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Wake Up Don't Know Where I am and Who I'm With

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This is legit one of the scariest experiences for me. It's happened several times in the past year and occurred again last night after a long reprieve. I awoke shortly after falling asleep next to my husband at home. I didn't know who he was, where I was, or what time frame I was in. I literally thought he was a woman. I kept telling myself that it would clear up and I'd remember and that surely I was in a safe place where I was supposed to be and it would all makes sense soon. Well, it didn't. It took a while. During that time I feared I'd never get back to reality and might be stuck in that confusion forever. When I realized who my husband was I kept feeling my brain trying to slip back into confusion. Anxiety on 1,000 I laid awake in bed repeating something out loud to keep my focus. Wth is happening to me?!?
 
It's happened several times in the past year
Any new meds, head injuries/concussion, or hospital-level infections (think meningitis, sepsis, etc.), or fevers past 104F /40C, in the 6mo prior to the first event -or- since they got worse?

Because it’s a common rare side effect of all 4 things. ((Rare is a misnomer in side effects. It only means 1:10,000 to 1:1,000. Divide that into 300 million? And you’re looking at apx 300,000 / 1,200,000 people in the US who will experience that side effect if any of those things happen))

It’s ALSO a normal thing that most people experience to varying degrees with “only” a change in environment, or sudden stress increase. Waking up disoriented in hotel rooms, is probably the most common in adults, outside of new parents (who have increased stress, new ennvironment, AND sleep dep on board); but kids who end up sleeping upside down twice a week can do that, twice a week, too. Just from waking up in a weird position <<< Like the normal range of disassociation that most people experience ‘driving on autopilot’ and not remembering the route they’ve taken a million times? >>> Being disoriented upon waking is something that most people experience occasionally. It only becomes concerning if it extends past a few seconds/few minutes, or is happening with greater frequency/duration, or there have been things (like new meds, head injuries, infections, etc.) that may be causing it & need to be addressed.

Those 4 things are NOT the only causes of disoriented waking... they’re just some of the most common causes. Like a baby crying usuallly means they’re hungry, wet, or tired.
 
Sounds awful. I'd like to know what it is too. It's kinda what my guy describes. He wakes from a nightmare and after a few moments/minutes he can see where he is but the feelings and emotions are still in the nightmare/trauma. Part of him knows he's safe but not all of him. It's like the brain and eyes aren't working together.

He usually has a glass of water and a cigarette (yeah I know not the safest thing to do!) in the living room and will eventually fall back to sleep. And he ends up right back in the same nightmare.

Sheesh, our brains are so complicated.


(Following along)
 
It's kinda what my guy describes. He wakes from a nightmare and after a few moments/minutes he can see where he is but the feelings and emotions are still in the nightmare/trauma
Yeah... when I’m half in / half out of a nightmare... nothing that wasn’t present back then (including people) parse. Someone I’ve known for 20 years is a total stranger. It’s worse when it’s a flashback style nightmare, as the flashback tends to bridge the nightmare into reality in a really uncomfortable way. But it can happen with any kind of dream where I’m still stuck half in dreamland, half in reality. Stimulants (Sudafed, cigarettes, coffee, etc.) help. A lot. So does standing in a shower, but I’ve run through the hot water doing that and “wake up” in ice cold water with my skin all red and the room all steamy IDFK how many times, between one blink an the next. Cold showers? Can. Kiss. My. Ass. I despise cold showers. So I usually put it off until I’m awake-awake.
 
Sometimes when it happens, I have felt like I'm back in time living in my home state. There's not usually a nightmare piece attached, just literally a memory block about where I am, when I am, and who else is in the room.

I've had a few frontal lobe seizures before and have wondered if this is more along those lines. I really hope not. At the same time, I sure as heck need to figure it out. I'm interestingly depressed during the day and anxiety-ridden when going to bed.
 
Any new meds, head injuries/concussion, or hospital-level infections (think meningitis, sepsis, etc.), or fevers past 104F /40C, in the 6mo prior to the first event -or- since they got worse?

Because it’s a common rare side effect of all 4 things. ((Rare is a misnomer in side effects. It only means 1:10,000 to 1:1,000. Divide that into 300 million? And you’re looking at apx 300,000 / 1,200,000 people in the US who will experience that side effect if any of those things happen))

It’s ALSO a normal thing that most people experience to varying degrees with “only” a change in environment, or sudden stress increase. Waking up disoriented in hotel rooms, is probably the most common in adults, outside of new parents (who have increased stress, new ennvironment, AND sleep dep on board); but kids who end up sleeping upside down twice a week can do that, twice a week, too. Just from waking up in a weird position <<< Like the normal range of disassociation that most people experience ‘driving on autopilot’ and not remembering the route they’ve taken a million times? >>> Being disoriented upon waking is something that most people experience occasionally. It only becomes concerning if it extends past a few seconds/few minutes, or is happening with greater frequency/duration, or there have been things (like new meds, head injuries, infections, etc.) that may be causing it & need to be addressed.

Those 4 things are NOT the only causes of disoriented waking... they’re just some of the most common causes. Like a baby crying usuallly means they’re hungry, wet, or tired.
Nothing new like that. The only thing is an increase in stress and routine changes, but geez, this response would be way overkill if so.
 
I have similar experiences and mine are due to dissociative parts intruding. For example, I will lie in bed at night and I will feel younger and actually kind of think I am in my childhood home in bed. It feels strange.
 
I've had a few frontal lobe seizures before and have wondered if this is more along those lines

I have had seizures as well as lesions in the executive white matter of my front lobe. Between the MRI, full blood panel as well as the Neurologist I was able to retrieve some of my memory concerns (when they did not directly connect to flashbacks). My flashbacks are different and it takes time to learn which is which as we move forward with memory concerns.

So if you haven’t already scheduled medical follow up, please consider doing so and having a nutritionist or General Practicer review everything as well may actually slow the fog or change it to a more manageable life. I still have sleep concerns but I take naps and make sure my sleep is at least 4 hours in a clip to allow REM. My memory with tailored nutrients allow synaptic firing at a stronger rate. I have improved in memory.

I wish the best for you: it is indeed very frightening in the midst of it all...but have faith in hope for a light at the end of the tunnel. Take care.
 
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