Seizure or just a dream ?

Hi - Hope someone can help with a recent experience that is worrying me.
I was sleeping and dreaming just before I would normally get up around 7am.
In thwe dream I became unwell and started to panic.
It's at this point (usually) when you're having a bad dream that you can stir yourself into conciousness and end the experience.
However on this occasion I became aware of my bedroom but felt unable to open my eyes properly, and was renedered unable to move or speak. I knew I was in my bed and could think, then my mind was overtaken by blackness and some geltle coloured lights in the centre of my vision - I couldn't open my eyes at all and there was a humming/buzz in my ears - I was desperately trying to fight it, but it seemed the harder I fought the worse it got.
This felt like it lasted 20-30 seconds.
My thinking was still clear and I rememeber thinking to myself 'relax' (it felt like my body and mind were in spasm)  soon after 'letting go' there was 'blank' spell after which I regained conciousness. There was no pain througout and I felt fine afterwards.
I have had a bit of a foggy head for a week or so now and also have been recently stressed by other medical problems and bereavement.
Was this a just a nasty dream or did I actually have some kind of seizure?
Hope someone can help.
Thx for reading.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

You must have read about sleep paralysis. The symptoms that you have described hint towards sleep paralysis. This could very well be one isolated experience, which you may not experience again for a long time.

At the same time, I can understand the lingering doubt about a 'seizure'. You might just consult a Neurologist get an EEG or other tests done, to clear the doubt.

Regards

[Hanae]

The above sounds like it could be the case for my friend...

A young woman I know has occurrences of dreams related to a malevolent spirit. I haven't discussed other symptoms, but I'm concerned about indications of neuropathology.

Re: alcohol related: she did have a few glasses of wine on the particular evening...when going to bed, she walked past a 2 ft square package leaning against her bedroom door (apparently missed seeing it...then tripped over it when she ran out in the middle of the night from a terrifying dream where a malevolent spirit took the sheets from her...three times. (I noted that though she was terrified, she did nothing about it in the dream til the 3rd occurrence).

She lives in Belize, a small Central American country; and could travel to Guatemala's Capitol for medical assessment...

Could you reccommend a facility of good repute, there - or tell me how to research such?

thanks SO much!
Hanae