HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

What Can I Do About Severe Nightmares???

Support Forums
>
Anxiety & Panic Disorders
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 12/6/2006 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Everyone,

     I have been on xanax for almost 20 years and on 75 mg of efexor xr twice daily for about 8 years now. I have nightmares almost nightly and I yell out in my sleep. I have seen a specialist about the nightmares, but he seems to be guessing about what to do rather than really knowing what to do. I believe that the efexor is the cause of the nightmares and they cause me a lot of

stress as I don't remember the last time I had a full night's sleep. I am desperate for some advice and whether anyone out there has experienced similar problems and overcome them. sad   sad sad

 

 

Posted 12/6/2006 11:31 PM (GMT 0)
i don't have nightmares but ever since i began takng seroquel i have been having dreams alot. dreaming is something i hardly ever done. but these dreams are so very vivid.... when i wake i have to take a moment to decide if it was a dream or if it was real. now i am not a doc but uless you have been haveing these nightmares from the time they put you on the medicine until now then i would say something else is the trigger. also i think i would try looking for a new doc. believe me you will make it thru it but it will take time


God bless you all
Posted 12/6/2006 11:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Nucham, I'm in the same boat.  I have really violent scary nightmares and wake up exhausted. I'm not sure if those med's you are on interrupt sleep but I know my dreams were more intense when I was on xanax.  I'm off it now but still have problems. My suggestions would be to maybe go to a sleep clinic (kinda pricey) and try and cut out caffiene and alcohol.  Do you eat a big meal at night? I find that can make things worse.  I hope you find some relief soon (and me too!!) hopefully someone more knowlegeable will post :-)
Posted 12/7/2006 11:40 AM (GMT 0)
LORD was I suffering with night terrors for weeks!!!

My best guess of why they stopped is I stopped thinking so negatively before falling asleep... I stopped thinking about my panic disorder when I was falling asleep and would force those thoughts far far away.. and would read a book or do a Sudoku before falling asleep...

Now it seems the night terrors are gone and I'm a happy camper !!!


Hope this helps


Twiggygal~
Posted 12/7/2006 11:45 AM (GMT 0)
Hi

 

I take 225mg effexor and have been getting nightmares.  I dont wake up or shout out as far as I know but they are slowly going away. The effexor has helped me so much so Im not going to change medications.

 

I think sometimes the 'james patterson' books I read before I go to bed dont help!!

Posted 12/7/2006 3:42 PM (GMT 0)
Hi nucham

 

Happy you see you here hope our post helps you out. I take 50mg of Trazodone before I go to bed at night for anxiety and sleep. I don't have nightmares but I have some really strange dreams. They never make since. Before getting on my meds I would have 2 or 3 waking shaking nightmares a week. 

Posted 12/7/2006 6:20 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Everyone, yeah

          Thank you all for all input. I was seeing a doctor about my nightmares and he actually recommended the Sleep Clinic. Please everyone out there , I look forward to your replies and thanks everyone who have responded to date :-) :-) :-)

Posted 12/7/2006 9:22 PM (GMT 0)

effexor and all other antidepressants are a frequent cause of strong vivid dreams that seem to last all night, sometimes waking you and sometimes being described as nightmares

you would need to stop the effexor for a few weeks, taking extra xanax to see what happens

is the effexor actuaklky helping? sometimes it doesnt work at all

if helping you wont need much xanax

Posted 12/8/2006 12:06 AM (GMT 0)
James patterson before bed?????!!!!!! Recipe for disaster!!!! I get nightmares just at the sound of his name victoria lol! Kittie what is Trazodone? Twiggy, I can't do sudoko...(numerically illiterate)can I crossword??!! Nucham...any reflief? I dreamt last night that I was in a train that got crushed at the rate of 10cm per hour....awful...I eventually got squished.

Posted 12/8/2006 10:28 AM (GMT 0)
Crosswords work too nervy!!! :)

Just to get your mind blank of all thought pretty much dear...

and just focused on figuring out things ....

:)

Twiggygal~
Posted 12/8/2006 1:01 PM (GMT 0)

Hello Nervymeg

Trazodone is a oral antidepressant (trade name Desyrel) that is a nontricyclic drug used as a sedative. If there is more on this you would like to read go to google.com and surch for Trazodone. I hope this helps hun. Best wishes at becomming a mother in the near future. 

Posted 12/9/2006 12:26 AM (GMT 0)
I am like Ms Kitty I take Trazadone and it stopped my nightmares but I do say I have some weird dreams but no more nightmares
Hope you find a solution real quick
I remember those days with the nightmares so vividly
Lyn
Posted 12/9/2006 12:34 AM (GMT 0)
thanks lyn and kittie, I will ask my doctor about trazadone...I'm still searching for a med that doesn't make me physically ill.. sad
Posted 12/13/2006 1:59 AM (GMT 0)
Man, I've had some extremely horrific nightmares, but a couple nights ago was the worst.I had a lucid dream, and in the dream I saw a piece of paper that said " look to your left". I suddenly woke up and looked to my left, and felt the worst presence of evil I have ever felt.The word Devil or Satan does it no justice.I started to scream.I've had extreme nightmares for years, I believe its all spiritual battles, but this nightmare experience I had the other night, would probably put the average person in a institution with a nervous breakdown for life.No joke.............I know how it feels, my advice would be, just trust yourself, there's no easy way out. ps. I'd like to hear about other peoples nightmares. I'm almost 34 years old, I know how serious it is.
Posted 12/13/2006 6:51 AM (GMT 0)
That sounds awful veda, sorry you had to go through it...do you take any meds to help you out? And welcome to HW, everyone is lovely here :-)
Posted 12/13/2006 8:57 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Nervymeg, I found this site last night researching Nightmares.I like this site, there seems to be alot of intelligent people here, more of a person to person than Doctor/Patient scenario.I have had some weird experiences over the years, including extreme nightmares.I got into practicing meditation about 10 years ago.Not just the ole 1 hour at bedtime, but many hours per day.I think I've sort of got onto a new level of dreaming from it.I've had some extremely horrific nightmares, but I've also had some really, really, cool ones, but I'd have to say the bad ones outweigh the good ones by alot.I like to be more than a social drinker sometimes (if you know what I mean), and I think that might be the cause of the bad ones.I think to certain level we control our dreams, but who knows, there's so much that isn't known.Why is the sky blue type stuff...............Have you ever had a dream where you really felt physical pain.?.I've had a few.I had a dream a while back a wolf was biting on my arm,and it really f*%kin hurt.Weird, I really like wolves.Who Knows? ..........Take care
Posted 12/14/2006 4:40 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Vuda, yes sometimes I feel as if I am physically "feeling" the pain in my dreams.  Or sometimes it's just because I've fallen asleep on my arm!! It is scary though when I have violent dreams and feel a bit like jack bauer or nightmare on elm street...no escape.  I find if I over-indulge in alcohol it does make my dreams more intense and certainly harder to wake from.  That's one of my biggest fears when I'm having a nightmare.  I know it's not real, but I can't wake up and get scared I never will.  Do you ever get that? How long have you been meditating?

Posted 12/14/2006 9:12 PM (GMT 0)
I don't agree with the statement you made, "I know its not real", of course its real, would you do that to yourself purposly?Everyone deserves a good night sleep, I don't care what anyone says...............I've been meditating for about 10 years.The goal is to reach nirvana.Think of your true self as a speedometer in your car thats right in the middle, say 50 mph or so.Say when your happy you go to the right, say 80 mph, and when your sad, you go to the left say 10 mph.I know it sounds weird, but thats the best way I can explain it.You want to get where you can stay at that perfect 50 mph. All the time.Which is extremly, extremly tough.....Also what is the smiley dancing icon on this message board mean.It looks very sexually provacative.(ha,ha,ha,ha) yeah
Posted 12/14/2006 10:58 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Vuda, i would love to talk more on this topic..email me if you like...that little envelope icon..cheers.  I am very interested in dreams and believe as a child that my dreams were far more "out of body" experiences than anyone would like to believe.  have you experienced that???

Posted 12/14/2006 11:55 PM (GMT 0)

  I don't know if this helps or not, but a friend of mine was put on efexor and after a week on it he then when't back and talked to his doc and said it wasn't working well for him  so his doc upped the dose and he started having severe nightmares from it, he ended up throwing them away and he stopped having the nightmare

Maybe you should have a talk with your doc and see if he can put you on something else.

Dave

Posted 12/15/2006 2:49 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Dave,

     Thanks for your input. I was wondering if you could ask your friend what he was prescribed instead of the effexor. I believe the effexor xr is causing my nightmares and I am seeing a doctor about all the meds I am currently taking. Unfortunately I was prescribed the effexor during a period of severe agitation and depresion and it helped me out so the doctor is very reluctant to take me off the effexor.

Posted 12/15/2006 4:35 AM (GMT 0)

  I'm not sure what he's on now he's had 4 heart attacks and is in his late 60's but i seen to recall that he was put on lexapro.

I myself I'm on lexapro and valium, I like the lexapro but had some side affects from it at frist, but now are all gone and I'm feeling much better now, I couldn't sleep and I had a lot of pain in my back from it and I been on it for two weeks now. I was given ambien for the sleeping problem and only used it for 3 nights and now I sleep better then before with the lexapro and not much back pain other then a slip disc in my back.

dave

✚ New Topic ✚ Reply