Night terrors

[hollykarma]

Why is it that all of a sudden I have started having night terrors. I have always been the sort of person who could deal with the normal nightmares. I have always been able to wake myself up from these. But now I am having night terrors. Last night I had two !!! It is getting to the stage where I am frightened to go to sleep. My night terrors always follow a similar pattern, feeling there is someone or something in the room with me, unable to move, then feeling something pushing down on me (sort of bouncing me on the bed). It might sound funny, but it is scaring the life out of me. Is there anything I can do to to stop having these ?

[Cookie72]

Hi there holly, may your meds are doing this if you feel this is so, you may need to change them, they also say if you eat late at night it can cause bad dreams ho true this I'm not sure all I know it happens to me if I eat late, but the I have Barretts Osophegus and am not suppose to eat late ...hope you soon sort this out....hugs...Dee x

[hollykarma]

I'm not on any meds at the moment. Nothing seems to agree with me. I could understand if I had suffered these episodes all my life, but I haven't. They only started about 2 years ago. I have always eaten late as I find I cannot sleep if hungry. I know it sounds funny to people who have never experienced them, but they are terrifying.

[Fibrofoggiest]

hi there holly, I used to get horrendous nightmares when I was a child and particular recurring ones, so you have my full sympathy on this. Do you find you wake up immediately having had the dream? As I read through your post I thought it sounds very much like odd ones I get even now, and I always wake up just at the most scary point, before the catastrophe engulfs me completely.

Can I ask, are you alone or do you have a partner with you? I am alone, (apart from two terriers on the bed ) but I feel safer because of that. I'm also wondering whether you have had something occur in your life recently, that might have kicked this off, you may not really be aware of it, but it might pay to sit down and think back over the last few months and work out any changes or events.

If this persists, I would mention it to your doctor and he can either get you some form of help, perhaps CBT or suggest some medication which may help, though you say meds don't agree with you, but there may just be something that could be done to alleviate these horrid, horrid nightmares.

Sending positive vibes your way

Foggy x

[hollykarma]

The trouble is they are not dreams as such. I am aware of my surrounding. I can move my eyes but nothing else. I am paralysed. It takes a few minutes before I can move. I feel like there is someone or something there in the room with me and then whatever it is shakes me violently. My whole body feels like it it actually bouncing on the bed. It feels like hands pushing down on me. I can actually feel the pressure of whatever is pushing me down. I cannot move at all and I am filled with an intense fear. I'm an adult and I am finding this all very unsettling.

[Julie63 in reply to hollykarma]

Hi hollykarma, I'm sorry to hear of your night terrors. You haven't said what meds you're on - I too have something like these, & so did my husband until he stopped taking Tramadol. It is one of the side effects from this pain med, to have these nightmares. If it's not the meds, it might be worth asking your gp to refer you for counselling. Talking about things going on in your life, or the night terrors themselves may help you get to the reason why you are having them hopefully leading to you suffering from them less.

Good Luck & Hugs,

Julie xxx

[Fibrofoggiest in reply to hollykarma]

Hi again holly, this is exactly what I have experienced, you are in a half awake, half asleep state and everything feels so real and yet you are paralysed and unable to move to get out of the situation. I am going to ask my doctor about it at some point and when I get an answer I will certainly let you know. It has such an impact that people who haven't experienced it can't really understand it, I've tried telling friends, and you are the first person I have come across who has had the same thing happen to them. Still sending positive vibes

Foggy x

[hollykarma]

I'm not on any medication at the moment because of side effects. Codemol causes slurred speech, tramadol caused migranes, gapapentin caused my gums to bleed (it got to the stage where I couldn't eat because my mouth was so painful). I cannot take anything stronger than paracetomol. I don't drink or smoke and I don't take any recreational drugs. The strange thing is that after a long time of stress and upset (benefits were stopped etc) I am now in a happier place. There is nothing I can think of that could be upsetting me.

[hollykarma]

Thank you fibrofoggiest. It is really quite frightening isn't it. I do know some other people who have had this but not on the scale that I seem to be getting them. The night before last I had it happen twice. I think its the fact that you cannot move that makes it so scary. You can't turn your head to see what it is in the room but you know there is something there. Once I have acknowledged that there is something there the physical sensation of someone pushing and shaking me begins. I am on my own when this happens so I know it isn't just someone playing a prank.