Sleep paralysis or something worse?

[Freaked]

So I woke up early (for me) this morning and almost instanly started struggling with the same hyperventilation I'd had all yesterday, plus a few skipped beats. Tried going back to sleep and kept sort of waking myself up feeling like I'd stopped breathing (weirdly developed that problem before my serious anxiety issues).

Then when I was half asleep I got this AWFUL feeling. Thought I was actually and for real having a heart attack. My whole body got insanely hot and really heavy feeling, started sort of vibrating and it felt like I couldn't move. After a few moments it passed, just before I was about to call for help, and I instantly broke out in a sweat.

The thing is that I didn't suffer from anxiety before my health problems. For the past 3 months I've had (supposed) post-viral autonomic dysfunction that basically means I can't walk more than a few steps without my heart racing and feeling short of breath (I'm 21) and I've had very angina-like pains when I run my whole life. I've been checked out by three cardiologists and loads of a and e visits, but I always worry something's been missed. The the constant worry of it all is very hard to take; I feel like I'm living with a crazed murderer wondering when it might turn on me. That and the cyst in my head that I don't even have room to worry about.

Sorry for the rant; anyone else had sleep paralysis episodes that felt anything like that? Could it have been a seizure or an arrhythmia?

[Natalie1981]

I have very similar experiences. When my heart feels like it's bouncing or has slowed down (or it might not be as I'm in a half asleep/awake state), and I sometimes am literallly stuck and can't move or talk. I have to put so much effort into jerking myself to snap out of it. Then I make myself get out of bed to fully wake myself before trying to go back to sleep, otherwise I just go back in that dream like awake state again.

I believe it's because my mind is still racing as my body is relaxing and preparing for sleep. So I kind of get stuck in this weird awake/sleep state as my body is asleep but mentally Im awake.

I don't know if that makes sense, lol. But just wanted to say I fully understand and know how scary it can be.

I hope it eases for you soon too.

Natalie xx

[Freaked]

Thanks for replying; that sounds like some pretty scary sleep paralysis alright.

For anyone who doesn't know (I'm a psychology student so I sometimes forget how well known these things are), sleep paralysis is where your motor control switches off in preparation for sleep, but your mind is still awake as you're falling asleep or waking up. It leads to a feeling of paralysis, often a feeling of pressure described as someone sitting on your chest, and sometimes pretty scary hallucinations. Around half of people will have this at least once, but it's more common in those suffering from anxiety, broken sleep or sleep disorders.

I'd had it maybe once or twice before, just nothing with the same terrifying feelings as last night. But then I'd never had it with my crazy anxiety... I don't know.

[annie.hall]

I get sleep paralysis maybe once a month and it's quite frightening. I'm always dreaming when it happens and I suddenly wake up because I feel that my heart has stopped or that I'm having a series of ectopics or that its rythm is irregular and incredibly fast. While this happens, I feel like I don't have the strength to move or to talk. Some people are able to let it go and just go back to sleep, but I just can't and I fight until I completely wake up...

[Iamnervous]

YES to all of that. I've never heard of anyone getting the weird shaking vibrating feeling like I do. Soooo creepy. I hate it I feel like I can't breath and my heart is being squeezed. I want to know if it's sleep paralysis, sleep apnea, a pvc or a combo. Ugh!

[MyNameIsTerry]

YES to all of that. I've never heard of anyone getting the weird shaking vibrating feeling like I do. Soooo creepy. I hate it I feel like I can't breath and my heart is being squeezed. I want to know if it's sleep paralysis, sleep apnea, a pvc or a combo. Ugh!

You do get associated sensations with sleep paralysis:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia#Sleep_paralysis

Sleep paralysis
Humming, roaring, hissing, rushing, zapping, and buzzing noises are frequent in conjunction with sleep paralysis. This happens when the REM atonia sets in sooner than usual, before the person is fully asleep, or persists longer than usual, after the person has (in other respects) fully awoken. Sleep paralysis is reportedly very frequent among narcoleptics. It occurs frequently in about 6% of the rest of the population, and occurs occasionally in 60%. In surveys from Canada, China, England, Japan and Nigeria, 20 to 60% of individuals reported having experienced sleep paralysis at least once in their lifetime.The paralysis itself is frequently accompanied by additional phenomena. Typical examples include a feeling of being crushed or suffocated, electric "tingles" or "vibrations", imagined speech and other noises, the imagined presence of a visible or invisible entity, and sometimes intense emotion: fear or euphoria and orgasmic feelings. Sleep paralysis has been proposed as an explanation for at least some alien abduction experiences, the Night Hag and shadow people hauntings.

Hypnogogia and hypnopompia are quite common across the general population, not just anxiety sufferers and science explains how it is a natural functioning state.

[yodascat]

Been having really on and off symptoms and it's freaking me out.

Sometimes (occasionally) when I'm dosing off to sleep I can feel my heart rate going up and beating faster. I had ECG and a 24hr ECG (Holter) which came back negative and my doctors attributed it to anxiety - I have GAD with a large emphasis on Health Anxiety.

Anyway, the other night as I was dosing off to sleep (mid way between awake state and sleep state), I couldn't move my arms or body at all for what felt like a minute or so. During this time I could feel my heart rate go up and all.

So I've suffered from sleep paralysis in the past especially when I'm stressed but those episodes generally occured in the middle of the night as I was sleeping. However, the event which occurred the other night was just before sleep? Is this possible?

I've kinda freaked myself out about Narcolepsy and Nocturnal seizures... :(
I'm trying to process this logically as with narcolepsy I don't exhibit any other symptoms - no cataplexy or anything or excessive daytime sleepiness.
Nocturnal seizures, I don't soil myself or by myself or have any sore muscles.

If anyone could give their opinion that would be greatly appreciated!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yes, it is possible.

Hypnagogia occurs when falling asleep and within the first 2 hours of sleep. Hypnopompia occurs upon waking. These are just normal mind states so there is no treatment for them and they are experienced by a large number of the population with no connection to anxiety other than that stress can increase their frequency.

[yodascat]

Thanks Terry,

Sorry about this, just my HA going at it again! I guess I'm going through a stressful period and my aniety definitely doesn't help!

Hopefully it's nothing like seizures or anything!! D: