Waking up feeling like you were being smothered...

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MrE

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What's up with this??? It's ****** up...I sometimes wake up feeling this way...like someone was smothering me with a pillow...like my brain wasn't getting enough oxygen...sometimes numbness/tingling will be associated with it...sometimes slight tremors/ibs will occur late on or at random intervals throughout the day...

Sometimes certain fingers will do this weird contracting thing...not to mention sudden unexpected muscle spasms...but man I really hate that smothering feeling...like I'm gonna faint or pass out because I can't ****** breathe!!!

I wonder if it's anxiety/stress related...could one be having "panic attacks" in their sleep??? Like I've said before in other threads, I'm an active sleeper punching and kicking like there are insects crawling all over me...I sometimes also have "night sweats" where I'll wake up in a pool of sweat and take off all my clothes...usually I'll wake up from an intense dream/disturbing nigthmare and experience these things...damn epilepsy...guess when you have a brain that is like a hurricane...anything goes...at any time lol



*sigh*
 
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Is your medication dosage or type of medication different at night than during the day? Perhaps you are over-medicated at night and your body in its sleep state struggles to keep you breathing sometimes. The otherwise healthy body has amazing alerting capacity to make sure we don't just suddenly stop breathing in our sleep, and this could be one reason you wake with the smothered feeling.
Other explanations include thyroid conditions, sleep apnea, sleeping on your stomach, sleeping on too soft a mattress, too thick a pillow that might cause your neck to bend in a way that constricts breathing, allergies, etc.
Hope you find the answer. Worth mentioning to your neurologist, or at the very least your family doctor.
 
Ummm no I only take my medicine at night...once a day that's it...and it's a low dose...just enough to control the seizures not turn me into a zombie...(I'm getting really sick of using that word lol) and yes I am healthy thank you for asking...I do however sometimes lack sleep because I just can't sleep for whatever reason...it's like my body says okay time to sleep...but my mind says okay time to solve the mother of all mysteries...I do take medication for anxiety but I'm currently tapering off it because I do not want to be a pill factory...it's just gross...but anyway...my doc gave me something to help me sleep but I had a bad reaction to it and it I'm never touching that disgusting poison again...maybe it's just the Depacoat acting up...or maybe I sleep to long sometimes??? and yeah this morning I was lying on my stomach I think...but I do turn a lot and I did wake up to a very vivid dream...sometimes I wonder what is real and what is really real...well I mean I know what is real but I guess the subconscious mind also has it's version of reality too...it's amazing how the chemicals in the brain can change so easily causing a whole domino effect of chaos...but I guess without chaos there would be no order...no I don't have thyroid conditions or sleep apnea...my mattress and pillows are just fine...and I seriously doubt it has anything to do with allergies...maybe it was just a demon or succubus sitting on me sucking the life out of me...or maybe it was aliens paralyzing me and exchanging an implant...sometimes the most ridiculous answer just might be the most tasteful! l:Dl
 
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MrE., you might want to rethink the part about not having sleep apnea. Just because you don't snore horribly or make other weird noises in your sleep doesn't mean you don't have it.
The noisy kind of sleep apnea is called Obstructive (OSA). There is also something called Central (CSA) which is not about the airway getting blocked but rather about the signal just not getting through from brain to body to breathe.

Many AEDs and that sleeping pill your doc gave you, can depress respiration even more. And you mentioned allergies. Do you take any meds for that?

Sleep apnea is something that a neurofeedback practitioner can cure, BTW.
I've been researching this because I think it may be a big factor in my nocturnal seizures. I too wake up feeling like I can't get any air. it's like when you try to scream in a dream but no sound comes out. I'm sort of watching myself. If I can get it together fast enough and tell myself to BREATHE DARNIT! then I can head off a full blown seizure. That's where my dog helps out, gives me something to focus on. As he bats at me with his paw and whines I'm sure if he could he would be shouting "Breathe!"
 
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MrE

Both masterjen and AlohaBird have good advice for you, of course it could be the medication.
 
No...I don't have sleep apnea...and who says I don't snore or make noises in my sleep??? Are you watching me in my sleep??? If so creepy :eek:

I ain't taking no sleeping pill no more...I thought already said that...and what does allergies got do with anything??? I have certain allergies but I don't eat anything I'm allergic to and so much for the trees outside...


It's probably just my Depacoat acting up...or sleeping in awkard positions cuz of my dreams...

if not then I'm having attacks in my sleep...physical...mental...spiritual...it's all connected...


anyway I gotta go eat now then get ready for bed...so goodnight
 
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Goodmorning everyone...hope you all slept well :)
 
Serious stuff Mr E, go get medical advice.


Can you get a video done of your sleep and show it to the medical people.. I had to show a video of my girl when she was waking up very very distressed, still do not know what it was ? I do think it was seizure related, at least it proved that she was not sleeping well.

Do you need a med review?? like the other suggest??
No one likes pill popping but sometimes there is a need to review stuff and be flexible if somethings not right.
My 3.78 cents worth..... :)
 
Why is everyone barking commands at me?!? I just wanted to share these experiences to see if I could relate to others...my mistake...

You all think I don't have enough sense to go see a doctor/seek professional help?!? BTW you are all negating yourselves when you give advice but then turn around and tell me to get advice from someone else...in this case a doctor (nooo rly?!?)...or to have whatever tests done...as if you aleady know what I have had done and/or plan to do...let alone what I am actually doing right now...assume much??? I already said what I needed to say and I am most certainly not lacking any common sense...I appreciate the comments but I do not welcome being treated like a child...with that said...here's my donation :twocents:

Goodnight...I love you guys :hugs:
 
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Well, on behalf of myself and the others who responded: sorry for being concerned. What prompted me to respond, and perhaps the others, was the fact that in your very first sentence you posed the question "What's up with this???" and then later " . . . could someone be having panic attacks in their sleep???". Questions often suggest the poster is looking for a response, so since our concern for your well-being offended I'd suggest in future you state in your posts that you are just venting or whatever and do not want responses.
 
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You can show concern just don't insult my intelligence please...thank you...and yet I'm still being told what to do/how to talk...am I in boot camp or prison??? Wow I sure don't feel like I have any right to do what I want let alone voice myself in my own thread...but go ahead...continue to project your own reality onto mine and distort my intentions to your own understanding :)

NEway how did everyone sleep last night? I slept okay...could of slept maybe an hour or two longer though...boy my "schedule" is all wonky...and I have to get a haircut tomorrow afternoon...let's hope that pans out well 8)
 
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Oh sure, you have the right to sound off any way you want but the next time you go looking for advice and input for a concern, you may just hear crickets chirping.
Chill Mr Whiskers. Don't bite people's heads off when they are trying to help.

Sweet dreams. And yes, I am watching you sleep. :)
 
Now I'm being accused and told to chill...what are you Mr. Freeze or Princess Elsa? Lol

I don't bite people's heads off that's just unsanitary...no I carefully dissect certain parts for special purposes...much like a metaphorical "Hannibal" :D

and don't worry I think it's hot you watching me sleep...in the nude ;)
 
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My dear Blonde Angle I believe u can has a nice big hot dog of confusion :p
 
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Night guys...love you...God bless :hugs:
 
So anyway I came across something called "respiratory depression" (hypoventilation) which I could be experiencing from the Ativan although I doubt it since my dosage is so low (1mg a day or 0.5mg twice a day)...but yeah it made sense but I'm not entirely sure...what do you guys think? I'm just curious...I know the real answer has to come from my doctor...but yeah I was originally only going to be taking it temporarily but somehow I just kept taking it and eventually I hope I can taper off of it slowly...the doctor gave me something to help me sleep but OMG I had a horrible reaction to it...I felt like a drugged up sloth moving in slow motion for an entire day! :razz2:
 
MrE: I've had lots of sleep breathing issues--I'm certain I had sleep apnea, probably from a head injury, and while taking clonazepam regularly, I would just not breathe deeply enough as well. The breathing problem got worse and worse when I was taking clonazepam as I was reducing it and then coming off it, until I thought I had asthma (so for me, it was more associated with withdrawals, both as I was getting resistant to my regular daily dose, and then as I was coming off it, NOT from getting too much of it). Ativan and Clonazepam are related as you probably know. If you have been taking Ativan for a long time, it's possible you might be becoming resistant to your dose and suffering some withdrawals--this can happen, and has happened to many people like me. I was on it for 7 months before my final taper ended. I now sleep great, thankfully. From my breathing issues, I would also have tingling and numbness in my arms, around my mouth and sometimes my legs. The difference in this numbness and 'falling asleep' like I laid on my arm wrong is that it didn't wake up slowly with lots of painful tingling--as soon as I woke up and moved and breathed the numbness would stop very quickly. I would wake with headaches, and my nighttime myoclonic seizures (and daytime partial seizures) were at their absolute worst when I was having all these sleep breathing problems. If you are having any kind of breathing problem or low oxygen for whatever reason, yes it will make your seizures worse, during the night and day. I don't know of course what is causing your breathing issues but hopefully your doctor will.
 
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Sounds about right and yeah my doctor will know more...I just don't want to be dependent on it anymore because withdrawal symptoms scare the crap out of me...quite literally lol...I've been taking it for months now like you and yeah sometimes when I wake up in the morning I know I've gotten enough rest but it takes me at least an hour for my body to fully wake up...it sucks...I guess when you take meds there will always be nasty side effects...which is why one should take the dose which is most effective but won't cause more problems than before or God forbid freakin kill you :rolleyes:
 
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Well if you do quit, feel free to PM me and let me know if I can help in any way. I got through it and it wasn't fun but wasn't the end of the world either. There are a lot of weird things that can happen and it helped me to have others to ask whether they were experiencing them too. I just didn't let anyone talk me into quitting cold turkey, or even tapering fast and am glad I went slow.
 
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