Hi, My husband was diagnosed 6 years ago but has got much worse lately. He has always had vivid dreams and often lashed out at me but they are changing now and I don't know how to cope. He wakes loads during the night and can become quite aggressive towards me. Last night from 1am onwards he wanted to get up and get dressed and I had to keep pleading with him to get back in bed and go to sleep. He says today it was all part of the dream but I am getting to the end of my tether now and wondered if anyone has any ideas how to cope.
Hi Andrea Jane,
This must be so unsettling to happen in the middle of the night.
There might be some forum users who recognise what you and your husband are going through and want to share their experience with you.
In the meantime, do feel free to give our helpline a ring on 0808 800 0303 if you'd like to discuss this with one of our trained advisers.
Best wishes,
Ilona (Moderation Team).
Hello Andrea Jane
I don`t have a sure fire way of convincing your husband to go back to bed but I wonder whether he would go back if he was sure it was still night time. RNIB do a talking clock, just press the button on the top and a voice says the time loudly and clearly and always says am or pm as appropriate.
My own experience was that this was a relatively temporary problem and I hope that it will soon go away for you and your husband.
Best wishes
Hattie
Thank you Hattie, it's worth a try if it happens again. Last night was different again and when he woke at 4am he didn't know whom was or where he was. This went on until abou8.45 after he had gone to sleep at 8.15.
wondeeingnif it has something to do with an increase I. Medication at bedtime?
Andrea Jane
If he had changed / increased medication, get in touch with neuro and explain or if you got a pd nurse ring her and explain.
There is a drug used to help with this..Clonazepam...used widely in Parkinsons to stop nightmares and acting out dreams.
Many get good results with it.
My husband tried it but he got unwelcome side effects..."fuzzy head" next day, so we settled for separate bedrooms...as he kicked and thumped me in the grip of vivid dreams.
I realise that your problems are more severe but you could ask your nurse or neuro if it might help.
i hope you find a solution soon.
Love
GG
clonazepan is only intended for short term use, I was offered it, but when i read into it i refused it, i would be very very careful. My girlfriend was prescribed a pill of the same family of pills as clonazepam once you are on these pills it can be very difficult to get off them, infact it requires specialist help beyond the knowledge of a gp, you become addicted too and crave more and more, the end result was that it played a part in the death of my girlfriend last december.
hi goldengirl
That why I have a separate bedroom I used to get kicked when he was having dreams now he shouts in his sleep. his body clock all over the place.
Sue
My husband had nightmares and also dreams of a sexual nature about former colleagues. I have discovered this by reading some of his e-mails to these colleagues. Unfortunately I only discovered these e-mails after my husband passed away so been unable to discuss with him and Parkinson's professionals. I don't know if these dreams were due to hyper sexuality or not and I will never know. His comments were out of character. I feel upset that these colleagues never advised me about these e-mails. My husband always told the Parkinson's professionals that he didn't have impulsive or compulsive behaviour. I am sure not many people admit to this so it is pointless asking this question each time they have a review? I have found the whole situation very upsetting, but as a carer, I have never been advised on what to look out for as to whether or not their loved one is acting out of character. Has anyone else had similar experience
Hello Andrea Jane,and all '
I have suffered hideous night terrors and visions since 1999 give or take a year or two and they were so bad my wife and I had to sleep in separate rooms as I was kicking and punching out and often made contact with her so for safety we ended up in the situation we are now, the drug cabergoline was singled out as I was also HYPERhypersexual needless to say this put massive stress on our marriage and its a miracle we have steered our way through the terror and the pain in fact we are stronger than ever now and one of the reasons is I used to visit a briill Psychologist , Doc McGreggor rtd at NTGH and he taught me CBT and to my suprise and delight I was able to use CBT to tame the visions and terrors , along with CLONAZEPAM I still have hypersexual episodes but no wwhere near as bad , if you look for my Through the Gates of Hell post I have tried to explain my life at that time, also I often see Mam in the corner of the room, she passed in July ??
Reards FED
,
A Also the post the DESTRUCTION may interest you
FED
Thanks for all the help. My husband is already on clonazepam and has been for a few years. I often wonder if this makes the dreams worse. This morning when he woke to take his medication he was still in a dream, he said the room looked exactly as it should but he was above it looking down. This I found very scary and wondered Nic anyone else experiences these sort of dreams?
I forgot to add that he didn't know where he was or who my daughter and son I. Law were when I talked about them. It took about 2 hours for him to be almost back to normal.
Yes im afraid its one of the worst impacts parky can have Andrea I have been hammered by vile hideous horrible night terrors for years , in fact they almost drove me insane, until I learned CBT cognitive behaviour therapy and I would use CBT to put the demons to flight it works by recognising areas which are likely to flare into a terror and eliminates it dont ask how it works , my doc told me I have the mind of a warrior chess player ???????????? yes its a strange discription.
Best wishes FED
I had had night terrors for about 5 years before I spoke to the doctor. At first I refused all drugs until I had a confirmed diagnosis. Following my positive DAT Scan and cognitive tests, confirmed my diagnosis of Parkinsonism syndrome with RBD and Lewy bodies. I have now been taking Clonazepam since Oct 16. The improvement has been excellent. I still have the occasional episode but certainly not as violent as before. My long suffering wife has been bruise free for weeks! I also read the long term effects of the drug and considered that I am in this for the long haul they are worth the risk. I am going to have to live with my conditions, they are not going to go away.
Sips