everyone wants to live a good and healthy life but only a few can do all it takes to achieve great result. Here is a story of Dave, and his worst nightmare: sleep paralysis.
Dave woke up around 2:25 am with pain hooking his left knee and head banging like metal striking another.
What could be wrong? He moaned in pain. He tried to reach out for his phone on the other side of the bed but realised his body was so stiff. He couldn’t move his legs. Half of his body was dead (paralysed). After several attempts stretching to reach the phone. He picked it up with trembling hands and a body covered with sweat. “Could it be that my enemies have succeeded in their plans?” He felt like some demons calling out his name. He called on God to come to his aid as he couldn’t understand anything about his condition.
Dave is a 28 years student of philosophy who lived off campus, no one was around to help. He had read all sorts of things about witchcraft, magic, and sorcery.
He thought of surfing the internet to at least get a tip or two on how to solve this predicament.
Novomed came through. He requested to talk to a doctor immediately.
A few minutes later, He was having a live chat with a doctor, attending to him right from his bed. “I can’t feel my waist down to my legs. My limbs are lame!”.
Tears flowed down his cheeks. He couldn’t believe his situation as millions of thoughts ran through his mind
“You are experiencing paraplegia”. The doctor said. He became more concerned as Dave could barely respond to his other questions. He knew Dave was in pain, alone, and needed help.
The doctor retrieved Dave’s contact address from their patients’ information bank and sent an ambulance with a doctor to stabilize and convey him.
Dave was conscious with his eyes wandering around yet he couldn’t leave his bed.
As he lay down on his bed helpless, hot tears rolled down his pillow. ‘How could I be this helpless? Perhaps my day is near”. He thought.
He gazed at the clock attached to the wall. Exactly 25 minutes after, he heard an ambulance siren moving toward his apartment. The sound became stronger as it got closer
“Could this be a dream? Can we have it better? This sounds too good to be true”. He blinked his eyes.
Considering the royal care Dave received through Novomed, he did not doubt that it was possible to have healthcare services at his fingertips and that kindness still exists in the heart of Man.
The secret to a healthy and happy life is to have at least someone who genuinely cares and gives support at the point of need
Dave concluded.
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sleep paralysis
Overview
Sleep paralysis( SP) is a body immobility that happens to people while sleeping and it doesn’t matter whether the person is healthy or not. It could be a result of Posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD), cataplexy(muscle weekends triggered by strong emotions), narcolepsy(sleep disorder which causes extreme daytime sleepiness in its victim), insomnia(total lack of sleep),
hypnotic hallucinations, etc.
This health condition becomes a terror at night for its victims because they usually do not see it coming. The victim may not be able to speak or move all parts of the body (complete paresis) or some parts of the body (partial paresis)
How Sleep Paralysis occurs
Sleep paralysis occurs in one of these two ways; hypnagogic sleep paralysis and hypnopompic sleep paralysis.
Hypnagogic sleep paralysis This is also called preorbital sleep paralysis. It occurs before sleeping. Your body begins to gradually relax as you snooze. Most of the time, you become unaware or fail to notice the shift. You might discover that you are unable to move or speak while falling asleep.
Hypnopompic: This is also referred to as postdormital sleep paralysis. It occurs after waking up from sleep. The body switches between NREM (non-rapid eye movement) and REM (rapid eye movement) ¾ or 75% of total sleep duration is spent in non-rapid eye movement (NREM). The body unwinds and heals itself when you sleep in the NREM cycle. The last ¼ or 25% of sleep duration transits to REM ( i.e Sleep transits to REM at the end of NREM.)
While the eyes are moving swiftly, the body is extremely relaxed. During REM, muscles are “shut down”. If one wakes before the REM cycle is over, there’s a possibility to experience sleep paralysis
Common Patterns of Sleep Paralysis
These are major patterns of paralysis
Monoplegia: This affects one body part. The victim is unable to move one body part like the arm or leg,
Hemiplegia: This kind of paralysis affects one side of the body. Left hemiplegia affects the left side of the body with the spine dividing the body into two halves. Right hemiplegia affects the right side of the body with the spine dividing the body into two halves.
Diplegia: Here paralysis affects the same body parts. For example, both arms, legs, or both sides of the face are paralysed. There are various varieties of diplegia depending on the body part affected. It is typically a result of cerebral (brain) involvement which thereby manifests paralysis on the same body parts.
Paraplegia: This is similar to diplegia with an extra, torso( trunk of human body part like the shoulder, waist hip, etc included.
Quadriplegia: From quad which means four. This paralysis involves the limbs.
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A Note from Novomed Clinic:
Self-medication/diagnosis can drastically alter your health. Some illnesses have similar signs and symptoms for which only specialists have specific solutions. Every fever is not malaria. Every headache does not need paracetamol.
A little discomfort or brief illness can become life-threatening if not properly managed or handled the wrong way.
Make a wise choice today by choosing from our variety of convenient physical & mental health service options. Our healthcare physicians are waiting to help you achieve a good and healthy lifestyle.
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