Concerned About Having A Night Terror Post-surgery. Any Ideas?

[barefoot]

Thanks for the extra info @enough - makes sense.

Your Dilaudid experience sounds awful! I can see how being told to pray wasn't what you needed to hear at that point!

Glad you've found a way to manage this better for yourself. It gives me hope that progress can be made!

 

[Friday]

It's one of the (many) reasons I generally change where I sleep when I'm recovering from surgery. As just one example; Living room, lights full on, drugged to the gills... Means I sleep lighter & without the chemical Smackdown would probably be up for days. But with it? It means when I do come awake, it's fast. And I can see everything. And I don't have a history of coming awake fighting or bolting out of a recliner, whereas I do have a history in bed.

If I'm really being obnoxious, I've belted myself into the car. Seat belts and doors mean I might bang something (ouch), but I'm not going to be attempting to sprint anywhere. A somewhat wiser choice is to unbolt the seat from the car and bring it indoors, or just use climbing rope and a carabiner around my hips in a recliner if no car or the belts are attached to the frame instead of the seat.

Most of the time, though, those things are completely unnecessary. 1. the sudden crushing pain stops me / brings me awake before I've actually gone anywhere & 2. my body is busy recovering from major surgery. Which means PTSD symptoms tend to take a back seat &/or go away entirely, while I'm dealing with an actual physical emergency. It's not a mental/emotional emergency, but the psych all damage being repaired is enough that I'm actually pretty damn normal during the worst of it. It's not until I'm really doing much better that my PTSD stuff swings back. Then I get hit hard, because recovering from major damage is part of my trauma stuff AND I don't have a way to blow off the stress. But the acute time? (Except for coming out of anesthesia, and I have them out me in restraints for that bit.) When it's vital I don't put weight on or move about? I'm usually golden.

 

[barefoot]

Thanks @Friday - good points!

I generally change where I sleep when I'm recovering from surgery.

This makes sense. I don't have a history of bolting out of anywhere but bed so perhaps I could look at an alternative place to sleep. I don't think I'm up for sleeping in the car :-) But the sofa in the living room may be an option, plus it means I won't need to tackle the stairs, so that could be a double win. Only potential issue with that is I could end up with two curious cats climbing over me wondering what I'm doing in with them in the middle of the night!

my body is busy recovering from major surgery. Which means PTSD symptoms tend to take a back seat &/or go away entirely, while I'm dealing with an actual physical emergency.

Yes, I think you are probably right about this - that when it comes to it, I'm hoping my body and psyche will prioritise physical recovery and that there will be a deep, subconscious "knowing" that it for the best for me to stay still in bed! Feels useful to try to plan and prep a bit though if others have advice so that I can do all I can to hopefully secure a good outcome.

Thanks :-)