Night Terrors, Help please

[little fruitcake]

I'm on 400mgs Dilantin daily, on two or three nights a week I am awaken with the scariest feeling. I will be awake but my body feels paralized. I feel I can't move and have to try to breath. It feels terrifying. Has anyone else had this? This has only been happening for about 4 or 5 months.

 

[sturg]

Hi little fruitcake,
The same thing happened to me. I told my doctor. & they added a 2nd medication which helps me. I have also been very careful not to eat within 2 hours of sleep time. We all are different & I fully understand how scary those panic attacks are. They are like auras or partial seizures. Continue to explore meds, relaxation techniques, etc. I pray that you will find your key. Sturg

 

[little fruitcake]

Sturg, thanks so much. I'm sorry you had to experience this but I feel better that I'm not crazy. Do you mind sharing the name of the meds? Glad your sleeping better.

 

[sturg]

I am on Dilantin, Lyrica & keppra. I take most of my meds at bedtime. Diet is very important to me. I have eliminated any MSG & artificial sweetener intake. If I have Chinese food, for example, I will get night terrors that evening. My stomach gets very upset, I feel lightheaded & I sweat. I also am on a lactic free diet which helps me metabolize my meds. Those are my personal keys to controlling seizures. When you have these night terrors try to keep a list of what you ate that day for reference. Also, I require 7 hours of sleep & try to eat 3 meals a day. When you get these negative nighttime feelings how long does it take you to fall asleep afterward? Also, mind set may become difficult because of anxiety. For me I had this problem for the first portion pof my life where I became very afraid to go to bed. Again, little fruitcake, this is my personal keys. If you want we can keep in touch & maybe I can give you some positive input to help you out. Epilepsy i

 

[little fruitcake]

Thank you so much for the help and caring. I am going to try the journal starting today. You are right about being scared to go back to sleep. I usualy have no trouble at all ever falling asleep. Thanks again a I will keep you posted.

 

[sturg]

Contact me at any time. I am in Boston & I check in 3 to 4 times a day.

 

[seizurrific]

Hi little fruitcake,

know EXACTLY the feeling you're describing. For whatever reason certain supplements, magnesium especially (that sh-t scared the hell out of me so badly that I literally *threw* away the bottle!), in conjunction with some reactive meds really really triggered them.

I'm not just talking dreams here; just like yours it started out with those feelings of paralysis, then my-aura-like sensations (I was so scared of seizing and going into a status that I wouldn't sleep, obviously an awful thing to do haha), visual distortions, auditory "hallucinations", etc. It got to the point that I would hear our door bell ring (it wasn't ringing), I'd go out there to check each time I heard it but would be SO terrified that someone was in my front room that one night I literally roamed my flat with a bookshelf board and a heavy brass vase looking for these people I was positively certain here roaming my halls. I would hear knocking, our door bell, heavy breathing, footsteps, etc. After I had dreams where I would be literally terrified to the point where I could know I was dreaming but wasn't waking up (scariest feeling EVER), I said something to my roommates about my new meds really just completely f-cking with my mind and they laughed it off but that night I had the most wretched dream and I literally shrieked coming out of it so. loudly. that I woke both of them up and they called my neurologist (this is at 3AM or so, mind you) because I was muttering gibberish and cowering in the corner on my bed, weeping like a psycho. He told them to give me one of my Ativan wafers under the tongue and I calmed down. Turned out that the meds were giving me intense noctournal seizures which were exponentially worse because of this magnesium sh-t I'd been taking ironically for a sleep aid!!!

I would talk to your neuro- I switched from Tegretol to other meds and everything has been lovely and decently normal ever since. (now on 1500 Keppra 2x daily, 300 Lamictal 2x daily)

Keep us updated- knowing what it's like I worry for others dealing with the same things :/

-Seiz

 

[little fruitcake]

Thank you so much. I am going to keep track of my mag. I too have the screaming out episodes. I'm not alone and not crazy. I am going to track suppliments and food and call Dr. This means so much to me to hear from ya'll. Kiss Kiss

 

[Krista2882]

I'm on 400mgs Dilantin daily, on two or three nights a week I am awaken with the scariest feeling. I will be awake but my body feels paralized. I feel I can't move and have to try to breath. It feels terrifying. Has anyone else had this? This has only been happening for about 4 or 5 months.

Yes, I've been getting that for years, a few times a year. I wake up, can't move, ears are ringing, feel kind of panicked. If I manage to move a pinky finger or something small I can snap out of it. Years ago I looked it up and it sounds exactly like "Sleep Paralysis". But it only happens during a period of time that I'm having seizures... and then one time someone on here described their nocturnal seizures and it sounded almost exactly the same.

 

[seizurrific]

The dreams were so realistic and paralysingly terrifying that coming out of them in and of itself was enough to make me shriek. (I've also been told that during my more "violent" TCs that I shriek pretty loudly too so I'm not sure if it's because of the seizing or just the fear- probably both).

I would keep a journal tracking moods, your drugs/doses, stress, hours of sleep, times you ate, etc. to show your doctor. A lot of that stuff factors in I guess.

You're not crazy, you're epileptic! Our brains work overtime sometimes haha

Keep us updated, fruitcake!

 

[little fruitcake]

I will, yall are sooo fantastic. I've started the journal and will speak to my Dr. Thanks again everyone, yall rock!