Night terrors

julie1445

I sit up on my couch right now, I went to bed a little over 30 minutes ago. I have night terrors that come and go, after 16 years i finally broke down and had to see a therapst, sleep specialist and they put me on all kinds of pills to try and get me to sleep without a single one of them working. Then in the middle of this testing and drugs i get pregnant. Tonight was the worst night terror i have had in a long time. I look up from my bed to the door and there are two ghosts there, its my kids, i scream and turn around and my youngest disapears but my oldest i see crawl on the top of my bed up to the wall and leaves that way. My husband of course wakes up from my screaming and cant comfort me because i have just seen my 2 kids dead. My throat is raw from screaming and i cant go back to sleep. I dont want another night terror, when they are that bad i can have multiple ones in a night sonce my sleep cycle is interrupted. Anyone else who is pregnant have night terrors too? Mine always were bad when i was pregnant, with my daughter i remember a few bad ones. Its a nice feeling to know im no alone suffering through this right now, especially when pregnancy it always seems to get worse

dev85

OMG that's terrible! I'm so sorry you have to go through that. I'm a ftm so I've never had any night terrors involving my own children. I do have nightmares from time to time and I have had a few since being pregnant but nothing quite that bad. My nightmares usually come in waves. I'll have many frequently for a month or so and then I won't have one for months. I honestly think in my case that it is work/ stress related.
I can sympathize with how it can truly interfere with your sleep. When they're happening frequently I often don't want to go to sleep because I'm afraid of having one. Like you I'll wake up screaming, petrified, sweating and just a complete mess because it feels so real.
I hope that you can get some rest
I know it sounds silly, but an ex had given me a dream catcher and I have to say that the nightmares haven't been as frequent site it's been hanging by my bed.

happywifemama

Omg im so sorry you have nightmares like that! Wow that's awful! I have a lot of nightmares but not as terrifying as what you described but mine bother me enough I have to go on my phone and distract myself hoping it's enough and that I don't go right back to the same nightmare that happens to me a lot. I can wake myself up too which is good I guess?

vtgoodspeed

I had night terrors as a child and get them often while pregnant. Mine so far have not been as bad as yours. Last nights were that some one was watching me and I found a girl bleeding out from being raped and I've had several with people trying to kill me. I hope this doesn't continue for you. I recognize mine for what they are now and disect them down in my head to minimize the impact if them. Most of mine are not too realistic. I wish there was a good way to comfort you. You are not alone.

cosplaymom

Have you tried changing your routine? Dreams can be effected by what we were thinking or doing before sleeping. Maybe something new could make the difference for you. This is like hacking your brain to make it dream about something nice or mundane.

Some suggestions to try in the evening if any of these are unusual for you:

- exercise before bed
- read a novel in bed until you fall asleep
- pray for peace and good dreams
- avoid caffeine after lunch
- watch a kiddie movie like Cinderella
- do repetitive puzzle games like Tetris or Candy Crush
- make plans, start a list of chores to do this month or plan your outfits for the week based on a theme, etc.

Miz_Liz

Maybe try some light music in the background while you sleep or keep the TV on softly (on something happy)? I've also heard cheese causes weird dreams - not sure if it is true, but I find when I have a really F'ed up one, I think back to what I had for dinner, and usually there was cheese in it!

Gasbarro2011

You are not alone.  I'm sorry that you are suffering through them too.  I have had night terrors for as long as I can remember, but pregnancy has made them appear much more frequently, as in one after the other all night, and made them much more strange.  Between night terrors, a head cold, tossing and turning and getting up to pea 3-6 times a night I don't get much restful sleep. I have been sleeping in our guest room for the past 2 weeks, so that my husband's snoring isn't added to my night and I don't wake him up from crying or screaming.  I am hoping that it will all calm down soon.  If it keeps up until my next appt. I will definitely be talking to my doc about it.  Sometimes music or happy movies help me start off sleeping in a happy place.  If I wake up terrified I put something happy on to put me back to sleep and this can help.  I hope things get better for you.

julie1445

Ive had them for years, almost half my life so I worked out a pretty good routine. No caffeine after 4pm, no food after 7pm, no tv in bedroom, quiet cool room, no svary movies or even tv an hour before bed, once i watched the documentary "blackfish" and all it took was the whales eye and i had a night terror thst night of a little boy running around my room with the same eyes. It just freaked me out because i have never had one where its my kids. I couldnt get back to sleep, i dont think I have ever been that freaked out, even when i was younger and thought they were real ghosts