Question
As a kid of maybe 10 I was due for an operation because of be wetting to inject fluid up my penis via a straw so it would show on xray. A painful experience, so much so I got up off the table and walked out of the hospital without even telling my parents who caught up with me miles later on my way home.
This was the second time as the first was the same but this time the doctor gave me some drug to take, by the time I got home I was falling asleep and crawled into bed.
I didn't feel that I'd fallen asleep but noticed the curtains being blown horizontally, flowing across the room as if through water. Obviously I thought this was strange and then next a scalextrics (toy cars round a track) transformer and two cars floated right beside my bed. I sat up and reached to grab the gun shaped controller and they disappeared. I crawled under the blankets and shook with fear since.
Since then I've seen just about everything and it has a pattern, usually if I'm ill, very tired or very stressed or all. Those nights I keep the light on as many times I never seem to learn I'm dreaming. Sometimes however I do remember and just watch whatever the vision is.
I share an apartment and many times I'll hear a hard knock at the door as I'm lying in bed and I could swear that I'd never dropped off, sometimes I answer other times I wait for another. There is no difference between reality, a bit like tripping on a kerb whilst dreaming or a bang or voice.
As I've got older I've tried experimental drugs of all types but without any hallucinations yet at night it's normal practice for me to close cupboard doors, remove any coats hanging up as I know in my half awake state they will become part of the dream as a person etc.
Don't know whether it's related but I've a bad habit of skipping words when writing stuff like this and my short term memory is terrible yet I could tell you the history of the world. Also I'm capable enough to run my own business.
The last couple of years I tried to actively influence my dreams and getting successful, when drifting off but definitely still awake I can often see an image which I haven't created, say
I'm in a room I can look all around but it's more like daydreaming though as if my eyes were open somewhere else, sometimes with audio. So when I become aware that it's not real it disappears but I promise you I'm still awake and can still feel and am still aware of my own surroundings.
I know the main problem is a sleep disorder but it doesn't seem to match anything I've found. Thanks in advance.
Answer
What you may experience is called hypnangogic halucinations combined with sleep paralysis. Its normal natural phenomenon if your day time wakefulness is not being affected. The brain and body are programmed to fall asleep and awaken together but once in awhile is a lag of a nano second and one is dreaming with ones eyes open, dreams are frightened , very vivid, manytimes a feeling of being chased sometimes even up to being awake a full hour from it one is checking under the bed to see if anyone is still in the room. Now it can be a disorder if happens all the time. It could also be a symptom of narcolepsy, which is the uncontrollable urge to fall asleep at inappropriate times, but in your case imno md but a respiratory therapist with narcolepsy, and yours sounds perhaps side effects from the drug usage especially the short term memory loss. I strongly suggest you get to a neurologist just to have a brain scan and mri to see if this is drug related. If it is then thats the answer if not then i suggest you go to a sleep center for an overnite sleep evaluation. Your local hospital can refer you. Go to sleepnet.com click on disorders narcolepsy to read more. But I thing the best move right now is to get to a neurologist about the short term memory loss as that is definitely something neurological. feel free to email again karel
