[Lacy Rose]

Hello! I have complex PTSD as well as anxiety and depression. Therapy has helped me tremendously. The one thing that hasn't improved is my sleep. Every night I wake up between 3 and 3:30am... when I was 4 years old my father was in a drunken rage and tried to kill our family and after quite a fight he was shot and killed. I was awake during this and he was shot at 3:20am... my theory is that my body is remembering and waking me up. I have gotten used to this and usually go right back to sleep. I am recently married and my husband tells me that I cry and moan in my sleep, curl up into a ball and whimper, squeeze and twist his hand, punch him, etc...
I have no sense of having a dream when I wake and no memory of being active in my sleep.
Does anyone else have sleep disturbances like this? Should I have a sleep study done? It troubles me that I am interrupting my husbands sleep with my sleep problems.

[shabur]

Lacy Rose

You have a few of my diagnosies. I struggled quite a bit with sleep; falling asleep, staying asleep and having nightmares. I was seeing my GP for my meds - we had tried several different meds that weren't working. I was the one to ask my GP for a sleep study.

When we sleep, our muscles are suppose to go into a paralytic state to protect us. That you are actually moving around aggressively is a problem. There is a diagnosis called restless leg syndrome. I wonder if you have a form of it.

I think a sleep study is a great idea. It's a pretty simple test. You spend the night in a comfortable, hotel like room. Sensors are placed on your arms and legs to monitor muscle movement. More sensors are placed on your head to monitor your brain activity, and when and how long you are in each sleep stage. They monitor your heart rate, breathing and oxygen saturation. And finally, there is a camera in the room to watch you as you sleep. If they see you are in danger they wake you and do whatever needs to be done.

You get your results in a few days and a plan to resolve any issues your study shows.

My results showed I had sleep apnea. I stopped breathing several times an hour, sometimes for as long as a minute and I was only getting to 2 of the 5 stages of sleep. I was put on a CPAP that has helped quite a bit. I still struggle with sleep, but it's more due to what I'm working on in therapy. I do take sleep meds to help. I sleep much better.

[Lacy Rose]

I had a sleep study done about 8 years ago. At that time they were testing for sleep apnea. The results showed that I stopped breathing an average of 3 times an hour and they require 5 or more to diagnose as sleep apnea, so no treatment for that. They also found I had periods of wakefulness but no apparent reason why. (It was between 3 and 3:30am... I know why!) At that time I don't believe I was moving during sleep. I do think restless leg syndrome sounds like a fit. I think I'll ask for a study to see what's up. Thanks!

[WePow]

wow. I am so sorry you endured that!!! No wonder you wake up at that time.

I also have C-PTSD and had trouble staying asleep. I also have DID and my alters would get up at night and such. I finally had to break down and allow my psych doc to put me on Trazadone. For me, that is working.

Another thing you might want to try is EMDR therapy. Eye movement desensitization. nIt helps to actually process the trauma inside the brain and move the memory from the short term memory locations over to the long term memory sections which are further away from the hypocampus. That means the memory stops being an active threat.

Another option to try would be to set an alarm to go off about ten min before you would automatically wake up... make it something very soothing like nature sounds.... That will give your brain something new and calming to anticipate to overwrite the warning that is etched there right now.

big safe hugs for you!!!!

[Lacy Rose]

Thanks! I have done EMDR although it was about 10 years ago. I only did 6 sessions and the therapist declared me done... didn't really feel done to me... I'm in therapy now with a clinical psy. who concentrates on interpersonal and CBT. She has experience with ptsd and has written several books on the subject. Very supportive and helpful. I have never thought of using an alarm... great idea, I'll try that! Sounds like you have been through a lot too! I only shared just a teeny tiny portion of my history. Hard to open up about it all especially in a new place... I'm sure I'll share more here as time goes on. Health and happiness to you!