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Night Terrors

Hey

I was just wondering if anyone else suffers from night terrors and if they've ever been to the doctors about it.

I have looked on the net about the subject but most information just concerns little kiddies and really I wanted to know a bit more about them in adults mainly as people say "you'll grow out of it".

I think its pretty obvious that I'm more likely to have a night terror when I'm stressed but I had a couple of week last year and, as far as I was aware, I wasn't stressed out about anything.

It's getting quite annoying, and embarrassing, to be waking up screaming and running around the house in the dead of night because I can see spiders all around me :rolleyes:

I've heard that doctors can prescribe you with anti depressants but this seems a little extreme?

Anyway, any info/opinions would be great.

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Reply 1

lucho22

Antibiotics?! What good would an anti-bacterial agent have against a clearly psychological / neurological ailment?

Night terrors can be symptomatic of a variety of problems.. some completely trivial, some very serious. If in doubt go and see a doctor!

Reply 2

Talya

I can't see how antibiotics would help...?

I think you should go to the doc and have a chat. There may be techniques that don't involve drugs that you can try, or a really effective drug :smile:

Reply 3

Dionysus

Antibiotics? I think you mean some sort of sleeping tablet... Which is rather different. But yes, it sounds like you really ought to talk to a specialist on this. It's the sort of thing where the NHS really can help you.

Reply 4

P for Photographer

Night terrors and nightmares are different, do you know that? So are you having night terrors or nightmares? I think one of the main different is you wake up for a night terror and feeling fear but dont really remember why whereas nightmares, you are more likely to rememeber more details of the dreams or something. I am not 100% sure tho... And if you tend to have night terrors when you are stressed, do you know why you are stressed? And have you got any other symptoms? I dont mean to scare you, but you sound like how I was before, before I found out how depressed I am... coz night terrors could have sth to do with depression, so as srtess... so I would it wouldn't do you any harm to visit your doctor, he/she might be able to help you to find out the root of the problem... and my advice is, whaever treatments you might be suggested, meds should be the last option to consider.

Reply 5

lucho22

Dionysus

Although the NHS are terribly dismissive when it comes to things they see as trivial. I read just now that an over the counter drug to reduce night terrors is Benadryl taken an hour before bed-time.

Reply 6

CheesyBeans

Oh dear. Sorry I didn't mean to type anti biotics, my mind must have been wandering. I mean't anti depressants of course.

P for Photographer - These arn't just nightmares. Sometimes I see things in my room and sometimes I have no idea what's happening. When I've had them at my parents house they've found me on the landing screaming, shaking and generally confused and they are annoyed because I wake them up. My boyfriend gets scared because I literally scream in his face and then run across the room. At one point I was too scared to go to sleep because I didn't want to be frightened so much in the night which of course made me stress about it which was likely to bring one on.

I guess I just wanted to know if it's something actually worth seeing a doctor about. I felt like a total idiot yesterday when my doctor looked at my moles for a second and then sent me on my way. I would feel like such a time waster for going about 'bad dreams'.

Reply 7

lucho22

It's a recognised neurological condition so I don't think they can laugh in your face. As for anti-depressants - these wouldn't do any good. What you need are anxiolitics also commonly known as tranquilisers. Either diazepam (valium) or other benzodiazepenes such as alprazolam (xanax) would be a good short term fix to your sleep issues.

Reply 8

CheesyBeans

Thanks. I think I might try and see the doctor about this though I will feel odd.

Reply 9

P for Photographer

Bad dreams could be something serious, and could lead to something more serious. Remember you will not be like a fool when going to your doctor. But I understand how you feel, coz when I first went to my doc abotu my depression, I felt like a total loser and felt as if I was wasting her time, even now, after 4 months, every time I go see my doc, I feel the same, I feel like I am wasting her time and I actually asked her if I am actually wasting her time, and she told me since my condition is still worrying her, she still wants to see me every week, even if she is extremely busy... So no, good doctors would never think their patients are wasting their time if anything is bothering them (patients), even the smallest things could be serious.

Reply 10

hertfordshireman

I had episode last month, which may have been a night terror, and I'm going to a nureologist(sp?) later today.

Reply 11

Anonymous #1

HertfordshireBoy

I had episode last month, which may have been a night terror, and I'm going to a nureologist(sp?) later today.

I don't have night terrors as such but I do have weird sleepy things going on. I hullicinate ALOT and also sleepwalk. When I sleep walk, I really beleive that I have to do something or really beleive Im in some kind of situation.

Examples of my sleepwalking are:

The other night I really believe I was Harry Potter and Voldemort was going to kill me and he had my wand. I started running around my house freaking out, really really scared that he was going to show up at any second and kill me. It really felt like my last few seconds- its really scary!!
Ive ran into my parents bedroom screaming that I was going to die because a computer was falling out of space and going to land on my head
Ive ran around the room on holiday with my friends thinking I was the captain of some war ship and we were fighting another ship- I was screaming at my 'troops' and my friends really didn't know what to do- eventually I collapsed in the bath.
Ive been CONVINCED that I needed to buy Busted tickets online at 5am (they had been split up for months and I don't like them)
I ran around my house looking for kids of my parents friends thinking I had lost them- again another terrifying moment!
Ive been convinced that my bf had come back to kill me and I ran into my living room (in uni halls) and sat there shaking and terrified for an hour before returning to my room, seeing he was 'gone' only to wake up again and hear 'im still here' and run out again. I returned a second time to smell my air freshener and think ****- hes still here, he sprayed my air freshener

Examples of some hullicinations

I wake up to see my friends come to 'visit'. I sit and talk to them for ages (I really talk and can hear then speak to me and see them move and everything)
My friends once 'visited' and said she was going to the shop and would be back in 5 mins- I stayed up the majority of the night waiting for her to return

I know sleep walking is quite common but it happens soooooo often!! Mostly when Im in a new place. Happened every night on holiday and since Ive been back. Happened loads at uni. Now Im moving to a new place in sept and I know its gonna happen again- Im just waiting for it to get out of control!

I never remember waking up when sleep walking and getting to the place that I go- but I always remember doing what I do. Mostly if Im at home my mum hears me and says to me that im sleep walking- but I really beleive what I need to do and get really angry at her and shout at her, which I feel bad about.

I know it sounds funny, and it is afterwards- but not at the time and I lose lots of sleep.

Can anything be done?

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

Need to be anonomous because friends are on this site and I don't want them thinking Im a freak.

Reply 12

yellow96

My brother gets night terrors. One time when he was on a coach in Ireland (he was about 10), he could see monsters clawing at the windows trying to get in. I think he was confused by bushes outside the bus, as it was night. Another time, he was a bit funny around my mother all day and when she asked him why, he said she'd been in his room and had sat down beside him and said "you're going to die", and he didn't know if it'd happened or not anymore.

I know that's of no help at all, but.. yeh. Definitely get help for it OP. It can be quite dangerous to get that freaked out by stuff when you're technically not conscious.

Reply 13

Ethereal

I have night terrors all the time, but I use it to my advantage and write stories based on what I see/dream.

Reply 14

*Lib0506*

I had a weird sleep thingy going on after i had my daughter. I used to wake up so frightened (i never knew what i was actually scared of though! :confused:

) that i literally couldn't move...i'd try shouting out but no sound would come, i'd sometimes feel a heavy pressure on my chest too. After it happened i was always adament that i'd go to the docs and get it sorted...but when morning comes it never seemed as scary, so i never bothered going :redface:

It used to happen about 3 times a week at one point, but when my daughter started sleeping through the night they suddenly disappeared...so maybe it was my disturbed sleep patterns what caused it.

Reply 15

h82think

What is the difference between a nightmare and a night terror?

Reply 16

Renal

P for Photographer

So no, good doctors would never think their patients are wasting their time if anything is bothering them (patients), even the smallest things could be serious.

Never is an awful long time...

Reply 17

Benn

Have you tried talking to someone about them? A Parent, Peer or Phsycologist?

You know the saying.. a problem shared is a problem halved.

Reply 18

minimo

CheesyBeans

Hey

I've heard that doctors can prescribe you with anti depressants but this seems a little extreme?

Anyway, any info/opinions would be great.

All I know about night terrors is what was said in Season 1 Ep. 1 (IIRC!) of House. They guy ended up having something more serious if I remember rightly - you might want to get it checked out.

Reply 19

lucho22

minimo

All I know about night terrors is what was said in Season 1 Ep. 1 (IIRC!) of House. They guy ended up having something more serious if I remember rightly - you might want to get it checked out.

Yeh they thought he had MS - but then it turned out he had something else. Night terrors aren't a symptom of MS though... that's what made them think it was something else..