This is going to sound so stupid, but I think I might've had a seizure

[Anonymous]

I'll start by saying that I am on a heart monitor for two months because there is something wrong, and they don't know what it is (I've had fainting, dizziness, losing sight) so yeah. Well last night, I was sleeping and my friend was still up watching tv. All of a sudden I hear my monitor go off and I can't move. I can't speak at all and I'm trying to signal my friend by raising my hands, but I couldn't do anything they froze at that point. To me it felt like a while but it was probably a few minutes. During this I could see my friend moving around and the TV and hear the monitor. (My friend didn't see me though) the thing is though..idk if that was all a dream. What should I do, and what should I think?

[superme000001]

This reminds me of a phenomenon I learned about in my A&P class.

Here's the basic concept:

When you go to sleep, the thing that keeps you awake, the Reticular Activating System (or RAS) deactivates. Now, during REM sleep (dream time) your brain also triggers a "lockdown" state. Basically, you can't move your arms, legs, talk.

This is a GOOD thing. Have you ever dreamt about fighting off 6 ninjas at once and woken up to discover your family bruised black and blue? No? Good.

When this system doesn't work, this is what causes sleepwalking, or while eating a giant marshmallow to discover it's just your pillow. Letdown much...

Anyways, when the opposite happens, its a phenomenon called "sleep paralysis"

This is where your "lockdowned" state continues on for a few minutes after consciousness is regained. This means you're awake... but you can't move your arms, legs, head, speak. Basically, the system is a little off tune.

A couple of matches between sleep paralysis and what you wrote:

* A complaint of inability to move the trunk or limbs at sleep onset or upon awakening

* Presence of brief episodes of partial or complete skeletal muscle paralysis

* Episodes can be associated with hypnagogic hallucinations or dream-like mentation (act or use of the brain)

*"I was sleeping"

*"I can't move"

*"it felt like a while... probably a few minutes"

*"the thing is though..idk if that was all a dream."

If this is indeed what is actually happening to you, don't panic. Try getting a more predictable sleep pattern (like 10pm to 7-8am for example), set your schedule so it's not needed to jump out of bed last second. This should help. It's not dangerous, as necessary stuff is not affected by your RAS anyway. (You know, like breathing, heart beating.)

Note that I'm writing this based off of what you wrote. So I can be completely off the mark of what is actually happening.

With that said: This is meant for purely educational purposes. Seeing a doctor will help more then anyone online.

[justjumpit4]

oh my goodness.. the same type of thing happens to me occasionally. And this, totally summed it up.

[TouchTheSky]

doctor