[tillytot42]

I have terrible episodes of nightmares,this one has gone on for about a month. I'm usually being attacked in some form and often my ex husband is in them laughing at me. I'm now not wanting to go to sleep asi don't know what will happen in my dreams.
Has anyone dealt with this and if so how? Thanks.

[avlady]

i suffer from nightmares every single night. i do have sleep apnea. the dreams are soo bad i could never even explain how they are or what they are about, as i usually forget them after waking up after an hour or two. I do remember some of them and they are so unbelievable and crazy i get scared thinking of them.

[winter4me]

For some time now, my dreams have been disturbing, making waking in the morning an unpleasant time. I don't know why it is happening now, like you it often involves past pain (my ex, family of origin...old issues/anger/grief/loss...)---I wish I could stop. My dreams (when I was younger and really in trouble) used to comfort me...no longer.
I haven't decided whether to openly explore the dream themes or try to send them packing as soon as possible by jumping out of bed, doing something else....
Something, probably aging and major life changes with a shorter time span ahead, is bringing this on----(for me). I hear you & empathize/sympathize. I used to keep a record of my dreams but burned this years ago; now I wish I had those journals to read...to look back at more affirmative images & themes of growth/acceptance.
Even then, there was a repetitive nightmare; but it changed little over the years; I haven't had that one for years....almost even wish for that, at least it was "known" and "old", and ameliorated by kinder, magical dreams...

[elevatedsoul]

night terrors what i always called them :
A night terror, sleep terror or pavor nocturnus is a parasomnia disorder, causing feelings of terror or dread, and typically occurring in the first few hours of sleep during stage 3 or 4 non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.[1] Night terrors tend to happen during periods of arousal from delta sleep, also known as slow wave sleep.[2][3][4] During the first half of a sleep cycle, delta sleep occurs most often, which indicates that people with more delta sleep activity are more prone to night terrors.[3] However, they can also occur during daytime naps.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_terror

like you said, sometimes they last for a while and sometimes i have "relief" where i just dont remember the dreams.
It sucks but i guess its like a virtual experience of a possible reality right? I used to be scared to go to sleep but now it just turned into me not being so bothered/scared of the dreams and just causing insomnia ?

i hope you get some relief soon

[Lamia_13]

TERRORMARES..... I call mine, experiencing them for over two years.

Taking prazosin (minipress) for a couple of months & have seen effectiveness in terrormares' reduction and content themes of the dreams.

Quick reference:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/760070

Interesting note:
Prazosin is an alpha-adrenergic blocker originally used to treat hypertension. "The reason we think it works in the setting of nightmares is that prazosin crosses the blood–brain barrier, so it gets into the brain and kind of dampens the norepinephrine effects, which we think contribute to nightmares," he said.

Limitations of the systematic review include the small number of studies and of patients, the fact that most of the trials were from related researchers (all from the United States), and the variability of inclusion criteria, psychiatric comorbidities, follow-up period, outcome measures, and concurrent medications allowed. ~Simon Kung, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and consultant in psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA

Good luck, hope this info helps you.

[sephanna]

Originally Posted by tillytot42

I have terrible episodes of nightmares,this one has gone on for about a month. I'm usually being attacked in some form and often my ex husband is in them laughing at me. I'm now not wanting to go to sleep asi don't know what will happen in my dreams.
Has anyone dealt with this and if so how? Thanks.

i have a lot of bad dreams. for my dreams tell me something. yours tells me that you feel embarrassed about something that happened with your ex. like you've lost something. he's taking your happiness away, thats what being a attacked means to me. that someones attacking my soul.

[tillytot42]

He totally attacked my soul that is a brilliant way of describing it.
I saw my doctor yesterday I am now reducing one of the medications I'm on as it can cause nightmares. I really hope it works. Slept on the sofa last night again,I don't seem to get them there only in my own bed. I'm also going to work on making my diet more healthier to see if that also helps.

[justbeingme80]

Like Lamia_13, I take prazosin for nightmares. It does help. Mine were pretty bad and to the point where I didn't want to go to sleep and didn't want to sleep by myself. I'd get very anxious before bed because of the nightmares. Incidentally, prazosin has been used and is being studied by the VA for help in reducing PTSD symptoms.

[tillytot42]

I wonder if its available in the uk?x

[Lamia_13]

@justbeingme80 ... Yes, VA successes are inside the article I linked inside my post. Here's another quick-read with related info and more......

Prazosin for PTSD

My take-away note from ^ ....
"Prazosin is prescribed "off label" to treat the severe nightmares and other sleep disturbances related to PTSD, meaning that it has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for that use. But doctors can legally prescribe any treatment they deem appropriate for a patient's condition. Both the American Psychiatric Association and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs say that prazosin has been effective in helping combat veterans who have nightmares.

Prazosin is the most thoroughly studied drug in regard to PTSD and sleep among the class of medications known as alpha-1 blockers. In addition to preventing nightmares and insomnia, it can help improve overall symptoms, such as flashbacks, startle response, and irritability or anger, and it can be taken with an antidepressant."