I can't believe I'm going to share this but because I've shared it with pain management and the GP and not got any help or advice I'm going to go for it.

I have chronic pain from spinal and neurological problems and CRPS which is not well managed thanks to me being stuck on medications I am tolerant to, so sleep is very hard to achieve. Even with strict sleep "hygiene" practices, I am often awake til 4am. So sleep is already restricted to about 2-3 hours a night. Sometimes I'll get really lucky and have 4 hours but that's not common. Sometimes I will get a chance to catch up a little with a nap through the day (please don't tell me this won't help as I know that and have spent years not napping, but try not sleeping properly for 5 years straight lol) but more often I can't. This means I'm pretty knackered all the time obviously.

On top of that, what started as sporadic episodes of sleep paralysis when I was about 11 have now progressed, presumably from overtiredness, to up to 10 episodes a *night*. I get it while falling asleep mostly. I know to tell myself not to be frightened and to wait for it to pass, but that's easier said than done when you're half asleep, so after they pass I tend to spend another half an hour or so attempting not to go back to sleep. On the occasions where I get it from semi-waking up, I also have very vivid dreams that seem to be real in that they are always 'set' in my bed and within seemingly seconds of 'proper' sleep, (and this is the really embarrassing) I have orgasms - painful, nasty, not pleasant ones. These are particularly 'bad' on nights where my pain levels are particularly high and my sleep quality is at its worst. I would say those episodes are less frequent than the normal sleep paralysis but are still happening two or three times a week.

I've read up online and can't find anything about this other than "it happens", and nothing about the link to pain (which I'm certain is the issue) but this is literally making me want to stay awake more. It is so tiring. The only people I have shared this with other than my husband (GP and pain clinic) seem to think it's funny and don't see why I have a problem with it. My husband assures me I'm doing nothing in my sleep to bring it on (God this is embarrassing). The only advice I get sent away with is the sleep hygiene stuff that has made no difference because my pain hasn't been addressed and likely never will be (my pain doctor says if I'm tolerant to my buprenorphine patches I will automatically already be tolerant to all other opiates and just keep sending me home with them, my GP won't change my meds without the pain clinic or another hospital clinic giving guidance).

I was wondering if anyone else had experienced so much sleep paralysis that something "had to give"? And if so what their docs tried? Thanks. God I hope noone I know ever comes here.