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  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | Eligiu | deficiT

Sleep Paraylsis - Panic Attacks

Weed made me paranoid, so I quit.


Sleep paralysis - I used to love that. It was scary at first, but once I realized what was going on I would try to relax and induce it. It used to happen a few nights a week (after being up for days at a time), now it hasn't happened in years (since I started taking sleeping pills). That is one thing I miss about being up all the time.

I could always tell it was coming becuase I would here a kind of buzzing, see a pulsing behind my eyelids - then EVIL EVIL. Frequently it would happen multiple times a night. I would try to make it last as long as i could before I woke up terrified-ish.

I guess it's just another altered state. . .
 
It's a freaky undesirable altered state, that's for sure!
 
You sound like you are blaming the marijuana primarily, but you also mention taking large amounts of MDMA and selling it as well. I'll tell you that every time I've had sleep paralysis, it's been after taking MDMA or after long periods of abusing AMT (which is similar to MDMA in that it can deplete serotonin). It's like an on/off switch for me. If I've done MDMA recently, I'll get sleep paralysis most nights and be plagued with anxiety all day long. If I haven't, then I don't, and life is much smoother. The last time I did MDMA I did a fairly large amount (though still not 8-10 pills), and had sleep paralysis and anxiety for almost a month. I haven't used it since because every time I did use it, it got worse. I recommend you give MDMA a long break.

But yeah, I've had some really freaky experiences with sleep paralysis, although it also makes for some vivid dreams. Unfortunately those dreams seem to involve the end of the world (for me at least).

Marijuana gives me anxiety when I'm not at a good place in my life, as well. There's no doubt it can exacerbate anxiety. However I have never heard of it causing sleep paralysis.

During periods of sleep paralysis, I actually got to where it didn't scare me too much because it happened so often and I learned what it was. The way to get rid of it faster is to try as hard as you can to move. I would work really hard to twitch my leg slowly over to the side of the bed, and as soon as I could get it to fall off, I would snap out of it. It's as if the forced movement of my leg from falling off the bed made me realize how to move again.
 
I've noticed that I have sleep paralysis after taking hallucinogens such as MDMA as well!

There must be some sort of neuro chemical explaination. I'll start googling!
 
im not sure if this is a similar thing at all, but a lot of the time i have "waking paraylsis" panic attacks where i am awake but am frozen to my bed controlled by my anxietys. This sometimes can last hours of me just being there frozen and in so much fear.

Thankfully it hasnt happened too much recently, although it does start to come back for shorter periods if it has been a while since my last dose of lorazepam.
 
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...
You know, after thinking this over again, I realized the first time I experienced this WAS actually after I started experimenting with opiates. Probably almost a year after starting. The ones I had done up to that point were tramadol (heavily, for 2 months), hydrocodone (pretty heavily on and off as I could find it), and codeine (just once).

Just thought I would clarify, maybe there really is a connection there.
 
dirtywhiteboy69 said:
I have also experienced this problem. Check out the following link.
It will help you understand exactly what sleep paralysis is and symptons and which meds. help the most.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis
Click to expand...

^^My doctor actually had me try Ritalin for awhile because he knew of no other way to treat sleep paralysis (aside from sleep meds, which I really don't want to get stuck on) and the only info he could find anywhere on the internet was via wikipedia, which lists Ritalin (when used during the day) has been shown to lessen the occurence of sleep paralysis.

At first I was like...uhh ok, sure I'll try it, but mostly I was thinking 'hey, at least I can' have some fun with this script if anything'. I really didn't think it would make any difference, but oddly enough I think it has. I wouldn't take it daily as I can't handly the crash from methylphenidate very well, but on the days that I do take it, I never experienced any paralysis at night. Weird but hey...

Eventually I got switched over to Vyvanse and now probably Adderall (vyvanse isn't covered by my insurance). I still can't afford to take them everyday because a.) Can't stand stimulant crashes and b.) Don't want a huge stim tolerance.

Moral of the story: Uppers by day prevent sleep paralysis by night. (Of course if you take stims at night you won't experience paralysis cause you'll be up all night, but I'm talking about using a stim in the morning/early afternoon). This seems to work for me, at least.
 
I smoked an incredible amount of marijuana this past weekend, along with MDMA, 2C-B, and 40 mg of 2C-E, and top it off I am on Accutane (isotretinoin).

This past afternoon I dozed off into a shallow sleep for about 9 minutes, but the dream had more length and substance than what I can remember in a week's time of dreaming.

I fell asleep still exhausted from the prior weekend where I only had 15 hours of sleep in a 4 day period.
Upon waking I think I may have experienced sleep paralysis lasting about 4-10 seconds, while dementia set in of a small boy walking through my house. I am alone in the house except for my dog asleep next to me. This was quite terrifying, but I was only to see the boy walk into my room with one eye, even though both were open. He then walked into my little brother's room and disappeared.

Could such sleep deprivation combined with Accutane, marijuana use, MDMA use, and extremely high amounts of 2C-E have awakened schizophrenia in me? Upon reading the description of schizophrenia, I seem to fit the archetype.
I hope I not a hypochondriac in this department, but I probably should see a shrink regarding this.
Right?
 
^most likely it was an isolated event - due to the drugs u used
if ur worried, then see a psychiatrist, but i doubt u hav anything to worry about
wen i was coming off drugs i once had wat at the time i believed was a visit from a ghost, was told was just a symptom of withdrawal psychosis but now believe cud hav bn a form of sleep paralysis - or a 'waking nightmare'
i was living in a halfway house, i was about 2 months off meth and weed and a month and a half off opiates
i 'woke' during the night and was 'visitted' by a young boy, pale as a sheet, who told me his name was billy and he lived at the house i was in, that i was sleeping in his room, and wud i plz get out? he disappeared but i kept hearing his voice for maybe 15 mins then next thing i know it was morning
one of the counsellors came and did a maori blessing over the house (even tho he now tells me he didnt believe it was haunted - hes in NA with me) and i was less scared - i also slept with the light on until i left that place
drugs can really alter ur brain in some weird ways! (i think it was the drugs anyway)
 
superSWIMer said:
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.

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.
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.
Click to expand...

I suffer from sleep paralysis all the time and yes it is really frightening and very inconvenient!!

I have researched it quite a bit over the years because I've suffered from it for a long time. While no-one reeeeally knows why it happens, it would seem that it is quite likely related to stress and problems in your daily life, drug use (some say particularly hallucinogenics but that doesn't apply to me), alcohol intake, sleeping position etc.

For me, it seems to occur when I am particularly stressed or anxious during the day, or after I've had red wine, and it always happens when I sleep on my back. I suspect this is due to some sort of mild sleep apnoeia (stopping breathing while I'm asleep) so my brain is getting less oxygen and freaks out (Note: this is purely my own theory, I haven't got anything to support this).

superSWIMer, I would suggest that you seriously lay off the drugs, for quite a while. It sounds like they are really doing your head in with anxiety and depression. Find an honest way to earn money and you'll probably find that the paranoia will subside quite quickly.

It's great that you've learnt to calm yourself down when it's actually happening though. That is something that a LOT of sleep paralysis sufferers don't do and it just makes it worse!

Remember that when it's happening, it won't kill you, you will breathe again soon, and it will end soon. The main thing is don't try to fight it! You'll only get more panicky. Just try to relax and let it subside.

I also find that this technique helps me:
Staying calm, slowly try to move your eyes, then once you can move your eyes, slowly try to move your mouth around a bit, etc. Not only does this seem to pull your body/brain out of the paralysis, but it also take your mind off the panic and fear, and it will be over before you know it!

I also get my partner to wake me up if he notices that I'm not breathing. I've told him about all the times that I've been paralysed and imagining that I'm screaming out and grabbing at him for help but it turns out that I wasn't moving at all!!! Not fun.
 
Yeah man u definitely need to use that Sleep paralysis to your advantage. Ive had it happen before and i looked into it and you can use this paralysis state to enter a dream and become lucid (aware that your dreaming).


The reason you can do this is cause when you get that sleep paralysis your body is still asleep but ur mind is not. When we go to sleep our body releases a chemical (forgot what its called) to numb our muscles so we dont act out a dream. Well if ur body is asleep and your mind is not then when that episode is over you will enter back into a dream but your mind will still be conscious ultamently allowing you to be 'aware' that you are dreaming, so you can control your dream :D. And once you enter that dream and realize your dreaming you can do anything you want!

Ive always wished i could get that sleep paralysis back, but yes indeed its a scary experience but if you tell yourself youll be ok then you can have fun with it! But for real, look into lucid dreaming you might be surprised at how cool your sleep paralysis can really be!
 
I have had sleep paralysis on and off since I was about 9 or 10. They've usually lasted about 10-20 seconds, except for the sessions I had last night. They were literally like 3 or 4 minutes each, I couldn't get out of them and they recurred a few times.

I basically worked out that the whole breathing thing (in folk lore "the hag" sitting on your chest) is because you're actively trying to breathe against what your body is automatically doing for you and that's why it feels like your suffocating. If you just let your body breathe for you it eliminates most of the panic. I hope this info helps someone, if I had realised this earlier it would have saved me a lot of distress.

I also often have lucid dreams, they're the reason I find Amitriptyline to be recreational. There is a apparently a link between sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming but I find it difficult to keep myself in a lucid state (ie not wake up after I've realised I'm dreaming).
 
I've had periods of frequent sleep paralysis since I was 14 years old. I'm in one of those periods now. Sometimes it happens 5 or 6 times in one night. My body is paralyzed and I think I'm dying or having a seizure.

During one of those periods, I managed to stop the fear to a large degree. I told myself that I was being pulled into a wormhole. I'd often go to sleep again immediately afterwards and dream of being on a new world. I managed to turn the sleep paralysis into an adventure.

I wish I could do that now. It would be nice to turn it into an exciting adventure as I did in the past.

I am often able to calm myself a bit with the knowledge that it has happened before and never caused any harm. It often doesn't help much.

I've had several out of body experiences as well. Several times, it was like I was pulled back into my body, even passing through the ceiling and back into my body as I woke up paralyzed.

Other times, I started to float out of my body while paralyzed. I was terrified. I wish I had stayed calm and not tried to fight it.

Clonazepam is sometimes prescribed for sleep paralysis, and is very effective at stopping it from what I've heard. You might look into that if the sleep paralysis is bothering you too much. Just don't get addicted, as benzo withdrawal is bad and dangerous.

I've had feelings as if something is crushing me, dragging me, or throwing me. I've heard all kinds of strange sounds and felt burning, vibrating, and other feelings through my body.

I've felt like my body was on fire. I knew I was paralysed and awake. I heard sounds which I thought could be burning flames. I thought my room was on fire as I was paralysed and tried to scream for help. It was a relief when the paralysis wore off.
 
I have had this happen to me quite often when I was younger and now I think it was caused by Post traumatic Stress. Its frightening to be powerless and locked inside your head.
 
It's a terrible feeling, especially for me recently as the episodes last much longer than ever before. A few times I've thought that I was going to be trapped in the state and was wondering how long it would take for someone to find me.

Even if you know what's cutting, you still get very paranoid for some reason. There's some link between paranoia or fear with this condition (they think most alien abduction stories are related to it as well, lol). I'm going through a stressful time in my life and I think it's probably related. I'm also not so much of an insomniac as I was a few months ago and I'm taking much less hypnotics, maybe it's a chemical imbalance. I hope it will work itself out eventually.

It's very hard not to fight it, I have very limited movement and I try to throw my leg off the bed hoping the jolt will wake my body up. I used to be able to snap out of it, not any more.
 
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