nightmares

[shivers]

i went to sleep last night and woke up after a few hours with a nightmare, went to sleep again woke up with another, went to sleep again and had another!! wtf

i recently am down to a quarter of a vicodin a day after a 5 year habit of taking 9 pills a day. I also think i've become an alcoholic to help me deal with the lack of vidocin... are the nightmares from the freakn booze or from the lack of pills? I really almost wanted to become a drinker as i thought that would be alot easier to deal with than this damn pill addiciton i've had for years. (honestly i've been taking quarter of a vicodin now for 2-3 weeks...just cant seem to take the final plunge while drinking). I'm much more dedicated to quitting the pills...but this nightmare thing is really scaring the hell out of me. Think its caused by the lack of pills or the lack of booze as i drink 1 day heavily on and 1 day off...?

[shivers]

i know everyone is going to say quit drinking but the pills really were killing me mentally and emotionally and i really want to overcome that. I want to identify which of the two is causing the nightmares. BTW i hate drinking and love opiates...so i think the pills are much harder for me to walk away from. I went drinking tonight and probably drunk as i'm typing this so i assume i'm going to have a calm night tonight.. gets scary living alone though with these nightmares and wakign up feeling like you've lost everything dear to you.

[shivers]

anyone? going to quit drinking tonight, will update tomorrow. Had some good dreams last night.

[wylielass]

I don't have any advice for you except to say that any combo of pills and alcohol - or either one alone - can mess up your sleep cycles and make the dreaming insane. Yeah, I know, I'm pretty much stating the obvious! Just wanted to let you know I can commiserate. I have a neurological problem, and I'm on several meds for neuropathic pain and tremors. When I take them in conjunction with booze, I have some FREAKY dreams. I mean, stuff that sticks with me for days. When I quit drinking (24 days ago) it seemed to get worse. Now it's leveling off.

Good luck to you, I hope you find your answers soon.

B

[barb dwyer]

hi shivers-

I didnt see anything saying about you being under a doc's supervision doing this ...
I can't recommend enough the care of a doctor while coming off any substance.

I hope to hear from you again soon.

[Edna]

Have you been under a doctor's supervision or are you doing this on your own? A few years ago, I was having issues with some medication which the doctor prescribed for a medical condition I have. After a week, I ended up in the hospital because I could not sleep and when I did, I would have nightmares that woke me up. I was only sleeping about 4 hours per night. If you haven't seen a doctor, I would suggest you do so. Do yourself a favor, take care of yourself and stay out of harms way.

[shivers]

do i tell the doc about the drinking? i'm not going to AA and i have not been drinking now for a few days. I dont plan to as i luckily have my daughter tommorow and cant drink for almost a week anyhow. Perhaps there is some medicine that would help? Had a good sleep last night..well kept waking up but not with bad dreams. It honestly made me afraid to sleep last night. Hope tonight goes well as i'm sober again. Feel great today btw.

[barb dwyer]

shivers - yes,.

hon, tell the doc - everything. they can't help you for real without the truth.
It might not be easy, who knows - but it's your life, hon.

[citychick]

I had hideous nightmares when I got sober...so it might be the alcohol..stopped having them at around 80 or 90 days...and I haven't had one since...

[fred00]

For me i could calm my dreams by putting myself in the right state of mind before i sleep.
As I lay in my bed before sleeping, i meditate.
Either breathe work of some sort, my favorite is yoga nidra, its great because part of the process is systematically making your body parts fall asleep.
Search yoga nidra and maybe find some meditation books.
It could certainly ease your nightmares if you do this right before bed.
It will also help your overall health everyday

Can't hurt to try

[chrisdozier4206]

Hey Shivers.. This is Chris I am new on here.. I have had the same problems with nightmares but most of mine is guilt I think. Me too had a bad problem with pills for years and I know that the lack of painkillers are more than likely the culprit.. One thing you should try is.. Ok this is gonna sound crazy but my psychiatrist prescribed me regular old Vitamin E just take it before bed and it seems to work for me.. It may not for everyone but it made a big difference for me.. I still dream occasionally but not nearly as often.. I have been on methadone maintenance for 11 months..