13 replies to this topic

[sandrad]

My name is Sandy and I was diagnosed with narcolepsy a couple years ago even though I have had it since I was about 14 years old, I am now 30. My first real symptom of Narcolepsy was severe sleep paralysis it started when I was 14 and it terrified me. I would have dreams that someone was breaking in the house but I could not move or scream. I would hear doors opening and footsteps. This continued for years and eventually I got such control over it that I even had a out of body experience during lucid dreaming. I hated it for so long, it would interfere with sleep overs at friends houses, I would wake them up and tell them someone was breaking in or I would make "funny noises" in my sleep. Then, around the time met my current fiance and my first son was born 4-5 years ago my sleep paralysis stopped. Out of nowhere.... it just stopped. This was before my sleep study, before diagnoses, before medication. I just didn't have it anymore. I know it sounds strange but I miss it, It was always so scarey sometimes I would feel as if my heart was going to stop I was so scared but I also had dreams where I could fly around my hometown looking down on people and places I knew, I would really feel like I was flying and I was as awake as anyone could be. It was so extreme that I would dream I was being raped and could not move and I would feel a very strong, scarey presence in the room with me- it was such a huge part of my life and now its gone. Has anyone else experienced this? Does it go away with age? Does it go away once you have children or settle down? I do not understand and I asked my sleep doctor and she just looked at me kind of strange and did not really comment. I guess it is not important but any input from anyone would be very interesting and helpful!

[Since1967]

Yes it does sound strange - BUT then again...many people are intrigued and entertained by scary experiences such as scary movies or scary amusement park rides or sky diving or bungee jumping or whatever. So maybe it is not all that strange that you miss it. And some people practice lucid dreaming for the fun if it.

[thecatnapper]

I agree with Since1967 in that it's probably like an adrenalin rush for you. I used to have a very high paced and stressful job and I thought I hated it but when I went to a more peaceful job I actually missed the stress to an extent so I get what you mean. But, if my sleep paralysis and nightmares suddenly stopped I'd be thrilled because they are hard on me. I must admit that I do worry that once my issue is properly treated that I may stop dreaming. I too have the lucid dreams and flying around town dreams. I love those! The feeling that I have during my flying dreams is exhilarating and I would really miss that sensation if I never had it again. However, I would like for some of the intensity and frequency of my dreaming to calm down. I told my Neuro that I feel that my main problem is that I dream so much and so vividly that my brain is excessively active when I sleep so it wears me out both mentally and physically. Some nights it's as if I haven't mentally rested at all. Plus, my close friends and family would probably miss the wacky stories that I tell about my dreams.

[Megssosleepy]

Its strange that we all seem to have the same dreams. Very violent and frightening. I do not watch any scary movies and hate the feeling of being scared! I definitely am glad the bad ones have reduced with treatment. But, like you two I do miss the flying, and the sexual ones were always fun as well !!

[doctahjay]

my main problem is that I dream so much and so vividly that my brain is excessively active when I sleep so it wears me out both mentally and physically. Some nights it's as if I haven't mentally rested at all. Plus, my close friends and family would probably miss the wacky stories that I tell about my dreams.

TOTALLY AGREE! This is my first day on the N network, and I am loving it so far! Awesome to see people that get it!

I am a medical student, and sometimes the dreaming is great, because it is literally me STUDYING! Haha, I have dissected cadavers, solved hallucinogenic/trippy organic chem problems, studied biochem pathways, and the list goes on, all in my sleep. When this started about 6 years ago, I was totally okay with it. I remember being a little kid and begging my mom to let me fall asleep downstairs on the couch, then have her wake me up to go to bed so I could fall asleep again. I loved being in that half/half dream/real state. Then I grew up, and now I hate it. I just want to SLEEP and feel like I actually rested when I wake up. My dreams have definitely gotten scarier because they are so real. Last week I dreamed someone was suffocating me with a pillow and I could actually feel the feathers going up my nose and in my mouth. The sexual ones are great tho :-) I realized I tend to dream about whatever I was involved with right before bed. Watching a Harry Potter movie, dancing, reading a book, studying. So, I learned to stop doing things that may potentially result in bad dreams.

Anyone ever feel like they have different "levels"? Example:
Level 1: I know that I am dreaming.
Level 2: In my dream, I am dreaming.
Level 3: In my "dream's dream" I am watching myself do something.

It's so weird!

[Megssosleepy]

Anyone ever feel like they have different "levels"? Example:
Level 1: I know that I am dreaming.
Level 2: In my dream, I am dreaming.
Level 3: In my "dream's dream" I am watching myself do something.

It's so weird!

All of the above! 1: When I know I'm dreaming I get to control them or I sometimes just say this must be a dream! 2: In my dream, I'm dreaming usually lead to some scary SP where I keep thinking I've woken up and things keep getting worse. 3: The dream's dream also leads to scary places!. Another level, 4: I also have had dreams where I have died and I am above myself watching everything take place. I always heard you can't die in a dream, so not true!

[purpley]

I told my Neuro that I feel that my main problem is that I dream so much and so vividly that my brain is excessively active when I sleep so it wears me out both mentally and physically. Some nights it's as if I haven't mentally rested at all. Plus, my close friends and family would probably miss the wacky stories that I tell about my dreams.

Yes! My dreams are usually incredibly vivid, but the content can be so close to what I do in real life -- just like doctahjay mentions -- that sometimes I'm not even sure if I've actually done something or just dreamed it. Other times the dreams are completely bizarre. My spouse has learned to just say, "Yes, dear" when I describe my dreams.

I'm wondering something. I've never had sleep paralysis. But during college and graduate school, when I was probably the most sleep-deprived ever, I used to repeatedly dream that I was being physically threatened and I was paralyzed, couldn't move to hit the person, or might be able to try to hit them but there was absolutely no power behind the punch. On a couple of occasions I woke myself up as I managed to complete the punch by hitting my partner in bed -- fortunately, not hard. I've always assumed this was psychological in nature (feeling helpless in my life, dream reflecting that, etc) and of course that might be exactly what it was. I'm sure everyone, N or not, has similar dreams occasionally, and though you shouldn't be able to move during REM sleep, that happens sometimes to non-N folks as well.

I'm just curious: Anyone else have a repeated dream about being unable to move?

[purpley]

Anyone ever feel like they have different "levels"? Example:
Level 1: I know that I am dreaming.
Level 2: In my dream, I am dreaming.
Level 3: In my "dream's dream" I am watching myself do something.

It's so weird!

I've dreamed that I went to sleep and was dreaming, then (in my dream) told the dream to someone else, and (still in the dream) we tried to figure out what it meant with regard to my (dreamed) life!

Maybe everyone has these types of dreams, we're just the weird ones who remember them?

[doctahjay]

I've dreamed that I went to sleep and was dreaming, then (in my dream) told the dream to someone else, and (still in the dream) we tried to figure out what it meant with regard to my (dreamed) life!

Maybe everyone has these types of dreams, we're just the weird ones who remember them?

haha maybe! A couple weeks ago I had this one and it totally freaked me out.

I'm sleeping and I am aware that I'm dreaming. In my dream I was dreaming. In that dream I was watching myself walk down the street, and I had the thought of "how weird is this that I know I'm dreaming about this?" Then, the me walking down the street turned around and said "You can connect with yourself through dreams, go ahead and grab my hand" and then I reached up and freaking grabbed her/my hand! I felt me grab hands with another me!!! Talk about BIZARRO! It freaked me out so bad that I went into SP and just had to lay there for awhile thinking about it. My mom did the whole "yes, dear" response.

[doctahjay]

I'm just curious: Anyone else have a repeated dream about being unable to move?

I am pretty athletic and involved in sports. I used to be a point guard and state hurdler. Sometimes I will dream about not being able to run or dribble a ball and then I will just not be able to move while I'm watching everyone else do stuff around me. Depressing lol!

[Fluffybunny5000]

Anyone ever feel like they have different "levels"? Example:
Level 1: I know that I am dreaming.
Level 2: In my dream, I am dreaming.
Level 3: In my "dream's dream" I am watching myself do something.

It's so weird!

The worst part is when your supposed to be awake.. the alarms are going off, your phone is going off.. and your brain decides to incorporate these noises into your dream. One time I fell asleep smoking a cigarette (this was before they made them go out like they do now) and it fell on the bed and caught the bed on fire. I apparently snuffed it out with my back which caused a basketball size burn on my back which i ddidnt even notice until i got into the shower the next morning then walked back upstairs to find the hole in the sheet and bed.. I dreamt I was being burnt but not in a bed.. it toally blew my mind and scared me. Still didnt go to the doctor.. until 12 years later lol

[Fluffybunny5000]

I've dreamed that I went to sleep and was dreaming, then (in my dream) told the dream to someone else, and (still in the dream) we tried to figure out what it meant with regard to my (dreamed) life!

Maybe everyone has these types of dreams, we're just the weird ones who remember them?

That is insane lol.. I remember one time in high school i dreamt my mom came in there to wake me up so i got up and got dressed and got on the bus and was in first period... then my mom came in my classroom and told me to wake up.. im like mom i am up im in school! what are you doing?!?! she is like GET OUT OF BED NOW IM NOT PLAYING WITH YOU ANYMORE! and i stand up in class and im like MOM! get out im in school! your embarassing me! then.. comes the water and i wake up in a state of shock in my bed completely wet and totally just... confused.

[mia]

Wow. This is the first forum posting that I have stopped denying my narcolepsy diagnosis. I have always been a vivid dreamer and when I first started going to the doctor about the N, I remember saying when asked if I had sleep problems, "Oh NO, I sleep great! I mean I wake up a lot sometimes at night but only for a few seconds at a time, then go right back to sleep. Really, it's just my dreams. They wake me up a lot, they're so real." I even asked my neurologist when she diagnosed me, "So does the N cause all these dreams?" She shrugged no noncommittally. Now I've been on my medicine for a while, I have stopped having my dreams and I feel lost without them. They were my world and I felt just as real as the waking one. Now I feel that I am missing part of my soul. Mine were scary sometimes, often times (in fact that was my first signs of N looking back: I always had recurring nightmares as a child). But now that I'm "healing," I miss my private sanctitude of imagination, magic, mystique, and yes, sometimes even fear.

[The Dreamer]

Can't say that I miss my sleep paralysis yet....but right now I'm missing those really vivid lucid dreams I used to have, the kind where I start flying by missing the ground....

The Dreamer.