Morning terrors?

[ChristianWithHope]

Does anyone suffer from morning terrors? On good days I get 6 hours of heavy sleep but then wake up to mini nightmares as I'm half awake half asleep. Just as l start to go back to sleep, bam, I will have a short random dream that startles me awake with strong images and I panic. This happens over and over until I finally get out of bed. The rest of my day is filled with dread, anxiety and deep depression.

Both my mother and father suffered with anxiety and depression so I know there's a strong genetic predisposition.

I'm so tired of this.

Currently on 20 mgs lexapro, abilify and various sleep meds.

Praying for you all,

ChristianWithHope

[Ardraven]

You don't take zolpidem amongst the "various sleep meds" do you?

[ChristianWithHope in reply to Ardraven]

No

[jjrp in reply to Ardraven]

Why do you ask?

[Ardraven in reply to jjrp]

Sorry it took me a while to reply to this, back before I gave up on using meds to sleep since it the worst of my sleep problems are related to my physical health problems and the sleep medication was proving too tempting when my anxiety flared up, zolpidem was one I tried when looking for a short acting option and I didn't take it for long as it put me to sleep but gave terrible nightmares. So I just wondered if it was a potential left field culprit here which it obviously isn't but that's why I asked

[lillyofthevalley37]

You seem to be on sertrogenic drugs so why not have a dopamine promoting supplement to balance everthing out ?

Tyrosine is a good supplement to promote dopamine

[Marshall64]

On work days I often wake up at 3:30 and can't get back to sleep because all of the sudden I get anxiety about work and life. I take klonopin to help sleep but it I still have the problem.

I take 10 mgs of lexapro. My doctor told me that 20 can cause anxiety. Abilify kept me from sitting still.

[ryee in reply to Marshall64]

You are so brave in dealing with your challenges! My wonderful wife has been dealing with withdrawl from Clonipin. It has been hell on earth for her. However she did some research and found a manual written by a Dr in England that offers a way of easing the withdrawl symtoms. Her name is Dr Ashton. Unfortunately she has passed away. I offer this information because thousands of people are feeling the physical and mental pain of withdrawing from Benzos. If you are one of those people please look her up and read her manual!

Also, my wife had been prescribed Abilify after an extended hospital stay. The drug causes Tardif Dicounesia a movement disorder.She could not stop moving almost all day! Òf course she ended up so fatigued that she felt like dropping on the floor.

The good news is that the TD has ended and Dr Ashtons advise is working and I feel my wife is slowly being herself again. Be tenacious and eventually things will get better. Rock on!

[elaine2447 in reply to ryee]

YOu are right about klonopin, and lorazepam also is lethal. Although the Ashton Manual is universally known, the ignorant GP's in in the UK have never heard of it. I was lucky that I joined a benzo recovery group on Facebook and because my GP left me to deal with it, they sent me this benzo.org.uk/manual/

[spotbon]

I have some night terrors. I sleep pretty well until around 12-2:00 am. I have to take a benzo pill to get back to sleep. I have been unsuccessful with any antidepressant (Lexapro was the first med. I tried) or anti-anxiety meds. I did a course of TMS and am now on maintenance once a week. It has helped with anxiety and depression. My family situation is pretty bad. My son is schizoaffective, on dialysis, and had throat cancer last year. He continues to smoke and is very dependent on me and has memory issues. It's hard not to be anxious when you're figuratively getting "hit over the head with a frying pan" almost daily in my psychiatrist words. Abilify didn't work for my son. Do you have a diagnosis? Mine is ptsd.

[ChristianWithHope in reply to spotbon]

I've had symptoms of anxiety as long as I can remember, but they've worsened over time. I had a traumatic event three years ago with the estrangement of my first born that certainly heightened my dysfunction greatly, but the fact I is I was depressed before then. I was treated for PTSD at that time.

So I suppose I have a dual diagnosis of GAD and depression.

Now I have some work related stressors that have sent me into a worry catastrophic cycle, and with that the worry that I won't be able to break out of it. I know it's irrational. I know my mind is getting way ahead of itself. I desire control in a world where some things can't be controlled. I've done CBT and ACT which has been helpful at times. I also see a therapist.

Thanks for the response,

ChristianWithHope

[spotbon]

I understand your frustration with factors beyond your control. That stresses me out too. I have been retired 15 years, but in the past I think I had a better handle on things than I do now. TMS is expensive even with health insurance, but might be worth a try. It hasn't "fixed" me, but It has made life more bearable. If you aren't familiar with it, it's transcranial magnetic stimulation to the area of the brain to stimuate it to feel better. I have two more maintenance treaments and then my doctor and I will decide how to proceed. Talk therapy has never helped me much. Good luck to you,

[NeuronerdDoaty]

These happen during a phase called ‘slow waves of sleep’. Lexapro won’t help these. It’s out of your system by these late hours of sleep. If you can go back to sleep I’d ask your doc if you can try prozasin when you wake up so you can finish your night. It’s very helpful in these types of dreams.

Best of luck to you

Doaty💛

[elaine2447]

I blame my wake up terrors on lorazepam which were 3, 4 or 5 every morning for two months, and also my morning cortisol rocketted to twice the high end normal. I felt nauseous, sweating, heart racing and in a total panic. This is a copy of the Ashton Manual which the guy referred to below benzo.org.uk/manual/

I only got an average of 2 or 3 hours sleep as once I had woken up, used to just lie there feeling like death waiting to get up at 7.30 or 8.

[Saltwater]

I get these sometimes, I think they might be hypnopompic hallucinations. They happen to me right before the alarm goes off or the hour up to it. It's kind of like in between being asleep and awake? They can really make me jump like a figure coming at me, or a voice saying my name and I never know if I have actually heard it or if I dreamt it. It's that vivid. I think it said they happen because your REM sleep starts to merge with your waking stage and the two combine to create 'hallucinations'. They are called that because they are not really dreams because you are not truly asleep, although you might feel you are.

People can be more prone to getting them if they are depressed, sleep deprived, or if you are like me....a little over imaginative/creative. Great minds do create all sorts of trouble for their owners and I think mine works overtime!

Have you ever had sleep paralysis with them. I have once. It was awful. It was very disturbing and it bothered me the whole day because I couldn't say if it was real or a dream. It felt like both.

Maintaining a regular sleep pattern might help and making sure you get 8 hours. Easier said than done! It sounds like you are getting them a little too regular so I think you might benefit from a professional opinion.

I don't know about anyone else but I suffer badly because of my dreams. They are never very nice and leave me feeling exhausted in the morning. I jump badly some times too and then my heart starts going and I can't get back. Once, I used to dream about rainbows and butterflies....now it's all manic and panic nonsense. If bad things happen to me in my dreams, I feel awful the next day. I find them hard to process and can't shake them off like others do.

Hope you get sorted soon and get some good quality shut eye.

xx