NEW STUDY! Parasym Plus™ for Multiple Sclerosis › Forums › PrettyIll.com Discussion › POTS › Do you feel sick when you lie flat on your back, or have you ever felt "paralyzed"? › Reply To: Do you feel sick when you lie flat on your back, or have you ever felt "paralyzed"?
Here is what happened to me last Friday/Saturday morning after laying down for 20-30 minutes.
. I have succeeded in avoided the ER except for one trip in 1996, one in 2005, and now I have been 3 times in 2 or 3 weeks.
Friday night/Saturday am around 2:30 in the morning I was unable to move or respond to my girlfriend. At first I thought “oh I’ll just not answer her” as I laid in bed. Then, she asked if I was ignoring her, then said my name, that’s when I tried to answer her a little and couldn’t. She came around the bed and just stared at me. She kept saying my name in a panic and I was trying to talk but apparently all I could get out was “huff, huff, huff”. She later told the ER doctor it just sounded like I was having a bad dream. (My eyes were closed.) Eventually she poked me on the shoulder and said my name. That ticked my body off and an adrenaline surge ran through me and I started having spasms and seizure like activity. I’m sure all she could see was my right hand jerking, but my legs and back were all jumping too under the blankets in tons of mini spasms. She poked me enough and eventually I was able to get my right index finger to move. I pointed at my head and tapped my forehead trying to say “me”. She was making wild guesses, none of them remotely close. I was tapping my head and pointing down my body trying to tell her to pick me up. She was asking if I needed loratabs or something from the living room. In my head I was like “OMG… you suck at charades! Just shake the ____ out of me already!”
Eventually after minutes had passed and she was just panicked wondering if I was dying on her “my breathing was rapid, then shallow, then nothing for 10 seconds, repeat) I was able to barely force out the words “me…… up” She repeated them and tried to process what I wanted. She finally got it and I tried to nod. She then goes to move my legs which I had to groan “nnnnhhhhh” because I was seized up and it HURT. She came and picked up my upper body and sat me up.
Once I was up about 30 seconds I could talk but I was still seized up. I said “blood pressure” since I KNEW what was happening. She hurried up and put the cuff on, hit the button and said “holy S__t!” I was still cognitively confused and said “high or low?” She said “VERY low. 72/56” My next words were “very cold” and “phone”.
So, I called the PCP emergency number, tried to coherently talk to the on call dr, and was advised to go to the ER. After hours of being at the ER I was diagnosed with “near syncope”. I had been given fluids, told my potassium came back a little low, so I was given potassium, and was sent home and told to follow up with my PCP Tuesday. I already had a follow up appt set to go over my trip to see Dr. Henderson last week.
I had this weighted dream happen as a kid where I couldn’t move and it didn’t freak me out, but as an adult this was SCARY. It honestly wasn’t scary until I tried to move though. Until then I was in my head thinking I was just VERY VERY tired and really wanted to go to sleep. It wasn’t until I tried to respond and couldn’t that I was like “ut oh”. Then when I couldn’t MOVE and starting having spasms/seizure-like activity I just knew I needed to be sat upright and wondered how long it would take my gf to figure that out. I wonder what would have happened if she hadn’t checked on me or if she hadn’t been there. I think throwing myself out of bed might have helped break me out of it but I couldn’t even move to do that and what if I hit my head or hurt my unstable neck trying that trick (even if I could do it.)
I put my bed on blocks last night and figure it can’t hurt, but I see a “Come to Jesus” meeting coming with my PCP on Tuesday when I have to tell her what happened. You can only fool yourself and she can only fool herself for so long before reality starts getting pretty damn scary.