Night Terrors vs Nightmares and causes

Gingerbrew

I have always had vivid dreams with a great deal of recall of the details. My dreams are rarely disturbing and I often problem solve in my dreams.   However I also have night terrors that have come and gone all my life. Lately they have escalated and are becoming a real problem. Last night my husband tells me I screamed out 6 times between 10:30 and 1AM. At one AM he woke me up yelling at me to "wake up, wake up, this is terrible!" I only recall him yelling.

I feel like I do not get restful sleep and most often don't even know if I have had terrors or not. I asked my husband to describe the scream and he told me it was a primal sort of scream, not a shriek. 

I am 66 years old, have completed treatment and am on Arimidex generic. 

Thanks for any feedback or info you might have. This is distressing me more because my poor husband and our two dogs suffer through this. Me, I just feel kind of wrecked when I wake up. 

Thanks Ginger

zap

Hi Ginger,

I suffer from very vivid nightmares that  are almost epic in nature (they actually have plots and go on until I wake up feeling  like hell).  I got so desperate that I asked for medical help and was on trazodone (hope I have that right), but it put me in such a deep sleep that I had trouble waking up.  I maybe was still dreaming but the sleep was so deep that I did not recall it. I then was put on Lexapro and it actually made it all worse, so I quit that one. I would love not being able to recall my dreams, but that is not the case for me. If it interupts your husband's sleep, consider the trazodone and he can tell you if you are at peace. It may help you with feeling awful as you will have restorative sleep. Check all your meds to be sure they are do not cause sleep disturbances.  A last resort (and I am not at this point yet) would be a sleep clinic.  I wish you well.....we need our sleep!

Gingerbrew

Thanks Zap!   My night mares and night terrors seem to be two distinctively different events. I never remember anything about the terrors even when awakened during one.   My dreams I have good recall of.   It is the terrors that are such a problem and exhausting too.  Is trazadone a sleeping pill? I would love to blot out these terrors and maybe feel like I have actually slept through the night.

Thanks again

GInger

barbe1958

Ginger, I have night terrors and DO remember what happens!! Those dreams can stay with me for days, making me sad and anxious. I am on an anti-anxiety med already, so the doc just added a smaller dose to take as I go to bed. It seems to get me through the time where I would have the disturbing dream and I don't wake up at night even to pee! I still dream quite vividly, but at least people stay alive in my new dreams. Get some medical intervention as the lack of quality of sleep will affect your entire well-being; as well as that of your DH's!!! Good luck, sweetie!

(Do you take blood pressure meds? They can cause quite vivid dreams, too)

zap

barbe is right about the blood pressure meds.  Google your meds as they can cause sleep disturbances if you take bp meds.  Some antidepressant drugs (like Lexapro) cause very vivid dreaming and could cause night terrors you do not remember.  Trazadone is a different type of antidepressant that you take at night to sleep deeply.  The idea being you have the rem sleep but you are deeply asleep and less bothered by the rem (dream time). I have a very vivid imagination and so it rears its UGLY head when I sleep.  Good luck.  Do not drink alchohol at night as that too can disturb sleep if you are sensitive.