Violent dreams...anybody else having this problem?

First of all, Merry Christmas to you all  (although our Christmas day will be over in an hour's time).  It's been an extremely hot day, but a very happy one with family and friends.

On to the more serious stuff.

My husband has been having some really violent and frightening dreams which are progressively becoming worse and worse. It has become quite a problem to us both, as he now punches out in his sleep, and kicks his "attacker".  Sometimes I can get a warning that this is about to happen as I hear him groaning, and he frequently shouts out a few seconds before he starts punching. This wakes me up in time and I can either jump out of the way, or try to wake him. 

Often though, I am sleeping and miss the signs of a coming attack.  This has resulted in my being punched and kicked, sometimes quite violently. All I can do is grab his hands and call out to him to wake up.   It really is horrible as my husband is absolutely devastated that he has hit me, while I, on the other hand, am so extremely worried that he is having these dreadful dreams which cause the violent reaction.

When I manage to wake him, he always remembers part of his dream, and it always involves someone/something  attacking him, and trying to kill him.  You dont need a psychology degree to read into that!!!!  But  the dreams started BEFORE his diagnosis, so it's a bit confusing. 

The obvious solution of course is to get separate beds, but I dont want to do that.  Also, I am concerned that if I am not close enough, I wont be able to wake him before he gets too bad. 

I am wondering whether its a side effect of the hormone therapy, or radiation etc.?

What I want to know is ... have any of you had this type of problem? We have told the doctors and specialists treating my husband, but all of them do not know what to do as they have not encountered this before and they have shrugged it off.   We are at a complete loss. 

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Yaamba:

Did these dreams start after a medication was initiated ? Could be a side effect ??? If so, talk to his Docs. Maybe they have dealt with this before. Good luck - You safety should be considered first, IMHO. If it isn't, there could be serious results that your husband would regret.

Yaamba,
You are his wife and probably his best friend, but the situation is that something horrific is happening that he doesn't want to share with you..My recommendation is to have him stop using chantix if he is using it..If he is a vet have him get an appointment at the VA; if not have your pcp schedule an appointment for him with the appropriate department--I can't believe that doctors would ignore his problems!!
He may fear his prostate cancer prognosis, have "flashbacks" for an event that occurred over 40 years ago, or have too much time on his hands if he is retired which may prompt morbid thoughts...He knows what is happening and doesn't want to involve you in his problem--it's not "manly"...He has passed the "post traumatic stress" stage and it is now a "disorder"...If he doesn't get it resolved he may have "flashbacks" for the rest of his life...In the mean time, you stay safe!! Yeah, I've been there.

As a woman I noticed more vivid dreams when hormonal status is being changed (pregnancy), stopping breastfeeding, etc. I think it is a good first step what Sephie suggested to do a sleep study and go to a sleep specialist. Good luck.