So last year I developed a new symptom where while trying to fall asleep my whole body suddenly locks up solid- which is scarey by itself, but the part that worried me was that I couldn’t breathe at all. My diafram would not let me inhale. My Neurologist said that he thought it was (I forget the term) a type of Narcoleptic Paralysis brought on by the pressure on my brain stem; it has happened ranging from once in a couple of months to 20 times in one night. The websites say that it happens most while laying on a your back, but I’m a side sleeper, & doesn’t mention breathing lock-outs, just other types of movements, so IDK what else to do about it, but sitting up sleeping helps for a little bit, but that causes other pains. Well, a few weeks ago it sorta happened again, but instead of it happening while I was trying to fall sleep, this time I woke up because I felt like I was suffocating.
When I start to wake I am always instantly awake and aware of myself and my surroundings, so I was able to feel my body’s muscles slowly locking up this time, with each breathe I struggled to take my chest and diaphragm moved less and less until I was once again laying there completely paralyses for a minute or so- 4 breathes was how long it took to lock up once awake. All if this happened within a minute ir two of my mind waking up- it felt like I was drowning in open air and seemed an eternity before I could breathe again. I go to my doctor in a little over 2 weeks so I will tell him about this new thing then. The last time he told me the original thing should only be short and scarey, but shouldn’t kill me and not to worry if it started happening at other times such as during the day. I’m not the type to panic when scared, but man is it frightening, and I have to wonder, how much worse will it get before it kills me? If, in the once a year times I feel up to visiting, I sleep over at my friends’ house do I have to worry that the kids will come running in to wake me and find me dead instead?
Is this the type of thing that lead to other people’s full paralysis? My old MRI, now 4-5 years old, said the chiari was bad enough to hurt like hell with cnstant migraines and other problems, but shouldn’t be causing things like this, as far as I know. I don’t know what to do, and I admit it, I’m scared.