seeing things at night ? spiders and insects and people oh my !!

[kat2913]

i posted this response in another forum , and am re posting them alone because i feel there are some aspects that are different from the other cases , such as the tremors ,and the length in which this is happening to me ... not only in how long these attacks last , but also in the amount of time in my life they have been happening .

there are also some other symptoms i would like to add . such as a low heart rate , that is increasingly lowered during sleep time . and arm and leg pains that only happen at night . ive had an mri , ekg, cat scan , worn a heart monitor , slept at a sleep study clinic , taken vitamins  , gone to routine check ups . and there is nothing "wrong" with me . i am a healthly 26 year old female .

i think that its strange that every case i have read about everyone is seeing the same images , this leads me to believe and im not a doctor that these things are possible stemming form a part of the brain that would trigger these images . hundreds of people from all over the world that see spiders when trying to sleep . just seems odd that people wouldnt be seeing different things depending on the individual

i have been experiencing this since i was a child . when i was young i believed that there were people in my room at night standing over my bed watching me sleep . sometimes they would grab at me , i felt it as though it was really . my mother would tell me that i would wake up screaming in the middle of the night . but the funny thing was i wasnt asleep . i was only laying there ,sometimes i would wake up with strange scratches or marks on my body . the doctor said i was just a restless sleeper and  it quickly got brushed under the table so to speak as night terrors , and i learned to live with it , as time went on and i got older the "visions" changed . i would see what you guys are calling spiders or insects crawling on the walls , only i think your brain is choosing to see it that way because its something its firmiliar with . i believe that its actually more like a ball of electricity (like those balls in science class you touch and the electric charges shoot to where your fingers are )..... the more i focused on them the more it would look like spiders or something i would naturally see crawling on walls . i also still see people standing in corners . sitting on my bed standing next to the bed . always the same things .and unlike when your eyes play tricks on you i find that when i look away from the image instead of it moving to where i look it stays in one place . my "visions" have started to last longer instead of seeing them for 10 seconds and closing my eyes and having them disappear , its lasting 30 seconds or more . giving me time to actually ponder what im seeing . i am also experiencing a different symptom non of you have mentioned . i sake , sometimes either before or after the visions happen my body trembles i thought it was fear , but now i think its as if its decompressing . its hard to explain . ive seen many doctors , had every test you can think of preformed ,done more then one sleep study . and the diagnoses is all over the place ive heard diet , mild narcolepsy ,sleep paralysis , and my favorite that im stressed . non of which i feel is correct im not excessively tired , i eat healthy , and dont consider my self suffering for any extra stress . i think its strange that we are all seeing the same things , the same 5 images , and that there is no study being done that this could be a completely isolated experience / disorder . i would love to have some answers

[Suri123]

Hi kat2931, how are you? Have you been for a consultation with the neurologist or a sleep specialist for a sleep study as well? You might be having sleep terrors coupled with sleep apnea leading to narcolepsy. These hallucinations are seen if sleep deprivation does continue for long time. Do you fall asleep for more part of day? Are you active in daily activities? Hallucinations - Usually, these delusional experiences are vivid and frequently they are frightening. The content is primarily visual, but any of the other senses can be involved. These are called hypnagogic hallucinations when accompanying sleep onset and hypnopompic hallucinations when occurring during awakening. It is better to consult the sleep doctor at early and get evaluated. Keep updating on the advice. Take care.

[kat2913]

i have been seen and studied for all of these things . been to a sleep study a neurologist as well as spoken to physicians about narcolepsy . i suffer from non of the above in fact they claim im very healthy , im active in the day sleep about 8 hours a night . i do fall asleep very quickly when i do go to bed . but never with out warning or in the middle of the day

[Suri123]

Hi Kat2913, how are you doing? Thanks for your reply and the input. I agree that there could not be a known cause or a positive sleep test but the underlying stress you might be going through could be the cause as most of documentation focus on. These hallucinations are harmless anyway and can only get worsened with increasing stress levels. You could discuss the stress management with a change in place and people can be helpful. Relaxation through yoga can be looked at and continue your regular exercises.  Take care and share your thoughts.

[kat2913]

i actually do yoga . and other forms of meditation . and ive found that the only thing this helps with is realizing that my hallucinations can change form depending on what i want to see , for example the "spider" that everyone claims to see i believe is the first rational thing you brain grabs onto for what your seeking .ive been able to control that and now my hallucinations are just shapes balls of energy . they rarely take form . and as i stated in the other forum  . im more relaxed and under stressed then most people . and i get on adverage about 6 to 8 hours ofsleep a night i would in no way consider myself sleep deprived . i think the diagnoses for these symptoms from the medical world is a bit all over the board , narcolepsy , sleep apnea , rls, nutrition , sleep deprivation , stress , everything they can think of that kinda sorta fits , i just think that it need so studying as a seperate issue , as an adult i know that they are harmless , but as a child the fear of these experiences haunted my bedtime . and i was simply toldi  had night terrors . this could just be a new underlined affliction .

[aprilrena]

Ive just started having this problem in the last few months... it has been very disturbing to me.  I'm 32 yrs old... am I getting ready for my nervous breakdown?!  So I decided to research this situation...  It started off as me seeing like swarms of mosquitoes in my bedroom, swirling around.  I would stare straight at them and would sware I was wide awake.  It became really disturbing when I was talking with my mother one night... I was really sleepy... as we were talking I saw a spider trail down on its web in front of me... I reached out and grabbed the web with my hand, then it disappeared.  My mother was alarmed also to say the least.  Last night I awoke to a small swarm of mosquitoes in my bedroom... I stared at it as long as I could until it went away.  When it happens, it seems as if it is REALLY there.  You know you have this problem and you're trying to figure out why you see these things while you're seeing them!  It makes no sense to me... but I do know that I have been having trouble with low blood pressure lately.  When I awake at night while having the hallucination, I feel funny in my chest, like my heart is beating funny, slower and out of rhythm.  I wonder if maybe the low blood pressure leads to a lack of oxygenated blood to the brain triggering the hallucinations.  I havent spoken to a doctor about it yet, and just told my husband tonight.  My obvious fear is that someone will think I'm crazy.  I'm just glad to find out Im not the only one going through this... I'm  with you though... could it have it's own category?  Is narcolepsy too vague of a diagnosis?  I feel like it's way more complicated than that.

[mfaye77]

EVERYONE
OK SO I TOO HAVE THESE TERRIFYING NIGHT VISIONS! IT STARTED WITH SEEING SPIDERS CRAWLING UP THE WALL AND WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES AND REOPEN THEM IT STARTS BACK IN THE ORIGINAL SPOT I SAW AND BEGINS CRAWLING UP THE SAME PATH. IT DRIVES ME CRAZY AND SINCE I HATE SPIDERS I ASSUMED IT WAS SOME FORM OF ARACHNOPHOBIA UNTIL THE OTHER VISIONS STARTED TO DATE I HAVE WOKEN UP TO.... A SMALL BLACK FIGURE (LIKE A CHILD) WALKING TO THE BED AND STARTING TO GET IN BED WITH ME AND MY HUSBAND, SPOOKY I STARTED SCREAMING AND SCRAMBLING IN TO MY HUSBAND ALMOST SHOVING HIM OUT OF THE BED! I HAVE ALSO SEEN PEOPLE STANDING IN MY DOOR WAY AND MANY DARK FIGURES IN THE ROOM NOT TO MENTION THE COUNTLESS TIMES I HAVE SEEN SPIDERS ON THE BED AND THROWN THE COVERS COMPLETELY OFF OF US! SO THE REASON I LOOKED UP THIS TOPIC THIS MORNING IS BECAUSE LAST NIGHT WAS REALLY BAD I WOKE TO SEE A DARK SHADOW POINTING A GUN RIGHT AT ME AND JUMPED FROM THE BED AND RAN DOWN THE HALL TO THE GUEST BATHROOM AND LOCKED MY SELF IN, I WAS SO SCARED AND REALLY BELIEVED SOMEONE WAS IN THE HOUSE! AFTER A FEW MINUTES I REALIZED IT WAS ANOTHER EPISODE AND WENT BACK TO BED. I HAVE READ A FEW BOOKS ON RECOVERING FROM CHILD ABUSE AND SURPRISINGLY THIS IS A SYMPTOM OF POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DUE TO A LACK OF FEELING SAFE FROM PRIOR ABUSE OR TRAUMA. HAS ANYONE ELSE READ OR HEARD OF THIS AND I KNOW THIS IS PERSONAL BUT IS ANYONE ELSE A SURVIVOR OF CHILD ABUSE LIKE ME? THANKS AND GOD BLESS LET'S GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS AND GET SOME GOOD UNDISTURBED SLEEP!
~ MELINDA`