Was this an OD, a benzo induced seizure or sleep paralysis? (Etizolam/DHC)

[television82]

About a week ago I had one of the worst drug experiences of my life.

My wife tried to wake me up because I was apparently really struggling to breathe in my sleep, apparently wheezing/snorting/just generally struggling to breathe. She said I didn't immediately react. It was only seconds later though that I was awoken by her. This is the point that I can remember what happened from. As soon as I awoke I was aware that I was struggling to breathe, I couldn't move, I felt paralysed. I couldn't speak at first, even though I know I wanted to. I almost felt like my body was vibrating as I tried to get up and tried to get breaths of air. Over the course of a few minutes I slowly started to regain the ability to move my body again, and breathe normally again. During that few minutes my speech also came back, but again in the same gradual way.

So what caused this?

I'd been taking etizolam 2-3mg for about 10 days. And had my last dose before I went to bed at about midnight. This episode happened at about 230am. I'd also taken about 240mg DHC about an hour before bed. And had shared a bottle of wine with my partner. I know all 3 of these drugs are SNS depressants, and are very dangerous to combine. So yes, I was stupid. A fucking idiot in fact. But I'm still not entirely sure it was an SNS depressant overdose. Does what I described above sound like it? Temporary paralysis and breathing difficulty. If my wife hadn't awoken me in worry would I have simply stopped breathing without realising....

The only other possibilities I can think of are perhaps a seizure from etizolam withdrawal? The vibrating sensation certainly felt like what I imagine a seizure feels like. But I was really physically 'fitting'. I was pretty stationary. I know etizolam only has a short half life which is why I'm entertaining the theory, but like I said, it was only about 2 hours before my last dose when this happened. So I'm not sure how likely this is.

The last option was sleep paralysis. I've read various reports on this, and it sounds very similar to what I experienced. Can the combination of substances I took cause sleep paralysis?

By the way my wife knows nothing of my occasional recreational drug use, so she was very concerned/confused obviously. I feel terrible for putting her through it. I've told her it was probably sleep-paralysis and that I'll ask my doctor about it. Also like I also mentioned above, I know what I did was very, very stupid. It will not be repeated. I don't take etizolam anymore. And will be extra careful with opiates for the rest of my drug-taking life.

Any idea's then?

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I would bet that the drugs/alcohol you took caused this. I'm glad you plan to be more careful in the future.

What you described sounds like obstructive sleep apnea combined with sleep paralysis. It is common to have both occur together. And I have definitely heard of and seen many others having this happen from taking CNS depressants. Sleep paralysis just means your mind is awake but you can't move your body, and sleep apnea is when you pause breathing while asleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type, and spells of OSA often occur in individuals who are under the influence of a drugs such as alcohol, benzos, opioids, etc that relax the muscles in the airway excessively and interfere with normal breathing and arousal from sleep mechanisms. A bad case of OSA can be accompanied by gasping etc when the breathing stops for too long and the body's will to live kicks in and tries to force you to breathe.

I would also recommend you get your wife to pay close attention to see if anything similar to this (even a milder version) happens again, or if you snore often, in case you have a tendency for sleep apnea that was worsened by the drugs. If your breathing pauses in your sleep or you snore loudly then you might want to get it checked out.

 

[whippa craka]

Is there any chance of a lack of circulation? Any major artery/vein being restricted?

Everything he said above is absolutely correct. I couldn't help but thinking. If you were to fall asleep on your arm and circulation is cutoff it takes a minute or two to regain full control of the muscles, and feels very very weird. Translate that to the rest of your body, symptoms seem awfully similar.

 

[bais3]

Once I had one of these sleep paralysis episode, pretty scary... I wasn't used any drugs (totally clean) at the time, so it might be drug unrelated. Didn't happen to me again, luckily

 

[mysafehome01]

Sounds more like sleep paralysis dude.