Do I have a Sleep Disorder?

I am a 23 year old female and have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea.  I also have a thyroid disease and am taking 112mg of levothyroxine.  I am not sure if this would have anything to do with it, but I was diagnosed with anxiety and am no longer taking medication for it.  Lately, I have been having many occurrences where I am paralyzed...there are times when I am just laying down to go to sleep when it happens and other times when I am just waking up out of my sleep.  I have done a little research on the topic of sleep paralysis.  I do NOT have any hallucinations.  Everything around me is the normal surroundings when it occurs.  The only thing I can move is my eyes.  I cannot breathe well and mostly lose my breathing ability.  I feel numb...I try to move an arm, a finger, a leg, but I cannot.  I try to yell for someone to help me, but I cannot yell..no sound comes out of my mouth.  When this occurs I also feel my heart rate slowing and it has gotten to the point of stopping.  It is very scary when this happens and I fear sleeping because of it.  Does anyone have any clue to what this might be?  Is this something I need to seek medical help for??

[lisaob1]

hi..im sorry i cant give you answers for what your going through as everybody is different..medically and emotionally wise,.but my daughter has obstructive sleep apnoea..she has a muscle disease that causes her problems,she has a fear of the machine that could help her through the night so because of that we are waiting on other options now... my daughter is 18 by the way..she has learning difficulties so its also hard to explain to her how much she needs it but i cant force her to use the machine..., from reading your post also,i too had problems with sleep in a similar way.i used to feel i was somewhere else and felt they were so real i felt i was forcing myself to wake up yet i was always in my bed..,that was down to stress..i mean,deep stress..it went on for a few years..and some years ago also..i would feel i was awake but couldnt move and would be forcing myself to wake up...if its not the same thing i apologise..but i do understand how your feeling in a sense..hope any of this helps and if you want to keep posting and chatting il listen take care

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

Sleep paralysis is the symptom of a sleep disorder called Narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is diagnosed by the sleep onset REM episodes (SOREMs), wherein the person goes into the dream phase or REM cycle soon after sleep onset. This is evident in the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT).

So, if it persists or is troublesome consult your doctor for assessment.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.