OT-I need to know, is it normal to go paralyzed sometimes?

[Kalah]

This one is about me, not LO. I know it's off topic but there's a lot of ladies here and I'm hoping some of you can tell me if this is completely normal and I'm just over thinking it or if it's really strange!

Sometimes when I'm laying down I become paralyzed. Even if I was awake I suddenly feel like I'm in a dream or, weird as it sounds, I feel very drunk! But I can't move I'm just trapped in my body struggling desperately to move, and I can't breath at all. It only lasts about a minute, long enough for my body to finally force me to breath which breaks the paralysis. It doesn't happen really often, just about once or twice a month now. Since it first happened almost 3 years ago it has become more frequent though, there was 6 months between the first time and the second.

I feel like I go to the doctor too much, I'm there at least once a month for something! So I really don't want to go in again unless this is really unheard of or something. Anyway, I doubt a doctor could do much anyway, might just give the problem a name and that's that, waste of time! I'm kind of worried one of the times I won't be able to breath in time though and I might die, it's really terrifying when it happens.

 

[Celesse]

It doesn't sound normal, and definitely worth a trip to the GP.

Sometimes when I'm drifting off to sleep, or just waking up I am conscious but can't move, as if my mind is awake but my body isn't. But it doesn't last long and I'm always aware I'm breathing. This could be what you are experiencing, but a GP visit will put your mind at rest.

 

[Bumbled Bee]

ummm thats strange. Do it happen when you are alseep? Like sleep apnea? I'd do going to a doctor.....

 

[louandivy]

Could you be having panic attacks hun?

 

[Kalah]

Sometimes it's when I'm already asleep, sometimes I've just laid down in bed though.
It doesn't really feel like a panic attack though, I've had those while I was awake before and they're not nearly as scary as this is!

 

[xemmax]

it sounds like sleep paralysis hun. it's quite common and very scary, i've had it a handful of times since i was 18. it's very frightening but i don't think it's anything to worry about.

i find that i "wake up", in my mind, but my body is asleep, and i try to move and can't it's the worst feeling in the world. eventually i usually manage to make out a faint cry and throw my arm of something but then i really have to fight to wake my body up, sometimes i just feel myself going back to sleep again. it's totally natural though, apparently people are "paralysed" as they sleep, but you just wake up too soon (or something like that anyway).

 

[xemmax]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A6092471

this explains it a bit more.

 

[Kalah]

it sounds like sleep paralysis hun. it's quite common and very scary, i've had it a handful of times since i was 18. it's very frightening but i don't think it's anything to worry about.

i find that i "wake up", in my mind, but my body is asleep, and i try to move and can't it's the worst feeling in the world. eventually i usually manage to make out a faint cry and throw my arm of something but then i really have to fight to wake my body up, sometimes i just feel myself going back to sleep again. it's totally natural though, apparently people are "paralysed" as they sleep, but you just wake up too soon (or something like that anyway).

I was just reading a bit about sleep paralysis before I read this, but it said I should be able to breath still so I was confused. Can you still breath when it happens?

 

[OmarsMum]

I get those from time to time, I try to shout, talk, or move but I just cant, everything seems blank, I'm fully awake but I just cant move or breath.

 

[xemmax]

i'm not sure, i know it's common to have a feeling chest compression (my friend thought a witch was sitting on her chest) which can feel like you're not breathing. also time gets distorted during it so it can feel like it's lasting for ages, but if you really weren't breathing for any considerable length of time then you'd pass out. also the fact that you become so scared and panicky could make it difficult to breathe, like in an anxiety attack.

 

[try2breathe]

It's strange that you post this because just yesterday I was just asking a another new mommy friend if she'd had sleep paralysis. This used to happen to me in college a lot when I wasn't sleeping much, Actually, it even happened when I fell asleep while studying in the library once. I'm pretty sure that I am still breathing, but it feels like I'm suffocating, and I can't move until I somehow manage to "break it" by moving an arm or something, It's horrifying! I've read that it's your body's way of trying to force sleep on you when you're too sleep deprived. Suprisingly, it hasn't happened to me in a long time, because I'm definitely sleep deprived now! I've never asked a doctor about it but assumed it was normal. It might be worth mentioning.

 

[Kalah]

Well I feel better now at least knowing I haven't completely lost my mind! Think I'll go ahead and skip a trip to the doctor and just try to relax more when it happens again!

 

[calm]

I would recommend you do go to the doctor. Even if is sleep paralysis the bit about not breathing sounds different. XXX