham...it happens again. At some point I'm usually able to fall asleep though. More than once I've missed an entire night's sleep because of it :(

I've had it happen plenty of times whilst sober too, on days that I'm incredibly stressed. I think that's why the Ativan helps more than anything else. I talked to my doctor about it and she told me that it's a well-documented symptom of narcolepsy, but rarely seen otherwise. I'm definitely not narcoleptic...that much I know for sure.
 
Wow, I never knew there was a term for this and I'm relieved I'm not the only one who has experienced sleep paralysis. I'm a long time opiate user, but the first time I experienced sleep paralysis was before I used any drugs at all. The few people I told looked at me and had no idea what I was talking about. The first time it was so fucking scary. It's still scary when it happens now (like 2-3 times a year), but not nearly as scary as the first time it happened.
 
bow-viper1 said:
Wow, I never knew there was a term for this and I'm relieved I'm not the only one who has experienced sleep paralysis. I'm a long time opiate user, but the first time I experienced sleep paralysis was before I used any drugs at all. The few people I told looked at me and had no idea what I was talking about. The first time it was so fucking scary. It's still scary when it happens now (like 2-3 times a year), but not nearly as scary as the first time it happened.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's more common than you think. I thought I was crazy at first but when I looked it up online I realized I wasn't alone.

Apparently "they" are not sure what causes it, but it's believed to happen when your body slips into REM sleep-mode while your mind stays conscious/awake. You're basically paralyzed for those 2 seconds or so before you 'snap out of it'.

Yeah, it's scary stuff :(

Anyway, don't mean to derail your thread OP. I would bet that what your experiencing is stress-related though, like most sleep disorders generally are.
 
You're not alone bro. I posted here about Sleep Paralysis a few years ago when I had it.

It never happened to me until a few nights after some hardcore Ecstasy sessions.

You're just laying there, sleeping...and then you start to have a very odd, scary dream. My first dream was in a large dark room. I could see myself as if I were in another perspective, like third person. I couldn't make it out but I sensed another being in the room with me, but didn't know who it was. I then saw a large silhouette of a man standing in a doorway with light shining through, shaping his figure.

For some reason I was terrified of this; more than I have ever been in my life. I woke up only to find myself paralyzed in my bed. The only thing I was able to move were my eyes and time seemed to go very slowly. I could feel the tears dripping down my face from being so scared, but there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. I'm not sure how long it lasted, but it was long enough. I was too scared to go back to sleep so I just stayed up until the next night. It never happened again until a few months later, when I had three of those dreams in one night.

I only remember one of those really well. It was in another dark room, but this time I never saw anything. I just heard voices talking...screaming. There were so many I couldn't make out what they were saying, and they just kept getting louder and louder, screaming at me as if I had done something terribly wrong. They just kept yelling until I finally woke up, again paralyzed in my bed. This time it felt more like something was sitting on me. It felt like someone was in the room with me.

I've never been so scared in my life and I don't know if I can handle that again.

I never expected Paralysis to be like that though. I guess it's something you don't really think about. When I say you can't move anything, I mean that literally. You can't even feel any part of your body, like it's not even there. You're memory remember what it feels like and where it's supposed to be but when you try to move even the slightest, it's like trying to move an arm that's been amputated.

I've had bad trips on shrooms and LSD, but nothing has ever frightened me as much as Sleep Paralysis.
 
I think the noises are the most frightening part of the experience, followed closely by the feeling of some evil entity in the room. I had a period of time where I was having these episodes 2 to 3 times a week. After I figured out that I wasn't going crazy or being abducted by aliens; I managed to control the state of lucidity in my paralysis and was able to do some pretty cool things with it. These lucid dreams were the most amazing trips I've ever experienced.
 
Don't fight sleep paralysis, it will only make it worse....

when you have an episode try to relax, calm your mind and let it pass.

Also I find that trying to 'shake your head' usually gets you out pretty quickly (albeit violently)

Sometimes sleep paralysis can trigger 'Astral projection' which can be quite a weird and interesting experience.
 
Benzos have given me terrible sleep paralysis in the past, but never pot :(. I did have a massive panic attack on pot one time and the effects would come back every time I smoked for about a year. Letting the anxiety go, and not holding on to it and recycling, is a very tricky thing to learn how to do. CBT helped me with that. Once you get there though you will be able to conquer your panic attacks.

Also, I got really paranoid when slangin too. It's a sign you've gotta stop before someting bad happens... a sign I didn't take seriously :(


<3 Give yourself lots of self-love and think positive thoughts. Panic attacks are scary but they can't kill you!
 
Weed gave me panic attacks towards my end of use as well! That's why I quit.

Man, to the OP-- I suggest seeing a doctor, maybe you can get put on some sort of regiment of medication or some cognitive behavioral therapy can do you some good.

I hope you're OK. Contact me any time, my contact info is in my profile.
 
Put me down as another ex-pot smoker due to intense panic attacks from the drug. It actually started happening after I had a horrible trip on mushrooms. Everytime I smoked pot after that incident it would catapult me back into that panic-stricken frame of mind *shudders*
 
^^ Similiar story here.

Pot's the devil to me now, even with some clonazepam. Just makes me feel edgy and like it's not worth it.
 
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