dreamsneverend

Hi, my 1st topic start

I started having the most over-the-top nightmares 4 years ago. I'd been addicted to alcohol and drugs since the late 90s, but had only started abusing benzos in 2012, so thought that was the most likely reason, but I've now been clean of all benzos for 6 months (and all drugs for 16), but the night terrors are just as bad.

As I'm still heavily alcoholic (am in queue for a new program, the previous one did at least work for the other addictions), what are people's experience of this? Did anyone suffer this, and then have it clear up after a good length of being sober? For me, it honestly is the #1 thing that's making my life "unmanageable" about being a drunk.

Thanks

thomas11

For what its worth, quitting alcohol was very difficult. It legal, readily available and does the trick. But quitting was one of the better decisions I made in my life. It was an easy decision, it was hard to do. Hopefully your new program can break you free from "alcohol jail".

Dee74

I think nightmares are common in the period right after quitting, but I've never experienced continual nightmares 4 years later.

Have you seen a medical professional about it, dreamsneverend?

D

August252015

Yes, I had exponentially bad nightmares. For the last year, and especially the last six months, of my alcoholic drinking. I was drinking OBSCENE amounts of vodka those last months (a handle every 2ish days).

My doctor prescribed me seroquel (we cannot dispense med advice here, just saying what I did) and I still take it, 130 days sober. The nightmares went from horribly vivid and actually painful, and visceral, to incredibly vivid DREAMS and have since tapered off. I remember some of my dreams now, but they are "normal" - the kind we think of when we think of dreams, sometimes about something good, sometimes something worrying us, etc.

You say you are still heavily alcoholic so I assume you are still drinking alot. The first part of rehab will likely include dreams, night sweats and much restlessness (these are the night things many of us experienced). I would expect to go through a change in this, at some pace, as your body gets the alcohol out, the mind begins to clear, and you start the hard part- recovery. The physical stuff does fade more quickly. That said, I was so sick that my physical symptoms (night and day) took the first couple of months.

To sum up, you have some stuff to go through right after quitting. But you can and will get to the other side if you stop drinking. If you don't, the nightmares as well as much else will just get worse.

Good job on going inpatient and Good luck.

CaseyW

Good, calm sleep has been one of the best benefits of my quitting drinking. It was not immediate but I'd say that it happened by the end of month 1. Wishing you the best today!

GnikNus

When I was drinking, I routinely had nightmares. At best, I had dreams that were unsettling. I'm now 19 months sober and rarely have nightmares.
See? Even in our sleep alcohol does harm to us.

August252015

^^It desperately hurts us. Even moderate or minimal drinking- as little as one drink for some- interrupts REM; you go to sleep more easily, but then wake up or are restless more frequently. A continued pattern of just this impairment can really add up! So thankful to be free of my major cause of horrible sleep.

Soberwolf

I still get dreams/nightmares that can mess with my head fortunately nearly 3 years in they have calmed down a bit but I still get them

gettingsmarter

I had horrible/ terrible night terror type nightmares at the end of my drinking. I was having panic attacks because the alcohol was wearing off while sleeping. Once I figured out drinking was causing them was when I knew I had to quit. I still have bad dreams but nothing like waking up with the impending doom. Been sober for a bit now and they are gone.

dreamsneverend

Thanks to all. "Painful and visceral", August, couldn't be a better description, & I'm just at a loss why it started only 4 years ago after much dumb behaviour before. I did 10 months of therapy with a project that mostly dealt with addicts, but this aspect they couldn't come up with much of help. I did have a brain scan in 2011 (different issue) but got an all clear.

My #1 concern if I do go dry is that this will easily be my strongest trigger to drink. Until last year,, one of the few sensible rules I stuck to was not to drink before midday. After the worst episodes, I now sometimes drink 5 minutes after waking up, which is just a dead end in every way. I guess finding a way to tough out the 1st hour of each day is a Plan, as everything when I'm awake is a breeze compared to this :/

Dee74

You're right that drinking on them is a dead end...if you think it's related to your alcoholism or withdrawal you might even be exacerbating the problem.

D