paralysis episode (possible channelopathy)

I've been getting these episodes of paralysis for the past 7 years, and I'm currently seeing a neurologist to find out the cause. I'm fully concious and aware of what's happening the entire time, although during severe episodes, I become somewhat disoriented and confused, and my mental processes take on a bit of a dream-like quality.

I get these episodes nearly every day, and this was quite a mild one. I often get muscle spasms during the paralysis, which is why I keep twitching in the video.

I previously had a video-EEG sleep study done which ruled out narcolepsy and epilepsy, and the neurologist who conducted the studies referred me to a colleague of his who specialises in neuromuscular disorders. I'm returning to the hospital tomorrow for a single-fibre EMG, where they'll stick a needle-shaped electrode into one of my muscles to record the activity of a single muscle fibre. I'm also waiting for the result of a calcium antibody test in case it's Lambert Eaton syndrome, but the neurologist thinks it's more likely to be an inherited genetic channelopathy affecting the muscle cell membranes.

I recommend skipping through most of the video. I included the entire episode for completeness, but I don't expect many people to watch the whole thing from beginning to end; there are long sections where I don't do much other than twitch and flutter my eyelids.

*Update* I had my SFEMG, and it was rather unpleasant. I had a needle inserted into my hand, shoulder, thigh and finally my lower leg, and although they didn't hurt much, I had a vagal episode when I tried to flex my tibialis anterior while the needle was in it; I quickly became very nauseous, dizzy and drenched in sweat, and my stomach and gut felt very uncomfortable. I recovered after about 5 minutes, and had some nerve conduction tests done, and a test that measured the response of my muscles to repetitive exertion, which mostly consisted of getting electric shocks to my ankle, wrist and elbow.

The tests immediately ruled out myotonia, but the results will need to be analysed before further conclusions can be drawn.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• paralysis
• channelopathy
• ion channel
• neurological
• mutation
• neuromuscular
• cell membrane
• medical
• membrane potential
• SFEMG
• single fibre
• myotonia
• periodic paralysis
• vagal episode
• vagal attack
• syncope
• sodium
• potassium
• calcium
• magnesium
• chloride
• calcium chloride
• potassium chloride
• sodium chloride
• magnesium oxide
• ion
• anion
• muscle spasms
• muscle fibre
• spasm
• twitch
• hypokalemia
• hypokalemic
• hyperkalemia
• hyperkalemic
• paramyotonia
• congenita
• paramyotonia congenita
• sodium channel

[AshCanVlog]

i twitch like that awake or asleep anytime.. they're seizures in my case tho. I had an episode yesterday where I couldnt move at all, was like paralyzed during it but my body went stiff and spasmed for a while, it hurt i couldnt breathe and i was scared.. i also broke my back but it didnt paralyze me though now were looking into spinal cord damage three years after the accident.. i am tryig to figure out what the episode was tho :/

[hojo70]

I had something like this in my childhood and early teens, but only occasionally. I would wake from sleep but unable to move. It was frightening, my brain was fully awake and alert but my body was still asleep. I would remain like that for 5-15 minutes. I started by first tapping my fingertips, then my hands, and arms eventually until I coulod fully wake the rest of my body. I never thought much of it since it was somewhat infrequent and I eventualloy grew out of it in college.

[PocketOodles]

@Peter5930 OK, but please be careful. If you were hypo, it could make you worse. I'd feel really bad if it caused a serious problem.

[Peter5930]

@PocketOodles Regarding PP on awakening, although my more general episodes don't happen until later in the day, I sometimes have weakness in my hands first thing in the morning, and I find it very difficult to open jars or write until my hands start working properly. The problems with my hands began when I was 14, about 6 years before the full episodes started happening; I found I sometimes couldn't hold a pencil to write in class at school first thing in the morning.

[Peter5930]

@PocketOodles I hadn't found them; thanks for pointing them out.

[Peter5930]

@PocketOodles I'll try the glucose thing and see if it helps. I have a packet of glucose powder that I use for making up fruit fly culture media.

[Peter5930]

@PocketOodles The only effects that I've noticed from potassium chloride are thirst and what feels like acid indigestion. I take it by sprinkling it onto my food like table salt.

[PocketOodles]

@Peter5930 I have a friend who's a hyper. She takes a diabetic glucose tablet from the drugstore (about 15 calories of sugar) whenever she feels an attack coming on, and it helps abort her attack. Do you think the small amount of sugar from the fruits could be helping you through the first part of the day? I don't know. Oh, and I'm very impressed by your healthy eating habits!

[Peter5930]

@PocketOodles I eat very little little processed food, so a couple of litres of the aforementioned fruits is about as close as I get to loading up on sugary food, and I don't know what more sugar than that would do to me.

[Peter5930]

@PocketOodles I eat a lot of oranges and tangerines, and lesser amounts of apples, nectarines, peaches, raspberries, gooseberries, blackberries, tayberries, strawberries, blueberries, cherries and plums. I'm not so fond of sweet, non-acidic fruit like bananas, figs and dates. I grow some fruit myself, and I'll happily eat my way through a 2-litre jug of freshly picked raspberries, tayberries, blackberries, gooseberries or plums in one sitting when they're in season, without any ill-effects.