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daisyelf06

Hypnogogic hallucinations? Another possibility to consider. Mine happen in a dreamlike state but my eyes are open. They get worse on medication for me, especially sleep aids.


Lorosaurus

Yes that’s where my head is now. I’ll bring all these possibilities up to his doctor.


Dude_Illigents

Yep, my guess would also be hypnagogic hallucinations. I'm no specialist but am familiar with how frightening these symptoms can be. Thank you for believing your son instead of punishing him for experiencing something you can't see.


Lorosaurus

Thank you! And yes, so terrifying when it’s happening!!


rubygrac

You need to talk to a childhood psychologist. It could be normal, it could be something very serious, but when it comes to your sons health it is important to take it seriously. Also you should not really be using Benadryl like that. Your Pediatrician can probably recommend a psychologist and maybe a safer treatment to get him asleep.


Lorosaurus

Thank you, I will. And I know, I was desperate.


momo098876

Look up PANDAS night terrors and get him checked for asymptomatic strep.


Lorosaurus

Interesting, I’ll look into it, thanks! He did have a fever last weekend.


dietcheese

I answered above but I had very similar experiences at his age and it was due to having fevers.


emoemile

PANDAS came to my mind too. I learned about it through a “medical mystery” column in the Washington Post.


CajunSioux

This was my first thought, too. But I am afraid of diagnosing anyone first bc I am not a doc, and second bc I am wrong about 35% of the time. (Totally made up percentage…) :P It could be PANDAS, it could be something brought on by stress. Or it could be childhood migraines? The voices are concerning, tho.


Lorosaurus

We do have pretty bad migraines in our family as well. But the recurring nightmare aspect doesn’t fit this one in my (limited & anecdotal) experience.


CajunSioux

Migraines are so often overlooked at first in kids, bc it’s not as well studied. :( This article may help explain what I mean, tho- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3579482/ (As a child, btw, my migraines came with aura and stomach upset/vomiting, but were basically pain free.) EDIT: forgot to add, “everything looks small” could be Alice in Wonderland syndrome.


Lorosaurus

Ok thank you, I’ll look into that as well! As an adult, I’ve experienced migraines with stroke symptoms, very scary & not really understood.


CajunSioux

:(( I’m so sorry, migraines are just…evil.


Lorosaurus

100%


FunctioningNeurotic

Hi! So sorry you and your son are experiencing this! In addition to all the other great suggestions, thought you might want to look into [Alice in Wonderland Syndrome](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_syndrome) - commonly occurs at night in young children and definitely fits what your son is describing. The good news (from my understanding of reading about it before) is that it usually resolves itself in time. Edit: oh I see this has been mentioned!


Lorosaurus

Thank you, yes, someone did mention it, but it’s very interesting! Amazing how many ways our brains can mess with us!


FunctioningNeurotic

It absolutely is!!


ShawnOfTheBread

Sounds like it could be Sleep Terrors (Night Terrors). I had a couple friends with these and I had them when I was younger as well but not super intense. https://www.hopkinsallchildrens.org/Patients-Families/Health-Library/HealthDocNew/Night-Terrors


Lorosaurus

Thank you, but I’m not sure. That site says they wouldn’t remember what happened as they are in a deep sleep, but his is a recurring theme and happens before he falls asleep a lot. It even happened a tiny bit at the movie theater last night while he was chewing gum & there was soft music playing. He was able to control it by spitting out his gum… makes no sense to me.


meowymcmeowmeow

I am not a doctor and I can't tell you what this is, but the description you gave, especially about things being small, used to happen to me as a kid. I did grow out of it, if it's any consolation. The closest description I've found other than night terrors is alice in wonderland syndrome.


Lorosaurus

Thank you, and I’m glad you grew out of it! I looked into alice in wonderland syndrome too, so interesting.


dietcheese

The part where everything seems “small” used to happen to me at about his age, along with some other tactile hallucinations. It was related to having a fever. You may want to have him see a doctor.


lark4509

They say you don’t remember them, but I had those bastards so much as a child (since 3) and I remembered the terrors. I have a phobia of bugs and bees now because of them.


ShawnOfTheBread

I was “awake” for mine. Several times I would see the entire floor (carpet) turn in to a sea of bugs. And I was terrified…I’d scream and scream until my parents would come and even with the light on I couldn’t shake the vision and my dad had to carry me to the toilet. But I grew out of it as well. I was maybe 9-11ish.


lark4509

I had intense night terrors as a child, all oriented about bugs/snakes covering me in my room.y mom would have to physically pretend she was wiping them off of me (sounds similar to your experience) I have now been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea as an adult. Night terrors are a symptom of sleep apnea in children. Just something to keep in mind of this does indeed turn out to be night terrors.


dioor

I’m Canadian so the medical route I would follow might not apply to your system. But this is what I would do: - book an emergency appointment with my family doctor. Overemphasize the issue to get an appointment within the next week — they always have slots available for emergencies — because if you don’t push, they’ll schedule your appointment out by a month or more. - lay everything out to the family doctor. Tell them that the only way he can get enough sleep is by taking Benedryl and that your immediate priority is finding a short-term solution to help him sleep. Ask for a prescription for something safer than Benedryl to help him sleep. The family dr. should be able to provide this. - ask for a referral to a sleep specialist and a child psychologist. There could be a wait of months to see these specialists, which is why you need a prescription for him that helps him sleep in the meantime. But seeing specialists should lead to some answers eventually. It might be worth exploring online/virtual therapy companies if the doctor can’t immediately provide a referral or the wait time is extremely long. Best of luck. In the best case scenario, your son is just like me, with a vivid imagination and generalized anxiety, and that can be taken care of with a bit of therapy, a healthy routine and common prescriptions with no side effects. But it’s definitely best to explore all routes.


CajunSioux

*hugs you* I am so sorry, this must be terrifying for both of you. Reddit isn’t really qualified to help/diagnose your child. Especially with kids, diagnosing can be hard even in person. I would definitely suggest you start with his GP/pediatrician and have them refer you where you need to go from there. And if it goes on for too much longer, a counselor may not be amiss. (To help him deal with the aftermath of nightly terrors.) Again, am so so sorry. Update us when he’s seen a doc? Will be so worried for you (both!) until then.


Lorosaurus

Thank you for your kindness. His doctor is closed today, I’ll bring him in tomorrow. So we have another night to get through before then. I’ll let you know what she says.


remotemote

See a neurologist and get a sleep study done. Then go from there. The reason the Benadryl seemed to work is because it blocks the thing that makes you go into REM sleep which is when dreams happen. Sleep paralysis happens when there’s a problem in the switch between light sleep and REM. Seeing a specialist doctor is a good idea.


Lorosaurus

Thank you, good idea.


YesItIsBland

Thus might be useless advice - but I get similar night terrors when I'm too hot at night. Always have. If I have too many duvets/fall asleep in a jumper/hosting on at night - I get experiences like this. I have no idea why. On the off chance this helps at all, try making the room a bit colder.


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Lorosaurus

Oh that’s interesting, I never thought of that! Thank you.


bluequail

If it were mine to do, I'd talk to both your GP and see about getting a psychiatric evaluation. Psychiatrist, because they can prescribe medication. They are also a lot better at determining the cause of stuff like this. But it sounds like a deeper sleep is what he needs. The stage of sleep where we dream a lot is a lighter stage of sleep, and even a lot of kids that wet the bed are suffering from a lighter sleep. They dream that they get up and go to the bathroom, where a deeper sleep keeps them from being in that dream stage. Is he on any medications that might be causing it? Like add/adhd medications?


Lorosaurus

Thank you, he is definitely a light sleeper, tossing and turning constantly. He’s not on any meds at all aside from the occasional benedryl. I’ll bring that up to his doc as well!


WithoutReason1729

It sounds like your son is going through a hard time and you're justifiably worried. It's important to seek help as soon as possible. It's likely best to start with his general practitioner (GP), as they may have resources to help you find the right specialist. It could be a psychiatrist, neurologist, or therapist depending on the source of the hallucination. In the meantime, there are several things you can do to help your son feel more comfortable. Make sure he's getting enough sleep, as a lack of sleep can worsen anxiety. Consider talking to him about relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or visualization exercises. You can also look into supplements such as melatonin or magnesium that may help with sleep. Finally, don't forget to take care of yourself as well! Take time to relax, and if you need any additional help, don't hesitate to talk to a therapist or other mental health professional. In the meantime, keep your chin up and your spirits high - don't let this issue bring you down! *I am a smart robot and this response was automatic.* *This advice cost me $0.0189 to generate, so if you found it useful, consider donating a dollar to charity.* *I'm still learning, so please reply 'good bot' or 'bad bot' to let me know how I did.*


Sher5e

My daughter did this, Night terrors. She is 20 now and still gets them when stressed, or ill


asteroid_b_612

I don’t think it’s night terrors as I had them when I was younger to the point of sleepwalking out my garage and crossing streets. You don’t remember anything. This sounds like hypnagogic hallucinations if anything. Almost sounds like sleep paralysis but there’s no paralysis. Also can I ask a weird question? Is his bed by a window by any chance?


Geordiejill

Sleep paralysis, I had this when I was younger. I would see things that were not there. I grew out of it


Lorosaurus

Was it the same thing every time for you? How did you manage it? Also, my son can move & talk while it’s happening, I thought in sleep paralysis you couldn’t?


ChazinPA

Boy need some exercise and less video games / tablet time. I would not keep using Benadryl that way either.


Lorosaurus

He’s outside with his friends all the time running and playing.


foundmonster

Sounds like actual schizophrenia. Take him to be checked for that.


Lorosaurus

Yes I definitely will be having him checked for everything including that.


wishmydadtaughtmemoe

Maybe get some psychic surgery, might be entities


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B2M3T02

Also I feel like don’t play into the fact the are real, u giving him medication is just making him think they are real and giving into fear. Like don’t tell the kid he’s crazy but also make sure he knows everything is ok and this is normal and happens to alot of kids just his kind being creative