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Suggest Remedy For Hypnagogic Hallucinations Caused By Stress
Question: Hi, I have struggled with occasional episodes of sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations, along with commonly suffering from daytime sleepiness even when I sleep well. In the past week, I have had 3 random episodes, all during times of stress, where I became extremely weak, dizzy, and faint, with blurry vision. Each episode was only a few minutes long, and I recovered within 15 minutes to baseline. I have a psych consultation tomorrow but want to hear a medical evaluation of what might be happening before I go in so I know what best to ask about
Brief Answer:
Consultation
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your question.
Hear are the diagnostic possibilities you should consider/discuss with your psychiatrist tomorrow.
Medical: hypertension (tested with blood pressure), diabetes (tested with HbA1C blood test), heart arrhythmia (tested with EKG), vasovagal syncope, hypokalemia (tested with basic metabolic panel)
Psychiatric: panic attacks, Klonopin overdose (or simply too high a dose), substance and/or alcohol abuse, pseudoseizure
Personally, these sound like panic/anxiety attacks to me. At your age, the likelihood this is caused by a medical problem is low. It is possibly a vasovagal reaction but my money is on panic attacks, which are treated with SSRIs.
My name is Dr. Sheppe, and I am an XXXXXXX psychiatrist working in New York City. For a personalized comprehensive evaluation, treatment recommendations, or individual therapy, ask me at HealthCareMagic at this private link: tinyurl.com/DrSheppeAnswers
Consultation
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your question.
Hear are the diagnostic possibilities you should consider/discuss with your psychiatrist tomorrow.
Medical: hypertension (tested with blood pressure), diabetes (tested with HbA1C blood test), heart arrhythmia (tested with EKG), vasovagal syncope, hypokalemia (tested with basic metabolic panel)
Psychiatric: panic attacks, Klonopin overdose (or simply too high a dose), substance and/or alcohol abuse, pseudoseizure
Personally, these sound like panic/anxiety attacks to me. At your age, the likelihood this is caused by a medical problem is low. It is possibly a vasovagal reaction but my money is on panic attacks, which are treated with SSRIs.
My name is Dr. Sheppe, and I am an XXXXXXX psychiatrist working in New York City. For a personalized comprehensive evaluation, treatment recommendations, or individual therapy, ask me at HealthCareMagic at this private link: tinyurl.com/DrSheppeAnswers
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Answered by
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