Sufferer G'day I'm An Australian Firefighter With Ptsd .

[Sharpy]

Hi, I'm an acute sufferer of PTSD and I'm just coming to grips with this whirlwind condition. It has already cost me one marriage. I am in a new relationship with a terrific girl. Now my partner tells me I'm starting to sleep walk and if she try's to wake me or touch me I lash out. I need to know what I can do to minimize the risk of harm to her .

 

[wicked child]

I think she should NOT wake you. She needs to ensure that you do not leave the house. I have been doing this since childhood.

 

[Sharpy]

This is only a new symptom. My partner is a mental health nurse and she has noticed great changes in me: isolation, drinking and not sleeping. I'm getting help and on medication and it's great to find this forum because it makes me realize I'm not alone in this nightmare.

 

[Muzikluvr]

Is there a correlation between your isolation drinking and your sleep walking? If the drinking started long before the sleep walking, is there a chance the medication is interacting with the drinking to cause you to sleep harder than usual?

Alcohol doesn't typically mix well with medication.

What do you mean by isolation drinking? To me, this is a symptom of suicidal ideation... or tendencies. The drinking is a self-destructive behavior at this point, IMHO. If you want to minimize the risk of hurting your girlfriend, then cutting back on the drinking is where I'd suggest you begin. She will certainly be hurt by losing you to overdose, or more likely... isolation.

Whatever the drinking is sparing you from in your waking hours, is bursting out in your dreams... perhaps confronting it head on while you're awake will help you minimize the nightmares? Consider it. Are you seeing a therapist?

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Can you give up the drinking? It doesn't mix so well with PTSD and medication.

I stopped drinking because it was horrible for my sleep. Half a beer and I'd wake up from a dead sleep in a sheer state of panic (10 on a scale of 1-10).

 

[Sharpy]

Hi guys my punctuation is terrible. I meant isolation and drinking. I don't drink when I take meds. I hate the medication it numbs me further and I'd prefer to drink a few cans at night to help me sleep.

I am seeing a therapist through the Vietnam veterans association ( my father has PTSD who was wounded in Vietnam ). I don't drink every night but I'm afraid I would if I could. I also live on a 2000 acre cattle stud in isolation. It's self very far to the nearest town. I know I have a lot of adjustments to make in my life and I suppose one step at a time right .

 

[HëllaBubz]

My other half tells me I sleepwalk too, it's the only way to explain how random stuff happens in the house....our cats are smart but not THAT smart!

Alcohol will dull your senses whether awake or asleep, so it would be wise to avoid it before bed......I was a very heavy drinker before my PTSD, and when I DID get PTSD, the few times I did drink, it made everything worse.

And yes, your GF should NOT wake you up, I've found that most sleep walkers, including myself will return to bed of their own accord.

 

[Sharpy]

Thanks bubzilla. I did find put electric fences as your boundaries. I have 55km around the farm to keep the cattle in.

 

[HëllaBubz]

Lol just hope you don't piss on it mid-sleep walk....you won't need the gf to wake you then! :p
You'll be ok mate, but you're right bout being in isolation, it doesn't help.

If you've got a kelpie on hand, or a QH , I'd recommend talking/interacting with em a touch, they've been known to talk back. :)

 

[HëllaBubz]

You could always chase your steak down for dinner? I keep getting told exercise is good for me, but that would be the only way you could get me to go above a power walk!

 

[intothelight]

Welcome to the PTSD Forum! :)

 

[Sharpy]

Thanks buddy :)