My husband has been diagnosed with advanced local prostate cancer, and also had a nasty melanoma excised about
18 months ago.
Since then, he has developed a rather frightening night time pattern of nightmares and jerking, hitting out, thrashing around the bed, yelling, and general sleep disturbances.
These occur at random. I have been keeping a journal of occurrences, and sometimes he might have 3 or 4 a night, yet other times there might be weeks interval between occasions. Most times these "seizures" occur between 1 and 3 am. Often he becomes quite violent and punches out or kicks hard. Unfortunately, sometimes I have been on the receiving end of the fist or foot. One time he even threw himself out of the bed and landed half way across the room.
One good thing though, is that he ALWAYS wakes and snaps out of it completely when I shake him or call out to him. He always remembers dreaming that something/someone is trying to catch him or hurt him (or his family), and that he is trying to ward them off by punching them (it), or kicking them. He does not remember thrashing around in his bed or calling out etc. and for a long time did not quite believe me. It was only when I filmed him on my phone that he finally accepted it.
We have mentioned this to his oncologist, and also other specialists seeing him. One has suggested that he might have a form of nocturnal epilepsy and this is what is causing the jerking and thrashing around.
My main question is this. Can you wake someone who is having a seizure, and they are completely with it, and behaving quite normally immediately on awakening? I thought that a seizure had to run its course, and would only stop when it was ready. Yet when I wake my husband, he is quite ok, but amazed at his behaviour. He falls back asleep quite easily too. Except for this, he is a good sleeper at night, and also has a long catnap after lunch. He is handling his cancer remarkably stoicly, and has maintained fairly good health throughout.. so far.
I am more inclined to think that its an emotional response to the two lots of cancer he is currently battling, and that the something or someone he is hitting out at, is the cancer.
I would really welcome any input from you. I will also pose this question on the Prostate Cancer section of this forum of which I am a member.
Thank you in advance for your help.