sleep paralysis

hello i have suffered from sleep paralysis and would like to know why. what makes sleep paralysis happen? what can i do to reduce the risk of suffering sleep paralysis? what medication is avalible for this disorder? how effective is it? how does it help? i would be very gratefull to hear off you. thank you

[leeisgettingclean]

i also have this, its so bad that it really effects my life badly! I almost have it evey night. Mine happens as i am falling asleep. Sometimes it gets SO bad that i feel as if i will die! Can it kill you? I hear that it goes away at some point, do you think this is true?

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you? Sleep paralysis is usually associated with problems with REM during sleep. Normally the brain causes atonia or when the muscles relax as we sleep. Sleep paralysis seems to be when this atonia occurs while you are awake. It is common and not a serious medical risk. However, it can be a sign of narcolepsy. It is also associated with a lack of sleep, changing sleep schedule, stress, and even sleeping on your back . It may also be related to Bipolar disorder, use of certain medications and sleep related leg cramps. Talk to your doctor if episodes of sleep paralysis make you anxious. You should see a sleep specialist if the episodes keep you up at night or make you very tired during the day. Take care and best regards.

[Dr Santos]

There is not much medicine available for sleep paralysis. However, if it is associated with other sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, have this checked by your doctor for proper management. Have enough sleep and try to de-stress and change your sleep schedule.

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
Sleep paralysis is a condition that is associated with narcolepsy, or hypnagogic hallucinations. During this time, remember to stay calm, breath deeply and remind yourself that what is happening is only a hallucination. Talk to your doctor if episodes of sleep paralysis affects your life very badly and have proper evaluation and to rule out other associated sleep disorders as well. Take care and best regards.

[Ana2Lagony]

I used to have sleep paralysis almost every night. It took a long time for me to get any help for it, because I had no idea there was such a thing as "sleep paralysis". It got so bad that I stopped sleeping all together, because I was terrified to fall asleep.

This happened during a really stressful time in my life. I was suffering from severe depression and anxiety, and when this started happening, I thought I was losing my mind and didn't want to tell anyone.

I haven't had this happen in almost a year probably, whereas it used to happen every night, as well as some other sleep occurences which developed later on.
My sleep paralysis stopped when my stress stopped. I got out of a really bad relationship that I was in, also, I started taking lexapro which I believe aided in the hault to this problem. Prior to this stopping, I was already on ambien, and xanax and those didn't help at all. I still had sleep paralysis just as often when I was  on those. I stopped taking those and started with lexapro and also gained much more control of my life, and have not experienced it since.

[paris160477]

i have had this for at least 10 years which i have managed apart from few nights ago where i fell asleep and couldnt move tried to shout but couldnt but i actually pulled myself out of it and fell asleep again it happened which i was very scared and didnt want to go back to sleep again i also feal that someone is there doing experiments to me and very bright light i know this sounds mad but very true.

[thm2011]

I actually posted this on another similar forum, but I was trying to find out more about it since the same thing was happening to me. Thought I'd share again... This started happening to me when I was in my late teens. It has happened to me from time to time ever since. I'm now in my late 30s. I've never really had weird dreams with it, but in my teens when it happened, I felt a strange "out of body experience" like I would float above my body and look down on it all the while feeling paralyzed, unable to move yet my mind is fully aware. As I got older, the out of body thing left but the inability to move was always there. I would also yet the loud whistling sound in my head just before this thing happened; this was the warning sign, I knew it was coming but I could do nothing to stop it. At first, I noticed that it happened when I was very tired but as time went by, there seemed to be no real cause. I would also feel extreme panic. I now know it's called "sleep paralysis" something that is apparently common, but nonetheless, still scary.

[Suziemom]

Personally from my experience I believe it is an entity. No one ever noticed that you can move your neck. Now this is going to sound strange but it is true. I suffered with being stuck in my sleep and movement comes back slow and gradual. I happened to notice that I could move my neck and I bent my head forward and bit. I felt it unravel and let go of me. It was excellent!! I could immediately move and it never came back. Please try this... I strongly suggest it.

[my_solitude]

I was just 17 when i started experiencing SLEEP PARALYSIS (I don't even have any idea that it is called like this).
And now, i am 28, married and still suffering while asleep. It happens unexpectedly but not all the time. The first time i experienced it, i was brought to the hospital but the doctor can't explain what happened to me. Maybe, i didn't explain it correctly because i didn't even know what to say.
Once, i also saw myself lying on the sofa wherein i just lay down and still aware of what is happening around me (the footsteps, the noise, etc...)
Another experience was a black clothe covered me while sleeping and i couldn't move my legs, can't even breath well, i kept shouting but no sounds came out, i felt like dying that time... but i managed to wake up with my breathe losing...
The same thing happened to me last October 2010 but very often, almost every time i go to bed but aside from the black clothe that covered me, i saw a black lady without face at the right side and a man wearing white at the left side, also without face. IT WAS REALLY SCARY :-( i thought i am dying... i keep praying and praying but still the thing happened to me... My roommates even told me the next morning that they heard me moaning and i told them to please wake me up... because i was really crying for help at that time...
And most recently, just this week... it happened twice already and i told my husband to please wake me up otherwise i will really die...
I am really scared...
But i wonder, is there a way to prevent it?