Do I have sleep apnea or seizures?
When I try to describe my symptoms, my parents don’t believe me. They sound kind of similar to sleep apnea, but with a few differences.
At least once a week, I wake up in the middle of the night and I can’t catch my breath. My body is having a "pins-and-needles" tingling sensation all over and sometimes my jaw is trembling violently. I can’t move any part of my entire body. I can’t open my eyes or yell for help or anything as hard as I try.
The scary part that nobody believes is: during all of this, I’m having nightmares/hallucinations that there are ghosts or a stranger in my room. The tingling sensation causes me to dream that there are bugs or sometimes rats crawling all over me. The dreams are like I can see through my closed eyelids, even though I can’t open them. I can see the room that I went to sleep in perfectly; it looks the same as it does when I open my eyes. The realness of it is very terrifying.
After I try long enough, my jaw stops shaking, and I start breathing normally again, I try to vocalize but usually all that comes out are very quiet screechy sounds.
After a few minutes I can open my eyes and blink and then eventually move my limbs again.
Any additional information that might be needed is that I am a 17 year old female. I am healthy; I have no major health problems that I know of. This has been happening since I was around 14, but it has been happening very, very often throughout the passed 6 months or so.
I’d really like to get an idea of what’s going on. I’m pretty sure it’s sleep apnea, but since my parents don’t seem to think so, it would be nice to get another opinion.
Oh, and 10 points to the most helpful answer (:
Tagged with: blink • bugs • dreams • eyelids • few differences • few minutes • ghosts • hallucinations • health problems • major health • nightmares • parents • pins and needles • rats • realness • sleep • sleep apnea • stranger • tingling sensation • yell
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Symptoms
There is nothing wrong with you. You are experiencing the supernatural, which is evident from your pins-and-needles sensations, which are the feelings of a spirit in physical contact with you.
You are not hallucinating about the ghosts in your room. Your negative experiences are merely to get you accustomed to their presence so that eventually you will have no fear at all. They will not hurt you.
i have very similar problems and it started about the same age. I am now 26 and it doesn’t happen as often but it still happens now and then. I usually start off dreaming that im underwater and i hold my breath for so long that it causes me to wake up due to lack of oxygen. then ive been so long without oxygen that it causes all of the other symptoms that you describe. once you start breathing again then you will eventually go back to normal. I spoke to a dr about this and they did a sleep study on me but it was inconclusive because it didn’t happen the night they tested me. they said it was either sleep apnea or night terrors. he told me to elevate the front of my bed so that i wasn’t laying flat and to sleep with a fan on. i guess it helped a little since it doesn’t happen too often now. I would say that you for sure need to speak to a dr about this because it is a serious thing.
It might be sleep apnea because of the breathing issues. On another note it could be psychological. Any history of anxiety? Because that can trigger with the breathing and cause the night terrors. But with what you were saying about the breathing and tingling etc. You probably not getting enough oxygen while sleep and or circulation through your body, which would cause most of your symptoms. Elevating parts of your body, more air circulation in your room, and a different sleeping position might help. Try to see your doctor and let them know so you can try to resolve it, so no more problems arise. Hope this helps.