Sleeping tablets for nightmares?

Question

my doc was going to prescribe me some with an anti psychotic but decided against it because he thinks i could get addicted. i'm a mother to a 15 m/o getting at most 2 hours of sleep filled with nightmares that keep my bf awake which isn't fair as he works 6 till 1 every morning.

does anyone know what the tablets might be?

Answer 1

Well sorry to hear about how you can't rest but i presume that he thinks that you have depression ( the nightmares fit) and he is about to either prescribe you some mood elevators, probably some dopamine or something like that. Or he might be wanting to prescribe some sleeping pills. Both of these kind of medicine are highly addictive and i repeat extremely damaging to your system.Complications might arise out of taking either and you may end up with a new found problem.

I know how hard it is for you , but i say don't take the pills and find out ways of eliminating your stress. Might i suggest some yoga or meditation that you can easily do at home with your baby around. Mam , don't give up and stay strong. Remember it is all in your mind.You an fight it and win.

Answer 2

An antipsychotic for nightmares? That sounds asinine. Does your doctor actually think you are psychotic? From what you are describing, sounds like he/she is labeling you with something or another and trying to treat that; I can't discern the rationale for the anti-psychotics.

Nortriptyline (10 mg) and amitryptiline (10 mg) are typically well tolerated by most people and it IS a popular choice for chronic insomnia. Goggle them. Find the wikipedia page and read up on it. Only thing with these drugs is typically 1-2 weeks are needed for it to kick in. Perhaps, you can do a "drug interactons" check (there's tons of them abound) or call the pharmacy, to make sure, Tylenol PM or Chlor-Tripolon doesn't interact with the dose of nortriptyline or amytryptiline. Perhaps, you may wish to take one of these drugs alongside the amitriptyline (or, nortriptyline)for 1-2 weeks, until the stuff starts working for you. These aren't "addictive".

Have you tried Imovane? "Rebound insomnia" can kind of be problem with this one, though. Better for those who have "occassional" insomnia. Also, chance that it can produce some weird dreams, so this one might not be good for you. But, as a function of individual variability, everyone will react differently. It is mediated via a G-coupled receptor, so "tolerance" will be an issue. Best to take these things only 4 times a week, max. You might choose to take it 4 days during your work week, take a break, suffer on the weekend (or, just sleep in if you can't sleep). Or, take it every second day during the week. Key is to avoid tolerance, though.

About the dreams. I've studied them for years, trying to finish my PhD. I personally think your dreams are yelling at you to listen and take action. You need to find out what they mean, what they are trying to tell you. I am thinking they have a common theme, even if metaphorically disguised. Think about the persons, places, events and especially the emotions to do with each symbolic respresentation; write down all that "pops" to mind about each "symbol" from the beginning of your dreams, to the end. Maybe you'd do this for the most frequent one(s). Perhaps you will see the patterns. Dreams are nothing fancy; simply a continuation of daytime thought. Thought without the language. Representations of something on the back-burner, we're not dealing with, but should, disguised as *individually*, but also multifaceted, meaningful, metaphorical symbols. Typically, a very emotional issue, when dreams recur, like this.

All this to do with the dreams, above, probably sounds really tedious and time consuming, so another option would be to find a good therapist (preferably, someone with a PhD, with experience in dreams) to have a listen to the content and emotion associated with your nightmares. Perhaps he/she can assist you in finding out what they mean. Once you know and take action, even if all that requires is simple recognition (and many times, it does), I strongly suspect your dreams will taper off. In fact, research has shown this to be true. One off-the-cuff example, is Hartmann's early work (1999-ish, I think).

Anyway, good luck, man. Sorry about the dreams. Lack of sleep can make ya feel like you're going crazy. Been there ;-). Wishing you some good rest soon :-).

EDIT: Just wanted to add something you might want to do after you are able to find out "why" you might be having specific recurring nightmares. Basically just "Imagery Rehearsal". Select a nightmare, "change the nightmare any way you wish," and then rehearse the images of the new version ("new dream") for about 5 to 20 min each day.

Again, good luck :-).