This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I have been having multiple episodes of sleep paralysis every night for the past 2 months. It only happens when I am falling asleep, whether I am on my back or side. When it happens I completely lose my vision. I have not been diagnosed as of yet, and have a neuro appointment next week. I was just wondering if any of you that have a confirmed diagnosis experience sleep paralysis of any frequency. Thank you for your help!

I used to get sleep paralysis, frightened the life out of me. A neuro did tell me though that many people get this (who don't have MS) and it is just when the body has gone to sleep but the mind is awake. Apparently nurses get this a lot when working over time!
I did get this 17 years ago when I first got ill. Have not had it since.

That is interesting. I just thought it odd that it has been happening along with my MS symptoms. Thank you for your reply!

ms patients are known to have nutrient problems, so i went looking for deficiency connections to narcolepsy. found this:

Hypocretin (orexin) deficiency in human narcolepsy
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lance ... 40-6736(99)05582-8/fulltext
"Alterations in the hypocretin receptor 2 and preprohypocretin genes produce narcolepsy in animal models. Hypocretin was undetectable in seven out of nine people with narcolepsy, indicating abnormal hypocretin transmission."

then as usual, i thought what does the body require for hypocretin(orexin) production? hypothesizing a zinc connection (also as usual!), i searched and found this:

Orally Administered Zinc Increases Food Intake via Vagal Stimulation in Rats
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/139/3/611.short
"We investigated the role of zinc in food intake regulation using rats during early-stage zinc deficiency without decreased zinc concentrations in plasma and tissues. Plasma, liver, and hypothalamic zinc concentrations were not affected in male Sprague-Dawley rats fed a zinc-deficient (Zn-Def) diet for 3 d compared with the pair-fed control group, which was fed a zinc-sufficient diet to the intake of the Zn-Def diet. Zinc sulfate at a dose of 19 μmol/kg body weight was orally or intraperitoneally (i.p.) administered to rats fed a Zn-Def diet for 3d and food intake was measured. We found that zinc stimulated food intake after oral but not i.p. administration. The mRNA expression of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and orexin in the hypothalamus significantly increased 3 h after oral but not i.p. administration of zinc. Pretreatment with an antagonist for the NPY Y1 receptor or the orexin OX1 receptor blocked orexigenic activity after oral administration of zinc. The stimulation of food intake by oral administration of zinc was abolished by vagotomy. Taken together, orally administered zinc may stimulate food intake via orexigenic peptides coupled to the afferent vagal stimulation in rats after short-term treatment with a Zn-Def diet."

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my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

That certainly is intereting! Before seeing the doc that referred me to the neurologist I was thinking I might be developing narcolepsy because I would just nod off for no reason in addition to the frequent sleep paralysis.

bingo!

SLEEP PARALYSIS
http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/paralysis.html
"Sleep paralysis is most often associated with narcolepsy, a neurological condition in which the person has uncontrollable naps."

if your zinc status is suboptimal (like many others suffering from ms), it's a simple serum test and an inexpensive fix. (the only problem is that the 'normal' range is far wider than the 'optimal' range. everyone gets a false sense of security when they hear their levels are 'normal', but it takes digging a little deeper than that).

patients with poor zinc status can make dietary changes, and beyond that can vary intakes of supplemental zinc, depending on the level of zinc depleting factors in their lifestyle, eg dietary intakes of wheat, high phytate foods, sugar, dairy and alcohol, and also depending on whether or not the individual is a smoker.

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

The symptoms that made my doc suspicious of MS were buzzing sensations in my lower legs and feet, fatigue and getting overheated and start sweating all over by only doing simple tasks like putting away the laundry, dishes, etc, etreme heat intolerance, eye pain, balance problems/clumsiness and episodes of vertigo, muscle weakness, ankle clonus, crawling sensations in my left leg and pelvic area, hand tremors in my right hand that come and go, etc. I also had viral meningitis in 2010, but the residual effects of that differ from what I have been experiencing these past years/months, depending on which symptom we are talking about.

Its strange that it happens when you say you're lying down and on your back or side. I presume you mean just one side or do you mean both? Does it happen if you are sitting or in one position for too long?
It sounds like a neural problem if its just limited to the same position. I did have limbs that would fall asleep when I was unwell but nothing like that for many years.
I think you need a scan as part of the overall investigation.

Regards

Sleep paralysis is related to the REM cycle during sleep. Your body releases a chemical that basically paralyzes your body so you don't act out your dreams and hurt yourself. Most people experience SP when they wake up in the middle of REM sleep, but mine only happens as I am falling asleep, multiple times in a row, whether I am on my back or either side. It is also most common and rarely seen(from what I have researched on it) to happen while laying on your side. I completely lose my vision during these episodes, and they are accompanied by a ringing, buzzing, or other strange noise inside of my head.

there's a large constellation of symptoms associated with ms, and a large constellation of nutrients that are known to be suboptimal in the typical ms patient. your list of symptoms sound like they should be at least partially related to nutritional status. might be a useful line of investigation.

magnesium is one that is commonly suboptimal in ms patients. here's a list of problems that can occur in magnesium deprivation, and this is just from a case study, single patient experience:

"cramping, nystagmus, tremor, clonus, myoclonic jerks, hyperacusia, Chvostik sign, hypertension, tachycardia, and an acute organic brain syndrome"

serum magnesium is a simple test too, same problem with the normal range though. you have to make sure the lab's range matches the literature, and you have to be in the top end of the literature's 'normal' range.

went for a hunt on zinc status in viral meningitis. have found this study before, not keen on the lack of a *healthy* control group, but still it has some useful info

Hypozincaemia in febrile convulsion
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8789769

average serum zinc in bacterial meningitis patients was 0.98 mg/L, and in patients with viral CNS infection it was 1.06 mg/L

so that's 14.9 umol/L for the bacterial patients, 16.2 umol/L for viral patients. in research of zinc levels in healthy controls you can consistently find levels over 18 in adults, and in one study i found re children, the average serum zinc level in healthy controls was 20.5 umol/L.

could be worth having a look.

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com

You may benefit from CCSVI treatment

the iron dysregulation seen in ccsvi (among other things) may also have a link to suboptimal zinc status

Zinc Deficiency-induced Iron Accumulation, a Consequence of Alterations in Iron Regulatory Protein-binding Activity, Iron Transporters, and Iron Storage Proteins
http://www.jbc.org/content/283/8/5168.full

_________________
my approach: no meds so far - just balanced whole foods (partial 'paleo', much less outright elimination), science, supplements, & bloodwork
my regimen - www.thisisms.com/ftopict-2489.html
www.whfoods.com, www.nutritiondata.com