Sleep Paralysis

I "suffer" from sleep paralysis about 2 - 3 times a year since I was about 10 or so, though I wouldn't exactly call it suffering.

Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon in which people, either when falling asleep or wakening, temporarily experience an inability to move. More formally, it is a transition state between wakefulness and rest characterized by complete muscle atonia (muscle weakness). It can occur at sleep onset or upon awakening, and it is often associated with terrifying visions (e.g. an intruder in the room), to which one is unable to react due to paralysis.

Via Wikipedia 

It sounds freaky, and it can be. I usually experience SP when waking up, but never when waking up when I need to (i.e. when my alarm goes off). It happens most often during a nap, and it usually takes a few moments for me to realize that I'm in some sort of dream-conscious state of mind.

But if you think about it, the act of sleep paralysis is actually kind of cool. Because you are awoken during REM sleep, you are experiencing it in semi-conscious form, and the natural paralysis caused by REM sleep.

So it may not be all that freaky, but it is frustrating. You can barely open your eyes, let alone move any extension of your body, and all you want to do is continue in real life the dream you were just experiencing (because you haven't quite yet figured out you're not truly awake, and that you were just dreaming). 

I've had to come to terms with the fact that there's not much I can do when experiencing SP, and that there's not much point to trying to fight it. So, I lay back down, say "screw it," and wait to wake up again normally. Some people say they can wake themselves up from SP, but that's their thing.

Before today's naptime SP, I'd been dreaming that I was going to make a collage for my boss, and wanted to send a mass message to coworkers to get pictures gathered together. When I half-woke, I wanted to reach for my phone, but realized I couldn't. I even tried to sit up. When I couldn't do that, I "caved" and went back to sleep. I then hallucinated my parents coming home, and was surprised to find they actually weren't home an hour later (when I actually woke up).

Have you ever had sleep paralysis? What did you do?

My Story, Part 2 (the uphill climb)

I think the cover of Heal Your Headache is what initially captured my attention, and David Buchholz seemed to know exactly what I was going through. The first I thing I learned was that I needed to cut caffeine and fix my diet (surprise!), and eventually, my headaches would become manageable.

After cutting my high caffeine intake cold-turkey and living through the worst (and only) withdrawal-related, three day migraine of my life, I took Buchholz's next suggestion. I went back to the doctor for preventative medications and received Topamax (later to become my worst enemy).

For a couple years, I did okay. Everything seemed to be going well enough. Then, when I transferred schools, things started acting up again. I restarted the battle with Excedrin, and saw my Imitrex counts rise again. Finally, after my first senior year, I saw a neurologist.

The neurologist helped with nothing. He put me on a higher dosage of Topamax and gave me cortisone shots (aka occipital nerve blockers) in the back of my skull and neck in an attempt to relieve the tension. Soon after, my periods became incredibly irregular, my hair started falling out, and the headaches seemed to be getting worse. Now what?? Ignoring what the neurologist recommended, I cut the Topamax and continued to see a chiropractor. I haven't seen the inside of a neurology clinic since.

It was said chiropractor who seemed to be doing me the most good. After transferring schools, it'd been a year or so before I settled down and realized I should start seeing a chiro again. Not only did she adjust my spine, she worked hard to ensure I was eating well and staying as stress-free as possible - key elements to staying happy and healthy.

For a while, I was feeling pretty good - despite my complaints of jaw pain. It was my mother who suggested I ask my dentist for ideas. At a routine cleaning, I told my dentist of my jaw issues, and he referred me to another local dentist who specialized in TMJ problems. I learned that not only was I grinding my teeth on a nightly basis, but my bite was also misaligned. This was causing my jaw to overwork itself, and jaw problems can lead to headaches. 

There's one more shorter chapter to this story. Click here to continue on to Part 3, or here to reread Part 1.