Sleep paralysis

[Cinders]

Sleep paralysis

lo0p,

My experience has been that I have fallen asleep, usually because of somnolence (geez, I've learned some words in this battle) and during the sleep, I thought I was awake.

I tried to move and could not. I dreamed I was rolling off the bed and onto the floor, I was desparate to get up. After some time, I realized I was still in the same position on the bed and could not move.

Then, I dreamed I was crawling off the bed and crawling up the computer and TV stand. (Hubby would have been horrified!!) and then I realized I was still in the same position on the bed as before.

At some point, my brain was able to get out of that pattern and let me open my eyes.

It is scary. Very, very scary.

Not as scary as driving around in a blackout though. Like the time I woke up with a bottle of vodka in my arms in bed that was not in my house before. Meaning I drove down a mountain, on a highway, to a liquor store, bought vodka, drove on the highway, back up the mountain and back into bed.

Cindi

[Lo0p]

Sleep paralysis

Yeah it was really similar to that actually. I felt like I had rolled off the couch several times but I hadn't.

I've done lots of things in a blackout before, but never driven (hopefully ). That would be scary.

[Cinders]

Sleep paralysis

I know.

I am not one of those who goes to AA and says, "I am not as bad as those guys."

I am one of those who goes to the meetings and says, "I am worse than all of you."

Sheesh.

Thank Heavens for Baclofen.

It is giving me my life back.

Cindi

[rebirth]

Sleep paralysis

It may be the bac but I have suffered from sleep paralysis all my life. It sucks! and I dont know what to do to get rid of it.

[terryk]

Sleep paralysis

I've been on baclofen for almost 3 months. I've been at around 140-160mg/day mostly, with a stupidly daring venture up to 220+ for 5 days and then down to 80 for a few days. Not fun at all, more about that someday. Like many on this forum, I've suffered from insomnia most of my life. Aside from alcohol (which helped me sleep for years until it turned on me), benadryl (diphenhydramine - an antihistamine also used as a sleep aid) has helped me sleep for the past few years both with and without alcohol. I tapered the benadryl down when I started baclofen (at first I was taking loaded doses at 8am, 12:30pm, and 5pm 40/50/50 for example). At first I experienced deep somnolence and refreshing sleep (8hours), then shorter (3-4 hours,but still refreshing) sleep and then some insomnia. At some point I experienced horrid vivid/lucid dreams that I could not distinguish from reality (and could not wake up from) that made me seriously consider stopping baclofen altogether. I also had one small episode of sleep paralysis (maybe 30 seconds but it felt like a long time), and many (different) instances of my fingers, hands, or whole arms being "asleep" and me being unable to move them at all. Around this time I started adding benedryl back in to the equation and I began to sleep better and I can't remember having disturbing dreams, numb hands still happen. When I jumped up to 220 and then down to 80, I wasn't taking benedryl and had a night of some of the worst frightening dreams/experiences I've ever had in my life. It felt like my heart was going to explode.

I AM NOT A DOCTOR AND I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THAT ANYONE USE BENADRYL (OR ANY OTHER SUBSTANCE WITH CNS DEPRESSANT EFFECTS) IN COMBINATION WITH BACLOFEN.

Aside from affecting GABA-b receptors, I've read some research that suggests that baclofen could also affect serotonin in the body in some way (which may explain why issues with sleep, hunger, interactions with SSRI anti-depressants could be happening). From wikipedia: In the 1960s it was found that Benadryl (diphenhydramine) inhibits reuptake of the neurotransmitter serotonin. This discovery led to a search for viable antidepressants with similar structures and fewer side effects, culminating in the invention of fluoxetine (Prozac), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Why I think this is relevant is this: I've seen some references to baclofen in connection with another antihistamine, Cyproheptadine (Cyproheptadine used to treat baclofen withdrawal-which is theorized to actually be serotonin syndrome, for example).

From wikipedia:

Cyproheptadine is used to treat allergic reactions (specifically hay fever).[2]

Cyproheptadine has shown effectiveness in the treatment of nightmares including nightmares related to post traumatic stress disorder.[3][4]

Cyproheptadine has been used in the management of moderate to severe cases of serotonin syndrome

Cyproheptadine can relieve SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction[15][16] and drug-induced hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating).[17]

Cyproheptadine can be used to stimulate the appetite.


In fact, Brown University is recruiting for a clinical study right now called: A Pilot Study on the Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Baclofen and Alcohol Drinking. Drugs: Baclofen and Cyproheptadine.

A Pilot Study on the Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Baclofen and Alcohol Drinking - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov

EDIT: Upon further inspection, I now see that the Cyproheptadine is being used as a placebo in this study......



More baclofen studys:

s=i&flds=j&flds=n&flds=o&term=baclofen+alcohol&sho w_flds=Y">Search of: baclofen alcohol - List Results - ClinicalTrials.gov

Anyway, I've been rambling and I wanted to have a more thorough presentation of all of my research and thoughts, but I just thought I should put this out there.


Another thing that I did was transition to a 3 even dose/8 hour dose schedule. 8am/4pm/12am. The transition was really rough over a week. Bad sleep and other side effects. A little more than a week later and things are really improving, maybe no side effects at all. I should write more about this later, because I think it's an important aspect of baclofen dosing (for me anyway). I'm sure I'm leaving a lot of what I want to say out of this, so feel free to ask me to clarify or fill in the details. BTW, for those of you who remember a really disruptive person on this forum who went so far as to post on another web forum for begging for bad words about baclofen - a litany of folks (on that site) have come forward with a lot of positive info (including the Clinical trials List) that lead me to believe that we're on the right track here. 145mg, no switch yet -tk

p.s. if you want links to some of this info, PM me.

[PhoenixRising]

Sleep paralysis

I agree that dosing seems to be key. I increased my middle of the night dose as I was falling asleep at my desk and I'd rather be falling asleep in bed at night. :/

I'm at 225 and I dose like this:

3am 25 mg (or whenever I wake up for a potty call)
6am 25 mg (I am up and heading to the gym)
10 am 50mg
3pm 50mg
7pm 50mg
10:30pm 25 mg (sometimes later as I am usually asleep by 9:30)

I am usually very sleepy after lunch.

-P.

[terryk]

Sleep paralysis

I edited my last post. Now I'm not sure about the whole antihistamine thing. The Cyproheptadine used in the Brown University study appears to be used as a placebo in that case. Maybe I'm grasping at straws. Maybe not. Sorry for the diversion. -tk

[beatle]

Sleep paralysis

terryk, very interesting post it was, regardless. It reinforces that there is not enough research being done on baclofen. We are all forging ahead, mostly based on Dr. A's own experience and the sharing of our experiences here on this forum.

[sir_ryan]

Sleep paralysis

This happened to me last night. I took an extra 40mg of bac (dumb ass, ryan) and had a super intense scary dream. I TRIED to wake up from the nightmare, but couldn't. I could hear myself breathing (or lack thereof) but couldn't move or wake myself up. SCARY SHIT

Anyone have tips on reducing the sleepiness SE on Baclofen? I'm barely able to function now because I'm so damn tired.

[K9Lover]

Sleep paralysis

I had this happen as recently as Saturday when I was taking a nap. I am not on any medication other than Antabuse. It wasn't as terrifying as it has been in the past, probably because my brain was fully aware of what was happening. But I kept waking up and was scared to go back to sleep, so I forced myself awake even though I was still tired. It usually does involve some feeling of danger though, like someone is in the room that shouldn't be. If you can move ANY part of your body, then you will wake up. It's those horrifying moments before you can move that are terrifying. I hate it, and truly sympathize with people that experience it regularly.