Posted by Mary on April 24, 1999 at 10:41:52:

In Reply to: Re: Have I or havn't I? posted by Tony Greenwood on April 22, 1999 at 02:26:32:

Tony,
Thanks for your reply to my last posting; it has also helped me. After our last exchange of information, some other possibilities occurred to me regarding the "electrical feeling" during sleep. Perhaps there is someone else out there who can relate to this, as well. I've looked through a number of sources of information regarding narcolepsy, in the last few years. And even though we are just speculating, there is something to be said about just knowing what it is you are experiencing--and being able to relate it to someone else who knows!
First, the electrical & tingling sensations could be part of REM or dream sleep, which can be enhanced with narcolepsy. It could also be a hypnagogic hallucination-which is related to REM sleep when one is still conscious of what is happening. Narcolepsy patients (according to my neurologist and books on narcolepsy) have both sleep and dream experiences at inapppropriate times, which can be confusing. Your experience is very real, but could be a dream, which you do not have control over.
The other possibility that occured to me is that it could be a form of a frontal lobe seizure. My neurologist was involved with research about these difficult to diagnose seizures that occur at night, during the midst of sleep (often deep or delta wave sleep). They are relatively short in duration. I have copies of very good pamphlets and articles, from our sleep center, that helped me a great deal. After opinions from doctors who insist that it is either nothing or psychological, I found just how much of my experience was part of my sleep disorders, when I began treatment through a sleep disorder center. If you have not yet, see a sleep specialist or clinic. Above all, believe in your experience--you didn't ask to feel this way!
Please don't take this as advice, I'm not a doctor, but am someone who is relating my experiences in hope that someone else can benefit from it.
If you would like more information, I can send you copies of this great booklet, from our sleep center, that dispells myths and describes just how many of those ambiguous symptoms are real. I also have an article about frontal lobe seizures. Let me know, otherwise good luck!
Mary

Follow Ups:

• Re: Have I or havn't I? Dawn 4/28/99 (0)
• Re: Have I or havn't I? Tony Greenwood 4/24/99 (5)
  • Re: Have I or havn't I? Emma 4/26/99 (4)
    • Re: Have I or havn't I? Tony Greenwood 4/27/99 (3)
      • Re: Have I or havn't I? Elizabeth 4/27/99 (2)
        • Re: Have I or havn't I? Mary 4/28/99 (1)
          • Re: Have I or havn't I? Elizabeth 4/28/99 (0)

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