Suggest Treatment For Temporary Paralysis Of The Legs

Posted on Wed, 22 Mar 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 22 Mar 2017 Answered on

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : Every night about 1 hour after going to sleep my wife wakes and cannot move her legs. It lasts for about an hour and does not happen the rest of the night. She panics when she cannot move her legs and has trouble breathing. This never happens during the day even though she takes naps. She takes Lipitor, Tramadol, Nucynta ER ,and Eliquis before bed.

Answered by Dr. Seikhoo Bishnoi (24 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
This could be due to sleep paralysis.

Detailed Answer:
Hi, thanks for asking from HEALTHCAREMAGIC.COM

I can understand your concern. Neurological evaluation found nothing abnormal so we can easily rule out any causes related to spine. She wakes up in night and then can't move her legs. This could be occurring due to some sleep dysfunction. Sleep paralysis could be a possibility. In sleep paralysis individual wakes up from sleep and couldn't move limbs for some time. Some time this is related to disturbed sleep rhythm. Altered REM sleep could be the reason. You can ask her doctor for sleep EEG and this will rule out any chances of sleep paralysis.

Panic secondary to inability to move legs is resulting in breathing difficulty. First of all reassure her that there is nothing very serious. This is related to altered sleep rhythm and will go with treatment. Reassurance will reduce her panic and she will not have breathing difficulty. Please visit a good neuropsychiatrist for her evaluation.

Thanks. Take care

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar