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Drugs That Make Nightmares Go Away

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@Friday - A night terror is quite a different phenomena than a dream/nightmare, I think. They occur in different stages of sleep. A night terror isn't just a dream where you don't wake up/can't remember it. I can't really describe/explain it but I don't think there is a dream that goes along with me having a night terror.

So, I'm not sure that something that will work for nightmares will necessarily work for night terrors. But it's something I will ask about if I ever find myself in a psychiatrist's office :-)
 
I've been taking Propranolol for a long time and it makes me stop dreaming all together.
 
I tried prazosin and it didn't seem to do much; I switched to Propranolol and it was more helpful. I am prescribed it for the daytime, too, as an anxiety-management, though I normally don't take it because my blood pressure runs low. I get dizzy enough as it is. (both of these drugs are generally given to people with high blood pressure. Mine already runs something like 90/70 or lower so....) At night, I'm less likely to jump up and have that BP drop. Feels safer to me.

Oh but off topic. So the propranolol helped with nightmares at first - kind of blurred them - but I don't think it does much anymore. Maybe I should try taking it during the day to see what happens- as long as I'm not planning to do much. Definitely not if I'm driving!

Is anyone else prescribed these meds for daytime anti-anxiety purposes? I don't know of anyone other than me.
 
I haven't read all of the replies but so many taken Clonidine for nightmares. It's a BP meds which is why it works. Lowering your BP helps you stay asleep. I have it in my internal pain pump for neuopathy and right away saw a HUGE difference in nightmares. I was WAY less active (I was hurting myself in my sleep, waking up running, things like that and that fully stopped) and though I still had nightmares, the severity seemed to lessen, the amount lessened, and the times waking up from nightmares really lessened.

For about 3 weeks or so my stress level has been through the roof and stayed there and so though the same amount of clonidine was being delivered to my body, nightmares became present again. I started waking up several times a night, every night. Became active again. So it isn't full proof but it is the one med I see raved a lot on here for nightmares, being called "the nightmare med", and people swear by it.

I did see Seriquel mentioned. If you go on it specifically for nightmares/insominia/etc night time stuff, go for the immediate release. I take Seriquel XR (extended release) for daytime anxiety and emotional deregulation and it does jack for nightmares in my case. Not saying it can't. Just saying if that is the reason you are wanting it, got for immediate.release and give.your body time to adjust.

What is good about Clonidine is I didn't have to miss work or anything. Nothing for my body to get used to. I was very worried about my BP as it normally hangs low (110/60 I think but don't remember exactly). We checked my BP 3 times a day for a week and the top number never went lower then 90. On the low end but ok. I have never felt dizzy or any other side effects. Personally I want as little side effects as possible.
 
A night terror is quite a different phenomena than a dream/nightmare, I think. They occur in different stages of sleep. A night terror isn't just a dream where you don't wake up/can't remember it. I can't really describe/explain it but I don't think there is a dream that goes along with me having a night terror.

Backwards:

However, Sleep or Night Terrors are different from Nightmares because children can be awakened from a Nightmare, talk about it, and remember it; however, a child with a Sleep or Night Terror cannot be awakened from it, nor can they talk about it, and usually the child does not remember it the next morning.

Sleep Disorders - Nightmares / Sleep Terrors

Night terrors are characterized by frequent recurrent episodes of intense crying and fear during sleep, with difficulty arousing the child. Unlike nightmares, most children do not recall a dream after a night terror episode, and they usually do not remember the episode the next morning.

An Overview of Night Terrors

Almost all outgrown by adolesents.

They do occur in a different stage of sleep. Between stage 3 and 4, about 90 mins after falling asleep.
 
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