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I See Things That Are Not Real Or There When I Wake Up Sometimes?

UnhappyCoeliac
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UnhappyCoeliac Enthusiast
UnhappyCoeliac
Posted

It use to be alot worse before diagnosis but as the title suggests basically occassionaly I wake up facing the wall and I am greeted by a giant spider that looks oh so real... heart immediate starts to race "wtf is going on" etc... keep staring......and... its disappears.

The first time this happen I screamed the house down. Now I wake up I see the spider but simply wait 30 seconds or so and it disappears.

I have no idea what this is but I assume it is some sort of very weirdo hallucination. I never ever see nice stuff either... I wouldNT mind if i woke up and it was a hot naked chick or something... but not it has to be a massive spider or some sort of snake head.

I simply ignore it and it goes away but the spider is pretty much the same every time and I just wonder where on earth it could come from... haven't had it since being gluten free but only been gluten free 3 days or so.

I have never told anyone this or nor do I plan too... honestly its is the sounds silly and I am the one experiencing it. I just wonder if it related to gluten or any other celiac has encountered it? ;)

It doesnt bother me a whole lot even when I am half asleep and I wake up these days I know its not real... but it doesnt stop it occurring when i wake up

Happens maybe once a month or so :angry:

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Jestgar Rising Star
Jestgar
Posted

Does it really look like a spider? Or maybe do you sleep with your eyelids a bit open and you have dried goo on your eyeballs?

RiceGuy Collaborator
RiceGuy
Posted

Well, if it's what I see now and then, there's probably nothing to worry about.

Upon awakening from a dream state, sometimes the dream imagery persists into the waking state, and I see it even if I open my eyes. An easy test is if you look at a different spot on the wall. If the thing you're seeing stays in the same location within your scope of vision, that is, it moves with your eyes, then it's probably a residual image from a dream. Keep in mind that most people don't recall their dreams.

When it happens, the image (if a moving thing like a spider) will initially be moving, but will eventually stop moving, then fade away.

It actually has occasionally been a spider, though not every time.

Though I can see my eyelashes and eyebrows if I focus on them, it hasn't anything to do with this phenomena. Nor is it fuzz from a blanket or anything.

I hate gluten Apprentice
I hate gluten
Posted

Good luck with this, I know it has got to be hard even to post a thread like this. I hope you figure out what is going on. I would not be ashamed to ask your doctor though. Hang in there. You could named the spider, that might help lighten up a hard situation. Good luck.

jitters Apprentice
jitters
Posted

ok, that is SO weird. I do the EXACT same thing! I do think it is worse when I get into gluten, but who knows. It's always when I'm waking up and its always a spider! If I'm on my back I see spider webs falling on me from the ceiling. I always flip the blankets up over my head to keep them from landing on me. :ph34r: It feels so real doesn't it? It used to happen all the time to me. And they do just fade away, not just disappear.

I haven't had one happen in awhile, but when it does happen its the weirdest thing. It's not like I'm dreaming about spiders or anything. I always thought it was just that I was opening my eyes while I was still asleep. Odd that its always spiders and/or webs though.

Anyway, I'm sorry I don't have an answer but I just thought I'd let you know it happens to me too.

SGWhiskers Collaborator
SGWhiskers
Posted

Hypnogogic hallucinations.

I have something somewhat similar that only occurs once or twice a month now that I'm gluten free. It was daily in the worst parts of my prediagnosis. Fortunately, my images are not scary. Unfortunately, they are not hunky men either. Just altered images of my bedroom and weird sensations for hours on end. Pre Celiac diagnosis, I was on the hunt for my fatigue, and did some research on Narcolepsy. It seems there are lots of weird night time things that happen with narcolepsy. Later, I came across a post on Celiac.com that said narcolepsy and Celiac were somehow related. Made sense at the time, and I beleived it. I never saw research supporting it though.

I hope the spiders and snakes stay far far away and are replaced with hot women.

SGW

UnhappyCoeliac Enthusiast
UnhappyCoeliac
Posted
  • Author

thanks for the many posts here, looks like I finally know what is is, and it is realtaed to gluten as I suspected thank you!!! :lol::ph34r:

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RiceGuy Collaborator
RiceGuy
Posted

I suppose you could keep your eyes closed for a few extra minutes when you first wake up. Do you use an alarm clock to wake you?

Jeremiah Apprentice
Jeremiah
Posted
It use to be alot worse before diagnosis but as the title suggests basically occassionaly I wake up facing the wall and I am greeted by a giant spider that looks oh so real... heart immediate starts to race "wtf is going on" etc... keep staring......and... its disappears.

The first time this happen I screamed the house down. Now I wake up I see the spider but simply wait 30 seconds or so and it disappears.

I have no idea what this is but I assume it is some sort of very weirdo hallucination. I never ever see nice stuff either... I wouldNT mind if i woke up and it was a hot naked chick or something... but not it has to be a massive spider or some sort of snake head.

I simply ignore it and it goes away but the spider is pretty much the same every time and I just wonder where on earth it could come from... haven't had it since being gluten free but only been gluten free 3 days or so.

I have never told anyone this or nor do I plan too... honestly its is the sounds silly and I am the one experiencing it. I just wonder if it related to gluten or any other celiac has encountered it? ;)

It doesnt bother me a whole lot even when I am half asleep and I wake up these days I know its not real... but it doesnt stop it occurring when i wake up

Happens maybe once a month or so :angry:

Jeremiah Apprentice
Jeremiah
Posted
It use to be alot worse before diagnosis but as the title suggests basically occassionaly I wake up facing the wall and I am greeted by a giant spider that looks oh so real... heart immediate starts to race "wtf is going on" etc... keep staring......and... its disappears.

The first time this happen I screamed the house down. Now I wake up I see the spider but simply wait 30 seconds or so and it disappears.

I have no idea what this is but I assume it is some sort of very weirdo hallucination. I never ever see nice stuff either... I wouldNT mind if i woke up and it was a hot naked chick or something... but not it has to be a massive spider or some sort of snake head.

I simply ignore it and it goes away but the spider is pretty much the same every time and I just wonder where on earth it could come from... haven't had it since being gluten free but only been gluten free 3 days or so.

I have never told anyone this or nor do I plan too... honestly its is the sounds silly and I am the one experiencing it. I just wonder if it related to gluten or any other celiac has encountered it? ;)

It doesnt bother me a whole lot even when I am half asleep and I wake up these days I know its not real... but it doesnt stop it occurring when i wake up

Happens maybe once a month or so :angry:

If you are not 100% gluten-free you continue to have problems... There have been times where I believe everything I was eating was safe, but it wasn't. I've found you can't trust manufactures, they believe they are telling you the truth, even when they are not.

DingoGirl Enthusiast
DingoGirl
Posted

:o

I have had this since the age of 13, when I saw my very first huge insect......it was something like a three-foot long black beetle in the corner of my room. I let out a blood-curdling scream......this went on for years and the images would be insects or humans. Quite often a spider or swarm of locusts would be "descending upon me" in this half-sleep/half-awake state.

Later I was told they were night terrors - who knows. I was able to train myself to stop screaming.

I'm now 47, gluten-free for three years, and they still sometimes happen, so I'm not sure it's gluten-related, entirely. I still "see" things in my room - sometimes quite spooky, looking like spirits or ghosts. I PRAY them away and they vanish instantly.

It is interesting that you see the same spider thing every time. I have seen what I am quite sure were demons almost nightly on my bed, when I lived with some people for three months. I suppressed my screaming but felt the terror of those presences nearly every single night.....never saw those particular things again after leaving that house.

Um......you and many people may not like this answer but - prayer really helps.

:)

Jeremiah Apprentice
Jeremiah
Posted

Please don't take this wrong, but I didn't feel better until I quit praying and started thinking rationally. Systemattically I searched for a reason that matched my symptoms it took time, but eventually I found the answer.

I often tell friends, I understand why people go crazy... had I never found out about celiac disease I was well on my way. Since I went 100% gluten-free I'm great! Hope this helps.

DingoGirl Enthusiast
DingoGirl
Posted
Please don't take this wrong, but I didn't feel better until I quit praying and started thinking rationally.

well.......there aren't always rational answers for things. ;)

Nancym Enthusiast
Nancym
Posted

I used to have something similar happen. What I think it was I wasn't truly awake but I felt like I was. I'd be lying in bed and a shimmering, huge, translucent spider would be spinning it's way down on a bit of silk about to land on me. It was SO extremely realistic that there was no way I thought I was dreaming. I'd hop out of bed and pull off all my covers looking for the dang thing.

I had another thing happen once, just after I bought my first house. I woke up one day and started talking to my parents about the big bubble I found in the dry wall. I went all over the house looking for it, I'm still looking for it 10 years later! :D I guess I dreamed it. It was just so realistic.

Then another time I dreamed I was asleep and dreaming of an earthquake, in my dream I woke up and the earthquake was still happening. Then I woke up for real and there was no earthquake. Weirdly recursive.

So, don't know if it was related to my diet but we do have some weird states of consciousness sometimes. I don't think we're necessarily fully asleep or fully awake sometimes.

chatycady Explorer
chatycady
Posted

I used to wake up and see a bird hovering over me. My heart would race and I would be confused for a bit. It wasn't a bird, but our ceiling fan!! Doesn't happen anymore... :D:D:D Isn't that interesting???

gfmolly Contributor
gfmolly
Posted

That has happened to me and I have never linked it to gluten, but it was certainly during more stressful times of my life. I've seen spiders and bats. I'm not even scared of those things! Although the spiders have been pretty big! Interesting!! A also have not had one of those dreams since I have been gluten-free!

Yellow Rose Explorer
Yellow Rose
Posted

My mom had this happen to her and it was a medication she was taking for glacoma. She saw spiders. The Dr. took her off and she didn't see them again.

I have seen odd forms and asked my opthomologist about it he said it could be the floters in my eyes everyone has them and we don't notice them in the daylight but sometimes can see them if we close our eyes. They can be quite scary.

Yellow Rose

RiceGuy Collaborator
RiceGuy
Posted

I've had instances where I'd see something in my dream that looked different than everything else in the dream, and would remain in view while the dream scenes changed. The image would eventually become clearer, as I focused on it, trying to figure it out. After a while I'd wake up, and the rest of the image would become clear. Turns out, my eyes were opening while I slept!

I had another thing happen once, just after I bought my first house. I woke up one day and started talking to my parents about the big bubble I found in the dry wall. I went all over the house looking for it, I'm still looking for it 10 years later! :D I guess I dreamed it. It was just so realistic.

You may want to look into what are called "Orbs". Many people see them, and are sometimes captured on video, which suggests they're not a figment of imagination.

Jeremiah Apprentice
Jeremiah
Posted
well.......there aren't always rational answers for things. ;)

My reply... respectfully.... Or I should say I agree with Voltaire.

"The human brain is a complex organ with the wonderful power of enabling man to find reasons for continuing to believe whatever it is that he wants to believe."

I hate gluten Apprentice
I hate gluten
Posted

has anyone had their vitamin levels checked. I know b12 can mess with your brain when low. Just a thought

MoleyGirl Newbie
MoleyGirl
Posted

It sounds like you are having hypnogogic hallucinations associated with sleep paralysis (which can be associated with narcolepsy). Many people think that narcolepsy is just excessive daytime sleepiness or sudden sleep attacks but it can present itself in different ways. I have had many spider hallucinations. It is when your sleep architecture is skewed. Not sure what all is involved but neurotransmitters & autoimmune have been suggested. The hallucinations happen because your body is paralyzed during sleep so that you don't act out dreams. When you wake up, the paralysis should be gone, but if you wake up in the wrong sleep stage you may have a brief awake but still paralyzed moment where you hallucinate objects. It is scary, but more acceptable when you understand what is going on. I would research those topics.

  • 2 weeks later...
Crystal Brown Rookie
Crystal Brown
Posted
I'm now 47, gluten-free for three years, and they still sometimes happen, so I'm not sure it's gluten-related, entirely. I still "see" things in my room - sometimes quite spooky, looking like spirits or ghosts. I PRAY them away and they vanish instantly.

You better not be joking, Miss DingoGirl!! :) I see "things" too...

I have a black entity that appears before certain things happen. It floats around my room and then after the thing happens, it goes away.

I've had other things appear... but I don't wanna go into any further detail because I sound like I'm nutso! But yea, another option for these spider-like manifestations could be something vision related..

I get floaters that resemble nats and spiderwebs. They are very active in the morning and then when my protein intake isn't high enough. Are your vitamin levels where they should be?

I think people can also conjure up the things they may have phobias of. So, if the phobia isn't addressed, there may be subsequent issues where the brain manufacturers the crux of the phobia.

All just different ideas.. Or and my personal favorite:

"Is there ANY chance that your house may be haunted?" - The guy at Ace Hardware asked me this, in relation to a malfunctioning fan lamp question :D

ERR Apprentice
ERR
Posted

It sounds to me like hypnogogic or hypnopompic hallucinations (as was mentioned up-thread). I've had them for years. I see animials, insects, or people when I wake up. Since I've had some practice I usually can control my reaction enough to avoid screaming. Although both my wife and my younger borther (from my childhood days of sharing a room) could tell you some stories that don't make me seem so cool. I don't know if a connection to Celiac. But I am newly diagnosed and am really learning about Celiac now. For me I have learned to accept them as a part of my life and to focus on the fact that they are not really bad, just interesting.

cmom Contributor
cmom
Posted

I often wake up hearing music that isn't there. Have done this for many years. :)

Gentleheart Enthusiast
Gentleheart
Posted

Google "Sleep Paralysis". Click on Wikipedia's explanation. I think you will find it very interesting and helpful. :)

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