Sleep Is Just A Sore Spot For Me

[Deleted member 10686]

I was prescribed prazosin for the nightmares. i wasnt having as many nightmares on it, but i always felt even more like shit in the morning. like i think my brain needs to get things out, purge, if you will. But with the prazosin, the nightmares get pushed back, and I end up waking up feeling like a full out war happened in my head. Kind of like my brain got ran over by a semi.

So 2 nights or so ago I decided to stop taking it. I'm sick of repressing, isn't that the last thing I should be doing? nightmares came back but i guess it took a few nights to really come back. tonight I am back to the waking up every hour to two in a panic.

Am I just damned if I do, damned if I don't? I either have to feel like shyt....or feel like shyt?

 

[maddog]

Am I just damned if I do, damned if I don't? I either have to feel like shyt....or feel like shyt?[/quote]
Oh Forwardmotion, I just wanted to say that I completely understand and empathise with your frustrated struggle. I have exactly the same dilemma - drugs that zonk me out and leave me feeling confused and paranoid and too chemically-altered to work and function the next day, or nightmares that drag me to the brink of insanity and back multiple times a night. Is there an answer? I hope so, for your sake and mine.

Maddog

 

[Ted Moen]

An important step in learning to live better with ptsd is addressing the issue of sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation greatly aggravates the cognitive distortions (changes in perception and cognitive processing) that are part of ptsd. The basics are sleep hygiene (early to rise, no naps, no tv in the bedroom, no caffene in the late afternoon or evening, etc) and exercise. Medication can help, but sleep medications have significant side effects for some. You have to work with your shrink to find the one and the dose that works for you. For me, trazadone at 150mg helped. I took it for a few years while in therapy. Eventually, I quit taking it and continued sleeping well. I still have occasional nightmares generally around certain anniversaries (even on medication an occasional nightmare sneaks through), but sleep well the rest of the time. In my mind, medication is only a small part of addressing the issue of sleep deprivation. Sleep hygiene, exercise, and therapy are the main ingrediants.

Ted