Kyle -

I have a mild form of this sometimes - I wake in the morning unable to move
or open my eyes. For me it's somewhat pleasant because I'm completely
relaxed, unlike in my usual state. I either fall back to sleep or a touch or
sound breaks the paralysis. Nice to know it's nothing to worry about.

FWIW - I was taking diazepam at night and it did seem to contribute to the
feelings of paralysis. I stopped because long-term use was making me feel
depressed. Not fun. I'm now taking tizanidine (zanaflex) and I'm no longer
depressed. Tizanidine has a much shorter half-life than diazepam, so I have
to take it more often (I wake twice in the night for a "refill").  I do find
it helpful in controlling spasticity/spasms.

Pam


----- Original Message -----
From: "Cleveland, Kyle E." <[log in to unmask]>

> Here's a question for the group:
>
> Anyone ever have dreams where you know you're asleep, you know exactly
what
> sleeping position you're in, you're aware of the environment, yet you
can't
> wake up?  I've been experiencing this on an ever-increasing basis, and now
> it's to the point where it's happening almost every night.  I'm only
getting
> a few hours of sleep.  Sometimes I will dream that I've actually started
to
> wake up and then I get frustrated because I realized that I DREAMED I was
> waking up!  Rousing myself out of these dreams takes incredible physical
and
> mental effort--the best analogy I can come up with is it feels like I'm
> lifting a car off my chest or sinking in quicksand.  Some of the time, the
> effort is too great and I feel myself actually "falling" back to sleep.  I
> rest a while, then try it again.  Scares the bejabbers out of me!  This
> sound familiar?
>
> Kyle
>
>